A Question About Sugar

Jesslan_Rose

I'm a total newbie when it comes to counting calories. I've never done it before and still have a lot to learn so please excuse me if this is a stupid question.

I understand that a calorie deficit is what is behind losing the weight. But where does sugar fit in? I try to be mindful of my sugar count, but it's sometimes over by a couple numbers or if I'm dealing with a lot of stress my calories could be under, but the sugar is way over. How does this affect my weight loss?

GaleHawkins

JesslanRose it varies from person to person.

In my case after a lifetime of abusing carbs I found I was not willing to refrain from sugar when the cravings would hit. I had to give up all sugar then after a couple week the cravings started to cease.

Basically I replaced the carbs with Fat and try to do 90-120 grams of protein daily.

This is just my story but I expect many can take sugar or leave it.

NoelFigart1

Calories are a way to measure food energy. (Well, approximately). Fat is stored food energy. There are about 3500 calories in every pound of fat (more or less). If you consume fewer calories than your body needs for energy, your weight will go down.

The point of breaking down macronutrients (Sugar, protein, fat, etc) is that you want a balance. You need protein for certain bodily functions, you need carbohydrates for energy and you need fats for your endocrine system (among others) to work correctly.

So, long story short, eating too much sugar but being under on calories is unlikely to interfere with your weight loss unless you find that eating a lot of sugar/carbohydrate causes a cycle of you wanting more and more and overeating calories. (This happens to some people. Others seem less affected by that sort of thing).

malibu927

Unless you have a health reason to watch it, you don't need to worry about sugar. I don't even track it. All that matters is that you're under your calories.

PeachyCarol

Are you talking about your numbers on your diary here on MFP? The sugar is set notoriously low. Even eating 2 pieces of fruit a day will throw you off. Don't worry overmuch about it.

Kalikel

Swap the sugar out for fiber and track fiber instead. Fiber is good for your colon and helps you feel full for a longer time (but if you need to increase your intake, do it slowly to avoid bloating and farting.) If you eat a lot of fruit, you're going to exceed that sugar thing almost daily, so just get rid of it.

If you want to eat healthy, check this out: http://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2013/04/HEPApr2013.jpg

FatFreeFrolicking

Unless you have a medical condition that is affected by the consumption of sugar, you don't need to worry about it!

abatonfan

It varies from person to person. I'm a type 1 diabetic, and I track both fiber and sugar in order to have a better understanding of what types of carbs I am consuming in relation to my blood sugar levels in an attempt to figure out the timing of my insulin dosages.

Jesslan_Rose

No, I don't have any medical conditions that are related to sugar. This is what usually happens - Tonight I have 530 calories left, but am over my sugar by 6. When my sugar is over I usually don't eat anything more because whatever is in the house (healthy or not healthy) has sugar as well and I'd go over even more. Because I'm still hungry I'm just wondering if I should ignore the sugar counts and finish my calories. Thank you so much for your replies!!

Christine_72

I go over in sugar nearly everyday, because I eat alot of fruit. I don't take any notice of it.

FatFreeFrolicking

JesslanRose wrote: »

No, I don't have any medical conditions that are related to sugar. This is what usually happens - Tonight I have 530 calories left, but am over my sugar by 6. When my sugar is over I usually don't eat anything more because whatever is in the house (healthy or not healthy) has sugar as well and I'd go over even more. Because I'm still hungry I'm just wondering if I should ignore the sugar counts and finish my calories. Thank you so much for your replies!!

Nuts, seeds, nut butters, cheese, oatmeal, and beef jerky are all low in sugar.

msmi1970

i gather, the general consensus is that you should not worry about sugar unless (or until) you have a medical condition.

i am assuming that "medical condition" is Type 2 Diabetes.

just be wary that diabetes does not simply materialise overnight. it takes years before its symptoms manifest (and once they do, there is no going back) and by then in all likelihood, some damage to your body would have occurred.

not trying to scare you. but, imho, it is good to cut back on sugar and refined carbohydrates and to keep an occasional eye on your blood sugar levels. take it from someone who has lived with this debilitating disease for 15 years.

Lourdesong

Unless medically necessary, there are more interesting things to track than sugar. Sodium is interesting to track since high sodium intake can cause you to hold onto water and may affect the scale.
Sugar is a carbohydrate and you're tracking carbs already.

ana3067

malibu927 wrote: »

Unless you have a health reason to watch it, you don't need to worry about sugar. I don't even track it. All that matters is that you're under your calories.

2nd all this.

Patttience

this is a very good question. First off, my advice is don't bother using the sugar counter at all unless you are a diagnosed diabetic. Nobody else needs to know their sugar count.

What we all need to do is know our carb count. You should aim to keep your carb count low.

