Does anyone else track sugar?

jacmiley
jacmiley Posts: 202 Member
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
I like to track sugar since I know that's my killer. On here the goal is 30 (grams I assume). Does anyone get near this goal?
For me if I can have the number lower than 100 - it's a victory. It is frustrating trying to hit the 30. I can't even see how this is possible. The fruit I eat alone has me pushing 50. I'm not including my nonfat vanilla yogurt. Or the granola bars that I consider dessert (which trust me, really not).
Is my under 100 a goal that I can be proud of - or is it still ridiculously high?

Replies

  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    I think any step forward is something you can be proud of. I keep an eye on my sugar, but rarely am I anywhere near 30. Yesterday was 70, the day before was 63, the day before (miraculously) was 18. I'm working on it, and trying to make better choices, but I love fruit, and that's often where my sugar comes from.
  • RosieB405
    RosieB405 Posts: 150 Member
    I was wondering the same thing I am usually end the day with a negative 20 to 30 which makes me so much more careful about even the fruits I eat.
  • Yeah I wanted to track sugar but it doesn't even adjust with how many calories you burn through working out, so I find it very difficult to eat 2,000 calories and not go over on sugar. I've pretty much just started ignoring it
  • zebras
    zebras Posts: 600
    I never thought to track my sugar. So after your question, I went and added that to my nutrients tracked, and I'm going way over!
  • Hannah_Banana
    Hannah_Banana Posts: 1,242 Member
    What kinds of foods (besides fruit) are high in sugar? My sugar intake for the day is normally between 10 - 15g. So I'm just curious what you guys are eating. :smile: :flowerforyou:
  • Typically bananas, raisins and yogurt sends me over the line
  • JoyousMaximus
    JoyousMaximus Posts: 9,285 Member
    Dietician.com recommends having no more than 10% of your calores from any type of sugar. For my that is 43g a day (1730*.10=173; 173/4=43). I have a really hard time getting that low but I'm definately making an effort. I've reduced my sugar intake from between 90-100grams/day to closer to 60g a day by reducing my fruit and being more aware of the sugar in what I eat.
  • BABYLILAC
    BABYLILAC Posts: 148 Member
    I check my sugar and I am supposed to be eating 24gramms a day and I rarely go over.
    Cereal I eat oats with 2gramms of sugar for 25gramms
    I use soya milk light with no sugar
    Lunch
    Salad has less sugar
    Tuna no sugar

    Then dinner
    Brown rice less sugar
    greens less sugar
    >its all about choices.Fruits are really high in sugar so I eat half an apple instead of eating whole apple.
    >Fage yoghurt is all I eat no sugar
    Another snack snack a jacks 1.2gramms sugar
    I have realised that a lot food with less sugar have less fat as well.Check your labels:flowerforyou:
  • Hannah_Banana
    Hannah_Banana Posts: 1,242 Member
    Typically bananas, raisins and yogurt sends me over the line

    Bananas are actually one of the 'worst' fruits to eat in terms of sugar content. Is it possible to switch your fruit intake to fruits low in sugar and high in fiber? Coconut, most berries (blackberries are the best) and melons are all great low-sugar sweet fruits! Yogurt is tough because I was never able to find a yogurt low in sugar that tasted good to me... I pretty much gave it up altogether, but if you don't want to do that try Greek yogurts - they are very low in sugar! :flowerforyou:
  • NinaDawn79
    NinaDawn79 Posts: 164
    I check my sugar and I am supposed to be eating 24gramms a day and I rarely go over.
    Cereal I eat oats with 2gramms of sugar for 25gramms
    I use soya milk light with no sugar
    Lunch
    Salad has less sugar
    Tuna no sugar

    Then dinner
    Brown rice less sugar
    greens less sugar
    >its all about choices.Fruits are really high in sugar so I eat half an apple instead of eating whole apple.
    >Fage yoghurt is all I eat no sugar
    Another snack snack a jacks 1.2gramms sugar
    I have realised that a lot food with less sugar have less fat as well.Check your labels:flowerforyou:

    Thank you for these great examples! I've been fighting the same sugar battle as the OP and it's very helpful to have some concrete items to focus on.

    Are you finding that your lower sugar totals are positively affecting your weight loss?
  • NinaDawn79
    NinaDawn79 Posts: 164
    Typically bananas, raisins and yogurt sends me over the line

    Bananas are actually one of the 'worst' fruits to eat in terms of sugar content. Is it possible to switch your fruit intake to fruits low in sugar and high in fiber? Coconut, most berries (blackberries are the best) and melons are all great low-sugar sweet fruits! Yogurt is tough because I was never able to find a yogurt low in sugar that tasted good to me... I pretty much gave it up altogether, but if you don't want to do that try Greek yogurts - they are very low in sugar! :flowerforyou:

    More great examples, thanks again!! :flowerforyou:
  • Christin09
    Christin09 Posts: 143 Member
    My sugar is between 20g and 40g a day. I stay away from fruit though. I keep it to veggies, lean protein and protein supplements.
  • MTGirl
    MTGirl Posts: 1,490 Member
    I just added it to my diary, then took it back off :laugh: I noticed that on some foods it was doubling up, entering it as fiber and as a sugar. I was already at 27 grams for today and I haven't had anything with sugar!! I did have 4 cherries and already added the non-fat latte I'll have this evening - no flavoring. But, wow. Some of the sugar grams had been added as fiber grams, and it can't be both so that's why I took it back off. I keep track of my carbs because more than just sugar effect my blood sugar.
  • NinaDawn79
    NinaDawn79 Posts: 164
    I just added it to my diary, then took it back off :laugh: I noticed that on some foods it was doubling up, entering it as fiber and as a sugar. I was already at 27 grams for today and I haven't had anything with sugar!! I did have 4 cherries and already added the non-fat latte I'll have this evening - no flavoring. But, wow. Some of the sugar grams had been added as fiber grams, and it can't be both so that's why I took it back off. I keep track of my carbs because more than just sugar effect my blood sugar.

