Question: Sugar grams

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flatcoatedR
flatcoatedR Posts: 173 Member
edited August 2017 in Food and Nutrition
I pretty much have been watching my calories, carbs, and sugar grams. I'm quite large and have a lot of weight to lose. How many grams of sugar do all of you allow yourselves per day? I'm not sure how many I should be allowing myself to lose. Thank you.
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Replies

  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
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    Unless you are diabetic its not necessary to track sugar grams. All you need to lose weight is a reasonable calorie deficit and log everything you consume.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    I don't pay any attention to the amount of sugar I eat to lose, personally. As long as I'm hitting my calorie numbers and my protein minimum, everything else tends to fall in line. If you're watching sugar as part of a health concern or to try and achieve something like ketosis, then sugar will probably matter more to you. But just for straight weight loss, it's not a big concern.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited August 2017
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    Total sugar doesn't really matter -- it's just a subset of carbs. I like the WHO recommendation of no more than 5% of calories from added sugar (as a rough guideline, sometimes I'm over, more often I'm under), but that's more about calories from low nutrient foods, not sugar in and of itself. I would not consider all foods that contribute sugar to be the same, as they differ in other respects (like micronutrients, total macros, fiber, calories, how filling they are).

    I focus on getting enough protein (I aim for 95-100 g, based on lean body mass or .8x120, my preferred weight), enough fat (especially healthy fats like nuts, seeds, avocado, fatty fish, olives and olive oil) to be satisfying to me, and then try to devote the majority of my remaining calories to nutrient dense foods, but if I can fit in a treat (which might be sweet), I certainly see nothing wrong with that.
  • Bluetail6
    Bluetail6 Posts: 2,874 Member
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    The only sugar I keep track of is added sugar. I keep track of the added sugar in the notes section. This is not necessary at all. I just personally want to keep my daily added sugar to 25g or less. Again, this is not necessary for weight loss.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    cathipa wrote: »
    Unless you are diabetic its not necessary to track sugar grams. All you need to lose weight is a reasonable calorie deficit and log everything you consume.

    Even if you are diabetic, watching sugar grams is not necessary unless you take insulin. Total carb grams is the important number for T2 diabetics, not how those carbs are divided up into the subsets.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Never tracked sugar. An irrelevance to me, just a subset of carbs after all.
    Sugar is just one source of calories - focus on the big picture of an overall healthy diet in the correct quantity not small details.

    Extreme example:
    When cycling long distance events I'm eating 90g of sugar (glucose & fructose mix) an HOUR, for hour after hour...... As long as I am in a calorie deficit I would be losing weight that day.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I changed my settings to track fiber instead of sugar. No medical issues (for me) so I decided fiber was more important.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    I changed my settings to track fiber instead of sugar. No medical issues (for me) so I decided fiber was more important.

    I did the same thing. My Dad died of colon cancer so it is more important to me to make sure I get enough fiber as part of my preventative measures than it is tracking sugar since I track total carbs.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
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    I don't eat anything that has more than 10 grams of added sugar. Yeay, fiber one bars fit. I never count sugars from natural foods.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    I left sugar on my diary but only for curiosity's sake. The only worry about eating too much sugar is that it will either push your calories over your limit, or crowd out other stuff in your diet.

    So I prefer to track my calories, and then secondarily pay attention that I'm getting enough protein, fat, and fiber. If I hit all those numbers, I'm good, and chances are my sugar isn't crazy high anyway.

    And IMHO it's more fun to try to get more of something into your diet than less of something anyway :)
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    I watch my carbs, and look at sugar and fibre too. I try to keep sugar under 5g and fibre over 50% of my carb total. the sugars I do eat tend to come from veggies and a few fruits. Possibly from dairy.
  • Aerona85
    Aerona85 Posts: 159 Member
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    I don't watch it because the majority of the stuff I log doesn't have added sugar split out from natural so how would I know for sure which one for sure something was (unless I made it myself and put sugar in...only time I really do that is when making overnight Oats in put in around 1/2 tbsp or a little less maple syrup. Otherwise I don't add sugar, and I don't really care for overly sweet foods.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    emailmehere1122 wrote: »
    I don't know if Dr Mercola is a quack but how about
    Harvard health
    https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-fructose-bad-for-you-201104262425

    Webmd
    http://www.webmd.com/heart/metabolic-syndrome/news/20090421/fresh-take-on-fructose-vs-glucose

    Or livestrong
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/533337-fruit-sugar-vs-other-sugars/

    What about them? They're each blogs opining about how different kinds of sugar might affect the body.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    emailmehere1122 wrote: »
    Hfcs can be 90% fructose and there is crystalline fructose. If you read the articles all the way through they all say fruits and vegetables aren't a concern but to watch your added sugars, especially fructose. If your liver is converting fructose into triglycerides and ldl cholesterol then why not be aware of that and limit added fructose...in hfcs and sucrose...especially if you have a poor lipid profile

    They are blogs of people giving their opinions, not medical facts. As other replies mentioned, they don't suggest anything conclusive. And I don't have a poor lipid profile. There are some health conditions that may require watching your sugar, so yeah if you have one of those, watch your sugar.

    Regardless, what I said in my first reply stands - I focus on making sure I am getting enough protein, fat, and fiber. And guess what that causes? My sugar can't be too high, because otherwise it would crowd out something else.

    Sugar is just the latest boogeyman. Everyone wants some big bad thing to point our fingers of blame at. We keep going through phases of fearmongering one ingredient. It isn't getting us anywhere. Just eat a balanced nutritious diet at the right calorie level, and you don't have to be afraid of any food.

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