I *always* go over on sugar!!

applesandglue

ARG! I'm so frustrated!! I have been trying to cut back my sugar and that is my absolute weakness and last week I gained weight due to my sugar intake (let's just say someone couldn't resist a Sprinkles cupcake, among other goodies), so I decided I would try to make an effort to keep my sugar intake down. The cardio boot camp instructor I see said that our snacks should be only 4 grams of sugar so I tried to do that.

Well, the day isn't over and I'm already over my sugar... I think it was half a banana (only half!) that pushed me over the edge with 9 grams of sugar. Ugh!

Does anyone else have the same problem? Any advice? I'm really trying to get rid of this tummy pooch and am feeling frustratred by my lack of progress.

missyjmet

Yes!! everyday i go over.

Fat2FitChick

I started treating fruits like a treat so I don't eat them every day. I also have cut down on my carbs and that has also cut down on my sugar intake.

dragonbug300

Don't worry about sugar from fruit--it's inevitable, but not harmful. It's the sugar from processed foods that you should worry about. The cereals and what-not contain quite a bit, although Kelloggs may not have as much as, say, Lucky Charms.
All-in-all, don't fret it. Being over sugar isn't what's going to keep one from losing weight: it's being over calories. Looks like you're eating healthy meals. Feel good about it.

nikkionamission

I'm practically over before I even finish breakfast usually. However mine's due to fruit and a lot of people on here tend to ignore the sugar from fruit and only worry about the processed sugar (like that found in cupcakes!).

I've tried cutting back but I miss fruit if I don't eat it!

ChefJenn

oh Sprinkles Cupcakes!!
We dont have one where I live but I did interview with them to run management for new stores that were going to open but I was told I would have to move and EAT EVERY TIME SOMETHING NEW WAS MADE

I nicely said NO THANKS..

I have the same issue with Sugar. but I dont see going over when its fruit sugars, I watch my sugar in other things like my foods, juice, things like that. Then once I enter those to see if I went over then I add in my fruits b/c it always makes me go over

Jenni268

Most nutritionists would suggest not going over 30 grams of ADDED sugar a day. Honestly, while I try not to overdo it even with natural sugars, I just REALLY watch the added, refined sugars.

I don't really count bananas, apples, etc. in the sugar department. My goal say 30 grams and I'm always over by a little. I think if you are eating mostly whole foods you should be okay. But really make an effort to stay away from the refined sugars!

That's the only thing I don't really like on MFP. It doesn't differentiate between the two. There's a BIG difference between 30 g of natural and 30 g of refined. Your body deals with them in two different ways!!

Atlantique

Sugars from fruit are not a problem for weight loss, as it's pretty difficult to get too many of them due to the fiber in the fruit.*

Table sugar, sucrose and High Fructose are a HUGE problem in weight loss because of the insulin response which tells yoru body to store fat.

So don't worry so much about the fruit. Watch the simple sugars and HFCS-which pretty much means processed foods (including bread), white pasta, white rice, etc.



*You can hurt your weight loss by drinking fruit juices though--too much sugar at one time with no fiber.

HerBravado

I used to have this same problem. 10x worse for me, since I'm insulin resistant. :[ But! I don't think sugar from fruit is as bad as processed foods that contain sugar. So I wouldn't worry too much if you go over with natural sugars. However, if you're also eating sweets--try to find alternatives like low-sugar or no-sugar candies & sweets. I've tried Pillsbury's sugar free cake/frosting, & it's delicious. I also eat Hershey's sugar-free varieties of their candies (like York, Reese's Cups, & Hershey bars). There are sugar-free gelatins that I find absolutely delicious & low in calories--which is a miracle when I feel snacky. Hope you find that balance; you can conquer the sweet tooth.

Ral263

Well, first, don't worry about sugars from fruit or vegetables-- they're natural, and good for you, so don't count those in your overall count (i try to limit bananas, papaya, and pineapple in favor for berries, melon, and apples, which are lower in calories and higher in fiber)

Second, you are eating a LOT of processed foods, which contributes to sugar intake a great deal. Even foods that typically aren't seen as sweet (crackers, ketchup, etc) have a lot of processed white sugars.

