help with sugar intake, please!!

emilydumarce

so i like to have brown sugar on my oatmeal in the morning and its enough to fill my "sugar" intake for the day. but that usually is just about all the sugar i eat in the day. but when i log in my fruits, my sugar intake makes it look like i ate cookies all day lol. does anyone on here not log in fruits and veggies? since most are low carb/low cal/low fat anyways? thank you!!

Carol_L

Why on earth would you not log your fruits and vegetables? That would be counterproductive. Your body isn't going to just ignore a calorie because it came from strawberries or asparagus instead of chicken.

Is there some reason you're restricting your sugars? Diabetic? If you're not, then take a look at your macros - Protein, Fats and Carbs. If you have a higher sugar day, but you're still within what you're shooting for on your carbs, don't worry about it. All carbohydrates eventually break down to glucose (which is what your body uses as primary fuel) - how many steps this takes depends on where the carbs are coming from. Table sugar has fewer steps to get to glucose than sugars from fruits for instance (glucose vs fructose=>glucose) so its available to your body more quickly.

nikkitodhunter

^^^ LISTEN TO THIS PERSON, SHE SAYS WISE THINGS.

ShaneOSX

Two of the biggest flaws with MFP are 1) That the protein goal is critically low, and 2) The way it accounts for sugar

The second issue is not entirely MFP's fault. Nutrition labels don't differentiate for naturally occurring sugar, such as in fruit or milk, so when you eat a banana it looks like you've practically gone over already.

Basically, if the sugar is naturally occurring, ignore it. Eat all the fruits and veggies you want that fit into your calorie target. What you need to watch out for is added sugar. For example, Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt: natural, delicious, fat free, fruit on the bottom, all that good stuff. But it has like 11g of added sugar in the form of cane juice.

yarwell

Basically, if the sugar is naturally occurring, ignore it.

I haven't met any artificial sugars yet, so that doesn't really help. Is added sugar from cane juice bad and apple juice added for sweetness good ?

Equally greek yoghurt isn't a natural product, let alone one with fruit in, so the approach doesn't seem to work.

There appears to be no science that says "non milk extrinsic sugars" are detrimental to health or weight loss. In fact " Emphasis on reducing NME sugars intakes may be counterproductive to attempts to reduce proportional fat intake and body weight. " according to http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-277X.1996.00463.x/abstract

So MFP's sugar limit is just the implementation of a guideline figure that has no sound basis in anything, and the only rational response is to either turn off sugar tracking or set a custom value that accords with your dietary preferences.

yarwell

Table sugar has fewer steps to get to glucose than sugars from fruits for instance (glucose vs fructose=>glucose)

Table sugar - sucrose - splits happily and quickly into glucose and fructose in an acidic solution like the stomach or in the presence of enzymes.

The sugars in fruits are a mix of fructose, glucose and sucrose (plus others) so if anything the sugars from fruit will be faster to appear as glucose as a fair proportion of them start off as glucose and the sucrose in fruit is the same as table sugar anyway.

It is mildly entertaining watching people trying to rationalise and explain two things they believe as core values - that fruit is a good thing and sugar is a bad thing - when the two are contradictory given that fruit is essentially a pulpy material (used as animal feed) soaked in a solution of sugars with the odd vitamin along for the ride.

EccentricDad

so i like to have brown sugar on my oatmeal in the morning and its enough to fill my "sugar" intake for the day. but that usually is just about all the sugar i eat in the day. but when i log in my fruits, my sugar intake makes it look like i ate cookies all day lol. does anyone on here not log in fruits and veggies? since most are low carb/low cal/low fat anyways? thank you!!

While it is true having too much sugar is bad for you, fruit sugar is readily available for the body to burn within 15 minutes of eating it (so I've read). So if you are having fruit, do a light exercise after to burn it off. If you are having a fruit and can't exercise, choose a low glycemic value fruit to get your carb kick.

I admit, putting brown sugar (white sugar with molasses added into it) on your cereal isn't a great idea in the first place; but you didn't ask what to put in your cereal instead. All I am going to say is that I have been dieting since April and my body has not had an ounce of grains (aside from corn) since then; grains are not mandatory, they are strictly optional (and they are starchy so they are going to impede your weight loss if you have too much).

