Sugar dilemma
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Nims420
Posts: 3 Member
If the only sugar I am eating is in the following foods, but I end up exceeding my daily intake off sugar by 10-20 gms (60-70 instead of 50), how bad is this? I am trying to lose weight.
Fat free Greek yogurt -- fage
Low fat cottage cheese -- breakstone
Eggs
Milk
Banana
Apple
Tofu
Peanut butter
Fat free Greek yogurt -- fage
Low fat cottage cheese -- breakstone
Eggs
Milk
Banana
Apple
Tofu
Peanut butter
0
Replies
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Sugar won't, in and of itself, won't make you gain weight unless you're eating so much sugar that it puts you over your daily calorie goal.
When I was trying to lose weight, I regularly ate all of the foods you listed, was usually over on my daily sugar goal, and I still hit my goal weight.4 -
To lose weight you only need to eat less than you expend in calories per day.2
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Yes, but I can also get that amount of calories from carbs alone and still stay under my goal. I don't think that will work either. I am trying to meet my macro targets. But sugar is a pain, even after eliminating all added sugar food sources.0
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Do you have a medical reason to track sugar? I switched it to tracking fiber - much more useful info since any fruit and you're over in sugar.3
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Yes, but I can also get that amount of calories from carbs alone and still stay under my goal. I don't think that will work either. I am trying to meet my macro targets. But sugar is a pain, even after eliminating all added sugar food sources.
Why is hitting your macro targets so important to you? Are you a bodybuilder or endurance athlete who needs to maintain a relatively high protein or carb intake? Do you have a medical condition that requires you to limit your intake of sugar and carbs?
Because if your only goal is weight loss, trying to hit all of your macro targets is majoring in the minors. Granted, specific macros can play a role in satiety and hunger management, but I suspect that's not what you're talking about here.2 -
If the only sugar I am eating is in the following foods, but I end up exceeding my daily intake off sugar by 10-20 gms (60-70 instead of 50), how bad is this? I am trying to lose weight.
Fat free Greek yogurt -- fage
Low fat cottage cheese -- breakstone
Eggs
Milk
Banana
Apple
Tofu
Peanut butter
Sugar from fruit is better for you than cake!
But you can still have both.0 -
Your macro targets are just carbs, protein, fats. If you want to lose weight, stay under your maintenance calories (which might take a bit of trial and error to determine). If you want body recomposition also, it will help to pay attention to your macros. But sugar is just a form of carbohydrate, and MFP's sugar goal is arbitrary and doesn't distinguish between added sugar and sugar from things like fruits and veggies. (In fact, I recently posted a question because my carb goal is quite low and my sugar goal is higher; I thought this was funny since it's impossible. Apparently sugar is a default 15% of calories).
Anyway obviously fruits and veggies and potatoes and things like that are healthier than donuts and candy, and will likely make you more sated and better able to stick to your calorie and nutrition goals. If you want to further limit sugar, I would get the full-fat versions of greek yogurt and cottage cheese, natural peanut butter without added sugar, etc.
But if you're just trying to hit your macros, focus more on whether you're hitting your carbohydrate target.0 -
If the only sugar I am eating is in the following foods, but I end up exceeding my daily intake off sugar by 10-20 gms (60-70 instead of 50), how bad is this? I am trying to lose weight.
Fat free Greek yogurt -- fage
Low fat cottage cheese -- breakstone
Eggs
Milk
Banana
Apple
Tofu
Peanut butter
It's not bad. Unless you are diabetic or similar so you have to track sugar, don't bother.0 -
Yes, but I can also get that amount of calories from carbs alone and still stay under my goal. I don't think that will work either. I am trying to meet my macro targets. But sugar is a pain, even after eliminating all added sugar food sources.
Sugar is just another carb. If you are hitting your macro goals, why are you so concerned about sugar.0 -
If you want to cut sugar you can switch your fruits to lower sugar fruits - berries are lowest followed by temperate fruits like apples, oranges and nectarines. Tropical fruits like bananas and mangos are quite high in sugar. You could also switch to vegetables.
Use unflavored (plain full fat) yogurt to cut sugar there.
Eggs... They have sugar? I've never noticed that.
Milk has lactose (a sugar). If you want to cut sugar there you could use cream and dilute it.
Tofu... I have no idea about - I don't eat it.
Peanut butter should not have sugar unless sugar was added. Try PB with only peanuts as the ingredients.
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If you want to cut sugar you can switch your fruits to lower sugar fruits - berries are lowest followed by temperate fruits like apples, oranges and nectarines. Tropical fruits like bananas and mangos are quite high in sugar. You could also switch to vegetables.
Use unflavored (plain full fat) yogurt to cut sugar there.
Eggs... They have sugar? I've never noticed that.
Milk has lactose (a sugar). If you want to cut sugar there you could use cream and dilute it.
