30 Day Logging/Limiting Added Sugar Challenge
Replies
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Refined sugar
6th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
7th December unknown, between 0 and 2 grams (crackers with sugar listed about 10th on the list of ingredients) plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
8th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
9th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
10th December unknown, today I ate refined sweetened food, someone's birthday, a small pottle of food, I refrained from treating myself to additional purchases for myself, which I might have done previously
11th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
13th December unknown, between 0 and 3 grams, plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
14th December unknown, between 0 and 3 grams
15th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
17th December unknown, between 0 and 4 plus whatever is in a small amount of bread
18th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
19th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams plus whatever is in 2 1/2 small bread nibbles0 -
Total sugar 51
Added sugar 140 -
Refined sugar
6th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
7th December unknown, between 0 and 2 grams (crackers with sugar listed about 10th on the list of ingredients) plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
8th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
9th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
10th December unknown, today I ate refined sweetened food, someone's birthday, a small pottle of food, I refrained from treating myself to additional purchases for myself, which I might have done previously
11th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
13th December unknown, between 0 and 3 grams, plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
14th December unknown, between 0 and 3 grams
15th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
17th December unknown, between 0 and 4 plus whatever is in a small amount of bread
18th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
19th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams plus whatever is in 2 1/2 small bread nibbles
20th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
21st December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
22nd December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams plus whatever is in a small cup of lemonade
From now on it's going to be more difficult to track refined sugar as I will probably be eating out once a day until the 27th. I'm also allowing myself sugary treats on Christmas day.
How is it going for me? I'm still craving things like chocolate and soft drink.
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Refined sugar
6th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
7th December unknown, between 0 and 2 grams (crackers with sugar listed about 10th on the list of ingredients) plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
8th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
9th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
10th December unknown, today I ate refined sweetened food, someone's birthday, a small pottle of food, I refrained from treating myself to additional purchases for myself, which I might have done previously
11th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
13th December unknown, between 0 and 3 grams, plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
14th December unknown, between 0 and 3 grams
15th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
17th December unknown, between 0 and 4 plus whatever is in a small amount of bread
18th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
19th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams plus whatever is in 2 1/2 small bread nibbles
20th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
21st December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
22nd December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams plus whatever is in a small cup of lemonade
From now on it's going to be more difficult to track refined sugar as I will probably be eating out once a day until the 27th. I'm also allowing myself sugary treats on Christmas day.
How is it going for me? I'm still craving things like chocolate and soft drink.
You should...we can all start fresh next week, right? I have been eating nothing but sugar, challenge failed.1 -
Refined sugar
6th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
7th December unknown, between 0 and 2 grams (crackers with sugar listed about 10th on the list of ingredients) plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
8th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
9th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
10th December unknown, today I ate refined sweetened food, someone's birthday, a small pottle of food, I refrained from treating myself to additional purchases for myself, which I might have done previously
11th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
13th December unknown, between 0 and 3 grams, plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
14th December unknown, between 0 and 3 grams
15th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
17th December unknown, between 0 and 4 plus whatever is in a small amount of bread
18th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
19th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams plus whatever is in 2 1/2 small bread nibbles
20th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
21st December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
22nd December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams plus whatever is in a small cup of lemonade
23rd December 1 gram or less
From now on it's going to be more difficult to track refined sugar as I will probably be eating out once a day until the 27th. I'm also allowing myself sugary treats on Christmas day.
How is it going for me? I'm still craving things like chocolate and soft drink.
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Total sugar 40
Added sugar 142 -
Refined sugar
6th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
7th December unknown, between 0 and 2 grams (crackers with sugar listed about 10th on the list of ingredients) plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
8th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
9th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
10th December unknown, today I ate refined sweetened food, someone's birthday, a small pottle of food, I refrained from treating myself to additional purchases for myself, which I might have done previously
11th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
13th December unknown, between 0 and 3 grams, plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
14th December unknown, between 0 and 3 grams
15th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
17th December unknown, between 0 and 4 plus whatever is in a small amount of bread
18th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
19th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams plus whatever is in 2 1/2 small bread nibbles
20th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
21st December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
22nd December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams plus whatever is in a small cup of lemonade
23rd December 1 gram or less
From now on it's going to be more difficult to track refined sugar as I will probably be eating out once a day until the 27th. I'm also allowing myself sugary treats on Christmas day.
