How do you stick to your sugar limit?

Rebeckistan

So, I feel I have been doing a good job changing my diet up and making healthier choices. I've noticed over the last few days though that I'm always surpassing my sugar limits though.

The settings on MFP were setup by filling out the form and I realized I didn't set the sugar count myself (or fat/protein etc) and that I should look into what the recommended maximum sugar intake per day is for women. Turns out that MFP has me allocated for 45g of sugar, while the maximum amount of sugar a woman is supposed to consume each day is 24g. Most of the sugars I'm consuming come naturally from fruit, from a teaspoon of honey in qwark/kwark or a tablespoon of maple syrup as sweetener in my porridge and or from the occasional glass of wine. I have noticed that the raisins I've been putting in my porridge is also boosting sugar levels. With that, I find myself hovering around 45-55 g sugar per day and that's without drinking calories or eating processed food.

It would be interesting to see the diary of someone who is managing to stay around 25g of sugar a day consistently to see how they eat. Can anyone help? Or can anyone offer any tips/things to try to eliminate my sugar content further? I suppose the big thing would be to stop eating fruit or oatmeal for breakfast, but I'm curious to seeing how other people manage and design their diets.

galgenstrick

I don't stick to it. There is no need to if you're regularly exercising. Maybe if you're sedentary, but if you're lifting weights or doing cardio your body can handle the extra sugar no problem as it will just go to glycogen.

DeguelloTex

I don't have one, beyond my macro limit on carbs.

jesikalovesyou

I don't stick to it. I don't have a problem (medically) with sugar so I just keep to my macros and forget about the sugar.

mantium999

Where did you find 24g should be your max?

Rebeckistan

I originally saw it on md-health and on another article. After posting this I continued looking and found this article suggesting that it's 50g for women but there's a UN body recommending 24g is optimum (I think that's where the confusion is coming from). I also saw that the NHS is recommending 50g so I suppose I'm eating about the right amount of sugars after all...

lemurcat12

Rebeckistan wrote: »

Turns out that MFP has me allocated for 45g of sugar, while the maximum amount of sugar a woman is supposed to consume each day is 24g.

This is a misunderstanding. MFP's sugar limit includes ALL sugar, and is 15% of calories. IMO, it's not hard to meet (should that be important to you) if you have a higher number of calories (I'm at 1700, and don't generally go over), but it can be challenging at 1200 (and 45 g) if you eat a decent amount of fruit, dairy, and even vegetables or some starches like sweet potatoes, corn, and plantains.

The 24 grams or the like -- for example the World Health Organization's 10% of overall calories, ideally 5%, as well as the link you cited--is NOT all sugar, but only added sugars plus honey/syrup and juice. That's because they aren't concerned about the health effects of sugar itself--that's been way overblown by some--but that people's overall diets are made up of too many low nutrient sweet treats (although many of the calories from these are actually from fat in many cases) and this is leading them to either be nutrient deficient or go over appropriate calories and gain weight. Obviously, then, it's not really an issue for someone watching their calories and diet closely and who largely gets sugar from more nutrient dense foods like fruit, vegetables, and dairy, etc.

I think even the 45 grams isn't the best approach, because just because 15% might make sense for someone not on restricted calories doesn't mean that it makes sense for someone on restricted calories, when you might choose to decrease starches (like bread or rice) and increase fruit, depending on preferences. I prefer a more common sense approach of paying attention to the overall diet, making sure that you are getting a good variety of nutrient rich foods and aren't low in things like fiber, protein, and fat. If that's so, then it's unlikely you are eating excessive sugar.

Interestingly, the NHS link you cited is similarly referring to added sugars for the 50 grams, so it's much more generous than MFP. My understanding is that the only proposed limits for ALL sugars (for example, the EU has one or has proposed one) exist solely so packaged products can give a percentage of RDI figure and they rely on the proposed limit for added sugars plus an estimate of what people consume from other sugars. This results in a much higher number, more like 90 g. In any case, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that exceeding any particular number of sugars is problematic or to support this currently popular idea among dieters that one should worry about fruit and dairy sugar or sugar itself outside of the question of whether one is eating an overall balanced diet. (There may be some evidence that drinking lots of sugary soda is a bad idea.)

Faithful_Chosen

I don't give a damn about my sugar intake as most of it is from fruit and honey. I dont eat much candy because they are calorie bombs, not because they contain sugar. Sugar does not make you fat or stall weight loss, excess calories does.

tomatoey

i don't consider it, really. the sugar i consume is limited to what i put in my coffee; limited fruit, more veg; grain and bread products; and whatever is added by the manufacturer to the canned tomatoes etc. i put into things i make. (oh and dairy, i eat a lot of dairy.) if i am over (which i haven't checked), it is because i am meeting other nutrient requirements

except for the coffee, but that is a psychological requirement for me to not be jerky to people around me

nvmomketo

I eat low carb and high fat so it is part of this WOE to have very low sugar, and I have found that once you get it low it is quite easy to maintain.

