Sugar tracking

tumsashrinks

I've been somewhat healthy eating for past few years (mostly struggling with way too big portion sizes and not their content, with exception of few evenings here and there spent eating too much chocolate as well as addiction to chai latte) and I figured I need some help tracking my food and figuring out how much calories I eat and how much I should eat to lose 60lbs.

A week ago I started to track my food here. So far, so good, some days are better than others, but I am staying on track. What worries me is my sugar intake. MFP has set my daily goal to 1670kcal and 63g of sugar and I overeat my sugar limit by a lot. On average I eat 90-110g of sugar per day. That said, my main sugar sources are mostly natural: mangoes, beetroot, tomatoes, strawberries, cherries, nectarines, and bananas, with the addition of quinoa milk (and I already found a plant milk I like that has no sugar so that will be taken care of). I eat a plant based diet and fruits are my choice of snack, especially when in season, I also love them in salads with greens and sometimes I make smoothies of them too, but in general, they are not the main meal and yet I still manage to eat so much sugar! Even beetroots that I like as an iron source have a lot of sugar. Should I be worried and eat fewer fruits or ignore the tracker since it's not processed/added sugar?

P.S. I don't have diabetes or any other health issues that I know of, my sugar levels are always fine (close to the lower side of okay levels), and since going vegan 3 years ago, my blood tests are perfect, so I am not sure what's the right thing to do. Sadly I can't get a visit with my doctor anytime soon since she's on vacation.

Kollane

Even processed sugar is not the devil it's often portrayed as by the media. All in all, it comes down to CICO. Controlling sugar intake is, to many, the easiest way to control the CI part.

I switched tracking sugar to tracking fiber.

Old_Cat_Lady

The sugar in fruit is not what made you gain those 60 lbs. Eating too many calories did. Get a food scale at a store and start weighing your food.
Some smoothies can turn into calorie bombs if you don't watch it. I would ignore the sugar tracker and focus on total calories. Focus on protein and total calories instead.
Killane - I love the idea of switching sugar to fiber. Love it. I try to get at least 21 g/ day.

arrghmatey1

Your blood sugar doesn't care if the sugars are natural or processed.

Eating a vegan diet is extremely hard to balance.

Your young and I presume exercising which is taking up the slack.

If at some point you stop that routine or your lifestyle changes (exercise or sports injury or just age or job change) you will be in a tight.

Also it is possible that you can have good daily tests of your blood sugar and still have a rotten A1C.

I know I have been there.

tumsashrinks wrote: »

P.S. I don't have diabetes or any other health issues that I know of, my sugar levels are always fine (close to the lower side of okay levels), and since going vegan 3 years ago, my blood tests are perfect, so I am not sure what's the right thing to do. Sadly I can't get a visit with my doctor anytime soon since she's on vacation.

Blood Sugar rules apply to everyone whether with diabetic issue or not.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/arrghmatey1

malibu927

Since you said you don't have a medical reason to watch your sugar intake, it isn't something to worry about unless all the fruit is keeping you from getting other nutrients. What some people have done is stop tracking sugar and instead add fiber to their diary.

HeidiCooksSupper

The sugar number computed in the diary is not the sugar number in the recommendations to limit consumption of added sugars.

The mfp number is based on the amount of sugars of any type in a food. Foods with carbohydrates have sugars in them. Take milk, for example. It naturally has 11 grams of sugar per cup (240 ml). This sugar was not added to the milk. It occurs naturally. Fruits are high in natural sugars. Meats are low. These types of natural sugars are NOT the sugars the recommendations want limited.

Added sugars are just that, added. Some of us add a teaspoon of sugar to our coffee. Many processed foods contain a lot of added sugar. Look at the ingredients label for an Oscar Meyer Wiener (hot dog). Among the list are corn syrup and dextrose -- both added sugars. You wouldn't expect two of the ingredients in this savory item to be sugar but they are. These hidden sugars are the type the recommendations want us to limit.

Unfortunately, until recently, nutrition labels haven't listed grams of added sugars as a separate figure from natural sugars. There was a change in labelling requirements last year in the US but I don't know what happened to it in the intervening change of administrations. It's very difficult to count natural versus added sugars using only the labels and not available in the MFP figures.

Added sugars not only lead people to eat more by improving the taste of cheap ingredients but add calories with few other nutritional benefits beyond energy. Sugar calories are cheap to produce and cheap to purchase leading to the conundrum that is obesity in food-insecure poverty.

tumsashrinks

Kollane wrote: »

Even processed sugar is not the devil it's often portrayed as by the media. All in all, it comes down to CICO. Controlling sugar intake is, to many, the easiest way to control the CI part. I switched tracking sugar to tracking fiber.