PayneAS

For example, Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt: natural, delicious, fat free, fruit on the bottom, all that good stuff. But it has like 11g of added sugar in the form of cane juice.

Which is why ideally you'd want to buy plain greek yogurt and just add your own fruit. Still may have some sugar in it but not as much, in my opinion.

I switch back and forth between Oikos and Chobani but looking at my diary the other day, my 4oz of Chobani has 5g of Sugar and my 2oz of Blackberries has 1g (ignoring the honey because one may or may not choose to add that) which is 6g of sugar as opposed to 11g in the pre-made version. And I'm not even sure how many ozs the pre-made version you are mentioning above is. Those single serving containers seem a lot smaller than 4oz.

Edit: taking a quick browse at the food database it appears that those containers at 5.3 oz ~the same size as my 5 oz of home-made stuff.

ShaneOSX

Basically, if the sugar is naturally occurring, ignore it.

I haven't met any artificial sugars yet, so that doesn't really help. Is added sugar from cane juice bad and apple juice added for sweetness good ?

Equally greek yoghurt isn't a natural product, let alone one with fruit in, so the approach doesn't seem to work.

There appears to be no science that says "non milk extrinsic sugars" are detrimental to health or weight loss. In fact " Emphasis on reducing NME sugars intakes may be counterproductive to attempts to reduce proportional fat intake and body weight. " according to http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-277X.1996.00463.x/abstract

So MFP's sugar limit is just the implementation of a guideline figure that has no sound basis in anything, and the only rational response is to either turn off sugar tracking or set a custom value that accords with your dietary preferences.

Artificial is not the opposite of naturally occurring. Artificial is the opposite of natural. And added sugar from apple juice and cane juice are both bad. We aren't talking about the toxicity of the sugar/sweetener, we're talking about things that are added to a product to make them taste better vs. things that occur in the product in nature.

Bananas are good for you. In theory you could somehow extract all the sugar from that banana in a science lab, but obviously the average person is not going to do that. Thus, we accept the sugar in the banana and eat it.

But a company will sell you banana chips that they've sweetened with something, whether it be cane juice or sucrose or whatever. What that company added is bad, and eating too much of that added stuff IS detrimental to weight loss. And even if it wasn't, it's easy to avoid.

And Greek Yogurt is a natural product.

DanaJ1983

Have you ever tried using stevia? It is a natural sweetener and although it does taste different it is a pleasant way to sweeten things without blowing your sugar count our of the water. I also used to be an avid oatmeal and brown sugar person. Another alternative I tried was putting a few dried cranberries and sliced almonds in my oatmeal. It also helps the oatmeal to seem sweeter and the almonds help the whole meal break down more slowly(good fat). When you have the right balance of carbs protein and fat you will feel fuller for longer.

yarwell

But a company will sell you banana chips that they've sweetened with something, whether it be cane juice or sucrose or whatever. What that company added is bad, and eating too much of that added stuff IS detrimental to weight loss.

Why would 3 grams of added sugar in a banana chip or two be detrimental in the context of the sugars (and starch) already present in the banana ? What's different about the added stuff ?

Zangpakto

Greek yoghurt natural?

Awesome, so where in the world can I go and harvest or catch me some greek yoghurt?

Cause last I checked, you cannot.... So no, it is NOT naturally occurring....

Acg67

Lol at this thread

sharleengc

I really only pay attention to my calories. Unless I have a day that's REALLY high in sodium, the others don't affect me too much

126siany

so i like to have brown sugar on my oatmeal in the morning and its enough to fill my "sugar" intake for the day. but that usually is just about all the sugar i eat in the day. but when i log in my fruits, my sugar intake makes it look like i ate cookies all day lol. does anyone on here not log in fruits and veggies? since most are low carb/low cal/low fat anyways? thank you!!

The question about logging fruits and veggies comes up frequently here, usually from people who have used diet plans in which those were "free foods". However, because MFP is based on calories, you really should be logging everything you eat and drink.

