Sugar? Or "Added" Sugar?

I go over in MFPs sugar allotment frequently but it is bc I'm eating fruit. Should I be careful about natural sugar or just added sugar? I don't like MFP scolding me about being over!
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Replies

  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    I also removed sugar from my tracked items. I track fiber and trans fats.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Same, except for me it's fiber and iron.
  • OAS5
    OAS5 Posts: 376 Member
    sdavis484 wrote: »
    I go over in MFPs sugar allotment frequently but it is bc I'm eating fruit. Should I be careful about natural sugar or just added sugar? I don't like MFP scolding me about being over!

    I have the same issue because I eat bananas every day. It annoys me but I ignore it. I don't give a crap much about fat either to be honest. Carbs I like to keep generally low but do NOT go crazy worrying over that either.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    The MFP goal is all sugar, because until recently package information was all sugar. Like some other MFP recommendations, it's not really based on anything nutritional -- basically there are recommendations to keep added sugar to below 10% of cals (even 5%, ideally), and MFP set the goal for all sugar at 15% based on a pretty low (IMO) assumption about how much sugar people would get from fruit, veg, and dairy. Personally, I don't eat much added sugar, but if I can go over the MFP goal based mainly on veg and some fruit, I usually consider it a good day.

    Things I'd consider re sugar from nutrient-dense but higher sugar sources like fruit: don't eat so much that your diet is imbalanced and you are too low in protein or healthy fats. Other than that (which is served by looking at my protein and what fats I include in my diet), I ignore sugar (except for occasionally looking at it just for fun). If you are going to track a subset of carbs, I'd consider fiber much more important and switch it with either sodium or sugar.

    I'd also try to stop worrying about MFP's perceived scolding -- many goals are minimums, so being in the red shouldn't be bothersome, and I understand the notifications (you ate something high fat!) are often silly and not based on reasonable nutritional considerations anyway.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    sdavis484 wrote: »
    I go over in MFPs sugar allotment frequently but it is bc I'm eating fruit. Should I be careful about natural sugar or just added sugar? I don't like MFP scolding me about being over!

    MFP just has a default for sugar as a % of your total calorie target. If it's not crowding out other nutrition and you don't have a medical reason to worry about it, it's not really an issue. That said, I would have to be eating quite a bit of fruit to go over sugar targets. As it is, I eat a lot more veg than fruit.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    (I disagreed, Nony!) ;-)
  • aayudinova
    aayudinova Posts: 15 Member
    Here's my opinion on sugar. Your body doesn't distinguish between the different sugars you eat as it breaks down into base components in a sense that if that sugar isn't utilized toward energy expenditure, it will be stored. Too much of any sugar is still just too much. The benefit of eating fruit rather than processed sugar foods, however, is that you get vitamins and fiber too. Fiber helps slow down the absorption of sugar, preventing a blood sugar spike and crash. Another important point to be made here is there is no harm in having say a fruit at every meal, especially before exercise, where that sugar will go toward helping you maintain your energy throughout your workout (assuming you are performing anaerobic exercises and utilizing sugar/glycogen as an energy source vs. fat).
  • sdavis484
    sdavis484 Posts: 160 Member
    edited February 2020
    Well this brings me to another question, maybe should make a new post but......I go over my fat% everyday. My fat allocation has already been manually changed to be higher than what MFP gives me. Is this bad?! I'm staying within calories, just eating spoonfuls of lard. Jk
  • neugebauer52
    neugebauer52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    You can choose what you track so track the things that are important to you.
    Sugar was of no interest to me so I tracked fibre instead.
    I had zero need or want to track sugar as it's just a subset of carbs.

    Do you actually think your body can distinguish at a molecular level if your fructose, glucose or sucrose comes from fruit or another source? The entirety of your diet obviously matters but do you really want to add some level of artificial moral judgement to your intake?

    You are so right - maybe we are overthinking things.... Back to basics, I say!
  • sdavis484
    sdavis484 Posts: 160 Member
    Danp wrote: »
    sdavis484 wrote: »
    Well this brings me to another question, maybe should make a new post but......I go over my fat% everyday. My fat allocation has already been manually changed to be higher than what MFP gives me. Is this bad?! I'm staying within calories, just eating spoonfuls of lard. Jk

    I could be way off here so forgive me if I am but based on this a number of your recent posts it seems like you're trying to complicate your way to failure.

    You're taking what are really simple concepts and getting so bogged down in the largely irrelevant minutiae that you're going to run the risk of overwhelming yourself and making it all to much.

    It's something I've seen time and again with people posting on these forums. People obsessing over all these tiny details which are by and large not really worth worrying about and pretty soon the 'it's all too hard' post comes and they disappear.

    Weight loss is simple. Eat fewer calories than you use and you'll lose weight.
    Getting fit is simple. Be more active more often.
    Building muscles is simple. Pick up things that get progressively heavier.

    Keep it simple, keep it easy and keep it going.

    I appreciate your feedback. I spend *some* time thinking about various facets of nutrition, sure, but I really pose questions to hear other opinions and views. I like community. I like facilitating discussions. I'm fairly well educated and have a good basis of nutrition/fitness knowledge. I LOVE reading articles and new things. Sorry if you find my postings annoying. 🤷
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Would our disagree-er care to share why we are so wrong?
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,207 Member
    Because Ann said it, duh!!!!
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited February 2020
    sdavis484 wrote: »
    Well this brings me to another question, maybe should make a new post but......I go over my fat% everyday. My fat allocation has already been manually changed to be higher than what MFP gives me. Is this bad?! I'm staying within calories, just eating spoonfuls of lard. Jk

    I think macros are not that important beyond how they may affect someone's personal hunger (macros themselves do not for me) and of course getting sufficient protein (which I think has already been taken into account in your macros based on past threads).

    So even though I would consider myself someone who focuses on nutrition a lot (more than necessary, because it is interesting to me), going over fat (or carbs) is not something I care about. I often do go over my fat, since I like fat.

    What I would recommend as things to think about instead, if you want to, and if these aren't already so down that you don't need to are: protein (as mentioned above), fiber (for me this means from whole foods), eating lots of veg and some fruit, and eating some regular sources of healthy fats like nuts and seeds, olives/olive oil, avocados, fatty fish.

    Only the first 2 things mentioned are about hitting numbers, and all of them are about what is in vs limiting (I'd limit cals, of course).

    I do also look at and to some extent limit sat fat and I intentionally don't eat a lot of added sugar, but to me those are both less important than the things mentioned above (and may just happen naturally anyway).
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    I don’t really pay much attention to anything other than calories, protein and fiber.
    It is kind of annoying when I get the sodium message when logging a food that’s high in sodium and my sodium level is still under the RDA.