Trouble staying under daily sugar limits..

epona08
epona08 Posts: 39 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Since I've been tracking what I eat, I usually stay under my calorie, protein and sodium limits, however it seems as though every day I'm struggling to stay under my sugar limit! I've always had a Dr. Pepper addiction and I'm aware that one can a day already almost puts me over my limits, so on the days where I'm bad and give in to my craving, I understand where I messed up and why. However there are plenty of days where I *don't* have a soda and *still* go over my sugar limit!

I don't ever add sugar to anything that I eat so it's coming from what is already present in my food. I try to be conscientious about serving sizes and have been replacing unhealthy snacks with fruits and veggies. I know that sugar from fruits and vegetables is better for your body than processed or added sugar since your body digests it better, however I still usually go over by anywhere from 5-15 grams a day (on days where I don't have a soda, solely from food).

My current goal is 26 grams a day, is this limit too low? Should I not worry about it as much since my sugar usually comes from healthy places? I'm a little confused by it....

Replies

  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
    Sugar is just a carb, and while there are going to be many people very loudly disagreeing with me, they're wrong. It's pointless to track sugar outside of your daily carb intake unless you're diabetic. Go into your settings and change the sugar column to track your fiber, that's a much more important thing to be tracking.
  • HerbertNenenger
    HerbertNenenger Posts: 453 Member
    26 is low compared to a lot of people on mfp, but there is no daily requirement for sugar because it is not needed by the body. If you are getting 25-35 from mostly fruits and veggies then don't pay it any mind at all. If it's totaling over 50 grams a day from soda and candy, then that's something else. I have mine set for 30 and usually hit that and maybe a few over because of low-sugar fruits like strawberries, and even my veggie-love, string beans, has 6 grams in the serving I eat. I am not going to count sugar in string beans, and neither should you. I'd say you have a good number there. And yes, sugar is a carb, but it also raises your insulin levels more and causes things like candidiasis and afternoon slumps, just to name a couple. It'll train your body not to crave sugar so much as a benefit of keeping it low. Good luck tweaking !
  • GemW27
    GemW27 Posts: 41
    I was just about to create a thread about this.

    I am over mine without fail every day!

    My recommended intake is currently 24...it's impossible!

    Today I'm at 29 and this is what I ate:

    Breakfast:
    Omelette - 2 medium eggs, 25ml semi-skimmd milk, 2 slices ham, a few pieces of chicken.

    Dinner:
    Salmon with soy and ginger marinade (home made), broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, sweetcorn and sweet potato.

    Snacks:
    M&S reduced fat crisps

    And the days I eat fruit and yogurt....I'm way over the recommended amount
  • changing4life
    changing4life Posts: 193 Member
    Sugar is just a carb, and while there are going to be many people very loudly disagreeing with me, they're wrong. It's pointless to track sugar outside of your daily carb intake unless you're diabetic. Go into your settings and change the sugar column to track your fiber, that's a much more important thing to be tracking.

    This is absolutely correct. I am diabetic, and only track total total carbs, not sugar. Since refined sugar makes your blood sugar spike and then crash, I have to make sure to limit my intake of refined sugar items, but as long as my carb intake is within my limits, I can have cake or cookies, in moderation.
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    I don't track sugar at all and it hasn't affected my progress at all. Change your settings to something more relevant like fiber instead. :flowerforyou:
  • kristilovescake
    kristilovescake Posts: 669 Member
    Unless you have a health reason to stay under the daily sugar limits, I wouldn't worry about it if they're coming from natural sources. I stopped tracking sugars because I eat a lot of fruit and I have no reason to stay under an arbitrary number for sugars. Just my opinion.
  • cici1028
    cici1028 Posts: 799 Member
    Ditto to everyone on this thread. I used to track the sugar and switched it to fiber. I love fruit and milk and both are loaded with it. But it's natural sugar which doesn't give you a crash like bread or cake/cookies would. I really limit any refined sugars (personally) and make sure the only sugar I get is natural and not processed. (Hell, a cupcake is still going to happen from time to time, but not every day!!!)
  • epona08
    epona08 Posts: 39 Member
    Thanks guys!

