Sugar is destryoying my diet! Help!

Shuutnstar

I'm new here, and I finally figured out that Sugar is destroying the hard work I am trying to do here! My preset's didn't have Sugar in them when I first started, so I was thinking I was doing really good, when in reality, I was sometiems eating 3-4x as much sugar as I am allotted.

I know some people will knock it, but I've gone back on Slim fast breakfasts... with ice and a banana they are yummy and really keep me full all morning. But now, I see that just the shake and HALF a banana is putting me over my sugar for the DAY!

Anyone have ideas on EASY breakfasts/snacks/lunches that are low in Sugar?

Thanks for reading!

JessiJean

I was getting ready to post the exact same question!!! How on earth am I supposed to eat that few grams of sugar and still have my calories for the day? I have been under on my calories but over, extremely over on my sugar!!

jamiesbeach

Try the Quantum Wellness Cleanse. It's a book by Kathy Freston. Its a 21 day cleanse with no sugar (along with other things) and its a 21 day cleanse that go's day by day with recipes and everything.
soooooooo good!
Once your done that 21 day cleanse you will be right back on track with a healthy lifestyle.

gc2052

This does not take much time and is high in protein and fiber
1 Thomas's Wheat lite english muffin (split and toasted)
2. 1/4 cup of South western eggbeaters You may want more than 1/4 cup (nuke 11/2 minutes)
3. one slice of fat free cheese
It makes a good egg muffin
I also eat activa yogart with grapenut cereal mixed in it.
My problem is cake and cookies
I so not have to worry about sugar. So I concentrate on calories

heather0mc

woah! :noway: thanks for bringing this up! i normally track cals, fat, protein, sodium and fiber. i just changed fiber to sugar and i am 100+ over for the day (everything is already logged). however, i am losing so i am not sure what to do!!! man-o-man, what a wake up! :ohwell:

gc2052

Question: When you say sugar are you talking Carbs?

heather0mc

Question: When you say sugar are you talking Carbs?

if you go to 'settings' you can go to 'diary settings' and add additional things to track. i THINK mfp starts you with 3 or 4 but you can track up to 5.

i believe it is tracking the amount of sugar you consume a day, so it is seperate from the carbs column, but since carbs do come from sugar, it tracks the amount of sugar you consume. it only allows like 28gs per day for me, and i am way past that.

maybe banks/boss will have some imput :flowerforyou:

gc2052

OMG: Just checked out how much sugar I was eating. TOO much like the rest of you. Only have seven grams left and I have not had lunch.

Lil_Leah

im confused by this too, because fruit has good sugars in it. and you're supposed to eat lots of fruit/veggies. i wonder if MFP is incorrect on the sugar amounts...

Shuutnstar

No I am over on my carbs as well, but not nearly as much as I go over on my sugar! I was at like 138 g of Sugar yesterday! I have really really cut back on soda, but I haven't been able to go cold turkey yet! But I will soon! I am down to 1 mtn dew a day. (It's my worst vice!) But there were days when I would drink a 6 pack! Grrrr!

But is Sugar something I need to worry about, or should I focus more on the Cals, Carbs, Fats and Fiber?

JessiJean

Most of my sugars are from my fruits and veggies also. I am alotted 24 grams a day, but one of my healthy choice meals had 25 grams of sugar!!!! :noway:

countindowntothin

mine has been WAY over also, due to the milk and grapes...even fat free milk has 12 gr of sugar!

Com'on banks tell us eager learners what to do!

hmo4

That's natural sugar though, not refined crap. I wouldn't count that-unless you totally overdo the fruit! It's the bad sugars I would worry about-that's my downfall for sure! I've gone only 6 days this month without eating bad refined sugars, like candy. (my newest addiction, chewy candy) when I read. Let's do some kind of challenge to keep each focused on cutting back on the bad sugars. CAUSE I NEED HELP!:grumble:

JessiJean

I am up for the challenge!!!! :explode:

barbarella

YIKES........ me too! :noway: :grumble:

I do fine on calories etc. but dang sugar shows up everywhere!
And the summer fruits are so deee-lish right now!!

So to balance that I eat more non-sugar items like
brown rice, eggs, poultry & veggies...... even for breakfast!

Welcome & Good Luck! :drinker:

margaretthedevil

Most of my sugars are from my fruits and veggies also. I am alotted 24 grams a day, but one of my healthy choice meals had 25 grams of sugar!!!! :noway:

I would question how healthy that healthy choice meal really is if it contains that much sugar. It doesn't taste sweet either does it? Usually those meals replace the fat with the sugar. So that they can say it's "low fat" and people will usually fall for it. Fat is not the enemy! I rather have the full fat version of something rather than the processed version. Also eat less processed packaged meals and more whole foods. Eat less yogurts with fruit in them (20+ grams of sugar a pop). Any sugary cereals, etc etc.

