How big an issue is going over on sugar?

pokemonmaster93

First post on these forums, ben keeping a food diary for just over a month and hopefully someone can help me out.

I'm 5'10", about 82kg and looking to build up muscle without getting chubby in the process.

I've set my food diary to maintain weight and altered the balance of carbs/protein/fat to roughly 40/40/20.

Here's the problem: I'm consistently on or under in terms of calories and on in every food group other than sugar. My fat, carbs and sodium are all on or under, my protein is either on or a bit over (which I'd expect with trying to bulk up a bit) but I'm over on sugar every single day without fail. I don't eat badly, carely have any chocolate and other than an occasional trreat nothing massively sugary other than yoghurt.

How bad for my bulking and general health is it that I'm over on sugar all the time, bearing in mind my fat is always under and everything else is fine.

Thanks in advance for anyone's thoughts

Tylor


T

Kr1ptonite

Im always over on sugar i don't really pay much attention to it. I stay from products with high added sugar and such but other then that meh.

Ninkyou

A single piece of fruit will put you over on Sugar. Your Sugar macro is for added sugar. Regular (non-added) sugar is actually counted in your Carbs. IMO, switch out the sugar macro with something else, like fiber or potassium.

hookilau

Here's the thing....if you have Diabetes in your family history, mom, dad, uncles, aunts, cousins...anyone, your chances for needing to track sugar go up.

If you don't have anyone in your family with these sorts of issues, then it's widely held on MFP that you can eat what you want as long as the ultimate caloric goal is within your targets.

Personally, when I was diagnosed with blood sugar issues, the first thing I said was 'but I don't go over my sugar allotment'. However, that's not where the problem lay. The issue is the combination of sugar & carbs can overload a system that is already predisposed genetically to be precarious.

For me, it came together due to the high incidence of T2 Diabetes in my family, and the fact that I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with my last child 17 yrs ago. This was further complicated by the shame of the old mindset that 'you ate your way to diabetes' which kept my family members from discussing it, so I never knew....that is....until I was diagnosed & began talking to my aunts & uncles only to find they were all diabetic :grumble:

Knowing that there is a strong genetic component, I'm now aware that for my children, 17 and 24, at some time in the future when they reach about middle age, there are certain markers they need to look for.

Wish I knew all of this before. To be diagnosed with T2D at 44 is a tough row to hoe considering that though it's not necessarily preventable, but knowing would've lessened the burden & I may have been able to remain subclinical vs full blown, nonreversible,T2 diabetic well into my 60's. Once upon a time, just a generation or so ago, this was a geriatric disorder, not something prevalent at the middle aged stage of life.

Check your family history before you start watching sugar+carbs :drinker:

ETA: the body does not differentiate between sugar from candy, cake, bread or pasta vs. sugar from fruit...though if you do not have a family hx of this disorder, all the sugar consumption in the world will NOT give you diabetes.

Mokey41

Turn the sugar off. Unless you have an issue that requires you to track macros then just track calories and stay in budget. Sugar doesn't make you fat, fat doesn't make you fat, eating too much makes you fat.

Stage14

I don't even worry about sugar, I just worry about carbs. Unless you have a medical reason to track it, it's just not that big of an issue, especially since MFP counts all sugars as equal and your body does NOT process cake the same way it does an apple because of the fiber in the apple. I asked my doctor about it, as I am mildly hypoglycemic and have a large risk for diabetes. His response was "carbs are the issue for Type 2 diabetes, not just sugar. Unless you're getting the majority of your carbs from Snickers bars and soda, it's pretty much impossible to be eating too much sugar and stay under a healthy carb goal." So I track carbs and don't worry about sugar, other than just avoiding an over abundance of processes sweets.

jacksonpt

Unless you have a reason to track it, don't. For most people, tracking sugar (and sodium, too) just further complicates things.