Do you worry over natural sugars?

wannehunter85

Hey,

So I know that natural sugars are pretty much the way to go....I don't add sugar to anything any more and other than the occasional low-fat choco milk, I don't really eat anymore processed sugary foods.

But I have been eating a bit more fruit recently and since I have been consistently logging in for the past couple of weeks have noticed I've gone over my sugar allotment just about everyday. There are a few things I could remove if needed like the natural honey from my muesli in the morning, but not sure if it is something I should be WORRIED about considering most of my sugar comes from fruits and veg.

My diary is open, so let me know. Thanks!

alisonlynn1976

I eat fruit pretty much every day, and I'm not worried about it. I'm losing weight just fine.

_Zardoz_

Unless you have a medical condition sugar of any sort isn't really a worry.

Ainar

I personally don't worry about natural sugars, as far as they fits to my daily calories. They are still sugars so eating them in huge amounts would not be good. They are still acidic to your body and can mess up your blood sugar levels and make you fell crappy as a result anyways. But if you got that under control and still are getting enough nutrients and majority of calories from other foods then I don't think going over MFP sugar limits is something you should worry about.

wannehunter85

Thanks,

Just wanted to get a general idea of others' thoughts.

Cindyinpg

Unless you have a medical condition sugar of any sort isn't really a worry.

This. ^ I have ice cream everyday, plus assorted fruit, sometimes candy, licorice, chocolate. It hasn't affected my weight loss one bit, except perhaps made it easier because I refuse to deprive myself of any foods that I like.

sammieloft91

I wouldnt worry to much about natural sugars. U dont have to cut the honey out u just reduce how much u have like half the serving size. Also cut out bananas if u are really worried as bananas have a lot of sugar even tho its natural its not healthy to eat alot of bananas esp if u have diabetes.

wannehunter85

Nope, no diabetes.. I am pretty healthy. But I do love bananas.

neandermagnon

we're primates. Primates evolved to eat fruit: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1123553-should-i-stop-eating-fruit

enjoy your fruit and stay within your calorie goal :drinker: there's too much demonising of food. Too much of anything is bad for you. The standard American diet contains too much fat and sugar, but that doesn't mean fat and sugar are bad, just that we need to exercise portion control with them. Unless there's a medical reason that makes fruit or sugar dangerous for you, they won't do you any harm in sensible portion sizes.

CharleePear

Unless you have a medical condition sugar of any sort isn't really a worry.

This. ^ I have ice cream everyday, plus assorted fruit, sometimes candy, licorice, chocolate. It hasn't affected my weight loss one bit, except perhaps made it easier because I refuse to deprive myself of any foods that I like.

Thanks for rubbing it in the faces of those who have to watch their sugars! If I have icecream or chocolate or candy I put on weight without fail. Even if I have worked out really hard. I am not alone in this. I think you are a rare breed honey! :noway:

wannehunter85

Yeah, I thought I was in the okay, but when I am constantly seeing an overage like that it could be something that worries me. I'm still losing, so I wasn't too concerned, but just got to thinking about it today.

neandermagnon

Unless you have a medical condition sugar of any sort isn't really a worry.

This. ^ I have ice cream everyday, plus assorted fruit, sometimes candy, licorice, chocolate. It hasn't affected my weight loss one bit, except perhaps made it easier because I refuse to deprive myself of any foods that I like.

Thanks for rubbing it in the faces of those who have to watch their sugars! If I have icecream or chocolate or candy I put on weight without fail. Even if I have worked out really hard. I am not alone in this. I think you are a rare breed honey! :noway:

are you sure it's fat you're gaining? If you're eating low calorie and/or low carb, your glycogen stores get depleted. Glycogen is stored along with water, so glycogen depletion = water weight loss. Then when you eat any kind of carb, your body starts to replenish the glycogen, which means water gets stored with it, i.e. you see a water weight gain. If you're seeing a significant weight gain after eating ice cream, chocolate or candy, then it's far more likely to be that, rather than fat gain. To gain just 1lb of fat you need to eat 3500 calories over and above your TDEE (and as most people's TDEE is around 2000 cals, that would mean eating over 5000 calories in one day to gain a pound of fat in a day).

Also, anything with high sodium will cause a water weight gain from the sodium.

I don't think the OP is a rare breed, I think a lot of people confuse water weight gains with fat gain. It's excess fat that makes you flabby and that impacts your health. Having more glycogen in your system is healthy, in fact it should make you feel more energetic and improve your stamina etc when working out. Too much sodium isn't good, but you can get rid of sodium water weight gains in a couple of days by drinking water and eating foods higher in potassium, e.g. fresh fruit.

Fat is lost and gained slowly. Any big jump in scale weight in a short period (e.g. over a couple of days, or within the same day) is water weight gain, unless you've actually overeaten by thousands and thousands of calories.

