Too much sugar in my diet...

wwinn18

Hey guys, I'm a week into my healthier lifestyle (I do not want to call it a diet...although, that's basically what it is). I'm trying to lose that 20lbs I've gained in the past 2 years...and so I've finally started eating better and exercising regularly. I am a college student who works part time as well, so there isn't a Lot of time to excercise...but it's a good day if I keep my cals under 1400 and walk my dog everyday for 15 to 20 minutes. I hit the gym anywhere from 2 to 4 times a week, and on weeks when I can't make it to the gym I try to use my parent's elliptical machine thingg 2 to 4 times.

My problem is, I keep getting TOO much suger--not surprising considering I'm a college student...but I've been working my butt of to reduce it, and it's working, but I'm still going over about 40g every day! Is this bad? Will it prevent me from losing this 20 pounds?? What foods do you suggest that are inexpensive and low in sugar?

Sidesteal

If you are still eating in a caloric deficit, your sugar intake will not prevent weight loss.

SergeantSunshine_reused

Sugar is just a carbohydrate.

Focus on protein/fat/carbs and you will be fine. Stressing over sugar is a waste of time

BrownSugarBritches

i'm no dietician or nutritionist. and i am slave to a wicked sweet tooth. but in order to lose weight, i have to give up sugar. there's no way around it. i try to fool myself by not having anything sweet all day and then enjoy some fruit, yogurt, granola or the like, later in the day. i recently went on a cruise vacation and worked HARD to lose weight before. i did this, that and the other, but the only thing that really made an impact was reducing my sugar intake.

pander101

I have a problem with it too, I'm over by about 20g a day since I started eating more fruit. It also started going up once college started this year. I've been hearing people don't really count it but being over by a lot will have it's affects on weight loss. I just stick to lots of veggies and water to offset the sugar that I have. Most veggies are inexpensive. If you eat pasta, check the sugar content on the sauce and stuff. There's almost always another option that has a lower sugar count. Good luck!

buzzcogs

Try packing some veggies and portable fruits. I'm right there with you in eating way too much sugar. But cut down on the sweets and try eating an apple or some celery sticks with peanut butter instead. Pack some grapes or blueberries.

Don't kill the good for the perfect. Just gradually try to lower your sweets intake. It sounds like you are doing a great job and are on the right track.

Good Luck I'm rooting for you! ;-)

kimtpa1417

I am always over on my sugar as well. It also depends on where you are getting this sugar? Fruites and Veggies? If so I would not worry about it.

skinnison

Try reducing your fruit to two servings a day and increase your lean meats and vegatables. Fruit options should be citrus, berries (all) and apples to avoid the high sugar ones like bananas. Stay away from white foods. You'll be fine. Some sweet tooth options to help is Skinny Cow candy bars. My wife and I will treat with one of those and a scoop of sugar free ice cream.

SergeantSunshine_reused

Try reducing your fruit to two servings a day and increase your lean meats and vegatables. Fruit options should be citrus, berries (all) and apples to avoid the high sugar ones like bananas. Stay away from white foods. You'll be fine. Some sweet tooth options to help is Skinny Cow candy bars. My wife and I will treat with one of those and a scoop of sugar free ice cream.

Ok so avoid bananas but eat ice cream and candy bars?

Gigi_licious

Try reducing your fruit to two servings a day and increase your lean meats and vegatables. Fruit options should be citrus, berries (all) and apples to avoid the high sugar ones like bananas. Stay away from white foods. You'll be fine. Some sweet tooth options to help is Skinny Cow candy bars. My wife and I will treat with one of those and a scoop of sugar free ice cream.

Ok so avoid bananas but eat ice cream and candy bars?

Well yeah! Chocolate isn't white! Dur!

CindiBryce

Try reducing your fruit to two servings a day and increase your lean meats and vegatables. Fruit options should be citrus, berries (all) and apples to avoid the high sugar ones like bananas. Stay away from white foods. You'll be fine. Some sweet tooth options to help is Skinny Cow candy bars. My wife and I will treat with one of those and a scoop of sugar free ice cream.

