out of sugars by 10 a.m.!

4leighbee

interesting about the coffee - I will experiment. I put two or three (eek) scoops of sugar in every cup (2 before 8 a.m.). That's not good. There's seems to be something to sugar being addictive.

JoRocka

HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »

Yes, unfortunately, the tracker can't tell the difference between added sugars and those found naturally in foods.

why's that you say?

oh- that's right- because it doesn't matter.

JoRocka

lgutches wrote: »

interesting about the coffee - I will experiment. I put two or three (eek) scoops of sugar in every cup (2 before 8 a.m.). That's not good. There's seems to be something to sugar being addictive.

that's your brain.

just start dialing it back. I used to have mine "regular" from dunkin- which is at least 2 pumps of sugar- and creamer- so fairly heavily adjusted.

I drink it black- only took me about 6 months to move from less and less sugar- to milk only. To black.

You can do it- don't bother going cold turkey- you'll be miserable and it's not worth it- just start metering it out and dialing it back. it's totally do-able.

bibliocephalus

I'm having good luck by combining sugar with artificial sweetener i.e. instead of two sugars in my coffee, I use one sugar and one packet of splenda. For yogurt, I eat 1 part plain to one (or 1.5) part flavored. I'm a grab and go person too, so I spoon it into little containers ahead of time, and that way can just grab them out of the fridge on my way to work.

HeidiCooksSupper

JoRocka wrote: »

HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »

Yes, unfortunately, the tracker can't tell the difference between added sugars and those found naturally in foods.

why's that you say?

oh- that's right- because it doesn't matter.

To some extent you are correct but not totally. Added sugars are digested more quickly than sugars occurring naturally in whole fruits and vegetables and therefore lead to a greater insulin spike. This in turn piques the appetite and can lead to insulin resistance and type II diabetes. Yes, fructose in fruit juice is the same sugar as fructose in a whole piece of fruit but the associated fiber and other nutrients in the whole fruit help to slow the absorption of the sugars.

Does that mean one must give up all added sugars? No. Just be aware of them and try to limit their consumption.

JoRocka

insulin spikes build muscle.

I'll take that.

Dragonwolf

samantha1242 wrote: »

Switch to natural peanut butter - way better tasting IMO anyways.
Also, try finding a delicious brand of coffee that tastes good without the sugar. I found that I was only putting sugar in my coffee cause it was mediocre at best. Once I found a good blend, there was no need for sugar.

I agree with both of these. Most other peanut butters taste sweet to me now, too.

I had to stumble on a local coffee shop that uses a local coffee roaster and trained baristas to even start to consider coffee without a ton of sugar. I'm finally to the point where I'm considering having them make my latte (I know, it's espresso, not coffee, but I have the same issue with both) without the flavoring I've been getting, because I finally found something that doesn't just taste like bitterness to me.

Oh, another tip -- if you use mayo, it often has added sugar, too (I was surprised to find this out after I have my own for a while, then had store bought and it tasted sweet). I prefer to make my own (with this recipe) nowadays, and it really doesn't need sugar.

I'm personally on the boat of "sugar intake does matter, but you don't necessarily need to watch it like a diabetic," but I also agree with the others -- MFP's number is more for added sugar. Trying to consume MFP's recommendation of about 50% of your calories from carbs (which amounts to upwards of 250g or more for anything above the bare minimum) and staying under its default of 75g of all sugar is damn near impossible without living on rice and potatoes, I think. If you're doing fine with the sugars from things like fruit and milk, then there's not much reason to cut them out.

Dragonwolf

JoRocka wrote: »

insulin spikes build muscle.

I'll take that.

That only works if you're working them, too, though. You and I can probably agree that everyone should be doing strength training, but unfortunately, not every one does (they're missing out, IMO).

Like most other things with the body, too much insulin can cause problems. If insulin resistance is starting (even at subclinical levels), then it's also possible that glucose is starting to get too high, which is arguably the greater danger, as it causes damage to the body. Too high levels of insulin is more of a nuisance by comparison.

The spike-drop cycle can affect hunger levels and make it more difficult to maintain a caloric deficit, though, even below levels of medical concern, but that isn't just for sugar, but starch, too, and someone with satiety issues would do well to consider tweaking total carb levels (which would likely reduce sugar intake by proxy, depending on the amount of carb reduction).

dbmata

out of sugar?

Just switch to maple or honey.

JoRocka

That only works if you're working them, too, though. You and I can probably agree that everyone should be doing strength training, but unfortunately, not every one does (they're missing out, IMO)

seriously- I don't understand that at all LOL- because yeah- totally missing out on so many things- but shrug- whatever- you can't fix everyone. LOL

The spike-drop cycle can affect hunger levels and make it more difficult to maintain a caloric deficit, though, even below levels of medical concern, but that isn't just for sugar, but starch, too, and someone with satiety issues would do well to consider tweaking total carb levels (which would likely reduce sugar intake by proxy, depending on the amount of carb reduction).

concur- (actually with most of your post LOL) but this which is one reason I tip toward lo-carb- only because I never feel full eating lots of carbs.

But I guess in general if you're eating a balanced diet- you don't have room to eat a crap ton of flat out sweets- you'll burn through your diet before you are even close to being full- I can sure eat my weight in sugar (Friendly hunkachunkapeanut butter sunday anyone- 1770 delicious calories and I can/will eat ALL of it) ..,. but if you're doing a good job in GENERAL of eating variety- hitting your calories- and hitting your macros- you're just not going to have room to be effing up the sugar content- or the carb content that much.

I guess I tend to never take a localized approach- it just winds up panicking people- take a step back- look at the broader picture and roll with it.

4leighbee

can someone explain "hitting your macros"? I'm sure it's simple - just haven't heard it before. thx
-

wilsoncl6

Hi sugar diets have been linked to the increase of belly fat or the slow down of loss of belly fat due to high blood glucose levels. I try to keep my sugar as low as possible and try to balance everything out.

diannethegeek

lgutches wrote: »

can someone explain "hitting your macros"? I'm sure it's simple - just haven't heard it before. thx
-

Macros are your macro nutrients: carbs, protein, and fat. Hitting your macros refers to getting the right balance of these three nutrients, keeping in mind that the "right" balance will vary from person to person depending on their personal goals. MFP suggests default numbers for these, but they're just a suggestion and you can edit them as you see fit.

Since sugar is a form of carbohydrates, as long as you're hitting your macros (based on your personal macro goals) and getting enough fat and protein, your sugars should naturally stay fairly in balance.

4leighbee

great, thanks!