To keep my sugars below 10g, I eat mostly meats, cheese, nuts, and a few veggies that are low in sugars (like spinach - generally veggies that did not grow below the ground). I avoid all starchy foods and don't eat anything made with flour. I also eat at a slight caloric deficit to lose weight.

People will be quick to point out that keeping sugar this low is not needed unless you have a medical condition (which I do - prediabetes and autoimmune diseases), but it is also a choice that won't hurt if you choose to do it without a medical need. Sugar is the body's first choice for fuel but it will easily switch to fat burning when needed.

Best wishes.

ASKyle

I don't track sugar. Track fiber instead.

callsitlikeiseeit

unless you are diabetic there is no need to track it.

same for sodium. unless you have a health issue regarding sodium, it doesnt matter.

lemurcat12

tomatoey wrote: »

whatever is added by the manufacturer to the canned tomatoes etc. i put into things i make.

Most canned tomatoes shouldn't have any added. IME, they are normally just tomatoes.

It's pre-made pasta sauce that has it added, normally. (Or so I understand. I don't buy pre-made pasta sauce.)

lemurcat12

nvsmomketo wrote: »

it is also a choice that won't hurt if you choose to do it without a medical need.

I don't think advising people to cut way back on vegetables and fruit--well below the recommended amounts--or foods that can have many positives for people who enjoy them, like dairy, sweet potatoes, plantains, corn, etc., is good advice or that you can blithely say that it won't hurt her. It's quite likely that the diet you are recommending would be less nutritionally sound than how the OP currently eats.

mbaker566

I don't track my sugar. just my calories and protein and fiber. and I keep an eye on my sodium, as I am a retainer of fluid

cwolfman13

i don't even look at it...

I eat a *kitten* ton of veg and a good 2-3 servings of fruit per day which is most of my sugar consumption. I don't eat a whole lot in the way of added sugars...no much in the way of processed foods and I don't really add sugar to much of anything. I have cookies and such only occasionally and a soda occasionally...usually as a mixer.

AlabasterVerve

Rebeckistan wrote: »

It would be interesting to see the diary of someone who is managing to stay around 25g of sugar a day consistently to see how they eat.

My diary is open if you want to take a peek but I eat low carb so I don't think it would be particularly helpful.

55g of sugar seems like a perfectly reasonable amount though and I don't think there's any health benefits to be had from reducing it further (unless you're insulin resistant or don't tolerate carbs well but that's something entirely different). Yarwell wrote up an excellent Sugar FAQ that you might find helpful:

Sugar FAQ June 2015

cwolfman13

nvsmomketo wrote: »

I eat low carb and high fat so it is part of this WOE to have very low sugar, and I have found that once you get it low it is quite easy to maintain.

To keep my sugars below 10g, I eat mostly meats, cheese, nuts, and a few veggies that are low in sugars (like spinach - generally veggies that did not grow below the ground). I avoid all starchy foods and don't eat anything made with flour. I also eat at a slight caloric deficit to lose weight.

People will be quick to point out that keeping sugar this low is not needed unless you have a medical condition (which I do - prediabetes and autoimmune diseases), but it is also a choice that won't hurt if you choose to do it without a medical need. Sugar is the body's first choice for fuel but it will easily switch to fat burning when needed.

Best wishes.

except people miss out on a lot of awesome nutrition that fruits and veg that you avoid have to offer...

i think it's pretty *kitten* to recommend people avoid fruits and veg just because it has a little sugar when it's completely unnecessary outside of certain medical conditions.

azulvioleta6

It's not hard--I think that I've only been over the limit once. I really wanted some matcha mochi ice cream on an extraordinarily hot day.

Eat more vegetables and less fruit. Don't consume processed foods. Easy, peasy.

Sugar is an issue for long-term health and everybody should be watching those limits.

AlabasterVerve

cwolfman13 wrote: »

nvsmomketo wrote: »

I eat low carb and high fat so it is part of this WOE to have very low sugar, and I have found that once you get it low it is quite easy to maintain.

To keep my sugars below 10g, I eat mostly meats, cheese, nuts, and a few veggies that are low in sugars (like spinach - generally veggies that did not grow below the ground). I avoid all starchy foods and don't eat anything made with flour. I also eat at a slight caloric deficit to lose weight.

People will be quick to point out that keeping sugar this low is not needed unless you have a medical condition (which I do - prediabetes and autoimmune diseases), but it is also a choice that won't hurt if you choose to do it without a medical need. Sugar is the body's first choice for fuel but it will easily switch to fat burning when needed.

Best wishes.

except people miss out on a lot of awesome nutrition that fruits and veg that you avoid have to offer...

i think it's pretty *kitten* to recommend people avoid fruits and veg just because it has a little sugar when it's completely unnecessary outside of certain medical conditions.

Low carb does not necessarily mean low fruits and vegetables. If it's important to you even the lowest carb diets can fit them in -- it's a matter of preference and priorities and that has nothing to do with the macro split of your diet.

kerenelly

I don't pay particularly close attention to my sugar levels, but swapping the raisins in your porridge for chopped almonds could be a good bet.