Sugar - possibly the easiest thing to cut back on for weight loss!
Options
Replies
-
tennisdude2004 wrote: »Liftng4Lis wrote: »tennisdude2004 wrote: »Liftng4Lis wrote: »tennisdude2004 wrote: »Well there you go! I think that's the problem with most of the sugar threads on MFP - lack of reading and understanding the OP!
OR the words "anti-sugar thread", is the problem. I eat at a caloric deficit. I give up nothing and ALL of my friends can tell you I make room for chocolate daily. I'm one of the "caloric deficit" = weight loss people.
Just re-read my OP - didn't see the words anti-sugar thread.
in fact what part of my thread is anti-sugar?
Are you mistaking neutral for anti? I don't think I have once said sugar is bad!
Dude, the title is : Sugar - possibly the easiest thing to cut back on for weight loss!
Yes, I do see yours says "most of the sugar threads", but MOST of the sugar threads here on MFP are anti. I get it you're neutral.
Again, my point is I LIKE sugar.
So do I - I like sugar. I'm just aware it provides nothing to me but energy.
Also cut back this statement is not the same as eliminate or cut out - you do know that don't you?
Sugar provides energy and enjoyment. Just like all other foods. Ergo I do not discriminate between foods based on sugar content.
0 -
Pretty sure they are expensive here too, but it's like... do I want money, or do I want pomegranates??? Although they also give me canker sores
I could very happily eat 3 pomegranates a day. They're my favorites. The only reason I don't is that they're wicked expensive where I live.While I think your original post was too much of an over-generalization, I think if you took every new person on MFP and had them log their regular intake for a week, without changing anything, a lot of them would find that they eat a lot of extra calories from sugary (non-fruit) foods and it would be easy to start with cutting some of those out. I think a lot of people would find the same to be true about salty/fatty foods like chips, though, too. Those foods are all highly palatable, easy to obtain and don't usually require preparation -- you're not likely to find someone who logs their "normal" intake and finds that they're eating an extra 500 calories per day in carrots, but if you did, they'd lose weight by cutting out the carrots. By the same token, if someone doesn't naturally eat a lot of sugar, cutting it out isn't going to do a d@mn thing for their weight loss. There's nothing magical about sugar, it just tends to be an easy and cheap source of calories.
I used to eat like 3 pomegranates in a day (although I spit out the hard part of the seeds), so considering 1 pomegranate can be like 250+ grams when I spit out the seeds... damn I probably did over-eat by 500+ calories when I'd pig out on pomegranates lol.
Moral of the story, if you cut down on calorie-dense foods you will have an easier time losing weight. Has nothing to do with sugar on its own!
I think we agree on the main idea -- for lots of people, it's effective to pinpoint your areas of excess and reduce them. Or reduce everything, but that seems more daunting to me. There's nothing inherent about sugar that links it to weight gain/loss.
Yep, reduce food intake to lose weight. You can reduce it however you like, although just because you reduce fat or reduce sugar or reduce carbs in general doesn't mean that it was that micro/macro that made you gain weight or made you lose weight.
0 -
Actually, it's much easier to simply cut back on all foods and still eat everything you love. .
I like to eat pretty good. But I do like a treat every now and then! If it was not meant to be eaten why cook it.. Like brownies, chocolate chip cookies, apple pie, chex mix!
I have to have a delicious treat..
I actually will have one and savor it so much than I did before.
mmm I haven't made brownies in ages, partially because I've not found a good protein brownie recipe but also because being GF can make baking delicious chewy fudgy desserts a pain 0 -
bennettinfinity wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Sugar is the hardest thing to cut back on!!
That's subjective.
It's ironic (or not) that the anti-sugar people seem to be the most obsessed with it. Wonder if there's something about making something forbidden fruit that makes it irresistible. Hmm, what a strange, unheard-of idea, don't know what the genesis of it might be.
I see what you did there...!
Heh.
