Sugar

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I decided to change my settings to check how much sugar I'm consuming and was shocked to see I'm over most days by about 30g (I'm guessing the settings are in grams)!! I looked through my food diary and the sugar is coming mostly from fruit. I'm not a big fan of juice, but I do drink about 4oz each morning to chug down my vitamins. They smell and I gag, so I can't take them with water. So what I'm wondering, is it okay if the sugar is coming from fruit? I tend to eat 3 servings total (that includes my 4oz of orange juice) and I eat 4-5 servings of vegetables (I'm working at adding more veggies but it's slow, I've only been at this 4 weeks). Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • dreamchaser12
    dreamchaser12 Posts: 223 Member
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    bump
  • habsgirl76
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    I'm not really sure. I've never tracked sugar before. I think when you eat it is important. Try to avoid high sugared fruits after dinner. Your body won't metabolize it and it will store it as fat. My trainer says no bananas in the evening. I think apples are pretty high too. He told me berries are ok and has never said anything about the grapes or clementines I eat in the evenings. I think 3 fruits servings is totally acceptable for a day. Better sugar from fruit than processed sugar.
  • chattipatty2
    chattipatty2 Posts: 376 Member
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    According to what Ive read, yes it is ok. I just read an article recently to only eat 20 sugars per day, but those are from other sources than fruit, veggies, dairy. I have been following mine all along. No where near 20, but certainly have been able to get close to what MFP recommends by making small changes, for example, switching from flavored greek yogurt to plain and adding my own fruit. Eating whole grain, or WW breads, brown rice, etc. Even when I need to get the calories in, I have found a Detour Protein bar that is yummy but only a couple sugars.

    But I will bump to see other ideas here.
  • Linsstech
    Linsstech Posts: 3 Member
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    I'm brand new to this website but I read your post and I think u should definitely watch your sugar intake. If it's coming totally from fruit then just make sure your fruit is the type that's also high in fiber and antioxidants like apples, oranges,blueberries. Fruit like pineapples should be really limited bc it's mostly sugar and nothing else really good for you. Hope that helps
  • dreamchaser12
    dreamchaser12 Posts: 223 Member
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    I love bananas, apples and clementines! :smile:

    I like the suggestion of plain greek yogurt and adding your own fruit. I will try that and see if it helps. I could put strawberries or blueberries in it.
  • chattipatty2
    chattipatty2 Posts: 376 Member
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    I love bananas, apples and clementines! :smile:

    I like the suggestion of plain greek yogurt and adding your own fruit. I will try that and see if it helps. I could put strawberries or blueberries in it.
    Since they are not in season, I buy a big bag of frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries). I thaw a cup at night in the fridge till morning then chop and toss it with my plain greek yogurt in morning. it's there for breakfast, snack, whatever.
  • JayByrd107
    JayByrd107 Posts: 282 Member
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    I'm not really sure. I've never tracked sugar before. I think when you eat it is important. Try to avoid high sugared fruits after dinner. Your body won't metabolize it and it will store it as fat. My trainer says no bananas in the evening. I think apples are pretty high too. He told me berries are ok and has never said anything about the grapes or clementines I eat in the evenings. I think 3 fruits servings is totally acceptable for a day. Better sugar from fruit than processed sugar.

    Sorry, but there is not magical time of day where your body does some things and doesn't do other things. You don't store fat just because you're sleeping, i.e "you're not using it". If your metabolism stopped when you went to bed, then why do you wake up hungry when you weren't when you went to bed?

    Here's a well-researched article that debunks this fallacy and a host of others. Maybe you and your trainer could take a look? http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/calorie-partitioning-part-1.html
  • mikesa3
    mikesa3 Posts: 28 Member
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    I came here to look for info on sugar so will be following this thread . I had a nutriutionist look at my food diary and she said everything looked good except for I need to add fiber and cut down on sugar. I really didn't think I was bad on sugar but I go over my limit so I guess I need to cut back. I only eat 1 cookie a day,no soda and rarely any candy so not sure where the high level is coming from.
    Nancy
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    Sugar from fruit is fine. It enters the bloodstream slower than refined sugar because fruits are usually fibrous. It also comes packaged with a ton of other vitamins and minerals that are extremely good for you. Don't worry about it.
  • habsgirl76
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    That's not really what I meant. Obviously your metabolism doesn't stop when you're sleeping. I was just trying to help a friend, letting her know what my trainer suggests for me about eating high sugared fruits or carbs late in the day. I'll take a look at the article :)
  • beccadaniixox
    beccadaniixox Posts: 542 Member
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    I set my sugar to 100g a day, simply because I love fruits and they're high in sugar and I got sick of MFP saying I was over by like 300gs every week, lol.
  • chattipatty2
    chattipatty2 Posts: 376 Member
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    I came here to look for info on sugar so will be following this thread . I had a nutriutionist look at my food diary and she said everything looked good except for I need to add fiber and cut down on sugar. I really didn't think I was bad on sugar but I go over my limit so I guess I need to cut back. I only eat 1 cookie a day,no soda and rarely any candy so not sure where the high level is coming from.
    Nancy
    http://www.rodale.com/recommended-sugar-intake "Naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and whole grains don't need to be avoided, and make up part of a healthy diet, says lead author Rachel K. Johnson, PhD, MPH, RD, associate provost and professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont in Burlington."
  • chattipatty2
    chattipatty2 Posts: 376 Member
    Options
    I came here to look for info on sugar so will be following this thread . I had a nutriutionist look at my food diary and she said everything looked good except for I need to add fiber and cut down on sugar. I really didn't think I was bad on sugar but I go over my limit so I guess I need to cut back. I only eat 1 cookie a day,no soda and rarely any candy so not sure where the high level is coming from.
    Nancy
    http://www.rodale.com/recommended-sugar-intake "Naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and whole grains don't need to be avoided, and make up part of a healthy diet, says lead author Rachel K. Johnson, PhD, MPH, RD, associate provost and professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont in Burlington."
    "The best way to cut added sugars out of your diet is to limit processed foods as much as possible, and satisfy your sweet tooth with fruit. Make a practice of this, and you won't need to spend so much time staring at food labels and counting sugar grams". (from same article)
  • portgordon
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    I've been monitoring my sugar intake for a few weeks now since a friend pointed me in the direction of Gary Taubes and Robert Lustig. Have a look at the video on YouTube titled "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" by Robert Lustig - its a very interesting watch.

    Today I got a bit of a shock when I went to buy a bottle of water (ive been avoiding fancy waters for a while and sticking to plain), but instead picked up a bottle of Glaceau Vitamin Water - which looks like a heaalthy option.

    However looking at the label.....per 500ml (1 bottle) it has 23g of sugar!!!! However the details on the back show values for a 100ml serving (4.6g) - i dont know anyone who buys a 500ml bottle and only drinks 100ml.

    To add to that when I scanned the barcode the entry which was returned had a spelling mistake and the wrong nutritional values (it had a 500ml serving with 4.6g of sugar). I have now corrected both of these having just discovered I can do so, but I'm still shocked at the amount of sugar in the drink (although it is produced by Coca-Cola).