Sugars.

Princess626

I'm newer to the website and I have been reading many of the message boards... I've read a lot of great advice so far! I'm hoping someone more educated in nutrition can assist me.

A little history....
One of my more significant reasons for losing weigh is my health. My doctor advised me 18 months ago I am "pre-diabetic". My sugar levels fluctuate, some test days they're perffectly fine, other days they raise a flag. I started trying to loose the weigh at that time, but was plagued with gall bladder issues. Unwantingly, I lost 40 pounds in a matter or 4 months. That was February of 2010. Since then, I have gradually put weight on again, eating everything I could since it no longer caused me any pain.
Now present....
I was warned again about my weight and watching my sugars. Again, my sugar levels aren't so out of whack I need medication, but enough that they have raised a flag. Since joining MFP, I've done a great job (my opinion) of watching what I eat and logging every calorie so I don't cheat myself. I don't know if it has helped weight-wise as I vowed to only weigh myself once on Fridays. HOWEVER, I have noticed my sugars are always over the recommended intake. Take tonight for example; I have only eaten 826 of the recommended 1970 calories. My sugar count is already at 69 (recommended is 40). The only things I have eaten with sugar are yogurt and grapes, which I eat every day. As I said, every day my sugar count is well-over the recommended amount.

How important is this sugar count? Even if I cut out the yogurt, the sugar count is over from the fruit alone... Should I not pay attention to the fruit's sugar?
Any advise anyone can give me would be helpful. Thanks!

la_traviesa36013

I know what you mean. Because no matter what Fruit i eat or anything like that (even healthy things) I am usually high on my sugar intake. I feel that sugar intake is very important but thats just me. I also heard some great advice- if your sugar intake is going to be higher than it should, at least its not refined sugars and its the natural sugar found in fruit. But because your having medical issues with sugars then you should just cut out the yogurt and fruits. Just for a while. To see if things improve for you.

totustuusmaria

My mother recently bought a ton of fruit and I am eating it like crazy because 1) I love fruit 2) I would hate to see it spoil. But I am going over my sugars a lot now! I have the same questions as you about the sugars. I hope you get the answer. Writing this so I can keep track of the thread!!

sheffiej34

I'm not a nutritionist, but I have a friend who was in a similar boat as yours with the exception of pancreatitis causing his onset of diabetes (which has been well controlled and maintained since losing weight and improving diet/exercise).

He avoids most fruits just because of the sugar content. I found a list of fruits friendly for diabetics.

http://www.diabetic-dieting.com/fruit-list.html

Grapes are on the list. Greek yogurt is best, I think. Most bang for your buck. High in protein, no fat. I don't know how much you eat on a daily basis, but perhaps you need to shake things up and eat them less frequently. Sugars to a diabetic/pre-diabetic are important to watch.

Here is an link to a list of low glycemic index foods. The lower the index, the better for you. you probably already know that. LOL.

http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm

It's not much of an answer, but I hope it helps.

caroline_g

There's two types of sugars - natural and refined. Unfortunately, MFP doesn't differentiate between the two. Natural sugars aren't bad for you, not like refined sugar. If you eat an apple that has 10g of sugar in it, that'll affect your blood sugar less than say a sweet with 10g of sugar in it. However, grapes are one of the few fruits which will give you that sudden spike in your blood sugar so it's probably best to try and switch to a different fruit. Check out the GI of different fruits and go for low GI ones, that way they won't impact your blood sugar level so much as they slowly release into your system.

Fruit isn't bad for you but just have to make sure that you don't eat too much of it still. If you're concerned about having too much sugar, try switching out some of those fruits or veg. I know on days where I eat a couple of pieces of fruit, my sugar is over and that's why I stopped tracking it on here. I don't buy processed foods and I don't buy anything with high sugar content so I don't really feel the need to track it. Instead I track carbs, protein, fat, sat fat and fibre.

Princess626

Thank for the help so far! I've looked at the glycemic index of foods before, but completely forgot about it! Today was rare that I had strictly grapes (woke up late and they were the easiest to grab). Usually I have a mix of cantaloupe, watermelon, bananas, pineapple, strawberries and blueberries (yes, I love my fruit!). I'm definitely going to have to pay more attention to the glycemic index again and see if any of my favorites are on the low end (I hope they are!)