Sugar

maria00200

So when I click on the nutrition tab, it tells me how much sugar I ate per day and what’s allowed. It allows 45 grams per day. Isn’t that kind of high? Is there a way to change that?

livingleanlivingclean

Mfp isn't the food police. You control what goes in your mouth - just eat less "sugar" if that's what you want to do.

maria00200

I know, I was just curious if there was a way to customize the options

ccrdragon

go to your home page, choose the Goals options and then choose the Edit tab on the micro-nutrients box.

livingleanlivingclean

maria00200 wrote: »

I know, I was just curious if there was a way to customize the options

Sugar, like saturated fat, is a number that is probably intended to be seen as a limit, not a goal. (I don't track sugar - id get more than that just from intrinsic sugars. Fibre is more important, imo)

quiksylver296

Yep. I switched my sugar tracker for fiber. Sugar is a carb. I already track carbs.

malibu927

The default MFP sets you up with is 15% of total calories...for a 1200 calorie diet, that equals 45 grams (45x4 calories per gram=180 calories). Unless you have a medical reason to watch your sugar intake, it’s nothing to really worry about provided you’re hitting your other nutrients.

janejellyroll

I think for the average person eating fruits, vegetables, and dairy, 45 grams is pretty reasonable.

maria00200

Ok thanks all

lemurcat12

janejellyroll wrote: »

I think for the average person eating fruits, vegetables, and dairy, 45 grams is pretty reasonable.

This is what I was going to say.

In fact, going back to my last fully tracked day, I had 93 g of sugar, so would be way over if my calorie goal were 1200. Even with a goal of 2000, I am over MFP's goal of 75 g. But I had NO added sugar that day. All my sugar was from fruit, vegetables, sweet potatoes, and whatever trace amounts are in nuts and legumes and so on.

The day before that I ate similarly, but somewhat less fruit (among other things I had some raisins in a dish I made the 93 g day) and had around 50 g. I don't consider the 50 g day better than the 93 g day, as both days had 10+ servings of vegetables, a decent amount of fruit, and adequate protein (as well as 63 and 58 g of fiber). If someone knows Cronometer, those were both days that looked really good on their nutrient measures.

So I would hate the idea that someone should cut back on fruit and veg and dairy just because they want to make sugar as low as possible.

Aaron_K123

Personally I've always interpreted the sugar tracking option in the MFP diary as being a feature useful for someone who is diabetic and nothing more. There isn't a health benefit to avoiding sugar provided you are still getting adequate nutrition and remaining in your target caloric intake.

cwolfman13

maria00200 wrote: »

So when I click on the nutrition tab, it tells me how much sugar I ate per day and what’s allowed. It allows 45 grams per day. Isn’t that kind of high? Is there a way to change that?

It's not particularly high, but you can change is if you like.

You're likely to hit or exceed that just eating the recommended servings of veg and fruit.

It's only high if you think sugar is the boogeymen...

psuLemon

I eat a lot of natural sugar since i love fruit. With my 50 lbs i lost, i averaged 125g per day. All my metabolic markers improved. Personally, i see fiber as more valuable as there are direct correlations to improved health when fiber is high.

AnnPT77

Not to mention that no-sugar-added plain dairy foods also add substantially to MFP's sugar count. I was way over that default every day while losing 50+ pounds, all but a fraction of a teaspoon most days coming from fruit, veg & dairy. If not diabetic, why care? I, too, track fiber instead.

megbelievesshecan

I don't really follow what MFP says for sugar. I am trying to stay low sugar and low carb. I watch labels and avoid anything with too much sugar in it.

lemurcat12

Fruit and veg and dairy (and some foods like sweet potatoes) have sugar and yet no labels.

I get that someone low carb might limit or avoid those, but they are hardly bad foods to consume, and "watching labels" will have nothing to say about the sugar in them.

If one is low carb, one will presumably be low sugar. If one is not low carb, there's no need to try to keep sugar as low as possible -- just eat a balanced healthful diet with adequate fat and protein and mostly nutrient-dense foods.