Sugar intake

wendk852
wendk852 Posts: 2 Member
edited November 29 in Food and Nutrition
I'm finding the sugar grams to be hard to stay under. I love fruit and veggies, but even those have a lot of sugar. Is there a rule of thumb for sugar intake, not from fruits & veggies, or do they all impact weight loss the same?

Replies

  • wendk852
    wendk852 Posts: 2 Member
    I may have figured out my own problem, I added 15 grams of sugar to my goal per day. That gives me wiggle room to add that extra piece of fruit, which I know is good for me, and still keep a handle on sugar intake.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Or you could track fiber instead of sugar
  • Cynsonya
    Cynsonya Posts: 668 Member
    Calories impact weight loss. CICO. You could eat only sugar and lose weight as long as you're in a deficit. However, if you have any blood sugar issues that wouldn't be a good thing to do for obvious reasons.
  • LetiPla
    LetiPla Posts: 28 Member
    AHA just came out with sugar guidelines because of its impact on cardiac healtH But they refer to ADDED sugars, I think fruit and vegetables are ok. We need to take care off our hearts!

    The new guidelines state most women should consume no more than 100 calories, and men no more than 150 calories, of added sugar. These numbers average out to about 6 to 9 teaspoons, or 25 to 37.5 grams, of sugar a day.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    wendk852 wrote: »
    I'm finding the sugar grams to be hard to stay under. I love fruit and veggies, but even those have a lot of sugar. Is there a rule of thumb for sugar intake, not from fruits & veggies, or do they all impact weight loss the same?

    There is no rule. And while you should get the majority of your sugar from whole sources, i would stress it too much unless you have a medical condition.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Or you could track fiber instead of sugar

    Or Iron or Calcium or ...

    I don't track sugar. It's rolled in with my carbs already, so I don't see a need to track it separately.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Suar is sugar. In the end, they all raise insulin.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    wendk852 wrote: »
    I may have figured out my own problem, I added 15 grams of sugar to my goal per day. That gives me wiggle room to add that extra piece of fruit, which I know is good for me, and still keep a handle on sugar intake.

    Sounds good. The MFP goal (15% of total calories) can be low if you have a low calorie goal and eat a good bit of fruit and veg. Tracking fiber instead is a good approach also.

    The WHO and the new US Dietary Guidelines recommend that ADDED sugar (plus juice) be kept to 10% of calories, with the WHO suggesting that 5% would be even better. It doesn't matter for weight loss, but I think that's reasonable (although if I'm over on one day and under on another I don't worry about it -- I just try to average over a week to be under).

    The main thing to focus on as you are tracking calories is that you stay within your calories and are getting enough of what you need, like protein, healthy fats, and vegetables. If so, higher sugar (especially from fruit) isn't taking away from anything else and not adding calories beyond what you should be eating.
  • KiyaK
    KiyaK Posts: 519 Member
    The thing that sucks about MFP sugar tracking is that it doesn't differentiate between added & natural sugar (is that the right term? natural? Anyway...) As others have said, there are various different organizations who have defined healthy amounts of ADDED sugar. Natural sugar, unless you have blood sugar issues, is fine.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    KiyaK wrote: »
    The thing that sucks about MFP sugar tracking is that it doesn't differentiate between added & natural sugar (is that the right term? natural? Anyway...) As others have said, there are various different organizations who have defined healthy amounts of ADDED sugar. Natural sugar, unless you have blood sugar issues, is fine.

    Intrinsic is the usual term for sugar that is in whole foods already.

    It's unfortunate that MFP can't distinguish, but it's because of labeling. IMO, it's still easy to use it as a tool to look at sugar consumption and where that sugar is coming from if you want to.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    wendk852 wrote: »
    I'm finding the sugar grams to be hard to stay under. I love fruit and veggies, but even those have a lot of sugar. Is there a rule of thumb for sugar intake, not from fruits & veggies, or do they all impact weight loss the same?

    None of them do if you're in a caloric deficit.

    Also, sugars in fruits and veggies are the same sugars that get added to other foods: fructose, sucrose and glucose.
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