I can't even eat Raisins?!?!

BlueMindi

My small little box of raisins that I thought were supposed to be healthy make me exceed my daily sugar limit. Not that I can ever be under my limit for sugar with yogurt and fruit. Is anyone else having a hard time with this?

I know that these things have other great health benefits and should be part of my diet but too much sugar turns to fat! This is so hard!

Angela4Health

I personally don't count sugars from fruits and such. I only count the added sugars in things, and I am losing weight steadily. If I hit a plateau then maybe I will re-evaluate but as of now it's working out just fine for me. Try to get your "sugary" foods (including fruit) in earlier in the day though.

sweetheart03622

It is very difficult finding that balance... but everything in moderation. Take your time and do your research and pick your battles. The issue with a lot of dried fruit is that more sugar is added to it in addition to the sugar already in the fruit. Typically, going over on sugar, if it's from fruit, isn't a huge issue.

mlemonroe2

Don't worry so much about the sugar in fruits and vegies. It's the white, or refined sugar that you need to limit.

chrisyoung0422

A lot of dried fruits suck like that....I love craisins and they got was limited when I saw the cal and sugar.... Think it was craisins anyway....haha

crystal_sapphire

what it a no sugar added? dried fruit is particularly high in sugar

AdamATGATT

I'll echo what others have said. Don't sweat the sugars from fruit. That doesn't mean to go overboard and take in hundreds of grams of sugar from fruit, but don't be upset by going over due to a banana or raisins.

EDesq

Your "numbers" are what YOU want...If you eat on a Plan that says you may eat 2-3 serving of fruit per day and you eat that, and you lose weight...who cares what "someone's" arbitrary numbers say. It's JUST a piece of Technology giving FACTS about food...it DOES NOT tell YOU how it is Digested, whether it is "good" for you or will help you...YOU have to do some thinking, research and Decision making about Your Nutrition.

b00b0084

Simply put:
Sugar from fruits (fresh, frozen, or dried) is good for you and your body can use it
Refined sugar (candy and sweets) are bad for you and will be turned into fat.

DrBorkBork

Eat grapes instead. Dried fruit tends to have a higher sugar content b/c all the water has been sucked out (so the sugar is more concentrated).

You can still eat them. Remember: food doesn't make us fat. Food CHOICES make us fat.

miseducation1327

I always exceed my sugar...just stay away from the artificial ones...as long as the sugar is natural you're good!

tsimehc2000

I go over on my sugars every day and I've lost the weight. However, I'm a type 1 diabetic, so if I don't have sugar, I'm dead ... :happy:

Heather75

Just eat the bloody raisins. They are delicious!

Strelok2500

Fructose (the sugar that you get from fruit), whether consumed from natural sources or artifical sources (such as foods with high fructose corn syrup) is equally bad for you when consumed in too high of quantities. What makes fruit better is the other aspects of the fruit that are healthy for you, disregarding the fructose.

I highly recommended people watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
This also acts as a source for my claims above.

You should definitely consider the sugar you get from fruit on an equal level as from other sources. However, the fruit would be preferable in most cases, but not because sugar from fruit is any better in regards to your weight loss.

b00b0084

I go over on my sugars every day and I've lost the weight. However, I'm a type 1 diabetic, so if I don't have sugar, I'm dead ... :happy:

the same thing with my mom and brother

WIQQID

There are certain fruits and even vegetables that I won't eat during the first phase of my diet. I'm unsure if most people are aware of the hidden sugars that are in some fruits and vegetables. For instance, 1 medium baked potato has the equivalent of 26 tsp of sugar! It's crazy!! If you want to eat fruits, limit yourself to 2 servings per day and choose the lower sugared ones such as berries or apples. Grapes and citrus fruits come in next for lowest sugar. Try to avoid the high sugar fruits such as bananas, melons, and tropical fruits.