For example, lower your sugar intake by switching your Yoplait with plain non fat Greek yogurt sprinkled with fruit and stevia.

Change your cereal with steel cut oats or fiber one.

Eliminate sauces/dressings as much as you can.... ex: use balsamic and oil instead of ranch.

Hope this helps!

maximuslupus

I might not be helping, but I just joined this website on the same day that I received a free cake with super high sugar icing from a free cake-making class, while my sister made another high sugar icing cake when I arrived home (albeit, hers looked nasty). It's hard to resist temptation, but I tell myself that I do not need this and, well, it gets eaten by the other members of the family.

Instead of going for a cupcake, get used to eating healthier things, like a simple banana will do. It might even get you fuller than one, or five cupcakes...

pposner

I can really relate. Sugar is my absolute weakness and I too and having trouble loosing weight. I've been really watching my intake over the past several weeks. I started out late Feb. early March doing the new weight watchers points plus (and gained weight in the process). Last week I found this website and compared calories with points only to find out that I was eating way more than my calorie allowance given by myfitnesspal in points. I'm not tall and don't weight that much. I don't have that much to lose (which actually makes it that much harder to lose) but I've been absolutely faithful to writing everything down and lost 1 pound this week. And actually it fluctuates so by tomorrow morning I could be back where I started last week. It's really frustrating but I don't want to give up the sweets.

taiyola

I only usually go over now and again if I've had chocolate or something... Maybe swap sugar for sweetener if you have tea/coffee?

EJLundberg

I am good with sugar, but my issue is protein. I have been successful with eating the "berries." Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, cantalope, honeydew and watermelon are my go to foods. I go for quantity and that's lots of those. Stay away from bananas, oranges, grapes and cherries. I love sweets also and so I just can't have them in the house. It is hard, but in the end, the results will be worth it.
This has been an eye-opener to me that I really haven't been eating enough food and my metabolism had really gone into hibernation.

Good Luck, keep up the good work!

taiyola

Today you are over by 6, but your snacks were 7... Maybe your problem wasn't the banana, but your snacks instead

Newfiedan

Here are my diet tips to make it work and make it last. I am not dietary angel but more importantly I do not need to be, I learned the base concepts and work off them.

1) Eat breakfast try to gun for 30% protein, the reasoning is that it will raise the metabolic rate and get you started off right. Look at my diary to get an idea of what I do to make that happen. If you are pressed for time do a protein shake with some fruit and fiber mainly flax seed. Add a slice of rye or really nice grainy bread with some good peanut butter and you are off to a great start with a 5 minute breakfast. Make sure you eat this within 30 mins fo waking.

2) Carbs and fats are not your enemy, refined carbs and saturated fats are, these 2 create a vicious cylce that peak insulin response which you do not want to do. You want a steady slow release of sugars to keep your energy up and cravings down. Carbs coming from lentils, legumes, veggies are your friends. There are great links that list all the slow releasing carbs I do not have room here to list them all.Get good fats into you, nuts are great for that as well as olive oil, macadamia nut oil and fish. I highly recommend getting omega 3s into you as well as salmon and tuna, all great foods.

3) Every meal should be a carb and protein, it will satiate your apetite longer and keep the body happy. However with that said I gun for at least 3 servings of veggies a day, spinach, broccoli, green peppers, mushrooms (this is a fantastic one especially for women but make sure they are cooked for the max vitamin D)

4) Snacks, get almonds into here as well as peanuts and pumpkin seeds, the pumpkin seeds have many benefits including a positive libido hit. Flax seed is also fantastic I recommend getting that into your shake in its ground form or into an omelet.

5) teas or coffees, get cinammon or honey into them if you need sweeteners both are far better choices than creamers (these can contain some deadly crap in them that I would not dare let pass my lips) honey has huge health benefits and cinammon is a natural blood sugar stabilizer just do not exceed 1.5 tsps/day.

