Sugar?

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Gleaf2
Gleaf2 Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am new to MFP and while generally very impressed am puzzled by the suggested sugar limits. I try to eat healthily but have been over on sugar limit every day although spot on on everything else except low on sodium, that is fine because I have high blood pressure. But sugar ????. Yesterday, for example, I had no added sugar. As recommended by the UK "five a day" I had one small salad, 100 Grams of brocolli, one medium carrot, one portion of fresh pineapple and one standard satsuma. I had one slice of wholemeal bread and no processed foods except one venison burger. No fizzy drinks except diet coke.yet I was above the sugar limit. How could I cut down and still eat healthily?

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10197460/sugar-faq-june-2015/p1
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    MFP doesn't separate sugar naturally occurring in food from foods with added sugars. I just mentally note the added sugars, and ignore their number. The American government came out with revised guidelines this morning for added sugar and they said no more than 10% of calories (which still seems high to me).

    Don't eat fewer vegetables and fruits to get to the MFP number, certainly.

    cheers.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    Gleaf2 wrote: »
    I am new to MFP and while generally very impressed am puzzled by the suggested sugar limits. I try to eat healthily but have been over on sugar limit every day although spot on on everything else except low on sodium, that is fine because I have high blood pressure. But sugar ????. Yesterday, for example, I had no added sugar. As recommended by the UK "five a day" I had one small salad, 100 Grams of brocolli, one medium carrot, one portion of fresh pineapple and one standard satsuma. I had one slice of wholemeal bread and no processed foods except one venison burger. No fizzy drinks except diet coke.yet I was above the sugar limit. How could I cut down and still eat healthily?

    There is sugar inherent in 'healthy' items like fruits, vegetables, dairy, etc.

    MFP's sugar recommendation is based on the guidelines for added sugar, but since nutritional labels don't differentiate between added and naturally occurring sugars, it's next to impossible to NOT go over the recommendation.

    Which is a long way of saying, most people ignore MFP's sugar recommendation. Track it if you have a medical reason to do so...otherwise if you're eating a nice variety of foods and staying within your calorie budget, don't sweat it.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Many of us disregard the sugar limit because it isn't really helpful and would unnecessarily limit our consumption of fruits and vegetables. I exceeded the sugar limit virtually every day while I was losing weight and I don't think it limited my progress at all.

    (This advice assumes you don't have a medical condition that gives you a reason to limit sugar -- if you do, please disregard)
  • Khovde07
    Khovde07 Posts: 508 Member
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    Gleaf2 wrote: »
    I am new to MFP and while generally very impressed am puzzled by the suggested sugar limits. I try to eat healthily but have been over on sugar limit every day although spot on on everything else except low on sodium, that is fine because I have high blood pressure. But sugar ????. Yesterday, for example, I had no added sugar. As recommended by the UK "five a day" I had one small salad, 100 Grams of brocolli, one medium carrot, one portion of fresh pineapple and one standard satsuma. I had one slice of wholemeal bread and no processed foods except one venison burger. No fizzy drinks except diet coke.yet I was above the sugar limit. How could I cut down and still eat healthily?

    I had the same problem. As other have stated, MFP doesn't separate natural sugars. I went to my settings and switched out sugar for fiber. So now I don't need to see the number in red every day and I'm conscious of my fiber intake.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    MFP doesn't separate sugar naturally occurring in food from foods with added sugars. I just mentally note the added sugars, and ignore their number. The American government came out with revised guidelines this morning for added sugar and they said no more than 10% of calories (which still seems high to me).

    Don't eat fewer vegetables and fruits to get to the MFP number, certainly.

    cheers.

    +1
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
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    You can choose what will show up on your food diary.
    I disregard sugar and don't have it as am item that I am concerned with on my diary.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    snowflake930 wrote: »
    You can choose what will show up on your food diary.
    I disregard sugar and don't have it as am item that I am concerned with on my diary.

    This ^^

    I swapped it out of mine in favour of fibre.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    The limit should be a minimum of 45 grams which easily covers typical population fruit & veg intakes. It is total sugars not added and of course can be tweaked via custom goals.

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