How is it going for me? I'm still craving things like chocolate and soft drink.
You're doing so well, though. I eat too much sugar but I'm going to come back a little stronger!1 -
Restarting tomorrow.1
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Total sugar 49
Added 140 -
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I actually started logging for real a few days ago, and am planning to continue for the rest of January, so maybe I'll join this again.2
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Safari_Gal_ wrote: »Refined sugar
6th December unknown, between 0 and 5 grams
7th December unknown, between 0 and 2 grams (crackers with sugar listed about 10th on the list of ingredients) plus whatever is in a 335 ml can of beer
8th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
9th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
10th December unknown, today I ate refined sweetened food, someone's birthday, a small pottle of food, I refrained from treating myself to additional purchases for myself, which I might have done previously
11th December unknown, between 0 and 4 grams
@threewins - hi! I noticed you have a lot of “unknown” sugars. Usually most nutritional labels have added sugars column. Perhaps that would be helpful? Of course if it’s a whole food like a fruit or vegetable — that’s not added sugar. Hope that helps the unknowns a bit for ya 😉
Unfortunately I am only wanting to count refined sugar, which is not listed where I live. Is that listed where you live?
Added sugar is being phased in on US labels right now.
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/industry-resources-changes-nutrition-facts-label#AddedSugars
When must the label be displayed on food packages?
Many manufacturers are already using the new label, but they have more time to make the changes. Changes must be made by January 1, 2020, for manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual food sales. Manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales have an extra year to comply – until January 1, 2021. Manufacturers of most single-ingredient sugars such as honey and maple syrup and certain cranberry products have until July 1, 2021, to make the changes. Manufacturers of certain flavored dried cranberries have until July 1, 2020 to make the changes.
I understand that FDA has received multiple requests from manufacturers to provide additional time to comply with the new requirements. Do I still have to meet the January 1, 2020, compliance date?
The FDA has heard from several manufacturers and groups that more time may be needed to meet all of the requirements. Therefore, during the first 6 months following the January 1, 2020, compliance date, FDA plans to work cooperatively with manufacturers to meet the new Nutrition Facts label requirements and will not focus on enforcement actions regarding these requirements during that time.1 -
I actually started logging for real a few days ago, and am planning to continue for the rest of January, so maybe I'll join this again.
Ya, I've been baking like a fiend for the last few months, but with the holidays behind me, might join in again as well.
Plus my mother sent everyone in the family this: Make 2020 the Year of Less Sugar.
It's typical sugar alarmism that includes quotes from people I don't consider reputable, but I'm going to see if there is anything worthwhile in The 7-Day Sugar Challenge https://www.nytimes.com/programs/sugar-challenge2 -
I decided to try this goal setting app called Remente, and they have a bunch of pre-set goals (you can also make your own, and the idea is to break them up into smaller pieces). I was exploring and one was "Eat Less Sugar." I looked at it out of curiosity and was immediately annoyed at the assumptions about my diet, and then saw a disclaimer about "if the steps below do not apply to you, feel free to remove or change them." Okay! (I'm not doing that goal, though, since I am not currently worried about my sugar consumption.)
That said, I'm going to keep track of what I do eat, and if it's more than I think (now that I'm logging!) I'll limit it -- not logging does make it easier not to be totally aware, after all.
Oh, speaking of, today's total is 55 g of sugar, from (in order): banana, kombucha (12 g), carrots, blueberries, raspberries, cauliflower, onions, leeks, mushrooms, broccoli, unsweetened soymilk.
The kombucha is the added sugar (so 12 g, which is less than 5% of cals, of course). I think I'm okay with having one of these in a day.2 -
So on Day 1 of the Times Sugar Challenge they suggested a no sugar, no grain breakfast (lots of disclaimers about no grain) and I decided to play along. My normal breakfast is around 300 calories, with 1/8 - 2 g added sugar, depending on which bread I use. Today's breakfast was no added sugar, but 409 calories, so I'm not sure that was progress
https://www.nytimes.com/programs/sugar-challenge/day-1DAY 1
A No-Sugar Morning
For your first challenge, I want you to eat a no-sugar and no-grain breakfast. If you’ve already had breakfast, plan for tomorrow’s breakfast right now.
We’re starting with breakfast because it’s typically the sweetest meal of the day. Many grain-based breakfast foods are packed with added sugar — even plain toast can contain as much extra sugar as a small candy bar or lollipop. A no-sugar morning might sound tough if you’ve grown accustomed to eating cereals, granola bars, muffins, pastries and sweet fruit yogurts. But to truly kick the added-sugar habit, you need to take the sweet and the grains out of your first meal of the day. (Even many whole grain breakfast foods have added sugar so it's a good idea to start your no-sugar challenge by cutting all grains from your breakfast and learning to eat non-grain based foods. But if you are 100 percent sure your whole grain breakfast (like whole, unprocessed oats) doesn't have added sugar, it's fine to keep eating it.)
To kick the sugar and grain habit at breakfast, go for high-protein or plant-based breakfast foods.
Some ideas:- Eggs (scrambled, fried or boiled — or a frittata with vegetables)
- Berries and a handful of nuts
- Lettuce boat with mashed avocado and tomato (meat eaters can add bacon)
- Plain, whole-fat yogurt with fruit and nuts
- Apple slices with peanut butter
- Baked sweet potato with salsa or carmelized onions and sausage
- Smoked salmon with or without eggs
- A breakfast salad with feta, avocado and hard-boiled eggs (a popular Australian breakfast)
When you decide to cut sugar and grains from breakfast, your morning meal will be more creative and more delicious. Now, remember to stick with your no-sugar breakfast for the next 7 days of the challenge.
Why am I doing this?
Did you know your favorite morning fruit yogurt has just as much sugar as ice cream? Or the delicious muffin from the coffee shop has just as much sugar as a frosted cupcake? And your favorite granola has about the same amount of sugar as a chocolate chip cookie? Breakfast tends to be the sweetest meal of the day for many people, so when you cut sugar from your first meal, you’re making a big dent in you overall sugar intake. And studies show that people who consume extra protein at breakfast have lower blood sugar levels and are less hungry later in the day than those who eat more carbs. Note that a lot of our breakfast habits are the result of marketing — not nutrition. The push to brand breakfast as the most important meal of the day can be traced to a bacon company, and cereal makers continue to tout a cereal breakfast as a way to stay slim. That said, if you love breakfast, keep eating it! Just cut out the added sugar.0 -
Heh! Hope the higher cal breakfast was tasty at least. I do often have 400-450 cal breakfasts, although mine today was 350.
"We’re starting with breakfast because it’s typically the sweetest meal of the day. Many grain-based breakfast foods are packed with added sugar — even plain toast can contain as much extra sugar as a small candy bar or lollipop. A no-sugar morning might sound tough if you’ve grown accustomed to eating cereals, granola bars, muffins, pastries and sweet fruit yogurts. But to truly kick the added-sugar habit, you need to take the sweet and the grains out of your first meal of the day. (Even many whole grain breakfast foods have added sugar so it's a good idea to start your no-sugar challenge by cutting all grains from your breakfast and learning to eat non-grain based foods. But if you are 100 percent sure your whole grain breakfast (like whole, unprocessed oats) doesn't have added sugar, it's fine to keep eating it.)"
This kind of thing is why these challenges always make me grumpy. I'm like "I've never had sugar at breakfast, why assume we all do." (I know this is an irrational reaction, and it's true on rare occasion I've had a cinnamon roll or leftover pie, but it's not like I thought that was a low sugar meal.)
We had a goodbye lunch with lots of delicious desserts and a traditional cake (I don't like that kind of cake but there were other things I liked) for a co-worker today, and I was tempted to have a little something but said to myself "no, no dessert foods right now." So instead I had seconds of the pretty high cal lunch, so that might not have been the best choice! (I am going to eat very light tonight, though.)
So far today I had a smoothie with no added sugar and only 14.5 g of total sugar (4.5 from strawberries, 4.5 from zucchini, 3 raspberries, the rest from kale and soymilk), and then lunch which had no obvious added sugar, but there likely was some (Italian dressing for the salad, pasta and meatballs). Dinner will be eggs and veg. (I'm not counting intrinsic sugar other than for interest, but it's not uncommon for people to claim smoothies are bad because high in sugar, so I'm noting they need not be all that high.)0 -
Total sugar 50, added sugar 6. I ate lots of fruits today.1
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Heh! Hope the higher cal breakfast was tasty at least. I do often have 400-450 cal breakfasts, although mine today was 350.