6) go for quality not quantity in the diet, remember feeding muscles requires that you keep an excess of protein, good fats, and vitamins in the body, building muscle needs even more of the basic building blocks. Eating to few cals makes it turn on itself for these needs which you want to avoid at all costs and is the sole downfall of 90% of the diets out there, they deprive the body I want you to feed it and do it right.

Clean eating, I made no secret of the fact that I advocate it, it has all the building blocks needed for a healthy body even without exercise, consider exercise to be the icing on the cake. It will help you improve upon the basic building blocks you have and if you built a strong foundation the rest of it will be strong. So get that into your head that to succeed you must feed the body.

Helpful links that I use regularly;

http://www.beachbody.com/category/michis_ladder.do

eating off the top 2 tiers makes you a saint so long as 80% of the diet is in there then the last 20% will not hurt you, do not treat that as a licence to go nuts though but I highly recommend splurging once every 3 weeks unless you have hit a wall in that case do it once every 2 weeks.

http://fourhourbodysupplements.com/2010/02/slow-carb-diet/list-of-slow-carb-foods/

list of slow carbs for you to resort to.

http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/body-fat-percentage-calculator.php

bodyfat calculator, get it into your head that the scale is not the way to track fat loss measurements are. The scale is the greasy car salesman of the weight loss world, it only tells you half the story. If I had to recommend one thing to do when you start its take measurements and a before pic. I recently replied to a post about eating your exercise cals I think it may be beneficial to those who are unsure about eating back the workout cals.

think of it like driving a car, you have a limited amount of gas before the car starts to break down. The calories or fuel that mfp gives you will get you to your destination driving at 80 mph. Now think of exercise as getting you there at 120 mph but not stopping for fuel means that the tires get worn down faster, the car will break down easier and in the end will explode. The body is the car, the calories are the fuel, the tires are your muscle without proper fuel they break down and in the end the body feeds off itself. The point of the exercise is to increase the metabolic rate (the speed at which you can safely drive) not to burn off the fuel (calories)

SabrinaJL

For breakfast this morning I had a smoothie with a banana, 1 c. strawberries, 1 c. milk (1%) and a scoop of protein powder. That put me 5 grams over my daily sugar. Since it's fruit and milk, I'm not gonna worry about it.

bethclagg

I'm gonna agree with what a lot of people are saying here. It is the ADDED sugar to the diet - the nasty refined stuff that we love so much that is the big bad to the diet. Naturally occurring sugars in fruits and vegetables aren't going to harm you or your diet, it's the white stuff. Example, I had a TOMATO and that alone was enough to cap my sugar intake according to the allowances on the site here. I'm going to subtract sugars in fruit, veggie and some low fat dairy (going to count sugar in yogurt though since it's flavored and more a treat than a necessity). If we were THAT strict on the sugar we consume we'd end up cutting out a lot of the healthy things that we should be eating lots of.

applesandglue

Thanks for all the sympathy, advice and ideas everyone! I guess I do eat a lot of processed foods, I need to cut that back.. the last week hasn't been typical of what I usually eat (for those of you who looked at my diary, I was on spring break and unfortunately being bad), but I will start making an effort to eat more "natural".

DANY2181

I am also wondering if the sugar intake on MFP counts for the weight gain or lost tracking info you get at the end of your daily food intake? Is it calculating what weight you would or could be gaining if you go over your sugar intake for the day?? I love sour keys and crave them...I can't help myself when it comes to candy, but my calorie intake is low so it shows I should weigh a certain amount by my goal date yet nothing is happening!!!

kateangel2312

Yes I'm having this problem but it's because I eat too many biscuits:noway:

Willbenchforcupcakes

I have been over my sugar every single one of the 835 days I have logged. Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

iPlatano

I go over my sugar intake by 100 every day and Ive lost 22 pounds so far.
I think you are not counting calories though....do you?

Well, first, don't worry about sugars from fruit or vegetables-- they're natural, and good for you, so don't count those in your overall count (i try to limit bananas, papaya, and pineapple in favor for berries, melon, and apples, which are lower in calories and higher in fiber)