0 -
I lost 90lbs eating sugar. I easily have 90 more to go, I hit major plateaus and suffered from night time binge eating to a point where I had to save 600-700 for my late cravings which were painfully uncontrollable. I got frustrated and have moved in a different direction trying to put my body in ketosis. I put my macros at 5% carbs pretty much eliminating sugar. So far the weight loss is pretty impressive but that's mostly water right now, the bigger picture item is that the late night craving have completely gone away. Do I see doing this forever? Probably not but it is manageable and if it helps me reach my goals it's totally worth it. Keep in mind most of my daily carbs came from fruit and veg, brown rice, pasta not crappy stuff. The amount of carbs in a banana and two apples which I had daily would put me over 5% easily.0
-
Actually, it's much easier to simply cut back on all foods and still eat everything you love. .
I like to eat pretty good. But I do like a treat every now and then! If it was not meant to be eaten why cook it.. Like brownies, chocolate chip cookies, apple pie, chex mix!
I have to have a delicious treat..
I actually will have one and savor it so much than I did before.
mmm I haven't made brownies in ages, partially because I've not found a good protein brownie recipe but also because being GF can make baking delicious chewy fudgy desserts a pain
Gluten free pantry (company) has an amazing brownie mix.0 -
mmm I haven't made brownies in ages, partially because I've not found a good protein brownie recipe but also because being GF can make baking delicious chewy fudgy desserts a pain
We make delicious GF walnut brownies. Walnuts, sugar, chocolate, egg, a little vanilla, salt and leavening. Lots of omega-3. They're good for the kid to eat, but when I eat them, I eat fewer calories overall, so I haven't made them in forever.0 -
I use the 'babycakes' brownie recipe. marthastewart.com/316354/allergen-free-brownies0
-
I pretty much agree with the OP.
Highly refined or processed foods which contain concentrated forms of sugar (particularly when combined with fat in equal ratios) are highly palatable (so easier to over consume) calorie dense but lack volume and satiety (so easier to exceed your TDEE) and usually nutrient sparse (making it easier to become nutrient deficient.)
Shifting the focus of your eating to incorporate more whole food and less of them is a no brainer when it comes to dieting.
A standard and easy piece of advice to new dieters is to reduce consumption of soda. That's not a coincidence.
I am a little surprised at how controversial this subject seems to be.0 -
I found it easiest not to change what I eat but just to reduce the quantity.As we all know and agree on the only way to lose weight is to eat in a calorie deficit. So those peps currently over weight and eating in a surplus have to cut some calories somewhere and whats the easiest and least important food group to do that with - Sugar.
Savoury snacks are the one of my favourite things so reducing quantity & frequency has a bigger impact for me.
Energy for my workouts (including long cycle rides) is actually very important to me.So whats great about sugar - Nothing!!! Apart from giving the body a quick fix of energy (which it can easily get from more nutrient rich and beneficial food) it offers nothing!
And taste.
Once you have hit your macro and micro nutrient needs you don't get any bonus points for eating more nutrient rich food. Having some fun or discretionary food is important for many people to make tolerating a calorie deficit easier.
Going to differ from person to person depending on their current diet, health or digestion issues and lifestyle. Sugar is just the current bogeyman, sugar reduction is a nice simple message to get across to populations who mostly don't track their calories.What could be a better thing to cut, to get that calorie surplus into a deficit?
Alcohol would be an alternative suggestion and arguably a better thing to reduce for many.
True but the way to get long term adherence will differ from person to person.The main thing is get into a calorie deficit!
0 -
sugar reduction is a nice simple message to get across to populations who mostly don't track their calories.
I think that's the heart of the issue really. From a public policy point of view it makes sense to have a simple message which is easily implemented and targeted towards the majority (who are not athletes, who do not have a good handle on how many calories they are eating, who will not track calories or if they do it will be a perfunctory exercise.)
