How sugar affects me

FitnessTim

Depending on self control alone is not a valid weight loss strategy for most people. Self control is a limited resource.

Going to the gym 7 days a week and meticulously tracking calories is not about self control. It's habituation. Once you develop those habits, it is relatively easy. Still anyone that commits themselves to that lifestyle should be commended.

Saying that people are overweight because they lack self control is wrong and also cruel. I had thought fat-shaming was a thing of the past but apparently it is still out there.

I'm not overweight. I'm in relatively good shape. However, as I get older I am finding it more difficult to maintain my level of fitness doing the same things I've always done. Whether it is my metabolism slowing down or increased responsibilities in my life, I can't simply eat whatever I want and expect to stay in the same shape.

I believe sugar is a factor in weight gain. I don't have a problem with restricting sugar so that's the approach I'm going with for now. I'll still track my calories in/out so it's not like I believe restricting sugar is the "secret" to fitness.

juggernaut1974

FitnessTim wrote: »

Depending on self control alone is not a valid weight loss strategy for most people. Self control is a limited resource.

Quite the contrary, we all have an UNlimited amount of self-control

Some people just choose, for whatever reason, not to tap that resource.

That's not a value judgment...it just is what it is.

mccindy72

Gizziemoto wrote: »

I am giving up refined sugars. Bye bye Starbucks frapps! That was 3 weeks ago. I cannot drink them anymore too sweet and I eat fruit instead. Only thing I learned was too much refined sugar makes me ill and I like apples more. Oh not as bloated but no idea why.

this makes no sense, as your body does not know the difference between the sugar in the frappe and the sugar in the apple. You might have a sensitivity to the milk in the frappe, perhaps.

mccindy72

MrM27 wrote: »

FitnessTim wrote: »

Depending on self control alone is not a valid weight loss strategy for most people. Self control is a limited resource.

Going to the gym 7 days a week and meticulously tracking calories is not about self control. It's habituation. Once you develop those habits, it is relatively easy. Still anyone that commits themselves to that lifestyle should be commended.

Saying that people are overweight because they lack self control is wrong and also cruel. I had thought fat-shaming was a thing of the past but apparently it is still out there.

I'm not overweight. I'm in relatively good shape. However, as I get older I am finding it more difficult to maintain my level of fitness doing the same things I've always done. Whether it is my metabolism slowing down or increased responsibilities in my life, I can't simply eat whatever I want and expect to stay in the same shape.

I believe sugar is a factor in weight gain. I don't have a problem with restricting sugar so that's the approach I'm going with for now. I'll still track my calories in/out so it's not like I believe restricting sugar is the "secret" to fitness.

Nope. It's not cruel, it's reality. Some have no self control, some do. I had no self control combined with laziness and lack of caring. If that's fat shaming then I'm fat shaming myself, because I was fat, obese and I was lazy. And since you want to this let's be sensitive approach, you can't comment on what I just said because I was obese and you never were and don't know what it's like. But I don't really believe that, but I can go ahead and say it because how could you know what fat shaming feels like if in fact you know the reason was laziness.

Calories are the factor in weight gain. If it was sugar then you could go ahead and say we could gain weight while eating at a deficit but eating to many pieces of fruit. And that's not the case.

QFT. So many people I know tout their "clean, healthy" eating as they gorge on fruit, and they cannot figure out why they can't lose weight.

juggernaut1974

MrM27 wrote: »

Uh oh, here come the flags!!!!

lemurcat12

FitnessTim wrote: »

Depending on self control alone is not a valid weight loss strategy for most people. Self control is a limited resource.

Yes, you have to pick an approach that makes it easier on yourself. That's why focusing on restrictions and ignoring if they make you neurotic is not a good approach for me. Obviously, one has to know oneself. I don't find it difficult to eat sugar in moderation, perhaps because sugar has never been a huge thing for me. I do find that I can easily get obsessive about restrictions.

Saying that people are overweight because they lack self control is wrong and also cruel. I had thought fat-shaming was a thing of the past but apparently it is still out there.

Saying that one thing you have to do to lose weight is exercise self-control is not cruel. Claiming that people get fat solely because they are weak and judging them for it, without an understanding of how complicated it can be is, IMO, presumptuous and not kind. But I am often surprised at the endless posts on MFP asking how one eats veggies or how one cuts down on sugar or how one avoids overeating. You just set a goal and do it--if you want to eat less sugar, eat less. If you don't want to go over your calories, don't. Right?

I believe sugar is a factor in weight gain. I don't have a problem with restricting sugar so that's the approach I'm going with for now. I'll still track my calories in/out so it's not like I believe restricting sugar is the "secret" to fitness.

I don't know why you are so into this idea.

Sugar has calories and often is included in foods that have lots of calories and not much nutrition (although the calories are often not primarily from sugar). So in that sense eating lots of "junk food" or "sweets" which the US diet is, on average, full of is of course associated with eating too many calories. For many people, an easy way to cut calories would be to cut the amount of this stuff they eat. (It was for me, and like I said I'm not even that into sugar. A bigger factor for me was dealing with the amount I eat at restaurants and not getting Indian food delivered so often.)

