Another Sugar Question

SweetTooth68

Why is my sugar level set so low? My goal set automatically is 24g per day and I have already BLOWN that by breakfast and it's really annoying me!

I have cereal, almond milk and coffee with flavored creamer, and I'm over.

Is 24g/day really a reasonable goal? Should I try harder to lower my sugar or should I just manually change my sugar goal to something I can actually achieve each day? I rarely go over with anything else so I just HATE seeing that red number there every single day!

Robin66

I don't know what the right answer is, but I set mine higher and I don't have it set to show up in my diary, that way I don't have to see it. That works for me for now.

aablacknell

I posted this as a concern a few weeks ago as well. I left mine low and I have tried to cut out sugar where I can such as in the yogurt tht I eat and protein bars. I am always over as well but I try to stay close. Eating fruit or OJ will blow it out of the water. I just feel better even if I go over when I know the sugar comes from healthy sources. I know I am doing better than I did in the past and overall that is my goal. I want to learn to make better choices in my everyday life even after reaching my weight goal.

You know I have a horrible sweet tooth and I must learn to eat sweets in moderation. Sugar is my crack (lol).

shelbyj72

I just ignore it I am over everyday in sugars. I do try to see look at the overage and try not to be over it too much. It is frustrating to me also.

smpalmer1

I am a Diabetic and I do not include my sugars, I use my carbs as an indicator. This is really what you should be looking at. Since sugars does relate to carbs, it will work. We forget that starchy foods turn to sugar and can be very misleading. With being Diabetic, I have to be very careful about my carb intake and medicate accordingly based on my carb intake. With a goal of 1800 calories per day, my carb goal is 248 which is about 17 carb exchanges. Every 15 grams of carbs is 1 exchange. I hope that helps.:glasses:

BridgetteFLA

I just posted a similar question, guess I should have read around first. aablacknell is right about the fruit, that is what I have been adding to my diet lately and it is way over just from raisins and a all natural fruit drink. It can't be right??

SweetTooth68

Thanks for the tips. I think I will just remove it from things I track for now and focus on my successes for a while

BridgetteFLA

A great MFP user just sent me this on my similar question:

"HI Bridgette, I just saw a sports dietition and asked this exact same question. Eat your fruit. Fruit does NOT count against the grams of sugar fitness pal gives you. Eating fruit reduces cravings for candies, cookies, cakes, etc. She put me on a special diet I eat 4 pieces of fruit per day!!! I love it. No guilt, no one got fat eating too many bananas, right? Enjoy! Also, I adjusted the sugar gram allowance, when you go into either tools or settings, you can change the sugar grams. Just remember, when you make that adjustment, that you are truly eating fruit and not other sugars. And juice does not count. The fiber in the fruit prevents you from gaining weight."


Hope this helps

kelliehagan

Thanks for the post, because I've had exactly the same issue. I like smpalmer's response about watching carbs rather than sugars. My husband is also diabetic, and that's what he does. I actually *don't* have a sweet tooth and try to eat fruit as much as I can, don't drink fruit drinks at all, and don't ever eat sweets. But lightly sweetened cereal and protein bars will blow your sugar goal. I just don't worry about it, as long as my carbs are under--which they always are.

NYGoddess77

Carbohydrates, if you dont already know, get broken down into the simplest form of glucose for energy. There are 2 types of carbs..Complex (healthy) and Simple (very bad). Complex carbs are veggies and whole grains which take longer for your body to break down into glucose. Simple Carbs don't take much work at all because those foods are already in the simplest form so therefore rushes in your bloodstream. INSULIN's job is to help the glucose get to the cells to be used for energy. But, our bodies can only use but so much at a time....so the excess glucose gets stored away as fat...Yes thats INSULINS second job :-) By eating too much of these types of SIMPLE carbs ( all processed foods, junk, refined sugars) will cause your body to get fat. If you consume only fresh veggies, lean protein and the fruits with the least amount of sugar (grapefruits, mixed berries, pineapple) you wont exceed ur sugar goal. I steer clear of anything boxed, packaged or whatever. Drink water, use a tea bag try it with no sugar at all.
Look at this video from Nutritionist Radhia Gleis...she explains the misconception of LOW FAT, FAT FREE foods, how the body metabolizes food and how people get fat and the whole nine yards...awesome video. It comes in 3 parts and is VERY VERY informative....wow

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSLn0vGh5ZQ
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc3Y4rd6Xq0
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tajNj1rL5k

smpalmer1

For anyone who likes the flavored creamers, I switched to the Sugar Free ones. I put a great deal in my coffe and that was almost like having a meal. Try Coffeemate Vanilla Caramel. It's not as good and the stuff with sugar, but it's pretty good.

I know about the carbs and how bad they can be. I grew up with a family overflowing with diabetics. They were all overweight and stayed away from desserts. They used to say just stay away from sugar. We are italian and at every meal, there is pasta and bread. No wonder they were all sick. My grandmother and aunt both lost a leg to Diabetes. I am not going to let that happen to me. I am working out again and this website certainly helps with my food intake and how I medicate. I am Type 1 and take insulin with my meals. It's great if you are out at a restaurant and you can look up what you are eating. They I can medicate properly. I also purchased a scale with the Nutrition Facts for your food. You put in a code for the type of food and it will give you all the facts just like the labels. Wow, did I find out how much more pasta I was eating. I thought I was only having 2 oz, but when I weighed what I would normally make, it was over 5 oz. Reality check! That's why this scale is great. You can actually put a plate on and add up a whole meal. You can get it at Target or Amazon.com. It was only $50, which isn't cheap, but worth it for me.