Sebidian

I too look forward to see what Banks has to say - but until then...

I also panicked when I added sugar to my diary. I was tracking sodium, but never get even close to that limit, so I switched to tracking sugar. After the inital shock, I researched more about a more reasonable goal for sugar. Unless you have a medical issue, it seems that it is added sugar that the experts are concerned about, not the natural sugars in fruit. However to make sure I don't overdo on the natural sugars, I changed my sugar goal to 70. That allows for 1-2 servings of fruit, and then a limited amount in other foods. So far It seems to be working for me.

stormieweather

For breakfast:

I eat 1 egg (scrambled /friedwith pam or hard-boiled), 3 slices of Oscar Meyer ready to serve bacon, one slice of whole wheat low carb toast with 'I can't believe it's not butter' and sugar free Orange Marmalade, and 1 cup of melon (honey dew or cantelope). Could also substitute berries or nectarine. This is 258 calories, 27 carbs, 12 fat, 16 protein and 14 sugar and 472 sodium.

Sometimes I have a peanut butter sandwich with fruit - 2 slices of whole wheat low carb bread, reduced fat Peanut Butter (natural would be even better), sugar free Marmalade and melon. This is 255 calories, 36 carbs, 9 fat, 15 protein, 7 sugar and 465 sodium.

charliesgold

I tend to go over on sugar A LOT but still managed to drop 40lbs, now I know I go over in sugar but just try to keep those sugars as things like breads versus things like candy and it works for me...with a candy bar thrown in during the week of course being that I am such a candy fiend! :laugh:

samantha115

So I was looking at my sugar. it seems that the only time I go over in my sugar is when I snack. Damn those tasty tasty snacks. Oh there is the occasional orange juice. I must quit that also I guess. its simply orange so.....maybe....Im not going to give it up. Ill just drink less. I love orange juice

Youre more than welocme to look at my diary if you would like. Just not the snack part. Ok Ok I guess.

Fieldsy

I don't know if this will help or not, but I never even look at the amount of sugar I intake a day

I just try to eat clean whole foods

My carbs are generally from whole grains, fruit, veggies. Just try to watch out for processed foods and eat clean.


certain fruits are high in sugar, but fruits are good for you....don't stop eating them, but don't eat 10 bananas a day

pettmybunny

Quoted from http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/sugar.html#

Sugars: Also listed under Total Carbohydrate on food labels, sugars are found in most foods. However, the Nutrition Facts label doesn't make the distinction between natural sugars and added sugars. Natural sugars are found in many foods, including fruit and dairy products. Snack foods, candy, and soda often have large amounts of added sugars. To find out if a food has added sugar, you need to look at the ingredient list for sugar, corn syrup or sweetener, dextrose, fructose, honey, or molasses, to name just a few. Avoid products that have sugar or other sweeteners high on the ingredient list.

Quoted from http://www.cspinet.org/new/sugar.html

USDA advises people who eat a 2,000-calorie healthful diet to try to limit themselves to about 10 teaspoons of added sugars per day. In fact, the average American does not eat a healthful diet, but consumes 20 teaspoons of added sugars per day.

Quoted from http://www.reducetriglycerides.com/lifestyle_triglycerides_sugar.htm

Consumption of “added sugars” includes:

table sugar (refined, processed sugars from cane, beet - sucrose - added to foods by the manufacturer, cook or consumer)
corn sugar (glucose)
corn syrup
high-fructose corn syrup commonly added to fruit juices
sugars naturally present in fruint juices
honey, and
other syrups, like molasses and maple syrup.

The term “added sugars” does not include the sugars naturally present in:

milk (lactose)
fruit (fructose, sucrose), and
vegetables.

A report released in 2006 by the World Health Organization (WHO) urges people to limit their daily consumption of free (added) sugars to less than 10 percent of their total energy intake (Diet Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases; TRS916). This recommendation adds up to approximately 12 teaspoons (48 grams) of added (free) sugar a day based on an average 2000-calorie diet.