BlueMindi

thank you all. i have been researching this - that is what i thought strelok500 - that sugar is sugar. I am just working out really hard and sticking to my calorie limit eating a diet of protein, veggies, whole wheat fruits and dairy and I gained a pound this week. I guess it could be muscle but really? I would just like to see the scale go the other way soon for some inspiration.

bumina

I'm in the same boat. I LOVE Sunmaid Natural Raisins, but one serving pretty much blows my sugar intake out of the water. As others have said, I don't count fruit based sugars as badly as refined because your body uses fructose differently than sucrose or dextrose. I mainly eat raisins for the potassium content in them and because they're easy to pack in my lunch or mix in with my peanut butter sandwich Basically, what I would advise is if you have no adverse affects from eating a little too much sugar then just eat your fruit and veggies as usual. They have more benefits than detriments.

kacarter1017

I personally don't worry about being over on sugar as long as it's been minimal sugars over 3 servings of fruit and one yogurt. This is the standard set by the ADA, the Mediterranean Diet, and many others say 3-6 fruits a day. Not less than 3. I"ve seen a couple plans that say 2 for very little women. Yogurt is seen as a very healthy food and something we should consider eating most days of the week. If we do this, we go over on sugars.

dls06

My small little box of raisins that I thought were supposed to be healthy make me exceed my daily sugar limit. Not that I can ever be under my limit for sugar with yogurt and fruit. Is anyone else having a hard time with this?

I know that these things have other great health benefits and should be part of my diet but too much sugar turns to fat! This is so hard!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TAWoody

Yeah like everyone said, don't worry about sugar from veggies or fruit unless it has added sugar like a mixed fruit drink might be more sugar than fruit.

Strelok2500

I'm in the same boat. I LOVE Sunmaid Natural Raisins, but one serving pretty much blows my sugar intake out of the water. As others have said, I don't count fruit based sugars as badly as refined because your body uses fructose differently than sucrose or dextrose. I mainly eat raisins for the potassium content in them and because they're easy to pack in my lunch or mix in with my peanut butter sandwich Basically, what I would advise is if you have no adverse affects from eating a little too much sugar then just eat your fruit and veggies as usual. They have more benefits than detriments.

Well, sucrose is just glucose and fructose (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucrose). The way your body handles them is different, but not in a particularly good way for fructose. The video I linked previously in this thread is fairly long, but it isn't some random user-made video, it's basically a lecture, and the person giving the information is credible.

I can't say I agree with the majority of advice handed out in this thread. Fructose in too high of quantities is bad no matter where you get it from, and the fairly reliable source I presented backs that up quite nicely. Because the fructose you get from fruit is natural doesn't necessarily mean consuming it will be any better than from other sources. The sugar itself from fruit wouldn't be better than the sugar from coca-cola, but the fruit itself (in all of it's other aspects) is better for you

c2sky

Your "numbers" are what YOU want...If you eat on a Plan that says you may eat 2-3 serving of fruit per day and you eat that, and you lose weight...who cares what "someone's" arbitrary numbers say. It's JUST a piece of Technology giving FACTS about food...it DOES NOT tell YOU how it is Digested, whether it is "good" for you or will help you...YOU have to do some thinking, research and Decision making about Your Nutrition.
[/quote

Well said! I worked with 3 dieticians. All of them said that even high glycemic carbs, like raisins, carrots and whole wheat are fine, especially, right after exercise. What my dieticians could NOT help me do, was find an easy way to track what I was eating. So far I'm doing my first week, and I've lost 2 pounds, although I don't want to officially weigh in until Monday.

c2sky

Your "numbers" are what YOU want...If you eat on a Plan that says you may eat 2-3 serving of fruit per day and you eat that, and you lose weight...who cares what "someone's" arbitrary numbers say. It's JUST a piece of Technology giving FACTS about food...it DOES NOT tell YOU how it is Digested, whether it is "good" for you or will help you...YOU have to do some thinking, research and Decision making about Your Nutrition.

