Sugar Sugar!

chelbel89

Hey there! I was just wondering if any of you are watching your sugar intake...and if so, how many mgs you aim at per day, and if I should even count the "good" sugars in fruits. I am not diabetic or pre-diabetic, but my doctor thinks I may have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and from what I have read a low sugar diet is a good way to keep it in check. Any thoughts? :flowerforyou:

h2oophelia

I am counting sugar in everything I eat, per doctor's recommendation. I'm not diabetic, in fact my blood sugar is great but I knew eventually diabetes would catch up to me. After I got off sugar, I felt TONS better.

Here's what my doc recommends:

Carbs minus fiber divided by 5 = teaspoons of sugar

I shoot for no more than 10-15 teaspoons of sugar a day.

chelbel89

wow, that's a small amount of sugar lol! good job! i cringed at what myp's setting (24) was for me! :drinker:

nuclearbanana

Trust me on my human nutritional knowledge, I'm a whale biologist.

Are you in the United States? If so, you're in luck! See, one of the largest contributors of sugar in the typical US diet is all of that hidden High Fructose Corn Syrup everywhere. You know it's bad for you, right? I know you do! But what is it? It's a mixture of glucose and fructose (both natural sugars found naturally in a natural human diet) which are derived from subsidized corn products!

The issue isn't the actual substance, it's how much is sneakily put into our foods. Just look at some random stuff you own. Bread, cereal, granola bars, yogurt, ice cream, pizza, etc. It's everywhere in almost every food that's been processed here in the US.

Here's the silly part. You can easily cut all of this away. It's not too difficult. Yes, YOU DO NEED SUGARS, BOTH COMPLEX AND SIMPLE. These sugars are best when coming from an apple or rice or whatever. Why, if it's all the same chemical(s)? Because of the added nutrients, fiber and minerals you get along with consuming that sugar.

Ramble! Yes, you need sugars. Yes, you should keep consuming them from more "raw" products, as I'd call them. You can still eat whole grain bread or yogurt, just make sure to keep track of the sugars. You get a lot of good sugars from fruit and veggies, and that bowl of oatmeal I know you love so much. Don't eliminate them entirely, especially if you're exercising. If your doctor said so.

Like I said, it isn't hard to put a more conscience effort to skip the white bread or the ice cream sandwich. Once you're aware and start REALLY looking at the foods that contain copious amounts, you're fine. Gratuitous amounts of sugar are terrible for periods, I'd know.

LET'S REALLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.

Yes, I watch my sugar intake. I typically eat about 60~80 g's a day, which is doctor approved for me. Getting on birth control also helps to control P.O.S. Next time you see your doc, you should probably ask them all of these questions that you're asking a bunch of internet strangers who think they know everything.

MorbidNTT

My wife is Roux-en-Y, so she can't have a lot of sugar, I pretty much stay with her in that regard. No Sugar or Low Sugar. Technically I don't watch my sugar with an Eagle Eye, but in the process of accommodating my wife, I do well in the Sugar area.

chelbel89

Ok. Well, first of all I have never eaten white bread and I don't like ice cream...or many traditional sweets for that matter. And the reason I have not asked my doc about sugar is because I am not getting my test results til Wed...and while the results may come back negative, I want to be on the up and up seeing as many doctors do not spend the time with their patients like they should, mine being one of them. My basic worry was that one apple has roughly 22gs of sugar. MFP set my limit at 24...can you see my confusion?

meanwhile, love your wit (seriously).

nuclearbanana

Yeah, that's very confusing. I'm not sure how a person can restrict sugars that much if they're to eat a good amount of fruits and vegetables and optionally grains. Dunno what else to say other than consult your doctor, they'd know better than the food diary, I think.

wftiger

I don't count sugar but do count carbs. I am insulin resistant which is along the line of PCOS. I stay under 75 net carbs (which is the 15 teaspoons of sugar mentioned already).

It has worked great and like others will say, you stop getting the cravings for the sugars when you stop eating them. I don't want cupcakes anymore (although Tootsie Rolls do still call my name sometimes).