Found this table at http://www.fitsugar.com/3035229



This was too much to copy and paste, but is very informative. http://www.pamf.org/diabetes/basics/diet.html

I'm never going to cut out fruits or milk from my diet, because there are many more benefits, and the sugar in them is natural. I do however, read labels more often, and look to see what the added sugars are, and if they are within the top 3 to 5 of the list, I don't buy it, or I look for a better version.

astridfeline

I don't know if this will help or not, but I never even look at the amount of sugar I intake a day

I just try to eat clean whole foods

My carbs are generally from whole grains, fruit, veggies. Just try to watch out for processed foods and eat clean.


certain fruits are high in sugar, but fruits are good for you....don't stop eating them, but don't eat 10 bananas a day

My thoughts exactly--I think if one is diabetic it's important to limit high sugar fruits, but otherwise they offer so many other nutrional benefits like fiber, vitamins & minerals, that it seems unreasonable to severely limit or cut them out.

paulamma1

I don't know if this will help or not, but I never even look at the amount of sugar I intake a day

I just try to eat clean whole foods

My carbs are generally from whole grains, fruit, veggies. Just try to watch out for processed foods and eat clean.


certain fruits are high in sugar, but fruits are good for you....don't stop eating them, but don't eat 10 bananas a day

My thoughts exactly--I think if one is diabetic it's important to limit high sugar fruits, but otherwise they offer so many other nutrional benefits like fiber, vitamins & minerals, that it seems unreasonable to severely limit or cut them out.

Phew, thanks!

I had just recently also added "Sugar" to my tracking and my morning banana with 2 Weetabix biscuits and half cup of 1% milk almost put me out of the park AND THAT WAS JUST BREAKFAST!!!

Makes sense we keep an eye on the source of the sugar.

I also like the "Don't eat 12 bananas a day"

:flowerforyou:

mrd232

A delicious omelette of 4 EGGS, meat, onions, and peppers.

No sugar, no carbs, no fooling around AND as an added bonus, it's very filling.

jenj1983

I think all the low carb diets have really made us over conscious on sugar. You're not going to convince me that a tomato is bad for me because it is high in sugar. I'm not going to deprive myself of yummy fruits and veggies because they happen to contain natural sugar. I think refined sugar and sweets should be cut out but not fruits and veggies. My motto is "all things in moderation" and I just ate 3 hershey's kisses and I'm not going to beat myself up about it.


Also, fortunately for me, I don't ever crave sweets in the AM! I usually have coffee with milk, whole toast, and peanut butter with a tiny bit of honey on it. Keeps me full for a long time!

Also, for you yogurt lovers, eat Greek yogurt as it is naturally lower in sugar and much higher in protein that other yogurts out there! To sweeten it up, add fresh berries and enjoy!!

Demetria

Unfortunately, the food log doesn't differentiate between natural sugar and added sugar. So naturally you are going to go over the alloted amount. Just minus all of the natural sugar that comes from fruits, veggies, milk and look at your food label's ingredient list to see if any type of sugar i.e. high fructose corn syrup are added.

I don't know if wheat has any natural sugar in it exactly, guess I'll have to do some research. Also remember that eating complex carbs fight the effect that sugar does to your blood glucose level.

Like another poster stated "just try to eat clean whole foods" not refined, processed as much as possible and you should be fine.

gc2052

But how much fat?

thumper44

This has been talked about quite often on here.
Search sugar, and you will see threads and links within the threads about it.
Natural sugars, fruits, carbs, when it comes down to it, the body just recognizes sugar.

I also did the healthy choice, lean cuisine. They were cheap, affordable, convenient.
Then I pulled up my sodium on my chart. I was over many days.
Then I pulled up sugar, and realized that my apple, possibly a banana, some grapes, and a yogurt in a day along with sugars in milk, were totally putting me over.

24 or 25gms of sugar is hard to stay under, but try to stay under 40 or 50.. It's alot better than going over 100(without realizing it).

There is extra "sugars" in alot of our food that's not needed.
Food manufacturers put lots of sodium and sugar for flavour.

Remember if a 100 calorie yogurt has 13 grams of sugar that's 52 calories of the 100 are total sugar.

I had watched a show, here's a thread I started. I believe part 5 or 6 shows them talking about sodium and sugar in our foods.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/59247-jamie-oliver-eat-to-save-your-life?hl=jamie+oliver&page=1#posts-704185

Demetria

So I was looking at my sugar. it seems that the only time I go over in my sugar is when I snack. Damn those tasty tasty snacks. Oh there is the occasional orange juice. I must quit that also I guess. its simply orange so.....maybe....Im not going to give it up. Ill just drink less. I love orange juice

Youre more than welocme to look at my diary if you would like. Just not the snack part. Ok Ok I guess.

Eat oranges instead, there's more fiber and other nutrients you can benefit from!

Demetria

thumper44

I know some people will knock it, but I've gone back on Slim fast breakfasts... with ice and a banana they are yummy and really keep me full all morning. But now, I see that just the shake and HALF a banana is putting me over my sugar for the DAY!

Anyone have ideas on EASY breakfasts/snacks/lunches that are low in Sugar?

Thanks for reading!

Welcome:flowerforyou:
Now you realize why those slim fast breakfasts taste so good :glasses: