Our overarching suggestion is to choose a couple of simple rules. Don’t agonize over the sugar content of every single thing you eat. You’ll make yourself miserable and you will probably give up before too long. Instead, decide on two or three systemic changes, and stick to them. You can add more changes later.

Your rules should revolve around added sweeteners, rather than the natural ones in fruits, vegetables and dairy. It’s not that the added ones are so much worse (despite what you may have heard about high-fructose corn syrup). Many researchers believe that sugar is sugar. But people don’t generally overeat natural sugars. Have you ever inhaled five apples in one sitting?

The online guide has many more details, but here are a few rules to consider:

Fix your breakfast. It’s the most sugar-packed meal, and it doesn’t need to be. Eggs, fruit, nuts, plain yogurt, plain oatmeal and traditional pita bread are delicious — and free of added sugars. If you’re pressed for time, boil a dozen eggs, refrigerate them and grab one or two in the morning. A sign of a good breakfast plate: It has an array of natural colors.

Redo your pantry. Steer clear of staples — like sauces, crackers and breads — with unnecessary sugars. There are plenty of unsweetened alternatives, like Victoria’s pasta sauces, French’s Yellow Mustard, Maille Dijon mustard, Saltines, Triscuits and some Trader Joe’s tortillas. Once you spend a little time reading ingredient lists, the unsweetened staples can become your defaults. Trader Joe’s is an especially good place to shop, but supermarkets work, too.

Eliminate soda. Just get rid of it. Soda and sports drinks are essentially liquid sugar, and are the largest source of added sweeteners in the American diet. Switch to flavored seltzer or, if you must, diet soda. The health effects of diet soda still are not clear, but it seems considerably less bad.

Whip portion inflation. Restaurant desserts are often family-size servings marketed as individual portions. The marble-loaf cake at Starbucks, for example, has more sugar than most adults should eat in an entire day. Your grandparents didn’t eat desserts like this. When you eat out, think of every dessert as a serving for two. It’s better to put some in the garbage than on your waistline.

The best news about sugar is that Americans are finally catching on. Sales of regular soda are plunging. Some food brands are starting to brag about not adding sweeteners. For a long time, we didn’t even realize what Big Sugar was trying to do us. Now we do — and we can fight back.