too much sugar

MLBuddecke

No matter how hard I try, I usually end up with way more sugar in a day than is recomended. At 1310 calories a day, and 26g of sugar, if I have one shakology and a piece of fruit, then for the rest of the day, my sugar intake is over, no matter how careful I try to be. I record everything, and try to be very accurate and honest, but also, I know I am only exercising a couple of times a week, and my water intake is a bit lower than recomended. I have been working at this since early April and only 3 pounds lost so far, so that is frustrating for me. any other suggestions? I have a fairly healthy diet.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Sugar is just a carb. As long as you're eating enough fats and protein, your carbs/sugar aren't particularly important unless you have a medical issue that requires carbs/sugar to be monitored.

However, it should be noted that fructose and sucrose can only be stored as liver glycogen and not muscle glycogen. The liver can hold 100-120g glycogen so anything more than that will be converted to triglycerides. As long as you still have a calorie deficit this will even out. Just try to make most of your carbs glucose and not sucrose or fructose. Fructose in particular has been shown to decrease exercise performance, increased likelihood of gastrointestinal distress, and increase perception of exertion.

Here are some studies:
http://www.setantacollege.com/wp-content/uploads/Journal_db/the effects of glucose....pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3592616


As long as you're under your calorie goal, you'll lose weight. Some people find that sugar (even from fruit) causes them to have more sugar/carb cravings so keep that in mind.

For information on setting your macro target, read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/911011-calculating-calorie-macronutrient-needs?page=1#posts-13821336