Sugar Confusion

suorkaterina
suorkaterina Posts: 19 Member
in Getting Started
Hey guys. So I'm a little confused on the sugar amounts MFP allows me. Right now I'm just trying to track everything to see where my problem areas are. I am always WAY over in sugar. Even when I'm trying to cut out the candy(I have an addiction). Just a cup of oj and banana threw me over today. I also noticed that several people's food diaries no longer track sugar. So what's the deal? I want to cut down but I want to eat lots of healthy fruits. Im just confused. Can somebody shed some light on this? Thanks.

Replies

  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    I don't track sugars - it's almost always over - I don't have any health issues where being over on sugar would be an issue so I just replaced in my tracking with fiber. I wouldn't worry unless you are way over and have reasons that you would need to keep track of it.

    Everything in moderation - a reasonable amount of fruits per day is good but also need to eat these in moderation.
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    I don't track sugar and instead track fiber (and sodium). Since I'm already tracking my carbs and don't have any medical reason to watch my sugar intake, I find that tracking sugar as well is just redundant.

    As the above poster mentioned, you really just want to aim for a balanced diet. There's no harm in eating carbs/sugars as long as your other nutritional needs are being met. :smile:
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    I'm over my sugar halfway through breakfast. I think the sugar recommendations are screwy on this site. They don't allow you to have any fruit, and that's no good.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    Here's an interesting article about added sugar on CNN. This news came out recently. The World Health Organization, plus some other organizations, say added sugar should be limited to 25 grams a day (search CNN and more about the topic will come up). For reference, a can of soda has about 40 grams of added sugar. Some organizations say up to 100 grams a day is okay.

    This is added sugar, not the sugar in fresh fruit.

    http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/06/health/who-sugar-guidelines/index.html?iref=allsearch

    If you don't want to track the sugar in fruit, you can change your settings to track something else. The MFP setting tracks all sugar and might be helpful for someone with diabetes or other health problems.
  • hellsbells3272
    hellsbells3272 Posts: 128 Member
    I find this too. I have swapped eating unhealthy biscuits and sweets for eating grapes, blueberries, satsumas, apples and bananas. The sugar on these is way high! But surely, I feel healthier and better and I have lost weight (my intention). Now I am on maintenance and I have just increased my overall food intake - still no crap.

    My calories are almost always UNDER my goal, but my sugar is almost always OVER my goal.....!!! Trying to ignore it!

    EDIT: I don't drink fruit juice any more, otherwise it would be even more over! I just drink water instead.
  • suorkaterina
    suorkaterina Posts: 19 Member
    Too bad there wasn't a way to deliniate between processed and natural sugars. I'd still be over, but I'm working on it! I guess my concern is that there's a history of diabetes in my family. I am very overweight, but I keep checking my blood sugar levels and they are in the normal range. But just to be safe I want to cut down on the processed stuff in favor of fruits and natural sugars like honey/maple syrup. I wonder where I could find a suggestion for a more balanced number for a whole foods diet. Or should I switch to tracking fiber? Thought?
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    I just wanted to add that if you view reports over a period of 30-90 days you will be surprised at how overly critical we are of what we eat. I usually think I am over on things frequently but when I view the reports it's really not as bad as I think it is. I think the RED numbers make us think we are doing something wrong when we really aren't.
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    Too bad there wasn't a way to deliniate between processed and natural sugars. I'd still be over, but I'm working on it! I guess my concern is that there's a history of diabetes in my family. Although I am very overweight I keep checking my blood sugar levels and I'm fine. But just to be safe I want to cut down on the processed stuff in favor of fruits and natural sugars like honey/maple syrup. I wonder where I could find a suggestion for a more balanced number for a whole foods diet. Or should I switch to tracking fiber? Thought?

    Sugars are sugars - carbs convert to sugar also so you may want to watch those - I am never over on my carbs and as I posted when I view a 90 day report my sugar isn't that bad. If your blood sugars are normal don't stress about it, eat a healthy well balanced diet and track fiber - you can still view your sugar intake in the reports section if you want to look at it periodically.
  • suorkaterina
    suorkaterina Posts: 19 Member
    I just wanted to add that if you view reports over a period of 30-90 days you will be surprised at how overly critical we are of what we eat. I usually think I am over on things frequently but when I view the reports it's really not as bad as I think it is. I think the RED numbers make us think we are doing something wrong when we really aren't.

    Hah, well when I hit that many days I'll check it out. I'm working on tracking consistantly at the moment. Day three stretch today! It's the little successes. =P
  • KarinaGeneva
    KarinaGeneva Posts: 21 Member
    I had the exact same question and issue when I first joined. What I learned is that MFP's baseline for sugar is quite low, way too low, I believe. But like you, I didn't want to just ignore the metric. Did you know that you can manually change the metric? I'm pretty sure you can (but it's been a while since I've played with that function). I would recommend that you look at your actual sugar intake on good days when you were eating very healthy sugars (reasonable amounts of fruit, whole grain cereals, etc.) and decide for yourself what your target is going to be and input it. You can always check with your doctor or a nurse or nutritionist to see if the goal you selected was appropriate for you.
  • AngJac77
    AngJac77 Posts: 37
    I would switch it to fiber because if your getting enough fiber it should take care of the sugar from fruit ....your a way better off eating fruit than candy. Way to go! Huge difference between fruit sugar and candy sugar.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    Sugar has been demonized lately. It's this decade's scapegoat. Your confusion stems from the propaganda you have heard and read about it. Unless your health restricts you from sugar specifically with something like diabetes it's not that big a deal.
  • KarinaGeneva
    KarinaGeneva Posts: 21 Member
    Just double-checked and yes, you can customize this. Go to Goals -- Change Goals -- Customize. Good luck!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    If you're concerned about diabetes, ditch the sugar reading ad edit your carb limit to be at the lowest recommended limit (45%) if you're not very active. Sugar on its own does not make you diabetic, but an overall mix of genetics, lifestyle and waist circumference. Personally I would advise you to set it to 50% and do some harder workouts, since those have been shown to help with insulin resistance.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Too bad there wasn't a way to deliniate between processed and natural sugars.

    Your body has precisely the same problem.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1181259-so-what-s-with-this-sugar-then-revised-faq-jan-2014
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    You can also customize your macro percentages to better reflect the way you eat or want to eat. I believe MFP's default carb percentage is 55%, but you can change it if you want. A popular ratio is 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein. I find that when I focus on hitting my protein and fat numbers, my carbs naturally end up on the lower side (around or below 200 grams a day).

    If you're just starting out, it does take a little time to revamp your eating habits and make them more balanced, but you'll get there. Just focus on eating a varied, moderate diet and your preferences may naturally evolve to include fewer simple carbohydrates. But, eating the occasional candy bar isn't necessarily a bad thing either :smile:
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Too bad there wasn't a way to deliniate between processed and natural sugars.

    Your body has precisely the same problem.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1181259-so-what-s-with-this-sugar-then-revised-faq-jan-2014

    Precisely! The added sugar recommendation is merely there to help limit empty calories, which added sugar is.

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