"We’re starting with breakfast because it’s typically the sweetest meal of the day. Many grain-based breakfast foods are packed with added sugar — even plain toast can contain as much extra sugar as a small candy bar or lollipop. A no-sugar morning might sound tough if you’ve grown accustomed to eating cereals, granola bars, muffins, pastries and sweet fruit yogurts. But to truly kick the added-sugar habit, you need to take the sweet and the grains out of your first meal of the day. (Even many whole grain breakfast foods have added sugar so it's a good idea to start your no-sugar challenge by cutting all grains from your breakfast and learning to eat non-grain based foods. But if you are 100 percent sure your whole grain breakfast (like whole, unprocessed oats) doesn't have added sugar, it's fine to keep eating it.)"
This kind of thing is why these challenges always make me grumpy. I'm like "I've never had sugar at breakfast, why assume we all do." (I know this is an irrational reaction, and it's true on rare occasion I've had a cinnamon roll or leftover pie, but it's not like I thought that was a low sugar meal.)
We had a goodbye lunch with lots of delicious desserts and a traditional cake (I don't like that kind of cake but there were other things I liked) for a co-worker today, and I was tempted to have a little something but said to myself "no, no dessert foods right now." So instead I had seconds of the pretty high cal lunch, so that might not have been the best choice! (I am going to eat very light tonight, though.)
So far today I had a smoothie with no added sugar and only 14.5 g of total sugar (4.5 from strawberries, 4.5 from zucchini, 3 raspberries, the rest from kale and soymilk), and then lunch which had no obvious added sugar, but there likely was some (Italian dressing for the salad, pasta and meatballs). Dinner will be eggs and veg. (I'm not counting intrinsic sugar other than for interest, but it's not uncommon for people to claim smoothies are bad because high in sugar, so I'm noting they need not be all that high.)
Ya, my uncle had a super grumpy reaction when my mom sent us all an email with a link to https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/well/eat/sugar-diet-healthy.html
Among other things, he said, "What's next, they are going to tell us milk needs to be refrigerated?"1 -
Ha!
My added sugar for today was whatever was in the restaurant food we had at lunch.
That sugar challenge I mentioned had good advice, it's just again stuff that seems obvious to me like "step one, read labels," and "step 2, start the day with a good breakfast" (and goes through all the meals), and "if you want a snack, consider fruit." If I were in the position of feeling out of control with food and going through the day without really any planned meals and snacking on impulse, I think it might be helpful, but it's also basically stuff I figured out on my own (and I don't currently see the value of avoiding 1 g of added sugar in a sauce or a bit of sugar in some non sweet whole grain bread or what not).1 -
Total sugar 37, added 12.0
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Dinner was un-loggable, since it was a potluck. No added sugar in breakfast or lunch. I don't think there was sugar in any of the savory dinner dishes, but as usual, who knows, I didn't grill people about their ingredients! I did have one small chocolate (someone brought mixed chocolates), so a little added sugar from that.2
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One of my challenges last time was the 9 grams of added sugar in my chocolate protein powder, which is what I use in my coffee/PP smoothie that I love. Whole Foods has a sale ending today (1/5) - 25% off all supplements, including protein powder. I use Prime Now and ordered 5 jugs of a brand that sweetens with monk fruit and stevia. Stevia is hit or miss for me - sometimes I can tolerate it, but in some foods it has an unpleasant after taste. Fingers crossed that I like this brand.1
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Total sugar 40, added 162
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I had another single piece of chocolate -- seems like everywhere I go this weekend I'm being offered chocolates! ;-) I don't know the amount of added sugar, but it can't be that much since the chocolate was small.
I had actually planned to say no and did initially, but I also made this my first day having no coffee other than one cup in the morning (I am trying to see if cutting way back helps with sleep), and I started crashing during the gathering at which the chocolate was offered, so had the one piece. It did help.