CharleePear

Darling, I was married to a nutritionist and fitness nut, it is fat. Sugar is a problem for a lot of people. It really depends on your metabolic personality so to speak. If you are an ectomorph, endomorph or mesomorph. I am a meso/endo I put fat on and muscle on easily. Yes that weight could have been muscle, but I highly doubt it was all muscle over a period of...well my whole life, sugar makes me gain weight. Not all are equal, and honestly I have met few people who find they lose weight while still eating icecream everyday!

neandermagnon

Darling, I was married to a nutritionist and fitness nut, it is fat. Sugar is a problem for a lot of people. It really depends on your metabolic personality so to speak. If you are an ectomorph, endomorph or mesomorph. I am a meso/endo I put fat on and muscle on easily. Yes that weight could have been muscle, but I highly doubt it was all muscle over a period of...well my whole life, sugar makes me gain weight. Not all are equal, and honestly I have met few people who find they lose weight while still eating icecream everyday!

yeah and I have a degree in Human sciences which includes human physiology and nutrition... endo/ecto/meso is pseudoscience (it's a theory from several decades ago that's was debunked a few decades ago, but seems to be popular "bro science" on the internet). There are genetic differences in terms of how easily people gain muscle and how prone they are to overeating, and whether the body stores fat around the waist or on the hips, but there are also some factors that are the same for everyone, and no-one's body breaks the laws of physics. And the factors in which there is variation don't lead to just 3 body types... there's a lot more variation than that in terms of body type.... BUT regardless of body type, some facts are true for everyone.

Eating more calories than you burn off will make you gain fat, and sugary snacks make it easy to eat more than you burn off, but that does not mean that you can't eat sugary foods while sticking to a sensible calorie goal, and successfully lose fat or maintain your weight (depending on your goal). The OP is not a rare breed, if you stick to a calorie goal, you can eat sugary snacks and still successfully lose or maintain. Sugar is a problem for many people because it puts them in calorie surplus as it's very easy to eat too much if you eat lots of sugary snacks, and most people when they diet, actually don't track their intake very carefully (or at all). But with portion control and staying within a calorie goal, sugary snacks don't cause weight gain or prevent you from succeeding at your goals.

There are many people on here who successfully lose weight while eating ice cream etc, they stick to their calorie goal and are careful to track what they eat, so they know they are staying in calorie deficit. You can find a lot of threads on this site and success stories of people who've lost a lot of weight while still enjoying sugary snacks. What they all do is track their food intake carefully and stick to their calorie goals.

CharleePear

Darling, I was married to a nutritionist and fitness nut, it is fat. Sugar is a problem for a lot of people. It really depends on your metabolic personality so to speak. If you are an ectomorph, endomorph or mesomorph. I am a meso/endo I put fat on and muscle on easily. Yes that weight could have been muscle, but I highly doubt it was all muscle over a period of...well my whole life, sugar makes me gain weight. Not all are equal, and honestly I have met few people who find they lose weight while still eating icecream everyday!

yeah and I have a degree in Human sciences which includes human physiology and nutrition... endo/ecto/meso is pseudoscience (it's a theory from several decades ago that's was debunked a few decades ago, but seems to be popular "bro science" on the internet). There are genetic differences in terms of how easily people gain muscle and how prone they are to overeating, and whether the body stores fat around the waist or on the hips, but there are also some factors that are the same for everyone, and no-one's body breaks the laws of physics. And the factors in which there is variation don't lead to just 3 body types... there's a lot more variation than that in terms of body type.... BUT regardless of body type, some facts are true for everyone.

Eating more calories than you burn off will make you gain fat, and sugary snacks make it easy to eat more than you burn off, but that does not mean that you can't eat sugary foods while sticking to a sensible calorie goal, and successfully lose fat or maintain your weight (depending on your goal). The OP is not a rare breed, if you stick to a calorie goal, you can eat sugary snacks and still successfully lose or maintain. Sugar is a problem for many people because it puts them in calorie surplus as it's very easy to eat too much if you eat lots of sugary snacks, and most people when they diet, actually don't track their intake very carefully (or at all). But with portion control and staying within a calorie goal, sugary snacks don't cause weight gain or prevent you from succeeding at your goals.

There are many people on here who successfully lose weight while eating ice cream etc, they stick to their calorie goal and are careful to track what they eat, so they know they are staying in calorie deficit. You can find a lot of threads on this site and success stories of people who've lost a lot of weight while still enjoying sugary snacks. What they all do is track their food intake carefully and stick to their calorie goals.