Tofu... I have no idea about - I don't eat it.
Peanut butter should not have sugar unless sugar was added. Try PB with only peanuts as the ingredients.
FYI...
1 large egg (50g) contains .4g sugar
1 serving of tofu (94g) contains .5g sugar
I don't really know what OP is so worried about, TBH.
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Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »Well if he ate both in one day that is almost 1g of sugar...
^ Accurate.0 -
CafeRacer808 wrote: »Yes, but I can also get that amount of calories from carbs alone and still stay under my goal. I don't think that will work either. I am trying to meet my macro targets. But sugar is a pain, even after eliminating all added sugar food sources.
Why is hitting your macro targets so important to you? Are you a bodybuilder or endurance athlete who needs to maintain a relatively high protein or carb intake? Do you have a medical condition that requires you to limit your intake of sugar and carbs?
Because if your only goal is weight loss, trying to hit all of your macro targets is majoring in the minors. Granted, specific macros can play a role in satiety and hunger management, but I suspect that's not what you're talking about here.
I am trying to hit macros because my experience has been that a high protein diet helps me curb hunger, retain less water and generally avoid sugar spikes.
I am not a body builder or athlete, just trying to lose fat. I have had some very bad relationships with carbs and part of controlling those cravings has been eating protein, which helps in building muscle too, which in turn increases resting metabolic rate and all that fun stuff.
My main concern is while my carbs and fat intake are all in check, sugar exceeds the level defined by this app. I don't know how accurate this is, just seeing sugar exceed was a cause of concern. I think I will stop obsessing over this for now and see how things go.
Thank you all for all your comments and suggestions.0 -
I am trying to hit macros because my experience has been that a high protein diet helps me curb hunger, retain less water and generally avoid sugar spikes.
I am not a body builder or athlete, just trying to lose fat. I have had some very bad relationships with carbs and part of controlling those cravings has been eating protein, which helps in building muscle too, which in turn increases resting metabolic rate and all that fun stuff.
My main concern is while my carbs and fat intake are all in check, sugar exceeds the level defined by this app. I don't know how accurate this is, just seeing sugar exceed was a cause of concern. I think I will stop obsessing over this for now and see how things go.
Thank you all for all your comments and suggestions.
The macro targets that MFP gives you are just the default settings. Truthfully, the only macro I pay attention to is protein, and it's for exactly the same reasons you mentioned - it helps me control hunger (and snacking). So what I usually do is make sure I get close to my protein goal (I view MFP's protein goal as a minimum), and I let my other macros fall where they may. I replaced sugar tracking for fiber in my diary because that's more important to me and sugar is incorporated in the carb number anyway. Hope this helps.
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CafeRacer808 wrote: »If you want to cut sugar you can switch your fruits to lower sugar fruits - berries are lowest followed by temperate fruits like apples, oranges and nectarines. Tropical fruits like bananas and mangos are quite high in sugar. You could also switch to vegetables.
Use unflavored (plain full fat) yogurt to cut sugar there.
Eggs... They have sugar? I've never noticed that.
Milk has lactose (a sugar). If you want to cut sugar there you could use cream and dilute it.
Tofu... I have no idea about - I don't eat it.
Peanut butter should not have sugar unless sugar was added. Try PB with only peanuts as the ingredients.
FYI...
1 large egg (50g) contains .4g sugar
1 serving of tofu (94g) contains .5g sugar
I don't really know what OP is so worried about, TBH.
Neither do I *shrugs*
The app doesn't distinguish between natural occurring or added sugars. Fibre would be a more useful item to track.1 -
Full fat dairy often has more natural sugars if u r worried. Check the labels. Problem w sugar is dental bills0
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12Sarah2015 wrote: »Full fat dairy often has more natural sugars if u r worried. Check the labels. Problem w sugar is dental bills
Is this true? When I was doing the fodmap diet (which eliminates lactose) my dietician told me that the higher the fat levels,the lower the lactose. So cream and full fat milk contains less lactose than skimmed milk,for example.1 -
12Sarah2015 wrote: »Full fat dairy often has more natural sugars if u r worried. Check the labels. Problem w sugar is dental bills
Nope. In fact low fat milk products contain marginally more sugar than full cream. By marginal I mean around 0.2% per 100 grams. Thevreason for this is because when you take out the cream other nutrients will be at slightly higher levels.
By the way WHO recommends 25 grams of added sugar or around 5% of your daily diet. This excludes sugar found naturally in foods like fruit, veges and dairy. This app does not distingush between natural and added sugar so if you are really concerned about your added sugar intake you will have to keep a separate note of it by looking at containers of all processed foods you consume. I am often at or above my daily goals, even on days where I have had no added sugar and have simply learnt not to worry about it. If I had a medical condition which meant strict sugar control it would be a different story.0
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