Why is my sugar allowance so high??

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Hi, I'm just really confused about why when I have entered all my physical details for weight loss onto this my fitness pal app (I'm pretty much an average male with light activity) it has told me that my daily sugar intake should be around 50 grams a day??
Near enough everything I have read online has told me an average males sugar intake should be around 30-35 grams, so I'm confused at why the 2 are contradicting each other.
Any insight would be great, thanks :)
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Replies

  • jameschappell1
    jameschappell1 Posts: 9 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Hi, I'm just really confused about why when I have entered all my physical details for weight loss onto this my fitness pal app (I'm pretty much an average male with light activity) it has told me that my daily sugar intake should be around 50 grams a day??
    Near enough everything I have read online has told me an average males sugar intake should be around 30-35 grams, so I'm confused at why the 2 are contradicting each other.
    Any insight would be great, thanks :)

    MFP sugar goal is total sugar, including added and natural sugars from fruit, vegetables and dairy. The numbers you’ve seen may be only added sugars - but since nutrition labels don’t differentiate between added and natural (nor does the body BTW) it’s not currently possible to measure and track only added sugars.

    Do you have a medical reason to restrict sugars? Many people here have found that simply eating a balanced and varied diet, within an appropriate calorie goal, negates any value from obsessing over sugar and many people have stopped tracking it on MFP altogether, focusing instead on fiber or some other nutrient they find more meaningful.

    Thanks, that was really helpful.

    I do not have any medical reasons to be avoiding sugar, I was just worried that eating the amount stated on my MFP nutrional value would effect my weight loss as the sugar content seemed high.
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
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    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.
  • jameschappell1
    jameschappell1 Posts: 9 Member
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    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    Thanks for the help mate, may what are the reasons of so many people stopping tracking there sugars and replacing it with fiber? I understand that sugar is just a carb, so if I'm still with in my carbs for the day sugar won't matter to much, is that the reason?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    Thanks for the help mate, may what are the reasons of so many people stopping tracking there sugars and replacing it with fiber? I understand that sugar is just a carb, so if I'm still with in my carbs for the day sugar won't matter to much, is that the reason?

    I never really tracked mine because when I gave up soda I wasn't really having much in the way of added sugars for me to really be concerned enough to track it. Mostly veg and some fruit and a treat here and there.

    If I had an issue with over-consumption of sugar I would have gladly tracked it to help me rectify that...but once the sodas were gone it was a non issue. I also tracked fiber because early on I wasn't eating enough fibrous foods.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    On average I get about 70g and I eat *mostly* whole foods. I think I get a little extra from Halo Top but not much. Unless you have diabetes I wouldn't even track it. I only know mine because I was curious
  • KarySti
    KarySti Posts: 4 Member
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    So Should i pay attention on the grams of sugar on my fitnesspal? I can only eat 2 or 3 fruits and then I'm over my 53grams of sugar? Can I eat more fruits to hit my calorie goals and just ignore the sugar grams?
  • KarySti
    KarySti Posts: 4 Member
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    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    So what about if somedays I'm over my fiber? Is that good or bad?
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    KarySti wrote: »
    So Should i pay attention on the grams of sugar on my fitnesspal? I can only eat 2 or 3 fruits and then I'm over my 53grams of sugar? Can I eat more fruits to hit my calorie goals and just ignore the sugar grams?

    Yes. Tracking sugar doesn't provide any helpful information for weight loss if you know your calories.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    KarySti wrote: »
    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    So what about if somedays I'm over my fiber? Is that good or bad?

    That's good. Fiber, like protein, is better treated as a minimum not as a limit.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    KarySti wrote: »
    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    So what about if somedays I'm over my fiber? Is that good or bad?

    Treat fibre, protein, and fat as minimums. Aim to hit or exceed them. Don't let the red color deter you. It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. Of you're over or under one day, don't worry about it too much. You can't look at a single day in isolation. Look at trends and averages over time.
  • sm1le_1x
    sm1le_1x Posts: 1 Member
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    I found out that a lot of products contain wrong amount of sugar. For example Muffin from starbucks or Rice cake(racio) and many others. What's interesting that information about other nutrients is correct. This is a strange fact, why do you hide information about sugar? it's not fair