The reason why i say the sugar counter is a waste of your interest is a) because there are more important factors and b), unless diabetic the body manages blood sugar levels naturally. If you just eat with your macros in an appropriate balance, you do not need to be concered about the sugar counter.

the sugar counter makes no distinction between refined sugars and natural sugars and it is hte refined sugars only that you need to reduce. You can do this without any sort of counter at all. You need to put significant effort into reducing processed foods because these are the foods that have high levels of added/refined sugar.

Why is refined sugar a problem? Because it intensifies the flavours of foods so that you ar enot happy with normal healthy food and prefer processed foods. Because it causes some people to over eat. And when you over eat refined sugar, it start the ball rolling and keep it rolling endlessly towards weight gain and ill health. Overeating causes imbalances in the hormones signalling systems in teh body. For instance leptin. People who eat a lot tend to develop leptin resistance which means your body can't help you restrict your eating at all because you are always hungry.

Just reducing yoru calories will result in correcting of this problem however, so long as you eat a lot of refined sugar, you will struggle to reduce your calorie intake and maitain it long enough to lose the weight and reprogram yourself into better eating habits.

The other things that you need to be eating more and don't when you eat too much refined/added sguars are vegetables and fruit and high fibre foods. Because meat is a strong flavoured food, people tend not to have any difficult eating eating enough meat and protein when they are also eating a lot of very unhealthy foods but fruit and vegetables tend to be less exciting to the palate becuase they have plainer flavours. To enjoy them, they would need to be eaten with other highly flavoursome foods.

So when you cut out all the procesed foods, you can start to enjoy less intensely flavoured foods, though they still do need ot be prepared in such a way as to be tasty. Hence to be honest, steamed vegies and skinless chicken breast was never going to satisfy anyone in the long term.

There are ways you can cook vegetables and other foods that are tasty adn interesting. Its important the food you eat to replace all the processed foods you may have eaten in teh past is tasty. So that suggests that people need to apply themselves to their cooking. Thsi is probalby one of hte hardest things for most dieters to do in this day and age when a) many can't cook b) most people are very busy and too tired too cook.

But i promise you if you make the effort to prepare your own meals, avoid processed fodos as much as possible and increase your vegetables and fruit you will find losing weight easier. You will also find keeping hte weigh off long term more sustainable.

People need to make a life long commitment to eating better. Its not enough just to do it for long enough to get hte weight off. If you don't commit to ongoing change, you will get fat again.

silentKayak

Given what you describe, yes, ignore the sugar counts and everything else except calories until you get more used to the idea of calorie counting. The sugar is completely irrelevant to your goals. If you're under calories for the day and you're hungry, you can eat what you like and still lose weight.

If you eat all your allotment and are still hungry, you can tweak your macros. Many people find that they get hungrier if they eat more sugar, and that they are satisfied on fewer calories if the bulk of those calories come from protein- and fiber-rich foods.

GiveMeCoffee

OP you have done a fantastic job already and lost 143 lbs according to your profile. Congrats!!

Now as for sugar, don't bother tracking it as you said you do not have a medical issue. I switched mine to tracking fiber.

You do not have to go low carb or stay away from refined sugars, or processed foods. Not necessary and you can have a well balanced diet with all of those included.

If you have 530 calories left eat them, those are your fuel and 530 calories can be some chicken, broccoli and ice cream .. don't leave all those on the table because you are worried about sugar going over.

Again congrats on all you've achieved so far! Keep it going and don't sweat the small stuff - sugar count is the small stuff!

Slasher09

Calories are calories regardless of if sugar is involved. Some people do find that they have food addiction issues and they need to cut it out, and some people need to be careful with sugar for medical reasons (diabetes, etc).

other than that just be sensible.

auddii

GiveMeCoffee wrote: »

OP you have done a fantastic job already and lost 143 lbs according to your profile. Congrats!!

Now as for sugar, don't bother tracking it as you said you do not have a medical issue. I switched mine to tracking fiber.

You do not have to go low carb or stay away from refined sugars, or processed foods. Not necessary and you can have a well balanced diet with all of those included.

If you have 530 calories left eat them, those are your fuel and 530 calories can be some chicken, broccoli and ice cream .. don't leave all those on the table because you are worried about sugar going over.

Again congrats on all you've achieved so far! Keep it going and don't sweat the small stuff - sugar count is the small stuff!

^This.

Liftng4Lis

Awesome job on your loss. Since you have no medical conditions, don't worry about the sugar.

msf74

JesslanRose wrote: »

How does this affect my weight loss?

Unless changing the amount of sugar you consume prompts over eating and regularly exceeding your maintenance calories....it doesn't.

If it ain't broke and all that...