No other added sugar, but man I am wiped out this evening -- I decided to take a rest day (which had been planned for tomorrow) when I was just hit by a wave of exhaustion once I finally got home. I guess cutting back on coffee might be a good idea.2 -
kshama2001 wrote: »One of my challenges last time was the 9 grams of added sugar in my chocolate protein powder, which is what I use in my coffee/PP smoothie that I love. Whole Foods has a sale ending today (1/5) - 25% off all supplements, including protein powder. I use Prime Now and ordered 5 jugs of a brand that sweetens with monk fruit and stevia. Stevia is hit or miss for me - sometimes I can tolerate it, but in some foods it has an unpleasant after taste. Fingers crossed that I like this brand.
Well the sugar-free Garden Of Life, Protein Powder Sport Whey Grass Fed Chocolate was a big disappointment. The more I drank my coffee smoothie, the less I liked it. When I finished, I had to cleanse my palate with a nice cookie, lol.
Blech, I feel slightly nauseated. Wish I knew if it was the stevia, monk fruit, or combo.
I'm going to have to rethink this. I think my real goal is to moderate baked goods/snack foods with added sugar, so maybe I will just work on that rather than messing with staples that are not a problem.1 -
Total sugar 38
Added 81 -
Monday I had no added sugar, and so far none today.kshama2001 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »One of my challenges last time was the 9 grams of added sugar in my chocolate protein powder, which is what I use in my coffee/PP smoothie that I love. Whole Foods has a sale ending today (1/5) - 25% off all supplements, including protein powder. I use Prime Now and ordered 5 jugs of a brand that sweetens with monk fruit and stevia. Stevia is hit or miss for me - sometimes I can tolerate it, but in some foods it has an unpleasant after taste. Fingers crossed that I like this brand.
Well the sugar-free Garden Of Life, Protein Powder Sport Whey Grass Fed Chocolate was a big disappointment. The more I drank my coffee smoothie, the less I liked it. When I finished, I had to cleanse my palate with a nice cookie, lol.
Blech, I feel slightly nauseated. Wish I knew if it was the stevia, monk fruit, or combo.
I'm going to have to rethink this. I think my real goal is to moderate baked goods/snack foods with added sugar, so maybe I will just work on that rather than messing with staples that are not a problem.
Although I am tracking everything at the moment just for the experiment, this is the conclusion I came to too. For me, non dessert added sugar tends to be pretty small amounts in savory foods or, most commonly, some sauces or rubs, and I really see no reason to care about that. Plus, it would be hard for that to add up to all that many cals. I really think these no sugar challenges that start by assuming you are eating some huge amount of sugar and then tell you to avoid these incidental sources are rather silly. I think it makes more sense to have people track their sugar, understand where it is coming from, and then consider reasonable changes if it is, in fact, higher than expected, which for most will be reducing snack/dessert foods or sugar-added drinks, with some maybe having more than expected in sugary cereals or trail mixes or granola bars or flavored yogurt. But if someone really loves adding, say, a bit of sugar to coffee or oats, I don't think that's something to be bothered about if the overall nutrition of the day and percentage of added sugar is fine anyway.
I used to use an example of a rhubarb sauce with a little sugar added vs. a homemade apple sauce. Why is the latter inherently preferable to the former? No good reason IMO. (Even Dr. Greger, who has other issues, no doubt, says that objecting to a little sugar or oil if that is how the overall diet becomes more sustainable and is able to incorporate nutritious foods like oats and veg, is not something to worry about.)1 -
Total sugar 55
Added 21
Not good.0 -
Not necessarly "not good." 21 g is less than 5% of cals for anyone with 1680 cal or above, and less than 10% for anyone over 840 cal (which of course I assume you are!). So it's actually in line with the WHO recommendations!1
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Hi Challengers!
I hope you have had a wonderful 2020 thus far. I’ve been away for a few weeks - took a e-mental health/MFP break.
Back to work in a few days and I thought I’d get back into the swing of things - including the less added sugar challenge. I rarely eat any added sugar- so maybe for me it’s a total sugar challenge. 🤷♀️ Maybe it’s the consistency of logging my sugar intake that keeps me on track.
I started on my no added sugar way of life a few years ago. Mostly as a way to try to keep my skin more youthful as I start to get older... trying to do it a more au natural way. I’m surprised I don’t see more conversation on MFP about sugar and it’s effects on skin. Maybe another thread!!? Lol
Wishing you a healthy January!
Oh - my stats for today. (I’m currently in Italy so - done for the day here...)
1.8.20- total sugar 6 grams
Added sugar - 0
2
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