WELL SAID!!!

c2sky

You need to replace glycogen after exercise. Please don't listen to the people who try to show you studies and videos about how fruit is "bad". Nonsense! Any registered dietician with tons of experience, healthy weight, muscle mass, and a master's degree or more will tell you those claims are ridiculous. I know 3 of such dieticians personally. I trust them much more than I do videos. Usually, they are trying to sell their plan, system, whatever. They are not objective.

Most of the posts on this thread make sense.

I did the South Beach diet right before I got married. I continued with my exercise. I lost weight, but I was exhausted, and I lost valuable muscle mass. And yes, of course the weight came back. Calories in calories out....balance. I do wish this system had would show just refined sugars. I'm sure the total sugars is a concern for diabetics, but I think timing is important.

c2sky

thank you all. i have been researching this - that is what i thought strelok500 - that sugar is sugar. I am just working out really hard and sticking to my calorie limit eating a diet of protein, veggies, whole wheat fruits and dairy and I gained a pound this week. I guess it could be muscle but really? I would just like to see the scale go the other way soon for some inspiration.

Another thing my dieticians all told me was that weight loss is never straight loss on the scale. 2 days ago I was up a pound from my original. Today I was down 6! It's the overall numbers at the end of the month, body composition measurements and girth measurements. This site allows you to track those too. Hang in there, you're doing fine, I'm sure!

Strelok2500

You need to replace glycogen after exercise. Please don't listen to the people who try to show you studies and videos about how fruit is "bad". Nonsense! Any registered dietician with tons of experience, healthy weight, muscle mass, and a master's degree or more will tell you those claims are ridiculous. I know 3 of such dieticians personally. I trust them much more than I do videos. Usually, they are trying to sell their plan, system, whatever. They are not objective.

Most of the posts on this thread make sense.

I did the South Beach diet right before I got married. I continued with my exercise. I lost weight, but I was exhausted, and I lost valuable muscle mass. And yes, of course the weight came back. Calories in calories out....balance. I do wish this system had would show just refined sugars. I'm sure the total sugars is a concern for diabetics, but I think timing is important.

No one (not in this thread anyway) is saying fruits are bad for you. The fructose in fruit, when consumed in too high of quantity, will be just as bad for you as the fructose from a coca-cola (if the quantity is the same). The video I linked is credible and explains the science of the matter. It examines step-by-step of how the human body processes ethanol, fructose and glucose. It explains why fructose can be bad for you, and it takes you through the actual science of the matter. I advise people watch the video I linked and if they have issue with it, they should first criticize the actual science established, if they are well-versed enough in the subject to do so.

There is no evidence I have seen to suggest that fructose from fruit is better than fructose from anywhere else--other than the fact that fruit has other health benefits that has nothing to do with the sugar. If you're getting a lot of sugar from fruit, you should take it into consideration, since too much fructose is bad for you, as per my source which is lengthy, credible and in-depth. A common myth is being perpetuated in this thread with no evidence to back it up, only bare assertions. As per my source, too much fructose is bad for your health and weight loss. Getting the fructose from fruit won't change that fact, and ignoring the fructose you get from fruit is irresponsible and is justified only from a myth.

The reason I'm focusing so much on fructose is not only because that is fruit sugar, but it will also be in a lot of the foods we eat. A great deal of foods that you find that are labeled to contain sugar will use sucrose, which contains fructose (50% as per my citation and the wikipedia articles on both sucrose and fructose).

deadmittens

Sometimes I don't pay attention to my sugar limit :laugh: The most basic things make you go over, like yogurt!

Schwiggity

The problem with the sugar counter is it also counts natural sugars. HOWEVER. Raisins really aren't that incredibly healthy since they do have plenty of added sugar, and are calorie dense.

robertf57

Simply put:
Sugar from fruits (fresh, frozen, or dried) is good for you and your body can use it
Refined sugar (candy and sweets) are bad for you and will be turned into fat.

And Santa comes down the chimmney on Christmas! Sugar is sugar. You get the additional nutrients from fruits and probably some fiber; but there is not anything magical about the sugar in fruits

size08

Yep! Sugar is:- once that stuff hits your system it just turns to fat. I've gained half a stone over Easter...