BTW: fruits and veggies are not "low carb". Most are nearly 100% carbs.

history_grrrl

I use cinnamon on top of oatmeal, plus some fresh fruit, usually blueberries or strawberries. Delicious -- and sweet.

PayneAS

Greek yoghurt natural?

Awesome, so where in the world can I go and harvest or catch me some greek yoghurt?

Cause last I checked, you cannot.... So no, it is NOT naturally occurring....

I think some of the confusion could be cleared up if the terms "natural" and "naturally occurring" were realized as not being the same thing.

Ingrediant list of Oikos Greek Yogurt: CULTURED PASTEURIZED ORGANIC NONFAT MILK.

CULTURES: S. THERMOPHILUS, L. BULGARICUS, L. ACIDOPHILUS, BIFIDUS, AND L. CASEI.

Milk & bacteria. Both occur in nature.

LOL. Not going to drag this off-topic anymore. Back to sugar!

emilydumarce

lol thanks so much guys!!! lots of good info (;

Keiko385

You dont say how much brown sugar you use, but if is sending your sugar count over the top I guess its more than a teaspoon or 2. I put it in my oatmeal as well a little goes a long way

Sublog

so i like to have brown sugar on my oatmeal in the morning and its enough to fill my "sugar" intake for the day. but that usually is just about all the sugar i eat in the day. but when i log in my fruits, my sugar intake makes it look like i ate cookies all day lol. does anyone on here not log in fruits and veggies? since most are low carb/low cal/low fat anyways? thank you!!

Disregard sugar intake, only worry about overall calories and overall carbs.

EccentricDad

Have you ever tried using stevia? It is a natural sweetener and although it does taste different it is a pleasant way to sweeten things without blowing your sugar count our of the water. I also used to be an avid oatmeal and brown sugar person. Another alternative I tried was putting a few dried cranberries and sliced almonds in my oatmeal. It also helps the oatmeal to seem sweeter and the almonds help the whole meal break down more slowly(good fat). When you have the right balance of carbs protein and fat you will feel fuller for longer.

Stevia, truvia, nutrisweet, asparatame, high fructose corn syrup, sorbitol, and sugar alcohol, and all the other "added sugars" are still sugar carbs! They are just not added in the "sugars" part of the label because the FDA doesn't require starches and chemical compounds that are "complex" to be considered in the "sugar" label. But no matter what you are told, ALL carbs are sugar (fibers are just not digestible) and ALL added sugars give calories and hit your blood sugar.

EccentricDad

so i like to have brown sugar on my oatmeal in the morning and its enough to fill my "sugar" intake for the day. but that usually is just about all the sugar i eat in the day. but when i log in my fruits, my sugar intake makes it look like i ate cookies all day lol. does anyone on here not log in fruits and veggies? since most are low carb/low cal/low fat anyways? thank you!!

Disregard sugar intake, only worry about overall calories and overall carbs.

THIS!
But I still want people to understand how sugar works; without knowing, the body can't burn it off and the fat that was put in fat cells to force sugar to be burned first will turn into stored fat.

lady_jessi

Dr. Lustig has done extensive research on sugar and it's effect on the body. See this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

His other videos/written works are pretty good too.

I count the calories in fruits/vegetables, but I don't care at all about their sugar content. And honestly I feel that refined sugar can be fine as long as you don't over-do it. I put a sugar/stevia mix in my tea when I have it for instance. And I'll eat ice cream sometimes. Moderation is key.

anjukins

And just to add fuel to the fire, yogurt *is* "naturally occuring", in the "where can I catch me a greek yogurt" sense (though not quite as adventurous as that intentionally dismissive comment makes it sound!)-- ie milk can be colonized by wild-strain, yogurt-making bacterias without any help from humans at all. they're just kicking it in the air, and when they find something perfect in which to make their home, like in unrefrigerated milk, they set up shop! i'm sure that's how the first peeps "discovered" yogurt... their milk went funny and they loved it!!

ShaneOSX

Have you ever tried using stevia? It is a natural sweetener and although it does taste different it is a pleasant way to sweeten things without blowing your sugar count our of the water. I also used to be an avid oatmeal and brown sugar person. Another alternative I tried was putting a few dried cranberries and sliced almonds in my oatmeal. It also helps the oatmeal to seem sweeter and the almonds help the whole meal break down more slowly(good fat). When you have the right balance of carbs protein and fat you will feel fuller for longer.

