Sugar

DawnCallas

Hey guys! I seem to be going over my sugar everyday! Should I be worried? What does this mean for my weight loss? Thank you in advance!

mapexdrummer69

Simply put, usless you are diabetic, no.


Sugar, in any form (fruit, cake, ice cream, breads), will in no way slow down weight loss by itself. Weight gain/loss all come down to energy balance (the amount of calories you consume vs. calories expended).

SKastanis

I also go over, like every single day. If it's from candy, then yea, it might affect your weight loss if you're getting most of your calories from junk. If it's from fruit or something healthy, and you're staying within your daily caloric limit you will be fine. Most of mine is from fruit, so I never worry about it.

AHealthierRhonda

I do the same thing. My problem is I love milk and fruit so it is "high in sugar" but it is natural sugar. I try to get sugar free snacks but I worry more about fat that sugar. I'm a sugarholic so... staying away from candy is my biggest challenge. As long as you exercise and burn it and don't eat a lot of crap sugar it should be fine. I've alsays been a candy eater and never been over weight by much. Garbage sugar is just bad nutrition wise.

fitinyoga14

No, it probably won't effect your weight loss. It will effect the amount of carbs you are taking in compared to fat and protein! Make sure you are eating snacks and meals that contain combos of at least two of those. Also, as you have probably been told before, avoid foods with a lot of processed/refined sugar, such as ones added to juices and pops.

mapexdrummer69

Sugars are sugars, no matter of the source, in regards to long term WEIGHT LOSS.


1g carbohydrate=4 calories so matter what the source of that carb is. Candy, fruit, eggs, bread, etc.

sunnygal1

I totally disagree with some of the PP's. Sugar is everything! And it's true, any type of sugar whether it comes from fruit or candy has the same effect on your body. Sugar will absolutely slow down your weight loss. If your body is loaded with sugar, it has no 'reason' to burn the stored fat for energy since the sugar is more accessible. I am a fitness instructor and workout like crazy! But it wasn't until I took a diet class and learned about sugar and its effects on the body that I dropped 20 pounds in 10 weeks. Just try it... for two weeks try to stay below your sugar allowance and get some exercise everyday. Don't worry about the fat and calories as much. You will lose weight.

mapexdrummer69

Modulating sugar intake will in no way negate or accelerate weight loss, unless calories were increased or decreased in the process.

botography

I had one tangerine this morning, and that goes for any other fruit I put in my mouth and I blow the days sugar allowance minus a few points. Should I avoid fruit.... it does contain sugar. I am so confused by this. Sugar and carbs make me hungry and then I my cravings start to come back. My best diet was the Atkins. However I do not eat meat so it was a modified diet.

I forgot to add that I am pre-diabetic... or I come up high fasting (morning measurement) and normal all day long. Got to figure that one out... Like at night I go up and during the day normal.

dls06

I don't track my sugar. As long as you are not eating foods with a lot of refined sugar, I would not worry about it.
I was told by a nutritionist not to focus on sugar. Sugar is included in your carb count. If your carbs are not over then you are ok.
Just watch the junk food. Make sure you eat Healthy carbs.

mapexdrummer69

I don't track my sugar. As long as you are not eating foods with a lot of refined sugar, I would not worry about it.
I was told by a nutritionist not to focus on sugar. Sugar is included in your carb count. If your carbs are not over then you are ok.
Just watch the junk food. Make sure you eat Healthy carbs.

I do agree in a sense with this. The only thing that would make a carb "healthy" persay would be a food that is dense in micronutrients. "Junk" and processed foods can be enjoyed as well, however.

bluellies

I don't watch them. I'll take a look and see every now and then, but 9 times out of 10 when I'm over it's because of milk. How crazy is it that there are studies linking 24oz of skim milk a day to weight loss, but that puts you at 33 grams of sugar? My sugar limit is 24, so I'd be over every day if I did that.

There are so many different theories about losing weight, and people are quite vocal over their preferred choice, myself included (I'm an input/output sort of girl), but I also believe the proof is in the pudding. If you lose weight, and are able to maintain it, then it worked for you

mosneakers

I'm in the same position as you! First it was my sodium and I now have that under control, but I'm seeing that sugar number in the red every night! I had an orange and a banana yesterday, that was about 30g of sugar!!! WOW!!! I then looked at the other food I ate. The highest amount of sugar (next to the fruit), came from the yogurt I had. I always buy yogurt that is less than 11g of sugar per serving (learned that from the book about sodium I got). I cannot believe that sugar is sugar is sugar - sugar in candy slows me down, sugar in fruit does not. So confused with these posts! :huh:

mapexdrummer69

I don't watch them. I'll take a look and see every now and then, but 9 times out of 10 when I'm over it's because of milk. How crazy is it that there are studies linking 24oz of skim milk a day to weight loss, but that puts you at 33 grams of sugar? My sugar limit is 24, so I'd be over every day if I did that.