But is "sugar"--including the fruits and dairy that you say you are also eliminating--a factor in weight gain beyond the excess calories? I strongly doubt it. What I think is more likely true is that many people eat a ton of sweet stuff on top of their regular calories, because we are talking about snack foods that people eat due to taste, not hunger, and which probably aren't all that filling and which, in many cases, are in the form of liquid calories (soda, sweet coffee drinks) that they don't even notice the calories from.

The issue is eating in a thoughtless and not particularly sensible way, IMO, not that they haven't eliminated sweets.

For me, it's much easier to avoid this kind of stupid eating and wasted calories--whether it involves too many sweets or the temptations I'm more prone to, like the Indian delivery or an appetizer and extra bread at a restaurant--and continue to have really worth it sweets in moderation. It also helps me eat rationally and thoughtfully overall and to enjoy my way of eating.

If you'd prefer to do it your way and use your extra calories for something else (maybe extra cheese or wine, whatever), I think that's great. But you instead seem really committed to arguing that there's something unique about sugar which is a problem for all of us, and to ignore the fact that moderate eating of sweets was common enough even during my childhood days. It's hardly the case that people must go nuts if they let any pass their lips. I really think that's usually a self-created neurosis about food that can be avoided.

FitnessTim

Nope. It's not cruel, it's reality. Some have no self control, some do. I had no self control combined with laziness and lack of caring. If that's fat shaming then I'm fat shaming myself, because I was fat, obese and I was lazy. And since you want to this let's be sensitive approach, you can't comment on what I just said because I was obese and you never were and don't know what it's like. But I don't really believe that, but I can go ahead and say it because how could you know what fat shaming feels like if in fact you know the reason was laziness.

Calories are the factor in weight gain. If it was sugar then you could go ahead and say we could gain weight while eating at a deficit but eating to many pieces of fruit. And that's not the case.

Self control or self discipline is worth discussing further along with the topic of behavior change. Labeling yourself or someone else as "lazy" is not helpful. It is a lot more work to be overweight than it is to be fit. Someone trying to lose weight has a lot more to overcome than someone who is good shape already.

It's a topic for another day.

Hornsby

FitnessTim wrote: »

Nope. It's not cruel, it's reality. Some have no self control, some do. I had no self control combined with laziness and lack of caring. If that's fat shaming then I'm fat shaming myself, because I was fat, obese and I was lazy. And since you want to this let's be sensitive approach, you can't comment on what I just said because I was obese and you never were and don't know what it's like. But I don't really believe that, but I can go ahead and say it because how could you know what fat shaming feels like if in fact you know the reason was laziness.

Calories are the factor in weight gain. If it was sugar then you could go ahead and say we could gain weight while eating at a deficit but eating to many pieces of fruit. And that's not the case.

It is a lot more work to be overweight than it is to be fit.

How do you figure?

tdatsenko

FitnessTim wrote: »

Nope. It's not cruel, it's reality. Some have no self control, some do. I had no self control combined with laziness and lack of caring. If that's fat shaming then I'm fat shaming myself, because I was fat, obese and I was lazy. And since you want to this let's be sensitive approach, you can't comment on what I just said because I was obese and you never were and don't know what it's like. But I don't really believe that, but I can go ahead and say it because how could you know what fat shaming feels like if in fact you know the reason was laziness.

Calories are the factor in weight gain. If it was sugar then you could go ahead and say we could gain weight while eating at a deficit but eating to many pieces of fruit. And that's not the case.

It is a lot more work to be overweight than it is to be fit.

I guess they do have to eat more.....

juggernaut1974

FitnessTim wrote: »

It is a lot more work to be overweight than it is to be fit.

How in the world do you come to that conclusion?

Is this Bizarro day or something?

AllOutof_Bubblegum

I LOVE how the posts politely disagreeing and pointing out logic flaws all have flags.

That's not how the flag function works, OP.

UpEarly

FitnessTim wrote: »

With my first taste of sugary treat, my ability to control my eating diminished. I ended up eating 10 of them when I had only planned on eat 2 or 3. They are small but loaded with sugar and fat.

Soon after, I felt my energy and motivation to move dropped. I felt terrible and had trouble focusing. I believe it was the sharp contrast to a low sugar diet I was noticing. When I consumed sugar on a regular basis I probably felt that way all the time and thought it was normal.

I experience almost the exact opposite effects! I went on a 30 mile hike this weekend and I'm pretty sure that eating sugar (sour patch kids, granola, dried fruit, M&Ms) is what let me successfully complete all those miles painlessly, happily, and with energy to spare.

Whenever I eat sugar, I just have a small portion at a time and don't feel compelled to continue eating a massive quantity of whatever sugary treats are nearby. A moderate amount of sugar consumed at intervals during my very active days always makes me feel energetic and content.