Ok so avoid bananas but eat ice cream and candy bars?

^ Ha ha ha!
Fruit is evil. Stay away from the fruit! Just kidding.
Fruit is nutritious, unlike candy bars and ice cream. Also, candy bars and ice cream usually contain more sugar than fruit.

khrys1

having an apple and a glass of milk will put you over your sugar for the day, so don"t worry much about it!

SergeantSunshine_reused

Try reducing your fruit to two servings a day and increase your lean meats and vegatables. Fruit options should be citrus, berries (all) and apples to avoid the high sugar ones like bananas. Stay away from white foods. You'll be fine. Some sweet tooth options to help is Skinny Cow candy bars. My wife and I will treat with one of those and a scoop of sugar free ice cream.

Ok so avoid bananas but eat ice cream and candy bars?

Well yeah! Chocolate isn't white! Dur!

Ohhh I get it now! *facepalm*

engineman312

this thread makes baby jesus cry. avoid bananas, but eat ice cream. i award you no points, and my god have mercy on your soul.

chevy88grl

Bananas.

The root of all evil.

Americans, as a society, are heavy because of bananas. Not because of ice cream, candy bars, fast food and other "junk". It's the bananas fault.

Damn bananas.

Unwrapping_Candy

Try reducing your fruit to two servings a day and increase your lean meats and vegatables. Fruit options should be citrus, berries (all) and apples to avoid the high sugar ones like bananas. Stay away from white foods. You'll be fine. Some sweet tooth options to help is Skinny Cow candy bars. My wife and I will treat with one of those and a scoop of sugar free ice cream.

Cathleenr

You'll be fine. Some sweet tooth options to help is Skinny Cow candy bars. My wife and I will treat with one of those and a scoop of sugar free ice cream.

Here's whats in "Skinny Cow" dulce de latte...or whatever it is:
skim milk, sugar, caramel swirl [corn syrup, sugar, water, sweetened condensed skim milk (condensed skim milk, sugar), modified corn starch, salt, soy lecithin, xanthan gum, caramel color], corn syrup, polydextrose, whey protein, cream, calcium carbonate, Inulin (Dietary Fiber), Propylene Glycol Monostearate, microcrystalline cellulose, caramel color, Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose, guar gum, monoglycerides, sorbitol, carob bean gum, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, carrageenan, natural and artificial flavor, salt

sooooooo....milk, sugar,sugar,sugar,sweetened-with-sugar milk,sugar,polysugar,sodiumsugar,sugar alcohol, oh and caramel color. a LOT of caramel color.and chemicals.

and add a scoop of sugar-free ice cream for...what purpose? (lol "white" foods).
sorry, off on a tangent.

ugh.

OP, you don't make your food journal public, but unless you are eating a lot of fruit and dairy, your sugar intake is coming from over-processed foods. Yes, "sugar" is a carbohydrate and will add to your carb totals, but your body will process it differently if its a simple (short-chain) or complex (long-chain) sugar. And, contrary to people who want to feel good about eating "diet" crap, you DO need to watch where ALL your macros come from.
Sugar spikes your insulin response, which helps your body process the food you take in. It also spikes a feeling of alertness and releases serotonin, the feel-good hormone. When the insulin is done with processing food, the level falls off. Of course your body LIKES feeling energized and LOVES serotonin, so it outs out an SOS for MORE glucose...which would get it more insulin..and there's your craving cycle.
A complex carbohydrate like oatmeal or wheat bran takes more insulin to process and it processes it more slowly, so you get a feeling of satiation for a longer period. Not the sudden jump, of course. But if you continually provide the nutritional items that keep the blood glucose levels steady, and therefore insulin, you don't get your body screaming at you every hour.
If you truly intend for this to be a lifestyle change, you have to change your way of thinking about how you fuel and manage your body.