I track fiber as well, but thankfully, because of all the veggies and greens I eat, fiber is not a problem. ;D And yeah, I am focused on CICO part, just a bit worried about how high my sugar was compared to recommended one.

TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »

The sugar in fruit is not what made you gain those 60 lbs. Eating too many calories did. Get a food scale at a store and start weighing your food.
Some smoothies can turn into calorie bombs if you don't watch it. I would ignore the sugar tracker and focus on total calories. Focus on protein and total calories instead.
Killane - I love the idea of switching sugar to fiber. Love it. I try to get at least 21 g/ day.

Oh I know! Not blaming sugar for that one, I actually gained those 60lbs as a teenager/young adult when eating a lot of processed food, bread, way too much sweets etc. Going plant based has helped me to stop the weight gain, I haven't gained anything in the past three years, but of course, I also haven't lost any pounds either, and it is due to the big portions (as you said, too many calories). I am just worried if eating almost twice the recommended sugar is bad for me even if I eat withing my calories and other nutritions are okay.

arrghmatey1 wrote: »

[..]Eating a vegan diet is extremely hard to balance. Your young and I presume exercising which is taking up the slack. If at some point you stop that routine or your lifestyle changes (exercise or sports injury or just age or job change) you will be in a tight. [..] Also it is possible that you can have good daily tests of your blood sugar and still have a rotten A1C. I know I have been there.

Hmmm, never have done A1C test, didn't even know it exists to be honest. I just mentioned the diabetic part to let everyone know I don't have a particualr reason for tracking sugar other than MFP tracking it by default. I wonder if I should do that test since apparently I do eat a lot of sugar and I am overweight.

As for balancing vegan diet, I don't think it's hard? Or maybe it depends on what foods one likes to eat, but I had a nutritionist that helped me to figure out things and getting the right amount of carbs, protein, fat, essential amino acids, iron and other key nutritions isn't hard for me. That said, apparently a high sugar intake wasn't something my nutritionist cared about so maybe I am wrong. Thanks for all the advice and ideas!

malibu927 wrote: »

Since you said you don't have a medical reason to watch your sugar intake, it isn't something to worry about unless all the fruit is keeping you from getting other nutrients. What some people have done is stop tracking sugar and instead add fiber to their diary.

No, not a problem to get other nurients, most fruits are quite low in calories, so I still get to eat plenty of veggies, greens, beans, legumes etc. Thanks for the advice!

Christine_72

tumsashrinks wrote: »

Kollane wrote: »

Even processed sugar is not the devil it's often portrayed as by the media. All in all, it comes down to CICO. Controlling sugar intake is, to many, the easiest way to control the CI part. I switched tracking sugar to tracking fiber.

I track fiber as well, but thankfully, because of all the veggies and greens I eat, fiber is not a problem. ;D And yeah, I am focused on CICO part, just a bit worried about how high my sugar was compared to recommended one.

TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »

The sugar in fruit is not what made you gain those 60 lbs. Eating too many calories did. Get a food scale at a store and start weighing your food.
Some smoothies can turn into calorie bombs if you don't watch it. I would ignore the sugar tracker and focus on total calories. Focus on protein and total calories instead.
Killane - I love the idea of switching sugar to fiber. Love it. I try to get at least 21 g/ day.

Oh I know! Not blaming sugar for that one, I actually gained those 60lbs as a teenager/young adult when eating a lot of processed food, bread, way too much sweets etc. Going plant based has helped me to stop the weight gain, I haven't gained anything in the past three years, but of course, I also haven't lost any pounds either, and it is due to the big portions (as you said, too many calories). I am just worried if eating almost twice the recommended sugar is bad for me even if I eat withing my calories and other nutritions are okay.

arrghmatey1 wrote: »

[..]Eating a vegan diet is extremely hard to balance. Your young and I presume exercising which is taking up the slack. If at some point you stop that routine or your lifestyle changes (exercise or sports injury or just age or job change) you will be in a tight. [..] Also it is possible that you can have good daily tests of your blood sugar and still have a rotten A1C. I know I have been there.

Hmmm, never have done A1C test, didn't even know it exists to be honest. I just mentioned the diabetic part to let everyone know I don't have a particualr reason for tracking sugar other than MFP tracking it by default. I wonder if I should do that test since apparently I do eat a lot of sugar and I am overweight.

As for balancing vegan diet, I don't think it's hard? Or maybe it depends on what foods one likes to eat, but I had a nutritionist that helped me to figure out things and getting the right amount of carbs, protein, fat, essential amino acids, iron and other key nutritions isn't hard for me. That said, apparently a high sugar intake wasn't something my nutritionist cared about so maybe I am wrong. Thanks for all the advice and ideas!

malibu927 wrote: »

Since you said you don't have a medical reason to watch your sugar intake, it isn't something to worry about unless all the fruit is keeping you from getting other nutrients. What some people have done is stop tracking sugar and instead add fiber to their diary.

