Fruit and sugars

bamafan1966

Hello, I have used fitness pal for years. This past year due to medicine. Packed in a whopping 50 lbs. I was unable to exercise for 26 weeks.
I'm currently back in the gym. I'm 51 yrs old and work in law enforcement,so I need to be in shape. I've dropped 16 lbssince the first week of February. I'm currently targeting losing 40 more. I've changed to eating cleaner but when checking my fitness pal this morning I discovered that the watermelon, cantaloupe and honey dew melon did not have but 106cals but a whopping 48 sugars. A usual day for sugar in my diary is around 20 for the entire day.my protein is around 100 to 150 carbs range from 40/145
How will the sugars effect my weight. Calorie intake daily is around 1600 plus 35 minutes stairclimber and 20 minutes strength training at an intense pace and high reps

janejellyroll

Within one day? It shouldn't have any effect on your weight.

kommodevaran

Sugar does not affect your weight, calories do.

cwolfman13

Sugar doesn't affect weight...calories affect weight.

Alimacbean

I don't count natural sugars, only added sugar. Coming from Weight Watchers, I wholeheartedly believe that sugar does affect your weight, but the kind of food you're eating with sugar makes the difference. Foods with added sugar are generally not made with a whole lot of nutrients, whereas whole fruits contain nutrients that work together with the natural sugar to level out. For me, eating an apple and a banana a day puts me at my sugar level for the day. That's why I just try to cut back on the foods with added sugar.

AnnPT77

I was materially over the MFP default sugar goal every day while losing 50+ pounds, and while eating fewer than 10 calories of added sugar most days. Sugar, within your calorie goal, won't affect your weight loss. If you still meet sensible fat, protein, and micronutrient minimums, it won't hurt your nutrition, either.

In your case, I would think that a bigger health concern would be that 4 pounds a week is a riskily fast weight loss rate, unless you weigh around 400 pounds. If you were unable to exercise, you may already have lost some muscle tissue even while gaining weight. If it's important to be in shape, it seems like retaining the muscle you currently have would be important, too.

DebLaBounty

Fruit provides nutrition you need, and if you stay at your calorie goal you’ll be fine.

Please try to lose a little slower. I was losing at 2 pounds per week and even lifting weights I lost muscle. MFP can calculate a rate loss of 1.5 to 2 pounds if you’re interested.

lemurcat12

Alimacbean wrote: »

Foods with added sugar are generally not made with a whole lot of nutrients, whereas whole fruits contain nutrients that work together with the natural sugar to level out.

I would agree that fruit has more nutrients than, say, the average cookie (although sometimes a cookie hits the spot and doesn't cause weight gain within calories any more than anything else). But the nutrients in the fruit have nothing to do with the effect of the sugar.

Also, I would disagree that added sugar means a food is not nutritious. I've added a bit of sugar to a rhubarb sauce (which still has fewer cals and more fiber than a sauce of only apple in the same amount). I've also added a bit of sugar to a BBQ rub and eaten it with meat (protein!) and vegetables. And many people (not me, but I've heard) like sugar in their oats, with, say, some fruit and greek yogurt -- hardly nutrition free.

I do limit added sugar overall (although for me this just means I tend to eat mostly whole foods, which I did anyway, and not go overboard on the sweet treats), and I don't limit total sugar (I couldn't care less how much sugar I get from fruit, veg, and dairy). But the idea that there's something specifically different and bad about foods with added sugar is not, IMO, accurate.

glassyo

Alimacbean wrote: »

I don't count natural sugars, only added sugar. Coming from Weight Watchers, I wholeheartedly believe that sugar does affect your weight, but the kind of food you're eating with sugar makes the difference. Foods with added sugar are generally not made with a whole lot of nutrients, whereas whole fruits contain nutrients that work together with the natural sugar to level out. For me, eating an apple and a banana a day puts me at my sugar level for the day. That's why I just try to cut back on the foods with added sugar.

I came from Weight Watchers too where I still ate a lot of added sugar and still lost 90 lbs (and more when I moved to counting calories). So I guess it did affect my weight.

Aaron_K123

Unless you are diabetic sugar content is not something you really need to be tracking or concerned about provided you are within your calories and getting adequate nutrition. Fruit isn't bad for you....neither is sugar.

Now if you find yourself struggling to meet your calorie goal or you are hungry all the time then yes, limiting sugar and carb intake may help as carbs tend to be less satiating per calorie than fat or protein for most people.

h1udd

I just try and stay away from added sugars ... at the end of the day sugar is kind of good for you, its a fast acting carb that does wonders very quickly for your state of mind and energy levels .... nom the banana and the apple.

But added sugars ? ..... to me, they add extra calories to an item without adding any volume .. so If I ate them I would be hungrier than if I ate a similar calorie snack without the sugar .. as obviously the the one without the sugar must have more of something else in it that is satiating

ie, whats going to fill you up more a bowl of porridge with golden syrup on it (350cal) ... or a bowl of porridge with banana, raspberries and blueberries on it (350cal) .... both are the same calories ... one has a LOT more volume !

Rose18l

Calories in vs out will make you lose weight, the amount of sugar doesn't really matter. After CICO what is important, is your protein intake. Try to hit atleast 0.5-0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. I try to avoid added sugars, this is because foods with added sugars are usually less nutrient dense. Don't worry about the amount of fruit sugars they are easily absorbed by the body. Also fruit contains a lot of nutrients you need.

LivingtheLeanDream

As everyone else has said, the amount of sugar will not affect your weight loss unless you are eating over your calorie allowance consistently.

lemurcat12

h1udd wrote: »

I just try and stay away from added sugars ... at the end of the day sugar is kind of good for you, its a fast acting carb that does wonders very quickly for your state of mind and energy levels .... nom the banana and the apple.

But added sugars ? ..... to me, they add extra calories to an item without adding any volume .. so If I ate them I would be hungrier than if I ate a similar calorie snack without the sugar .. as obviously the the one without the sugar must have more of something else in it that is satiating

ie, whats going to fill you up more a bowl of porridge with golden syrup on it (350cal) ... or a bowl of porridge with banana, raspberries and blueberries on it (350cal) .... both are the same calories ... one has a LOT more volume !

I don't ever add sugar to oats -- I don't really need my breakfasts to be sweet and actually prefer savory oats.

However, if someone did think a little sugar would make the oats with berries even nicer (and didn't like banana), you could add more berries and maybe a tsp of sugar and get only 16 additional calories (and fewer calories and sugar overall than with the banana). The volume won't be meaningfully different, either.

Point being that this all or nothing "adding sugar always means adding lots of calories and you will be HUNGRY" stuff isn't true. If a little sugar makes something tastier to you (for example, there are savory recipes in which I will use honey), or you enjoy something with sugar occasionally (I don't think pancakes are a filling breakfast, especially, but every once in a while I enjoy blueberry pancakes with maple syrup), or like to include a little dessert in your day, it's not going to mean you won't have a healthful overall diet.

I do think it makes since to limit/watch added sugars until you are in a habit where you are comfortable you don't overdo, if that was an issue, and like I said above I don't watch sugar in general at all (and don't care how much I get from fruit or whatever).