There are so many different theories about losing weight, and people are quite vocal over their preferred choice, myself included (I'm an input/output sort of girl), but I also believe the proof is in the pudding. If you lose weight, and are able to maintain it, then it worked for you

The "proof in the pudding" due to personal experience should not be translated to weight loss or nutrition. Simply put, causation does not imply correlation.

The one and only thing that determines long term weight loss is your calorie intake.


Milk/dairy products contain lactose, a disaccharide, which is a sugar.

therobinator

I totally disagree with some of the PP's. Sugar is everything! And it's true, any type of sugar whether it comes from fruit or candy has the same effect on your body. Sugar will absolutely slow down your weight loss. If your body is loaded with sugar, it has no 'reason' to burn the stored fat for energy since the sugar is more accessible. I am a fitness instructor and workout like crazy! But it wasn't until I took a diet class and learned about sugar and its effects on the body that I dropped 20 pounds in 10 weeks. Just try it... for two weeks try to stay below your sugar allowance and get some exercise everyday. Don't worry about the fat and calories as much. You will lose weight.

I had one tangerine this morning, and that goes for any other fruit I put in my mouth and I blow the days sugar allowance minus a few points. Should I avoid fruit.... it does contain sugar.

I agree that it's truly all about calories in versus calories out....health and vitamins and minerals aside. So, to play devils' advocate here (and because I am curious as to you thinking): how can y'all say that high sugar (even from whole, healthy foods) is still a problem? Do you all suggest we don't eat fruit while trying to lose weight? And what about after we've reached our goal weight?

mapexdrummer69

I agree that it's truly all about calories in versus calories out....health and vitamins and minerals aside. So, to play devils' advocate here (and because I am curious as to you thinking): how can y'all say that high sugar (even from whole, healthy foods) is still a problem? Do you all suggest we don't eat fruit while trying to lose weight? And what about after we've reached our goal weight?

You have it correct. It wouldn't affect weight loss/maintenance in the context of a caloric deficit. :-)

therobinator

I agree that it's truly all about calories in versus calories out....health and vitamins and minerals aside. So, to play devils' advocate here (and because I am curious as to you thinking): how can y'all say that high sugar (even from whole, healthy foods) is still a problem? Do you all suggest we don't eat fruit while trying to lose weight? And what about after we've reached our goal weight?

You have it correct. It wouldn't affect weight loss/maintenance in the context of a caloric deficit. :-)

Oh, I know I have it correct. :laugh: I am really interested to see what sunnygal1 has to say. :bigsmile:

jenrobyoung

You know I had the same problem for a long time. It wasn't always from candy and snacks, but I have to say that I did crave them and had them more often then I should have. I have in the last two weeks changed to a more natural diet, eating fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat. I have avoided getting process, canned or frozen foods. What I have noticed is that I am now under in sugar every day instead. I made this change after watching a video on my mom’s suggestion that talked about sugar how it is processed in the body. It also talked about the difference between natural sugars created in nature and fructose. Fructose is in almost every processed food, including breads, granola bars and many other foods marketed as "healthy." I was amazed when I went through my fridge and cupboard and saw how many products I was using had it. Needless to say, I have cleaned the house of all of the bad products. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

It’s amazing how when you do finally start changing your eating habits from processed to natural that your appetite really goes down! Even better your cravings for the crap you use to eat slowly go away and it is much easier to choose to eat healthy. In fact you even start to crave it

irridia

I had one tangerine this morning, and that goes for any other fruit I put in my mouth and I blow the days sugar allowance minus a few points. Should I avoid fruit.... it does contain sugar. I am so confused by this. Sugar and carbs make me hungry and then I my cravings start to come back. My best diet was the Atkins. However I do not eat meat so it was a modified diet.

I forgot to add that I am pre-diabetic... or I come up high fasting (morning measurement) and normal all day long. Got to figure that one out... Like at night I go up and during the day normal.

I am diabetic and almost off all my meds, mostly from lowering my portions, looing weight and exercise. Like you my fasting is still not where it should be so I am trying lowering my carbs to 100g/day and I'm doing this for a month to see what my fasting average is, if it affects my a1c and I also added sat fat back into my diet (not much but more than I was eating before) to try to bring my HDL up because oatmeal at almost every meal, vitamin D and flaxseed were not really having any effect.

Anyway check this out, I think it will help you avoid becoming diabetic. Read some of the articles too, very helpful. Also the movie "Fat Head" has a very good demonstration on how the whole glucose/insulin resistance thing works.

[link] http://www.diabetes-book.com/book/chapter1.shtml [/link]

jlsmiles22

I think sugar matters..........to an extent.


This is just for me. I wasn't tracking my sugar at first, and I was losing, then I gained some and while I figured it was muscle from so much working out (and strength training) it worried me. I then started tracking my sugar. I try really really hard to stay below on my sugar everyday, the only other place I have trouble with is protein, but it's mostly sugar. I honestly have cut out most fruit now, or have it in extreme moderation (like only 1-2 strawberries for example, or only half a banana). But I did see a difference, I am amazed at how many weight loss targeted foods that are high in sugar, like the ice creams, they are barely lower than regular ice cream sometimes!

I figure this is something I will do while I am focused on losing.....when I am maintaining I will relax a little on it. What I find funny is I am ALWAYS way under on carbs, everyday, so much so I finally stopped tracking them lol.

Forensic

Because I am in danger of diabetes and a sugar addict, to me, sugar matters. So I watch it. Do I still go over periodically? Yes. Do I try to go over with healthier options than my (pre-attempted weight loss) entire big M&M bag binges? Yes.

sunnygal1

Obviously everyone has different views. I was only repeating what I learned in a nutrition class and wanted to share how rapidly my body changed when I started focusing on sugar intake. There is a reason why MFP gives you a daily allotment of a certain amount of sugar, why would they do it otherwise? In the nutrition class, we learned to cut out most sugary fruits while trying to lose weight, and then slowly adding fruit back in once you reach your goal. I have a small serving of fruit in the mornings--usually a half of a cup of frozen berries mixed in with a protein shake. I eat a lot of veggies! I lost 20 pounds in 10 weeks. I weigh 154 pounds and I'm over 6 feet tall so the weight loss was pretty significant. As a bonus, my skin is clearer, I don't have as many cravings, and I'm much fuller throughout the day. I do like what someone said as far as finding what works for you and sticking to it. But if you find that you are working out a lot, staying within your calorie intake, and still not losing weight, I would suggest trying to cut out some sugar. The key word is suggest.

bluellies

I don't watch them. I'll take a look and see every now and then, but 9 times out of 10 when I'm over it's because of milk. How crazy is it that there are studies linking 24oz of skim milk a day to weight loss, but that puts you at 33 grams of sugar? My sugar limit is 24, so I'd be over every day if I did that.

There are so many different theories about losing weight, and people are quite vocal over their preferred choice, myself included (I'm an input/output sort of girl), but I also believe the proof is in the pudding. If you lose weight, and are able to maintain it, then it worked for you

The "proof in the pudding" due to personal experience should not be translated to weight loss or nutrition. Simply put, causation does not imply correlation.

The one and only thing that determines long term weight loss is your calorie intake.


Milk/dairy products contain lactose, a disaccharide, which is a sugar.

Wow, where did this bit of nastiness come from?

Never once said that losing weight HAS to be a byproduct of drinking 3 glasses of milk if you so chose to (if you want to get technical, I should have said suggest, instead of linking), and if one has lost and maintained weight, how is the route one took to achieve this irrelevant? Again, I'm not stating that a MUST have caused b, simply saying that the sum of what one has done to lose the weight worked. I'm also confused on why you chose to explain that lactose is a sugar. I'm well aware of that, didn't dispute it. Also, I happen to agree with you on the input/output of cals, but I never once mentioned this either.

I generally don't make blanket statements of my opinions as facts--there are many varying views on how to lose weight, many different ways that people lose and maintain that weight, and I don't profess to have all of the answers, or even that mine are correct. I simply share my opinions, what has worked for me, and let others make their own decisions as they may.

missxchelly

Well it's stupid to think that anyone should be afraid of milk or fruit because of the sugar content. You need those things in your diet to stay healthy. I'd hate to see someone stop eating fruit because it went over their daily sugars. This site will still help you lose weight. With the caloric intake and exercise you will be fine!

DawnCallas

Thank you guys! All of my sugar comes from fruit and such. I am not a big sweet eater so no worries there! Thanks for all of the thoughts and opinnions! They have helped alot!

jenrobyoung

Sugars from fruits are not as bad as some other sugars because fruit also tends to have fiber in it as well to help process it. You have to watch for the hidden sugar in products you don't expect to see it in. Common items like catch up, granola bars, yogert, salad dressing all have bad sugars in them (generally speaking). These sugars can help encourage cravings and munchies so watch out! Natural sugars from fruit however, after you eat so much your body will tell you to stop.

cmg2008

bump. I want to be able to come back to this later.

irridia

To the person who said that watching sugar from milk and fruit is silly, some of us have to. If you are diabetic or prediabetic you should be watching them very carefully.

Milk sugar is one of the worst for me personally. I'm currently still over on fat intake but once I get it figured out I may be switching to whole milk for my coffee/tea as the fat helps the glucose uptake more slowly into your system.

mapexdrummer69

To the person who said that watching sugar from milk and fruit is silly, some of us have to. If you are diabetic or prediabetic you should be watching them very carefully.

Milk sugar is one of the worst for me personally. I'm currently still over on fat intake but once I get it figured out I may be switching to whole milk for my coffee/tea as the fat helps the glucose uptake more slowly into your system.

Yes, sugar intake for someone with a metabolic disorder is a completely different story.

shannonkk

everyone's body is different, what works for one does not always work for another. I