How do you log sugar?

Fit_Happens_2021

My question is about how to count my sugar intake logging foods.
For example in milk, or in a piece of fruit MFP will count the sugar, and also when I add a teaspoon of sugar, processed food with added sugar.
According to the AHA the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day on a 2000 cal per day are:
Men: 37.5 grams
Women: 25 grams
It says ADDED SUGARS but does my body even know the difference between sugar in fruit/milk, and sugar I add to something? Does it mean I can eat as much sugar as I like in things like fruit and milk, or should I be making sure to stay under a certain amount from all sources regardless of 'natural' or added? I was told to be careful with how much fruit I eat because some types have a lot of sugar in them, but then why does the AHA only talk about 'added sugars'?

ALZ14

All fruits have sugar, some veggies, breads, etc. unless you are diabetic or have some medical condition you don’t really need to monitor it closely.

kshama2001

Was the person who told you to be careful with fruit a qualified medical professional giving you advice related to a medical condition for which you need to be careful about sugar? If not, don't worry about fruit sugar

US food labels were required to add added sugar just this year (with exceptions and waivers), so MFP cannot track added sugar yet, and uses total sugar, which is higher than the AHA guidelines to account for sugar in dairy, fruit, and veggies.

I swapped out sugar (and sodium) for fiber and iron, as it is more useful for me to track these.

whoami67

I'm careful about how much fruit I have because the sugar in fruit affects me very negatively causing shaking, sweating, and sometimes fainting. My body doesn't much like fruit. But I don't much care about the sugar in other foods like milk or vegetables or bread. I tend to stay away from most added sugar because it isn't good for me, but other than that, I don't track it.

kshama2001

Here's a recent thread about sugar in fruit, etc: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10805872/can-i-still-lose-weight-on-the-same-rate-with-high-sugar/p1

janejellyroll

For the reasons you've outlined, I don't find that sugar is a useful metric to track on MFP. I look at it like this: if I'm getting enough protein, fat, and fiber while staying within my calorie goal, then my added sugars are likely at a pretty good level. If I had medical reasons to limit my added sugar, I might consider switching to another method of tracking.

emmies_123

Amanda_Brit_Expat wrote: »

My question is about how to count my sugar intake logging foods.
For example in milk, or in a piece of fruit MFP will count the sugar, and also when I add a teaspoon of sugar, processed food with added sugar.
According to the AHA the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day on a 2000 cal per day are:
Men: 37.5 grams
Women: 25 grams
It says ADDED SUGARS but does my body even know the difference between sugar in fruit/milk, and sugar I add to something? Does it mean I can eat as much sugar as I like in things like fruit and milk, or should I be making sure to stay under a certain amount from all sources regardless of 'natural' or added? I was told to be careful with how much fruit I eat because some types have a lot of sugar in them, but then why does the AHA only talk about 'added sugars'?

I'm stuggling with this exact same question! I am trying to schedule a zoom with my nutrition instructor about it, will let you know what they say.

For the last month I have been tracking sugar (set to 30g), fat, protein, fiber, and sodium. I rarely have room in my diet these days for sweets, as the fat macro stops large sugary things. It also helps me have a better dessert option, such as a protein ball or protein shake (tastes like chocolate, less sugar than actual piece of choc). But I have found I will restrict my fruit consumption because I don't want to see that tracker number turn red...

kshama2001

emmies_123 wrote: »

Amanda_Brit_Expat wrote: »

My question is about how to count my sugar intake logging foods.
For example in milk, or in a piece of fruit MFP will count the sugar, and also when I add a teaspoon of sugar, processed food with added sugar.
According to the AHA the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day on a 2000 cal per day are:
Men: 37.5 grams
Women: 25 grams
It says ADDED SUGARS but does my body even know the difference between sugar in fruit/milk, and sugar I add to something? Does it mean I can eat as much sugar as I like in things like fruit and milk, or should I be making sure to stay under a certain amount from all sources regardless of 'natural' or added? I was told to be careful with how much fruit I eat because some types have a lot of sugar in them, but then why does the AHA only talk about 'added sugars'?

