Sugar - how to avoid going over

Hi! I am hoping someone can give me some tips etc on how to stay under my sugar limit. I ALWAYS seem to go over. I do not eat really any process sugars too often. I do take a teaspoon of organic, raw honey every morning for my allergies that I do not want to take out of my diet as it helps. I use xylitol all time to bake and add to my coffee. Then the little things I eat, like veggies seem to add up so quickly and I already over before dinner.

I do have a weakness for these Ginger chew candies (from a Natural Food Store) , but they are made with Cane Sugar which I thought was better than others. Any advice would be wonderful. Thanks! :o)

Replies

  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    Unless you have a medical condition that requires tracking it, ignore it. I consistently go over mine every single day. :P Yay for sugar.
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
    It's hard to offer help if your diary is private. What is your limit set to?
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    Don't have a sugar limit, then you don't have to worry about going over. Stay in your cal goals and eat enough protein, don't worry about sugar at all, calories will control it by proxy.

    Set it to 10,000g/day if the red bothers you.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Home->Goals->Change goals->Custom->Insert amount of sugar that you won't go over.
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
    Rule of thumb is not to worry about sugars from fruits and other healthier options. Pay more attention to sugars coming from so called 'unhealthier options'.
  • Bobbie8786
    Bobbie8786 Posts: 202 Member
    I don't even worry about sugar. I switched my log to show fiber instead of sugar. One piece of fruit will put you over on sugar and that is ridiculous. I don't use a lot of added sugar so I simply choose not to worry about it.
  • melind78
    melind78 Posts: 11 Member
    Thanks everyone for the advice very helpful and I going to customize it so I don't see the red- right now my sugar limit is set at 25 - unless I exercise I have a little higher.

    Again thank you all for your input very helpful!!
  • TemeraldMarie
    TemeraldMarie Posts: 69 Member
    I'm so glad that i am not the only one that has issues woth the sugar. i and thanka to the helpful posts about editing. i do everything on my phone so its been time consuming and tricky to edit and explore things.
  • SkiMummy
    SkiMummy Posts: 33 Member
    This comes up fairly regularly here.

    I am always over my sugar limit (according to MFP) and I am type 1 diabetic, following an approved diet set by my Dr.

    I was taught that it isn't the amount of sugar you need to worry about, it's the type of sugar. Fruit and unrefined sugars are the best choice, so a piece of white bread and jam is not great, but a banana and a cup of semi skimmed milk is fine :-)
  • BattleTaxi
    BattleTaxi Posts: 752 Member
    Rule of thumb is not to worry about sugars from fruits and other healthier options. Pay more attention to sugars coming from so called 'unhealthier options'.

    This!

    I follow this!
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    Your sugar consumption is fine, I think. The World Health Organization says that about 10% of your calories accounts for the naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables, dairy and the like. And the American Heart Association recommends women not to exceed 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day which is 24 grams.

    So if you eat 1,400 calories a day a reasonable amount of sugar from all sources is 60 grams (140 + 100= 240 ÷ 4 = 60). You're usually under that amount so unless you have an issue with cravings or a medical issue I wouldn't worry about it. Personally that would be too much for me but I don't tolerate carbs well.

    yarwell also wrote up an excellent sugar FAQ you might find helpful:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1017237-so-what-s-with-this-sugar-then-faq
  • NRBreit
    NRBreit Posts: 319 Member
    I used MFP custom settings to adjust my sugar limit to 1/3 of my total carb allowance (100g sugar for 300g total carbs). This was an arbitrary amount, but it helps me balance my daily complex carb food choices vs. simple sugars. At the end of the day, make your sugar allowance whatever you are comfortable with.