Calorie Deficits and Sugar

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EzRemake
EzRemake Posts: 128 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm having a hard time getting a straight answer in regards to calorie deficits and sugar consumption.

I've seen many people, including on this site, claim that sugar doesn't matter so long as you hit your macros (mainly protein and fat) and stay at your caloric deficit.

Others claim that the spike in your insulin levels from the sugar causes your body to store fat, and even if you're in a deficit, you will not be able to lose fat because of this. Some claim that even heavy weight training and a caloric deficit will not over-rule sugar consumption that is above 40-50gs.

So which one is it?
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Replies

  • lilmisfit1987
    lilmisfit1987 Posts: 183 Member
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    Stay within your macros or a little bit above when it comes to your nutrients and you'll be fine. You body needs both fats (or lipids) and sugar/carbs to function. Depriving yourself of either of them is not recommended. Your brain especially loves sugar...it only runs on glucose. People with really low sugar consumption are going to find it harder to concentrate.
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
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    I'm over on my sugar intake every day and I lost 50 pounds without too much difficulty.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    Different bodies, different approaches, different lifestyles. I do not monitor sugars at all, but my diabetic grandmother probably would need to if she decided to join MFP.

    If you monitor sugar for specific reasons, then that's something ON TOP of monitoring caloric intake. IF you don't monitor sugar then it's just... not monitored.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    I don't monitor my sugar intake. I did however just check my reports and I'm constantly over on sugar, by a lot. Anyway, I think my ticker speaks for itself.

    Now some people have medical reasons to monitor their sugar intake.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 791 Member
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    Unless there is an actual medical reason to watch your sugar levels then I wouldn't worry about it too much.
  • paomiamifl
    paomiamifl Posts: 61 Member
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    I ONLY consume coffee with regular sugar, never artificial sweeteners. I've lost 90 lbs!
  • Penelope416
    Penelope416 Posts: 14 Member
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    I've lost 2 pounds in the past 2 weeks and I usually always go over my sugar, daily. I was always told it was a calories in/calories out idea. As a matter of fact, there are lots of people here on FitnessPal who eat whatever they want, just as long as they stay within their calorie-goal limit.
  • bokaba
    bokaba Posts: 171 Member
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    What kind of sugars are you talking about? Natural sugars in fruit, milk, carrots, etc. or refined sugars in candy and baked goods?
  • Penelope416
    Penelope416 Posts: 14 Member
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    Mainly I get fructose, but I get refined sugar from cereals and granola/cereal bars.
  • raysputin
    raysputin Posts: 142 Member
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    I know that if I allow my carbs to rise above 20 per day my weight loss stops even though my total calorie intake stays unchanged. My wife (who is the same height as me - even the same shoe size) has a carb-rich intake, does hardly any exercise, never eats "good" food and doesn't change weight. We have basically a similar genetic makeup with the major difference that she has Viking genes and I have Polynesian genes.

    Each person processes foods differently. Try your usual sugar regime for a month - record your results. Change nothing except reducing your sugar intake for the next month - record your results. Continue with whatever method showed the best results for you.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    I'm having a hard time getting a straight answer in regards to calorie deficits and sugar consumption.

    I've seen many people, including on this site, claim that sugar doesn't matter so long as you hit your macros (mainly protein and fat) and stay at your caloric deficit.

    Others claim that the spike in your insulin levels from the sugar causes your body to store fat, and even if you're in a deficit, you will not be able to lose fat because of this. Some claim that even heavy weight training and a caloric deficit will not over-rule sugar consumption that is above 40-50gs.

    So which one is it?

    This is the fact:

    Sugar or carb consumption in and of itself has absolutely zero impact on weight loss as long as you are maintaining a caloric deficit.

    That being said, some people find that limiting either sugar specifically, or carbs in general, helps them to maintain a caloric deficit, as those substances can cause issues with insulin levels and satiety for some.