But you still don't explain my weight gain! I am not talking now, there is a long story about my eating habits now. But most of my life I have not seen in myself and in many of my friends the whole calorie in calorie out working. I does matter what you eat. Interesting you have a degree and you still think that certain foods don't cause weight gain. True that the three body types are kinda a fad thing, and maybe my information is old (I am talking 7 years ago so...) but facts are facts. I have not met many people who can eat icecream everyday and lose weight. You aren't even factoring in spikes in insulin. I am sorry if I am sounding know it all or opinionated, cos I genuinally don't mean to, but what you say just doesn't ring true. I also know there are a billion theories out there that you can subscribe to. You having a Health Sciences degree does not make you an authority. That is so not meant to be a rude statement, but it doesn't. It's like me saying I can counsel people because of my Psych degree, we learn physiology in that too. But with all my nutty rambling I forgot to mention that fruit is fine which is the topic of the thread...

Cindyinpg

Unless you have a medical condition sugar of any sort isn't really a worry.

This. ^ I have ice cream everyday, plus assorted fruit, sometimes candy, licorice, chocolate. It hasn't affected my weight loss one bit, except perhaps made it easier because I refuse to deprive myself of any foods that I like.

Thanks for rubbing it in the faces of those who have to watch their sugars! If I have icecream or chocolate or candy I put on weight without fail. Even if I have worked out really hard. I am not alone in this. I think you are a rare breed honey! :noway:

Nah, there's actually lots of people like me on here. Some make me look like an amateur. There are people who eat pizza everyday, McDonalds everyday, poptarts everyday.... If you have a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. And if you meet your macro/micro and fiber goals, you can do it healthily as well.

CharleePear

Unless you have a medical condition sugar of any sort isn't really a worry.

This. ^ I have ice cream everyday, plus assorted fruit, sometimes candy, licorice, chocolate. It hasn't affected my weight loss one bit, except perhaps made it easier because I refuse to deprive myself of any foods that I like.

Thanks for rubbing it in the faces of those who have to watch their sugars! If I have icecream or chocolate or candy I put on weight without fail. Even if I have worked out really hard. I am not alone in this. I think you are a rare breed honey! :noway:

Nah, there's actually lots of people like me on here. Some make me look like an amateur. There are people who eat pizza everyday, McDonalds everyday, poptarts everyday.... If you have a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. And if you meet your macro/micro and fiber goals, you can do it healthily as well.

I believe you, but I only know of a couple of people who can do that, regardless of calorie input/output. PS Sorry if I sounded rude, didn't mean to ay.

Cindyinpg

Unless you have a medical condition sugar of any sort isn't really a worry.

This. ^ I have ice cream everyday, plus assorted fruit, sometimes candy, licorice, chocolate. It hasn't affected my weight loss one bit, except perhaps made it easier because I refuse to deprive myself of any foods that I like.

Thanks for rubbing it in the faces of those who have to watch their sugars! If I have icecream or chocolate or candy I put on weight without fail. Even if I have worked out really hard. I am not alone in this. I think you are a rare breed honey! :noway:

Nah, there's actually lots of people like me on here. Some make me look like an amateur. There are people who eat pizza everyday, McDonalds everyday, poptarts everyday.... If you have a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. And if you meet your macro/micro and fiber goals, you can do it healthily as well.

I believe you, but I only know of a couple of people who can do that, regardless of calorie input/output. PS Sorry if I sounded rude, didn't mean to ay.

No worries.:flowerforyou: A while back I wouldn't have believed it either. I learned a lot from the people here and it sure made the process easier. Here's a success story from the lady who runs the Eat, Train, Progress group.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/903628-one-year-of-barbells-and-ice-cream-my-story-so-far-pics 
And here's how to eat ice cream everyday and still lose weight and be healthy:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/925464-fitting-it-in-giggity

suzmedder

Hi,
I stopped tracking sugar for exactly that reason, 90% of my sugar intake comes from fruit and I was also over the MFP allocated amount, so I just took it off my diary and don't worry about it anymore.

Don't have sugar in hot drinks or on cereal, so the other 10%, to me is fine.

Hope that helps a bit

gigglesinthesun

NO, this week we are going to be a little different here on MFP, so instead of the usual "Sugar/Carbs/Fat are horrible for you and you will not lose any weight unless you eat none of those demonic ingredients" we have decided that celery is taking a turn, so munch away on those fruit and stay within your calorie allowance and FOR GOODNESS SAKE, STAY AWAY FROM CELERY, it's right evil that one :happy:

neandermagnon

Darling, I was married to a nutritionist and fitness nut, it is fat. Sugar is a problem for a lot of people. It really depends on your metabolic personality so to speak. If you are an ectomorph, endomorph or mesomorph. I am a meso/endo I put fat on and muscle on easily. Yes that weight could have been muscle, but I highly doubt it was all muscle over a period of...well my whole life, sugar makes me gain weight. Not all are equal, and honestly I have met few people who find they lose weight while still eating icecream everyday!

yeah and I have a degree in Human sciences which includes human physiology and nutrition... endo/ecto/meso is pseudoscience (it's a theory from several decades ago that's was debunked a few decades ago, but seems to be popular "bro science" on the internet). There are genetic differences in terms of how easily people gain muscle and how prone they are to overeating, and whether the body stores fat around the waist or on the hips, but there are also some factors that are the same for everyone, and no-one's body breaks the laws of physics. And the factors in which there is variation don't lead to just 3 body types... there's a lot more variation than that in terms of body type.... BUT regardless of body type, some facts are true for everyone.

Eating more calories than you burn off will make you gain fat, and sugary snacks make it easy to eat more than you burn off, but that does not mean that you can't eat sugary foods while sticking to a sensible calorie goal, and successfully lose fat or maintain your weight (depending on your goal). The OP is not a rare breed, if you stick to a calorie goal, you can eat sugary snacks and still successfully lose or maintain. Sugar is a problem for many people because it puts them in calorie surplus as it's very easy to eat too much if you eat lots of sugary snacks, and most people when they diet, actually don't track their intake very carefully (or at all). But with portion control and staying within a calorie goal, sugary snacks don't cause weight gain or prevent you from succeeding at your goals.

There are many people on here who successfully lose weight while eating ice cream etc, they stick to their calorie goal and are careful to track what they eat, so they know they are staying in calorie deficit. You can find a lot of threads on this site and success stories of people who've lost a lot of weight while still enjoying sugary snacks. What they all do is track their food intake carefully and stick to their calorie goals.

But you still don't explain my weight gain! I am not talking now, there is a long story about my eating habits now. But most of my life I have not seen in myself and in many of my friends the whole calorie in calorie out working. I does matter what you eat. Interesting you have a degree and you still think that certain foods don't cause weight gain. True that the three body types are kinda a fad thing, and maybe my information is old (I am talking 7 years ago so...) but facts are facts. I have not met many people who can eat icecream everyday and lose weight. You aren't even factoring in spikes in insulin. I am sorry if I am sounding know it all or opinionated, cos I genuinally don't mean to, but what you say just doesn't ring true. I also know there are a billion theories out there that you can subscribe to. You having a Health Sciences degree does not make you an authority. That is so not meant to be a rude statement, but it doesn't. It's like me saying I can counsel people because of my Psych degree, we learn physiology in that too. But with all my nutty rambling I forgot to mention that fruit is fine which is the topic of the thread...

it's not any specific food that causes fat gain.... it's eating more than you burn off that causes fat gain. Certain foods are easier to overeat on than others, but if you are careful with portion control and are sure to burn off the same as what you eat (for maintenance) or burn off more than what you eat (for fat loss) you will still succeed while eating those foods.

if you gain weight while eating at a deficit from eating carbs, it's glycogen + water weight gain, not fat, and that's healthy and isn't going to change how you look in a mirror.

There's a lot in science that doesn't follow what common sense suggests it should. For example Newtonian physics doesn't ring true to most people, because they've not got personal experience of how physics works in an environment with zero gravity and no atmosphere. But that doesn't mean science is wrong. It means that some people's common/everyday explanations for things isn't what's actually going on. Going back to ice cream - it's calorie dense, so if you're not counting calories carefully, it's very easy to eat a lot of calories in a short time with ice cream. If you're also not that active, it's very easy to accidentally eat more than you burn off, if you eat ice cream. That's why people attribute fat gain to ice cream. However, the fat gain comes from eating more than you burn off, and if you are careful with tracking your calories (both calories in and calories out) and you're staying within your calorie goal, you will succeed at fat loss and maintaining your goal weight while eating ice cream.

If calories in versus calories out doesn't seem to be working, then it's due to either: 1. calories in are being underestimated, i.e. the person is eating more than they think, or, 2. calories out is being overestimated, i.e. people are burning less than they think, either due to overestimating calorie burns or more rarely due to metabolic issues that means someone is burning fewer calories than they should be (i.e. BMR is lower than it should be). Calculators only give an estimate, so if someone isn't losing when eating the calories the calculator says, that's because the calculator is based on averages (not everyone is average) and just an estimate. It doesn't mean that their body actually isn't following the calories in v calories out rule. in the case of metabolic issues, they need to be treated medically to bring the BMI up to where it should be (e.g. thyroid medication for hypothyroidism). For most people though, what they need to do is track their calories more carefully, being sure not to overestimate calorie burns or underestimate calorie intake. It can take practice and trial and error to get it right, but when you find the right number of calories for you and your goal, you'll succeed even while eating ice cream etc.

wannehunter85

hahaahaa! Thanks for all the info guys! This is awesome. I never expected this thread to boom like this.

VeganLexi

I eat loads of fruit and my blood work is perfect, don't worry about it unless you have an underlying health concern.