Many of those people end up here initially and having a simple strategy such as reducing (not eliminating) their intake of highly refined or processed foods containing sugar in favour of whole foods as much as they feel comfortable with may help more people on their way than it hinders. I think that message gets lost sometimes.
0 -
So basically eat all the sugar you want after you've met your nutritional goals......ridiculous. That Alan guy doesn't know what he's talking about.0
-
I think empty calories (junk foods) should all be done in moderation I get sugar from fruit and chocolate mainly im reducing neither0
-
I pretty much agree with the OP.
You say this, but then you say things that are not actually what the initial post said.Highly refined or processed foods which contain concentrated forms of sugar (particularly when combined with fat in equal ratios) are highly palatable (so easier to over consume) calorie dense but lack volume and satiety (so easier to exceed your TDEE) and usually nutrient sparse (making it easier to become nutrient deficient.)
The argument was that sugar is the easiest thing to cut. Nothing about fat.
In that not everyone eats lots of "highly refined or processed foods which contain concentrated forms of sugar" (let alone combined with other ingredients not the subject of the original post), it's pretty presumptuous to claim that's the best way for everyone to cut calories. It's also not the only (or even main) way that many people eat sugar. Some people even add sugar--wait for it--to make some nutrient dense foods taste better!
For me, the easiest thing to cut was Indian takeout (I haven't eliminated it, I just plan better, so I cook a higher percentage of my meals). Sugar was definitely not the main source of calories in that. In that I somehow magically got fat without drinking soda with sugar (I must be a special snowflake!), advising me to drop soda probably would not have been that effective.0 -
Cutting back on added sugars was the easiest thing I ever did to aide in my weight loss. It's simply not needed in so many places it's added.
And, yes, I cut back on heavily refined, highly processed convenience foods as well. No calorie counting, no weighing, measuring, logging.
Just cut back on the crap.0 -
galprincess wrote: »I think empty calories (junk foods) should all be done in moderation I get sugar from fruit and chocolate mainly im reducing neither
Yeah, this is basically how I feel. The parts of my diet that could be called junk food (for those bothered by the term, less nutrient dense foods that mainly add energy that I was generally not in need of) were not primarily sugar-based. To the extent some were, it made sense to consider cutting them down, just as I cut down on other things that fell in that category, for me. Currently, however, my main sugar is in fruit, dairy, ice cream, and occasional fancy chocolate, and none of those things would be easy to cut, as I get quite a bit of satisfaction and pleasure from them when compared to the calories I spend on them, not to mention the nutrients in fruit and dairy (and the positives in dark chocolate, for that matter).0 -
Staying at a calorie deficit and moderation works, for me.
I have not eliminated anything from my diet. I was overeating too much of everything. I have been maintaining for a little over a year now.
I think that, as in most issues related to losing weight, it is an individual thing. Experiment. Find what works for you and helps you to achieve your goals, hopefully this will be sustainable for you for a lifetime.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »The argument was that sugar is the easiest thing to cut. Nothing about fat.
In that not everyone eats lots of "highly refined or processed foods which contain concentrated forms of sugar" (let alone combined with other ingredients not the subject of the original post), it's pretty presumptuous to claim that's the best way for everyone to cut calories. It's also not the only (or even main) way that many people eat sugar. Some people even add sugar--wait for it--to make some nutrient dense foods taste better!
I had no idea that people add sugar to caramelise stuff and nutrients and what not! You learn something new every day.
Joking aside, when you say "it's pretty presumptuous to claim that's the best way for everyone to cut calories" (emphasis added) who are you talking about - me or the OP because that is certainly not my position.
It is an easy way for many people, and in my opinion the majority of people, to cut calories. Sugar (especially combined with fat) makes up a lot of snacking outside of main meals - sweets, fizzy drinks, cakes, pastries, doughnuts, chocolate - and where many people rack up calories at an alarming rate. Drilling down on snacking is an easy way to keep your diet in check.
0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 403 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 999 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions