To leave 'sugar' on the goal settings or not?

Jenlwb

I've noticed a few people don't even track sugar, and add something else like cholesterol instead. I'm curious because I have a really hard time staying under my target of 25!! I know sugar is sugar, whether or not it's fruit or candy, but if I want to eat an apple (which is a superfood), I immediately go thru 2 thirds of my allowance. Throw in some yogurt, or honey on toast, or a protein bar and it's busted in a BIG way. I wish I could get sugar free protein powder here, but alas... My sweet tooth does take over on some days tho, esp at certain times of the month.

I know sugar is supposed to be related to fat storage on the belly, but don't carbs get immediately converted to sugar in your system too? My goals are not so much weight loss as changing composition- converting jelly belly to six pack.

What do you guys do? Leave it on there, or ignore and eat some healthy fuit in moderation without feeling guilty!! :flowerforyou:

porffor

As a person who dropped sugar off.. as it was bugging me I'll be honest.. that a low fat shake can contain SO much sugar, I am looking forward to reading what those in the know have to say.

Great thread! Thanks for posting.. :flowerforyou: will be back later to read and learn.. and likely add my sugar back on! :ohwell:

McKayMachina

I vote yes. Here's a quick read with a little more info. It sums up how I feel about tracking sugar.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/McKayMachina/view/you-re-not-fat-because-of-fat-106837

chevy88grl

I've learned that I don't have to monitor my macros as closely as I need to watch my calories. For me, it is more about calories in/calories out than it is about carbs (which my body LOVES, by the way), sodium (which doesn't affect me) or sugar (which doesn't affect me either).

I do watch my protein - especially on days I go to the gym.

Sugar in fruit is different than processed sugar you'll find in many "sweets". The sugar in fruit is natural whereas the sugar in our foods are not.

It is up to YOU whether to track it or not. If you don't think it affects you one way or another - then drop it off.

adventuring

I don't pay any attention to it. I like fruit too much to, I suppose. I dunno, I would say the benefits outweigh the cons with fruit and sugar consumption, but that's just me.

Tangerine302

I asked the same question about sugar when I first started tracking. The replies were that if the sugar came from fruit vs sweets then it was ok to have it go over. I remember just a banana and some yogurt brought it close or over what it had as my limit.

Hearts_2015

Why would you need to stay under 25??

For myself I see no reason to track sugar if I'm tracking carbs, it would only drive me nuts to see the sugar go over each day. The sugar deal on here doesn't differentiate between healthy carbs (fruit etc.) and candy and all that jazz. So if you go over I wouldn't worry, of course that is all depending on what's causing you to go over.

Only a short list of things that contain sugar that aren't necessarily unhealthy for you: breads, brown rice, fruit, veggies, dairy...

See what I'm saying? Some ppl do freak out and post on here as you did and usually they either decide to stop tracking so it doesn't drive them mad or learn to understand how it works on here. It doesn't. :grumble: :laugh: The sugar tracking I mean and the protein is way low as well..

Other than that....a pretty good place to set up shop!:flowerforyou:

wdwghettogirl

I started watching sugar to help with my belly jiggle, too. I noticed the first few days (when I was trying to stay under what they had set) that I started feeling sick to my stomach in the afternoons/evenings. I thought maybe it was the protein powder I had started using about the same time. So I experimented and stopped using the protein powder but kept watching my sugar super tight. Still felt sick. After allowing myself some overage with fruits/veggies, the sickness went away (still using the protein powder).

I decided that I would use it to monitor my PROCESSED sugar intake. I don't really count the sugar from fruits and veggies. So, my sugar is always in the red because of that, but I try to keep my processed sweets under control.

auntiebabs

I keep track of it.

I was amazed at how many food that are sold as *healthy* or *real food*s are loaded with hidden sugar.

While it's a rare day that I'm under on sugar. I'm not perfect I'm doing better.
I find that sugar increases my appetite by a lot.! If I have too much I can't stay in my calorie range for the day. I've been meaning to look into the Glycemic Index. to learn more about how the body processes sugar. I come from generations of diabetics I always thought that "sugar was sugar." But I've recently heard about something I want to look into.

Food manufacturers add a lot of sugar under a lot of different unrecognizable names into products, because it's cheap and it increases your appetite, so you eat more.
(I picked up a lean cuisine one evening forgot to check the sugar went to enter it to find out it had 30g of sugar, now

A) I only get 25g a day,
my favorite cookies are 9g for 15 cookies. If I'm going to eat sugar I want to enjoy a treat!!!

Also watch out for yogurts there usually very high in sugar, by plain and add a little hershey syrup or jam or cukes & dill at least YOU will be controlling your intake.)

BOTH sugar AND artificial sweeteners increase your appetite, so cutting back on them makes weight loss easier, because you are not hungry all the time.

If I have a DIET COKE, no way I can keep at 1200 cal.
More foods now than ever before have hidden sugars in them and are sold as "real foods"
If I'm going to eat the sugar I want a cookie, gosh darn it!
Nutrient Dense foods keep you full longer, while proteins and fats (happy fats... plant based) appear to pack a lot of calories for the quantity you get to eat. A small amount will keep you satisfied longer. So it may be a better balance for you .

Jenlwb

Thanks everyone, lots of interesting points and info. I've never experimented with carbs, I always stay under MFP goal, but as I'm a little gluten intolerant it's usually rice pasta, rye/spelt bread, and i love brown rice. I think i'm going to do an experiment soon with a couple of weeks of reduced carbs, see what happens.

I also agree that the more sugar you eat, the more you want, even if I drink diet coke, it promotes the urge in me to eat more sugar!

I decided that I would use it to monitor my PROCESSED sugar intake. I don't really count the sugar from fruits and veggies. So, my sugar is always in the red because of that, but I try to keep my processed sweets under control.

This may be the way to go for me too- keep monitoring as a check for myself- to make sure i don't go nuts with the processed/hidden sugar, and ignore the fruit sugar as long as it's reasonable.

You're all awesome xx