Cutting Down the Sugar

Teachergreg

Any recommendations as to how many grams of sugar are recommended per day in order for a person to shred up a bit? I have found a lot of advice on how many grams of ADDED sugar someone should avoid, but I just wanted to get an idea as to how many grams of sugar in totality I should shoot for.

usmcmp

Grams of sugar has nothing to do with getting shredded, calories is what you need to focus on. Secondary focus would be protein, fat, and carbs. I don't even look at sugar numbers because I don't have a medical need to watch them.

sardelsa

I don't think there is a set number. My advice is as long as the sugar isn't crowding out your protein and fat macros, your fibre or your nutrition, and you are staying in a deficit without excess hunger, performing your workouts adequately, not crashing and burning or having sleep issues from the sugar, then you are good.

usmcmp

sardelsa wrote: »

I don't think there is a set number. My advice is as long as the sugar isn't crowding out your protein and fat macros, your fibre or your nutrition, and you are staying in a deficit without excess hunger, performing your workouts adequately, not crashing and burning or having sleep issues from the sugar, then you are good.

This.

Gallowmere1984

sardelsa wrote: »

I don't think there is a set number. My advice is as long as the sugar isn't crowding out your protein and fat macros, your fibre or your nutrition, and you are staying in a deficit without excess hunger, performing your workouts adequately, not crashing and burning or having sleep issues from the sugar, then you are good.

I’d concur with this. I primarily hit a lot of sugar when bulking (just by nature of increased kcals), but I’ve had periods where my weight gain completely stalls and actually starts going in reverse for a few weeks, even while consuming upward of 175g of sugar per day.

That said, you need to define “shred up”. If you’re talking 8-10% bodyfat, it should be a non-issue. If you’re talking legitimately stage ready contest shape (4-6%), you’re going to end up with no sugar (and very few carbs in general) just by nature of the fact that at that point, kcals get so damned low that you need almost all of your calories just to cover protein and fat requirements.

trigden1991

Overall calorie deficit is what you need, not sugar (or carb) restriction.