    I'm not diabetic at all however since I have a desk job and was largely sedentary for the past year I was a bit worried about the possibility of being pre-diabetic. Now that I'm working out and trying to make lifestyle changes, I'm not so worried about that any more. Besides that, the only reason I was tracking the sugar is because MFP had set it originally. and I didn't mess with it. Now that I'm learning more about fitness and nutrition I'm trying to set my own macros instead of the "guided" ones. I appreciate the tip about switching it to track fiber instead, I think I will do just that. :bigsmile:
  • changing4life
    changing4life Posts: 193 Member
    Why would you switch sugar to track fiber when fiber has it's own place to track?
  • epona08
    epona08 Posts: 39 Member
    It didn't track that on mine automatically on my food diary. I would have had to add it on there. So I just switched from sugar to fiber, same difference really in accomplishing the task.
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,646 Member
    IIRC (because I really don't care that much) the sugar recommendation on MFP are somewhat confused and based off recommendations for the upper limit of ADDED sugar we should be eating...
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    It didn't track that on mine automatically on my food diary. I would have had to add it on there. So I just switched from sugar to fiber, same difference really in accomplishing the task.
    Exactly. When I first started, it defaulted to tracking sugar and fiber was secondary, so I had to go in and manually change it. I don't care about sugar, but I do have a fiber goal.
  • paganstar71
    paganstar71 Posts: 109 Member
    It is very easy to keep under the sugar limit if you specifically target this. I am following a low sugar diet, since New Year and I set my limit to 20g and have only gone over slightly on 3 occasions and many times under, e.g. today I have 9g of sugar remaining before I reach the limit and will not need to eat again tonight (current 9.30pm) and feeling sated.

    I have been surprised by the amount of bad-sugar denial on these forums (not this thread particularly) after reading so many other dietary strategies that people believe in: wheat belly, low-fat, low-calories, hours of cardio or weights. Not sure what motivation people have for defending sugar in our diets? In some ways it is a curious eye-opener!
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    It is very easy to keep under the sugar limit if you specifically target this. I am following a low sugar diet, since New Year and I set my limit to 20g and have only gone over slightly on 3 occasions and many times under, e.g. today I have 9g of sugar remaining before I reach the limit and will not need to eat again tonight (current 9.30pm) and feeling sated.

    I have been surprised by the amount of bad-sugar denial on these forums (not this thread particularly) after reading so many other dietary strategies that people believe in: wheat belly, low-fat, low-calories, hours of cardio or weights. Not sure what motivation people have for defending sugar in our diets? In some ways it is a curious eye-opener!
    I defend sugar because there is a great deal of misinformed hoopla surrounding it, leading people to believe that it should be severely restricted or even eliminated. And restrictive diets are often doomed to failure. I have seen zero factual evidence to convince me to deprive myself of fresh fruits, ice cream and other desserts.
  • paganstar71
    paganstar71 Posts: 109 Member
    I defend sugar because there is a great deal of misinformed hoopla surrounding it, leading people to believe that it should be severely restricted or even eliminated. And restrictive diets are often doomed to failure. I have seen zero factual evidence to convince me to deprive myself of fresh fruits, ice cream and other desserts.

    Nothing wrong with fresh fruit, it is a whole food but if you eat too much it will cause diarrhoea - the natural body reaction which helps you moderate. Ice cream and desserts are junk that are very difficult to 'moderate'. How can removing junk be viewed as deprivation?
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    I defend sugar because there is a great deal of misinformed hoopla surrounding it, leading people to believe that it should be severely restricted or even eliminated. And restrictive diets are often doomed to failure. I have seen zero factual evidence to convince me to deprive myself of fresh fruits, ice cream and other desserts.

    Nothing wrong with fresh fruit, it is a whole food but if you eat too much it will cause diarrhoea - the natural body reaction which helps you moderate. Ice cream and desserts are junk that are very difficult to 'moderate'. How can removing junk be viewed as deprivation?
    I would feel deprived if I had to restrict myself that much, yes, but I see NO foods as junk. Certainly not ice cream or desserts and not even fast food. Some foods are just more nutrient dense than others, but all foods that an individual enjoys can be incorporated in a healthy weight loss or maintenance plan. Here's an example of how to have ice cream everyday, which I do.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/925464-fitting-it-in-giggity
  • paganstar71
    paganstar71 Posts: 109 Member
    I would feel deprived if I had to restrict myself that much, yes, but I see NO foods as junk. Certainly not ice cream or desserts and not even fast food. Some foods are just more nutrient dense than others, but all foods that an individual enjoys can be incorporated in a healthy weight loss or maintenance plan. Here's an example of how to have ice cream everyday, which I do.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/925464-fitting-it-in-giggity

    I failed after a year on a diet like that, constant calorie counting is not sustainable long-term. I lost 40lb and eventually put it all back on again. It takes up too much time and I would feel deprived during the day just in order to leave myself 'treat' calories. I gave up dieting because it sucks, it's not how I want to live my life.

    I gave up alcohol nearly 2 years ago and do not feel deprived anymore. It is junk, just like added sugar! I don't count calories anymore I just choose any food low in sugar and whilst tracking the sugar in myfitnesspal It is clear I am feeling satisfied on a daily diet of 1200 cals a day in my current sedentary lifestyle. You know that fat people are not fat because they do not exercise: they do not exercise because they are fat! Once my activity increases with weight loss, my calories will naturally increase to fuel my body.

    Once I know my food choices are consistently low sugar by following simple sugar and fibre ratios, I won't need to count anymore. The human body is designed to regulate weight, just as it does in wild animals - sugar has broken the system.

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