How can I control sugar in my diet?

nutmegoreo

When you look through your diary, look for the items which are higher in sugar and try reducing some of those. I would ask for a referral to a registered dietician for guidance specific for your needs.

se015

TonyB0588 wrote: »

I'm doing fairly well with this MFP calorie deficit concept, but although most days I fall within the range for calories, the sugar count is always over.

At this rate I'm losing weight okay, but I've been recently diagnosed as pre-diabetic and would like to keep the sugar under control as well.

Anyone else with the same problem or have any suggestions?

Have you looked to see which food items have high sugar content? While Fruit is healthy and has lots of benefits, also comes with lots of sugar per serving. Bananas have lots of Sugar, I eat one banana per day. Most processed foods have sugar. More natural foods usually do not have lots of sugar. Honey is a good source to use to satisfy your sweet tooth. Just be careful with foods that are "flavored" like flavored oatmeal, cereal products, etc... Things like whole wheat bread and oatmeal are healthy choices for your Carbs with no sugar. Oatmeal has very little I don't think any sugar. I mean I know some people out there are going to argue with me that all carbs are technically sugar, you know what I mean. It has no simple sugar added. I hope this helps you a little bit, learn how to read nutrition labels and if you're consistent with the foods you eat every day, look at which foods have the highest numbers and switch those items for a better alternative. Someone said earlier to log foods before you even eat, that's what I do and it has helped big time.

nvmomketo

I have insulin resistance and prediabetes too. I follow the low carb plan that is laid out in Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. According to him, keeping insulin needs low, whether you are T2D or T1D, is important. The best way to do that is by reducing carbs. Drastically. There is no minimal level of carbs required in your diet to live a healthy life. Cutting carbs is safe.

I cut carbs in this order:

• Sugary foods like candy and soda
• Baked goods and other grains like corn and rice
• Foods with some added sugars
• High GI fruits - usually tropical fruits like bananas, mangos, grapes, and dried fruits like raisins. Fruits to be limited include those grown in temperate regions like cius, apples, nectarines, peaches and plums. The lowest GI fruits are berries.
• Starchy root vegetables like potatoes, yams, parsnips, onions, turnips, and carrots should be avoided or eaten sparingly.

Basically, sugar is sugar to a diabetic. It needs to be limited whether it is in fruit, im the starches of a potato, or the cmplex cabohydrates (long sugar chains) of bread.

I keep my carbs under 50g per day. Sugars are always under 10g.

I eat a lot of meat, eggs, nuts, dull fat dairy (cheese, whipping cream, butter, 14% sour cream), avocados, veggies, green leafy veggies, coconut, etc. Instead of steak with a potato I eat the steak with a salad or broccoli with cheese...maybe adding a pat of butter to the steak. I eat burgers without the bun ad tacos without the shell. A veggie stirfry would not be eaten with rice, and a good breakfast is bacon and eggs instead of a bowl of cereal.

Do you eat to your blood glucose metre? I should have asked that first. LOL If you do, and your BG remains below a low 6 (low 100's) at all times, even after a meal, then you know you are eating an appropriate amount of carbs/sugars. If a certain food, like a banana, causes a BG spike then you know to eat less of it next time or skip it in favor of other foods.

Psychgrrl

I've found added sugar in sneaky places like ketchup, salad dressing, sauces and jerky. You really need to read the labels to see what you're eating.

Complex carb trades can also help. Quinoa instead of rice, naan instead of regular white bread, etc. making sure to eat healthy fats, fiber and protein together to help limit insulin spikes.

What did you doctor say about your diet? Was this his/her suggestion?

TonyB0588

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Yup. ALL carbohydrates (except dietary fiber and sugar alcohols) will be broken down into sugar through digestion. Personally, what foods affect my blood sugar is way more intricate than carbs and sugar: fat, protein, and glycemic index can affect how quickly the food I eat is digested (and subsequently how quick of a spike I may see). I can certainly eat sugar, but what is more important is that I pair it with some protein/fat and take enough insulin to cover for it.
[/quote]

Thanks Abatonfan. I'm not quite at this stage yet. My readings on the monitor at home haven't peaked anywhere near what it was at the last doctor's visit, and being pre-diabetic means I haven't needed to go on insulin or other medication yet.

The sugar readings I was concerned about are the ones on the MFP chart, where some good calorie deficit days were bad sugar days. I think I'm getting a better idea of the situation from all the helpful comments here.

TonyB0588

Psychgrrl wrote: »

I've found added sugar in sneaky places like ketchup, salad dressing, sauces and jerky. You really need to read the labels to see what you're eating.

Complex carb trades can also help. Quinoa instead of rice, naan instead of regular white bread, etc. making sure to eat healthy fats, fiber and protein together to help limit insulin spikes.

What did you doctor say about your diet? Was this his/her suggestion?

I was given a diet sheet, just to get acquainted with the concepts, but as I'm only pre-diabetic, the suggestion was that exercise would be the solution for me.

pebble4321

I think your best bet is to log as consistently as you can for a couple of weeks and then go back through your diary. Find the "high sugar" days and see where the sugar was coming from - lots of fruit, drinking a heap of milk, big serves of dessert etc. Then you can cut out some of the low hanging fruit (reduce your serving size or frequency of dessert for example) and see how that works out. Maybe swap some fruit for veggies, drink water instead of milk, etc.
Personally I'm not bothered by sugar in milk or fruit (though I don't usually go overboard with these) but see if your doctor or dietician think this is an issue for you.

TonyB0588

Wow!! All my numbers are green today. No reds. Been trying all week and this is amazing for a Sunday.

Thanks again for all the comments.

AnnPT77

Be aware, too, that even beyond sugars inherent in fruits, MFP is counting inherent milk sugars. I'm sure you understand your needs as a pre-diabetic better than I (a non-diabetic) do. But it's worth noting that MFP's sugar total may not be exactly capturing the sugars you care about.

At my deepest calorie deficit, the only added sugar I was eating was the tiny bit of concentrated fruit juice several items down the list of ingredients in my daily tablespoon of all-fruit spread (that contained 6g sugars total). I still routinely exceeded MFP's sugar target every day, just from milk sugars & inherent sugar in fruit.