    If you find that it makes it easier for you to stick with your goals when you cut down on sugar or carbs, then do it. If you find that you're able to maintain your goals without worrying about counting sugar or carbs, then do that.
  • pander101
    pander101 Posts: 677 Member
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    But since sugar is a carb wouldn't that counts towards your macros?
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    Yes. Sugar is a carb. It counts toward your carb macro. I have my carb goal set at 40% of my total calories, without worrying about how much of that comes from sugar. Some people have it set at 50%, and some people have it set much lower, with a specific gram count instead of a percentage. Personally, I don't watch my sugar at all, and I barely glance at carbs. I concentrate on hitting my protein, which can be a challenge, and I don't worry about the percentage of carbs vs. fat.

    ETA: Also, some people limit their sugar, specifically, without limiting total carbs, and some people limit total carbs. Others, like myself, only limit carbs inasmuch as keeping within a caloric deficit while making room for other macros.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    Sorry...all this carb talk...I had to.

    tumblr_lj3dv8ebGx1qzy62f.gif

    Carry on.
  • keegan2149
    keegan2149 Posts: 65 Member
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    The answer is it depends. Sugar is processed by your liver using insulin. Hence the term insulin response. If you eat enough sugar your liver will not be able to process the sugar fast enough. In order to keep it from causing damage to the rest of the body (sugar is technically a toxin) it asks for a bunch of insulin from the pancreas and starts storing it as fat. For very high sugar meals this is outside of whether or not you have a calorie deficit or not. It's just your liver processing a toxin.

    For more natural sources of sugar such as fruits (not fruit juice.. yes even natural fruit juice.. yes even if it has pulp) there is fiber. Fiber slows down the absorption of sugar and allows your liver to process it normally so it's more likely to be used as fuel.

    The exact amount of sugar it takes to trigger the bad insulin response depends on several factors including insulin sensitivity, age, and genetics. The general consensus is that you can still gain weight even if you are at a very high calorie deficit.
  • keegan2149
    keegan2149 Posts: 65 Member
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    Wow lots of bad info on this thread.... For those that eat too much sugar and still lose weight it depends on how fast you eat it. If you repeatedly eat 40 - 50g of sugar in one sitting (cake, pie, soda every day) and nothing else all day you will gain weight. If you drink iced tea and gatorade throughout the day and eventually exceed your limit you'll be fine because your liver had more time to process the sugar. Fiber matters too. Sugar consumed with most fruits almost doesn't count because of the amount of fiber that comes with it.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    False. A college professor recently performed an experiment in which he ate literally nothing but twinkies and other assorted snack cakes and cookies, supplemented with chips. He kept a caloric deficit despite this horrible diet and lost a significant amount of weight. Google "twinkie diet" for details. I would do it for you if I were at my computer instead of the phone.
  • bylot
    bylot Posts: 11
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    Yeah, I saw that diet too. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/
    It's worth noting that even the professor was utterly stunned - just goes to show that conventional wisdom is nothing to rely on.

    The other one worth a look is the guy who ate only McDonalds: http://www.businessinsider.com/my-mcdonalds-diet-book-2014-6

    Depressing how much "bro science" does the rounds.. At the end of the day, the answer to most people's issues with dieting is simply to eat less and move more. There are no shortcuts or "magic macros"..
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
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    Wow lots of bad info on this thread.... For those that eat too much sugar and still lose weight it depends on how fast you eat it. If you repeatedly eat 40 - 50g of sugar in one sitting (cake, pie, soda every day) and nothing else all day you will gain weight. If you drink iced tea and gatorade throughout the day and eventually exceed your limit you'll be fine because your liver had more time to process the sugar. Fiber matters too. Sugar consumed with most fruits almost doesn't count because of the amount of fiber that comes with it.

    Wrong. I once ate a medium DQ Blizzard every day for a week and lost a pound and a half by the end of it. Pretty sure that is more than 40 g of sugar.

    Just checked, they're 93 g sugar.
  • violasmith85
    violasmith85 Posts: 274 Member
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    I only watch my carbs and sugar because I'm a diabetic. But I lost weight even when I wasn't being responsible with it and watching them.

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