Sugar

HonestAbout

i am trying to cut back on my sugar intake...I take 1 tsp in my coffee and sprinkle one tsp over my oatmeal( I eat eat without milk) amd sometime I have shreddies as my snack and have 1 tsp sprinkled on that. I am doing my best to stay away from sugary foods( I have slipped a few times and ate some chips) but I want to know if the 2-3 tsp's I do eat each day is keeping me from my weight loss goal...if so I can cut it out( except my morning coffee lol)

lisabinco

Personally, for me, it's best if I keep sugar intake to minimal levels. White sugar, honey, brown sugar, et al; they are a trigger for me that starts a craving for sweets that I would rather live without. Living this way has freed me from the sugar swings I had for years, and that makes it well worth it.
I don't worry about natural sugar in whole fruit, though. An orange doesn't act as a sugar trigger for me. Orange juice, however, is like a tablespoon of white refined sugar to me -- bad effect. But I don't just eat fruit all day, either. I try to eat well 90% of the time. That counteracts those few days when I fall victim to cr@p food. If you are eating nutritiously overall, that is more important.
You may be one of those lucky people who can have a little sugar in your coffee and not have any ill effects. I'm not one of them. I still drink my coffee, but I use unsweetened soy milk only. There is some sugar in it, so I use it sparingly, and I find this works for me.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Sugar is just a carb. As long as you're eating enough fats and protein, your carbs/sugar aren't particularly important unless you have a medical issue that requires carbs/sugar to be monitored.

However, it should be noted that fructose and sucrose can only be stored as liver glycogen and not muscle glycogen. The liver can hold 100-120g glycogen so anything more than that will be converted to triglycerides. As long as you still have a calorie deficit this will even out. Just try to make most of your carbs glucose and not sucrose or fructose. Fructose in particular has been shown to decrease exercise performance, increased likelihood of gastrointestinal distress, and increase perception of exertion.

Here are some studies:
http://www.setantacollege.com/wp-content/uploads/Journal_db/the effects of glucose....pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3592616


As long as you're under your calorie goal, you'll lose weight. Some people find that sugar (even from fruit) causes them to have more sugar/carb cravings so keep that in mind.

For information on setting your macro target, read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/911011-calculating-calorie-macronutrient-needs?page=1#posts-13821336