I'm stuggling with this exact same question! I am trying to schedule a zoom with my nutrition instructor about it, will let you know what they say.

For the last month I have been tracking sugar (set to 30g), fat, protein, fiber, and sodium. I rarely have room in my diet these days for sweets, as the fat macro stops large sugary things. It also helps me have a better dessert option, such as a protein ball or protein shake (tastes like chocolate, less sugar than actual piece of choc). But I have found I will restrict my fruit consumption because I don't want to see that tracker number turn red...

Your sugar number won't turn red if you swap it out for something more useful or just eliminate it

I'm ecstatic when my protein turns red.

Fit_Happens_2021

Thanks for the replies, they helped a lot. Emmies I would like to hear what your nutritionist says about it.

emmies_123

kshama2001 wrote: »

emmies_123 wrote: »

Amanda_Brit_Expat wrote: »

My question is about how to count my sugar intake logging foods.
For example in milk, or in a piece of fruit MFP will count the sugar, and also when I add a teaspoon of sugar, processed food with added sugar.
According to the AHA the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day on a 2000 cal per day are:
Men: 37.5 grams
Women: 25 grams
It says ADDED SUGARS but does my body even know the difference between sugar in fruit/milk, and sugar I add to something? Does it mean I can eat as much sugar as I like in things like fruit and milk, or should I be making sure to stay under a certain amount from all sources regardless of 'natural' or added? I was told to be careful with how much fruit I eat because some types have a lot of sugar in them, but then why does the AHA only talk about 'added sugars'?

I'm stuggling with this exact same question! I am trying to schedule a zoom with my nutrition instructor about it, will let you know what they say.

For the last month I have been tracking sugar (set to 30g), fat, protein, fiber, and sodium. I rarely have room in my diet these days for sweets, as the fat macro stops large sugary things. It also helps me have a better dessert option, such as a protein ball or protein shake (tastes like chocolate, less sugar than actual piece of choc). But I have found I will restrict my fruit consumption because I don't want to see that tracker number turn red...

Your sugar number won't turn red if you swap it out for something more useful or just eliminate it

I'm ecstatic when my protein turns red.

It also wouldn't turn red if I set it to a higher number that accounts for "natural" sugar and added sugar. My sugar tracking only started the last few months, after my gym did a week with no added sugar. I have tried to maintain since then but I'm struggling. Talking to nutritionist today to see if the struggle is worth it =P

emmies_123

Amanda_Brit_Expat wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, they helped a lot. Emmies I would like to hear what your nutritionist says about it.

So verdict is:
-Don't track sugar on MFP. Instead focus on Protein, Fat, Carbs, Fiber, Sodium. If you eat healthy options and hit your goals on all of those the sugar is unlikely to be an issue
- Do not eat calories just to fill up. Pre-log (I already do) your food for the day and play with portion sizes to hit each macro

So everyone else already telling us to not track sugar was right =P

Fit_Happens_2021

Thank you this all makes perfect sense, thanks for replying emmies, and thank you to everyone who commented. It has been very helpful as I was very confused about my fitness pal sugar counting, and the whole issue with added v's not added. I will just track the other 5 instead of sugar on MFP from now on

AnnPT77

emmies_123 wrote: »

Amanda_Brit_Expat wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, they helped a lot. Emmies I would like to hear what your nutritionist says about it.

So verdict is:
-Don't track sugar on MFP. Instead focus on Protein, Fat, Carbs, Fiber, Sodium. If you eat healthy options and hit your goals on all of those the sugar is unlikely to be an issue
- Do not eat calories just to fill up. Pre-log (I already do) your food for the day and play with portion sizes to hit each macro

So everyone else already telling us to not track sugar was right =P

With the caveat that there's no need to hit each macro exactly every single day. A little over one day, a little under the next, no big patterns of being consistently under on protein, fat macros or fiber: Close enough.