    When I was diagnosed with GD in my 8th month of pregnancy and met with a nutritionist to talk sugar, I was SHOCKED at how much sugar was in milk! :noway:
  • vanessadawn
    vanessadawn Posts: 249
    I always go over in sugar, it is in a lot of veggies too. I think they are more important aspects of your diet to track ie fibre, vitamins, fat, protein, sodium. Especially if most of the sugar comes from fruits and veggies.
  • thumper44
    thumper44 Posts: 1,464 Member
    What kinds of foods (besides fruit) are high in sugar? My sugar intake for the day is normally between 10 - 15g. So I'm just curious what you guys are eating. :smile: :flowerforyou:

    You'd be surprised the stuff that has sugar in it. Yogurt, milk, pasta sauces, those 100 cal treats, and a whole bunch of stuff that doesn't need sugar in it.

    I started tracking my sugar and realized that even though I was staying under my calories, I was well over my sugar on many days.

    So I've started to watch my sugar intake. I enjoy fruits and many "good" snacks, but now watch my daily consumption, and try to keep it around mfp's limit of 25grams.
  • BABYLILAC
    BABYLILAC Posts: 148 Member
    I check my sugar and I am supposed to be eating 24gramms a day and I rarely go over.
    Cereal I eat oats with 2gramms of sugar for 25gramms
    I use soya milk light with no sugar
    Lunch
    Salad has less sugar
    Tuna no sugar

    Then dinner
    Brown rice less sugar
    greens less sugar
    >its all about choices.Fruits are really high in sugar so I eat half an apple instead of eating whole apple.
    >Fage yoghurt is all I eat no sugar
    Another snack snack a jacks 1.2gramms sugar
    I have realised that a lot food with less sugar have less fat as well.Check your labels:flowerforyou:

    Thank you for these great examples! I've been fighting the same sugar battle as the OP and it's very helpful to have some concrete items to focus on.

    Are you finding that your lower sugar totals are positively affecting your weight loss?

    Yes I think so its a battle but you can do it:flowerforyou:
  • I'm supposed to be on 26 grams of sugar per day! @_@ But I think that for some of the fruits I overestimate the amount that I eat. And every fruit is different. I don't trust some of the values (they're all over the place). :laugh: I discovered today that I overestimated the amount of oatmeal that I ate by half! So now I'm under my calories for today and I ate dinner. If the sugar is coming from vegetables I ignore that as they have a lot of fiber. If it's coming from fruits I make sure that at least one of them (sometimes I have only one) is sourrr or has little sugar in it. I also check the glycemic index for fruits that have a lower impact on blood sugar.
    Really I usually go over because of my milk tea :smooched: or fruit yogurt or cereal (didn't read the sugar content :grumble:). I have those some days.
    I find that when I eat a lot of protein and veggies my sugar values are usually lower. When I eat a lot of carb my sugar values are usually higher. :grumble:
    I basically cut out ALL white flour, white rice, processed grains from my diet. These is all simple carb aka sugar (even though we usually don't realize that). I try to balance the proportion of carb, protein, and fat in every meal. That also helps with blood sugar. MFP is really useful for seeing my eating habits. =) It has really helped me in that area.
    I'm positive that recording in my food diary has made weight loss wayyy faster for me than it was before when I was only exercising and not counting calories.
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
    What kinds of foods (besides fruit) are high in sugar? My sugar intake for the day is normally between 10 - 15g. So I'm just curious what you guys are eating. :smile: :flowerforyou:

    We are eating more on the natural side of what everyone else is eating..................

    We are cutting down on fruit consumption, which most people on here don't do. We are getting our natural sugars from veggies, which is significantly smaller amounts than most people here...........

    Coupled with the "non-fat" and low-fat products people eat that contain a LOT more sugar than the regular, full fat products and have HFCS...............so eating the standard american diet way is going to have the sugar quantity higher.................
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
    Anything that has carbs has sugar in it....................

    Whether it is from natural sources or not.
  • I track mine b/c I am diabetic.

    All kinds of stuff has sugar in it - cheese, milk, fruit, crackers, juice, etc. Stick to protein and veggies to avoid sugar (and carbs) but don't cut it out altogether :smile: Some sugar is more beneficial than others (fruit versus white, refinded sugar like in cookies and cakes and crackers).

    HTH :wink:
  • mrd232
    mrd232 Posts: 331
    What kinds of foods (besides fruit) are high in sugar? My sugar intake for the day is normally between 10 - 15g. So I'm just curious what you guys are eating. :smile: :flowerforyou:

    We are eating more on the natural side of what everyone else is eating..................

    We are cutting down on fruit consumption, which most people on here don't do. We are getting our natural sugars from veggies, which is significantly smaller amounts than most people here...........

    Coupled with the "non-fat" and low-fat products people eat that contain a LOT more sugar than the regular, full fat products and have HFCS...............so eating the standard american diet way is going to have the sugar quantity higher.................

    I do the same. I think you and I eat and think alike. I eat higher fat, moderate protein, fairly low carb, mainly from veggies, nuts, berries.
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