No, not a problem to get other nurients, most fruits are quite low in calories, so I still get to eat plenty of veggies, greens, beans, legumes etc. Thanks for the advice!

I get between 70-100g of sugar a day, the bulk of this is from natural sources from fruit and dairy, and if i was a good girl and ate more veggies that number would be even higher. If i quit fruit/dairy, i'd probably hover around the 20-30g mark.

If those sugar numbers were coming from chocolate bars and junk food etc i would definitely reassess, but the nutrition i get along with those natural sugars doesn't worry me. I'm 45 and got a blood test done a few months ago where they checked for prediabetes and my numbers were all perfect, so the sugar I'm getting from the above mentioned foods doesn't seem to be affecting me in a negative way.

OliveGirl128

Christine_72 wrote: »

tumsashrinks wrote: »

Kollane wrote: »

Even processed sugar is not the devil it's often portrayed as by the media. All in all, it comes down to CICO. Controlling sugar intake is, to many, the easiest way to control the CI part. I switched tracking sugar to tracking fiber.

I track fiber as well, but thankfully, because of all the veggies and greens I eat, fiber is not a problem. ;D And yeah, I am focused on CICO part, just a bit worried about how high my sugar was compared to recommended one.

TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »

The sugar in fruit is not what made you gain those 60 lbs. Eating too many calories did. Get a food scale at a store and start weighing your food.
Some smoothies can turn into calorie bombs if you don't watch it. I would ignore the sugar tracker and focus on total calories. Focus on protein and total calories instead.
Killane - I love the idea of switching sugar to fiber. Love it. I try to get at least 21 g/ day.

Oh I know! Not blaming sugar for that one, I actually gained those 60lbs as a teenager/young adult when eating a lot of processed food, bread, way too much sweets etc. Going plant based has helped me to stop the weight gain, I haven't gained anything in the past three years, but of course, I also haven't lost any pounds either, and it is due to the big portions (as you said, too many calories). I am just worried if eating almost twice the recommended sugar is bad for me even if I eat withing my calories and other nutritions are okay.

arrghmatey1 wrote: »

[..]Eating a vegan diet is extremely hard to balance. Your young and I presume exercising which is taking up the slack. If at some point you stop that routine or your lifestyle changes (exercise or sports injury or just age or job change) you will be in a tight. [..] Also it is possible that you can have good daily tests of your blood sugar and still have a rotten A1C. I know I have been there.

Hmmm, never have done A1C test, didn't even know it exists to be honest. I just mentioned the diabetic part to let everyone know I don't have a particualr reason for tracking sugar other than MFP tracking it by default. I wonder if I should do that test since apparently I do eat a lot of sugar and I am overweight.

As for balancing vegan diet, I don't think it's hard? Or maybe it depends on what foods one likes to eat, but I had a nutritionist that helped me to figure out things and getting the right amount of carbs, protein, fat, essential amino acids, iron and other key nutritions isn't hard for me. That said, apparently a high sugar intake wasn't something my nutritionist cared about so maybe I am wrong. Thanks for all the advice and ideas!

malibu927 wrote: »

Since you said you don't have a medical reason to watch your sugar intake, it isn't something to worry about unless all the fruit is keeping you from getting other nutrients. What some people have done is stop tracking sugar and instead add fiber to their diary.

No, not a problem to get other nurients, most fruits are quite low in calories, so I still get to eat plenty of veggies, greens, beans, legumes etc. Thanks for the advice!

I get between 70-100g of sugar a day, the bulk of this is from natural sources from fruit and dairy, and if i was a good girl and ate more veggies that number would be even higher. If i quit fruit/dairy, i'd probably hover around the 20-30g mark.

If those sugar numbers were coming from chocolate bars and junk food etc i would definitely reassess, but the nutrition i get along with those natural sugars doesn't worry me. I'm 45 and got a blood test done a few months ago where they checked for prediabetes and my numbers were all perfect, so the sugar I'm getting from the above mentioned foods doesn't seem to be affecting me in a negative way.

I eat a mostly plant based diet and I hit 111g of sugar today (and a whopping 51g of fiber lol). The sugar came from fresh fruit, sweet potato, raw honey, dried fruit and then miscellaneous things like ketchup and barbecue sauce. This was a pretty typical day for me. I just had blood work done and my fasting glucose number was in the 80s.

tumsashrinks

Thank you, @Christine_72 and @OliveGirl128 , your replies make me feel a bit better about my sugar consumption. Still will keep an eye on it, but it's good to know I am not the only one.

psuLemon

Diets are about the whole, not a component. The concerns from the WHO/USDA/etc... are about added sugars, especially when they are crowding out other more important nutrients. Considering that you consume a ton of fiber, you are in a really good position.