Here is website for you to go to for lower carb fruit choices -- http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/whatfruit.htm.

chelbel89

sftiger: thank you! i will definitely give that a look!

nuclear: i am just glad i am not crazy for thinking that one serving of fruit per day is insane... lol! thanks!

h2oophelia

You'd be surprised how much sugar you can cut out. I used to eat TONS of fruits and very little veggies. That switched when I started watching my sugar intake. Now it's lots of protein and leafy greens. I admit, the first two weeks was the hardest (sugar withdrawals) I had no idea I was so addicted to sugar. Good luck to you!

CyberEd312

I have never counted a single serving of sugar and have lost 310 lbs. I track carbs, protein, fats and beyond that watch my calories.... Best of Luck....

angrodriguez92

I also go over my sugar intake every single day, and I think I eat very healthy. It's a bummer. Maybe I should take sugar off of my tracker.

shaynak112

I also go over my sugar intake every single day, and I think I eat very healthy. It's a bummer. Maybe I should take sugar off of my tracker.

That's what I did. I'd eat two fruits and it would go above my sugar limit/goal. Ridiculous.

All in all, make sure you're eating "healthy" sugars (ex. fruits) and not unhealthy sugars.

Sugarchef

WHAT?!!?

Christinah5150

I don't count sugar but do count carbs. I am insulin resistant which is along the line of PCOS. I stay under 75 net carbs (which is the 15 teaspoons of sugar mentioned already).

It has worked great and like others will say, you stop getting the cravings for the sugars when you stop eating them. I don't want cupcakes anymore (although Tootsie Rolls do still call my name sometimes).

Here is website for you to go to for lower carb fruit choices -- http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/whatfruit.htm.

^^^This! I have PCOS and I'm insulin resistant and lowering my carbs and cutting sugar, which kind of go hand in hand, has been the best thing for me

SD_Kerry

I learned recently that I am 'Sugar Sensitive,' which means after eating a sugary snack I would get that initial sugar rush but then when my blood sugar dropped I would feel absolutely exhausted. About 2 months ago, I decided the only to stabilize my energy levels was to scale way back on sugar consumption.

I still eat fresh fruit and don't seem to have any problem with natural sugars. Counting sugar grams is a drag so I don't go that route but I pay really close attention to nutrition labels. For example, Fage Greek Yogurt has 10g of sugar per serving, as opposed to alternatives, which range from 18-26g per serving. 10g of sugar is pretty high for most foods but not for yogurt.

Occasionally, I'll have a glass of wine, a piece of cake or a little ice cream. It's my experience that it's easy to become obsessed with something if you completely deprive yourself of it. Balance is always the key.

Watch out for the 'artificial' sweeteners. They make you crave sugar even more sugar does. When you cut back on sugar, it takes about 5 days for your body to adjust and the sugar cravings to stop. It's well worth it. You will feel so much better!

Good luck!! I know you can do it!

milanks

Starting this week, I'm trying to watch my sugar intake and see if I can get it down to something close to the 24 grams MFP sets me at. I am an absolute sugar junkie and I know it. When I was just counting calories and not watching the sugar, I'd easily end up with 3 or 4 times the amount I was supposed to - d'oh! I've started by cutting out my coffee creamer and that alone is saving me easily 15 grams (more than half of my allowance!)

My weight is around where I want it to be but I'm hanging on to some belly girth that I'd like to see go - I'm experimenting with the sugar cutback to see if that might have something to do with it, the "sugar belly." I've been eating pretty healthy overall for years now outside of my love affair with sugar so I'll see how things go without it.

chelbel89

thanks so much for all your thoughts guys! i am glad to know that there are people out there who can cut back on sugar: that means i can do it too! hope y'all have a great day! :happy:

Boombeana

I began watching my sugar intake this week (like yesterday!) and boy is it hard. I didnt realize that everything we eat has sugar!!!!! I am trying to have no more than 25g of sugar a day (about 6-7 tsp), I have already exceeded the amount alloted and its only 10:20AM!!!!! :noway: :noway: :noway: :noway:

My question is: Am I supposed to look at the artificial sugars like Fructose, etc or should I also be looking at the sugar contained in a green apple? SO far I am looking at everything! :huh: