How on earth does anyone stay under the sugar goal?

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  • aafig25
    aafig25 Posts: 2 Member
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    I recently started doing keto which is high fat and extreamly low sugar (10% carbs daily). I found that replacing my sugars with fat is a great way to keep away the sugar cravings. I have heard some research about how good this is for people with diabetes as well- maybe do some research on a high fat or keto diet, it may do wonders for you but deffinitly do your research first.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    How on earth? Well, today my plan is under the sugar goal, and includes portions of fruit cake, prunes, and a peach. The sugar goal is 80 and my plan is at 56. It seems easy.
  • Baruchuda
    Baruchuda Posts: 28 Member
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    I'm usually under the sugar goal but I don't eat many processed foods or fruits, mostly vegetables, and I only drink lemon water/tea/seltzers.
  • Baruchuda
    Baruchuda Posts: 28 Member
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    Please add me as a friend! I can use all the support as I can get, post often, and love commenting on your posts.
  • fitchick37
    fitchick37 Posts: 124 Member
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    I'm a type 1 diabetic with an insulin pump and constant glucose monitor (been diabetic 40 years but only got the tech 6 months ago). It now fascinates me how different things affect my blood sugar, I don't eat fruit now other than a couple of blueberries with my breakfast porridge and hardly any bread where possible. Low GI stuff is helping and trying to keep low carbs but enough to not be hypo all the time. Diabetes is a bit of a minefield, I've become a bit obsessed with my scanner and blood sugar graph with what's doing what to it!
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,112 Member
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    I'm older, big and don't have - or want - any sugar problems, so I monitor my numbers as best I can.

    As some posters above have said, OJ and grapes are hidden sugar bombs. I love them myself, but restrict myself - for instance, I usually stick to actual oranges/clementines rather than juice. And other fruit juices as well - cranberry, apple, pom, etc. - all have natural sugar and most have added sugar. I like dried cranberries, cherries, blueberries, pineapple, kiwi, etc. - but many carry sugar coatings in addition to their natural sugars. Prunes and dried figs are sweet and generally don't have added sugar. Naturally, I'm pretty stingy about drinking sodas and similar drinks.

    Commercial bread often has added sugar in various forms in addition to their natural flour contents. I bake about 85% of our breads from scratch ("no-knead" method). High Fructose Corn Syrup or other sugar shows up in a lot of prepared foods (along with salt), so they can sneak up on you. This includes salad dressings - I make most of ours, including buttermilk/ranch styles.

    I initially let MFP set my macro goals according to their internal formula, then lowered my sugar target to give me an added buffer against inevitably going over target. As at least one poster said above, your daily quota can get filled with ordinary food (including fruits, veggies, dairy, ...) even without "sugar goodies." I don't fret about occasional overshoots, as long as they are the exceptions and not the rule (and the holidays were tough in this regard), but my blood counts show that this type of approach works ok for me. "Your mileage may vary" ... unfortunately, we all process things a bit differently.

    Good luck!
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Cdona111 wrote: »
    According to MFP my sugar goal is 69. I do not eat any sweets (was diagnosed pre-diabetic 18 months ago and react to sugary sweets so don't eat them). Yesterday my sugar was 99 from a small banana, a cutie, 4 oz of orange juice and a cup of grapes. I got a gram or 2 here and there. I wish MFP had a function to separate added sugar from natural sugar.

    Anyone else have this problem? Or even track it? I have my nutrients set to 40% carbs and usually at or under.

    Sugar is sugar. I know people like to "not count" natural sugar, but your body still recognizes it as sugar. Opt for berries when choosing fruits, that was a suggestion made to me.
  • Cylphin60
    Cylphin60 Posts: 863 Member
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    I don't track sugar. Sodium is my kryptonite.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,112 Member
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    mjbnj0001 wrote: »
    I'm older, big and don't have - or want - any sugar problems, so I monitor my numbers as best I can.

    ... And other fruit juices as well - cranberry, apple, pom, etc. - all have natural sugar and most have added sugar...

    I meant to be more specific ... the "added sugar" in a lot of juices is added grape juice as a sweetener.
  • Lizarking
    Lizarking Posts: 507 Member
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    I turned it off, and only stick to my carbohydrate limit.
  • simonytin24
    simonytin24 Posts: 6 Member
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    I don't eat anything with added sugars but I eat lots of fruit and vegetables and also dairy which is high in natural sugars and I don't care cause it's fibers!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I really don't worry about tracking sugar, since I'm already at a healthy BMI and I don't have any health problems that would require a restriction of it. But, I don't often drink sugar/calories, so fruit juice is mostly out for me. I'd rather eat the whole fruit and get all the nutrients (fiber.) I occasionally drink it, but I still consider juice to be kind of a waste - a waste of fruit's full nutrition and a waste of calories I could be eating instead. ;)
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
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    I ignore sugar on MFP. ...don't pay any attention to it whatsoever...
  • Cylphin60
    Cylphin60 Posts: 863 Member
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    I've found that if I keep myself from sweating the numbers and just focus on Carbs/fats/proteins, most days everything just falls in line and I have more peace of mind - important because I will drive myself freaking crazy with the numbers lol. If I go over here and there, oh well, tomorrow is another day.
  • Cylphin60
    Cylphin60 Posts: 863 Member
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    simonytin24 wrote: »
    I don't eat anything with added sugars but I eat lots of fruit and vegetables and also dairy which is high in natural sugars and I don't care cause it's fibers!

    And this!
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    jenilla1 wrote: »
    I really don't worry about tracking sugar, since I'm already at a healthy BMI and I don't have any health problems that would require a restriction of it. But, I don't often drink sugar/calories, so fruit juice is mostly out for me. I'd rather eat the whole fruit and get all the nutrients (fiber.) I occasionally drink it, but I still consider juice to be kind of a waste - a waste of fruit's full nutrition and a waste of calories I could be eating instead. ;)

    This. I no longer drink my calories except for an occasional beer and low calorie hot cocoa :)
  • WayTooHonest
    WayTooHonest Posts: 144 Member
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    I subtract the sugar from fruits and don't worry about it.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,112 Member
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    OP, thought you'd find this interesting ... following up on conversation above.

    I made up a batch of Ina Garten's Butternut Squash-Apple soup yesterday. Contains lots of apples and some cider in addition to squash and onions. I ran the recipe through MFP to get my counts, found it somewhat high in sugar (13g per 1c serving, 32g carbs, 7g fiber). Otherwise, this is a delicious and healthy soup, and I'm not greatly concerned over a couple of bowls of this.

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