Stevia, truvia, nutrisweet, asparatame, high fructose corn syrup, sorbitol, and sugar alcohol, and all the other "added sugars" are still sugar carbs! They are just not added in the "sugars" part of the label because the FDA doesn't require starches and chemical compounds that are "complex" to be considered in the "sugar" label. But no matter what you are told, ALL carbs are sugar (fibers are just not digestible) and ALL added sugars give calories and hit your blood sugar.

This is not even close to accurate. For one, several of those are toxic, like aspartame. HFCS is under fire for a reason. Fiber has a completely different effect than sugar. Sugar alcohols do not effect blood sugar, and what's more are not fully metabolized, you can actually subtract a percentage of the carbs from the nutrition label if they are made of sugar alcohols.

ShaneOSX

And just to add fuel to the fire, yogurt *is* "naturally occuring", in the "where can I catch me a greek yogurt" sense (though not quite as adventurous as that intentionally dismissive comment makes it sound!)-- ie milk can be colonized by wild-strain, yogurt-making bacterias without any help from humans at all. they're just kicking it in the air, and when they find something perfect in which to make their home, like in unrefrigerated milk, they set up shop! i'm sure that's how the first peeps "discovered" yogurt... their milk went funny and they loved it!!

Thank you. I'm wondering how many more people are going to fail to read that difference correctly in this thread.

ShaneOSX

Have you ever tried using stevia? It is a natural sweetener and although it does taste different it is a pleasant way to sweeten things without blowing your sugar count our of the water. I also used to be an avid oatmeal and brown sugar person. Another alternative I tried was putting a few dried cranberries and sliced almonds in my oatmeal. It also helps the oatmeal to seem sweeter and the almonds help the whole meal break down more slowly(good fat). When you have the right balance of carbs protein and fat you will feel fuller for longer.

Indeed. I've been trying to make myself like Stevia, but in stuff like coffee it's just not working for me. I'm trying Nectresse next, here's hoping.

http://www.nectresse.com

jjefferies7

naturally occuring sugars are going to be no different compared to other added sugars. sugar is sugar. sugars a carb and carbs are carbs. disregard tracking sugar intake. focus more on hitting your macro and micronutrient goals.

While it is true having too much sugar is bad for you, fruit sugar is readily available for the body to burn within 15 minutes of eating it (so I've read). So if you are having fruit, do a light exercise after to burn it off. If you are having a fruit and can't exercise, choose a low glycemic value fruit to get your carb kick.

its not mandatory to do a light exercise after having fruit or any sugar for that matter, its not going to make a difference in your weight loss aside from if the exercise is putting you into a further deficit. also the glycemic index is very innaccurate and irrelevant in most cases.

EccentricDad

This is not even close to accurate. For one, several of those are toxic, like aspartame. HFCS is under fire for a reason. Fiber has a completely different effect than sugar. Sugar alcohols do not effect blood sugar, and what's more are not fully metabolized, you can actually subtract a percentage of the carbs from the nutrition label if they are made of sugar alcohols.

The facts:
1) All chemically created sweeteners are toxic.
2) Sugar alcohol is created by taking a starch (like corn) and hydrogenating them to a 3rd of the original molecule. So essentially they are starchs but 1/3 the calories. They are still carbs and they still affect the blood sugar like a normal starch would (aka complex carb).
3) Nothing allows you subtract calories. NOTHING.
4) HFCS is under fire because molecularly it is the EXACT same as sucrose. The body doesn't care if it's sucrose (table sugar) or HFCS, they both send blood sugar levels to spike, and they both cause an insulin response. The only major difference? The FDA doesn't require HFCS to be logged as sugar.

tragicpixie

I don't really worry about MFP's sugar I try to eat low on the glycemic index because I feel better that way. MFP doesn't seem to account for this system, so I just ignore it. The glycemic index tells you how fast sugars break down in your system (sugar is sugar and that's still going to be calories and be used by your body but how fast it can leave your body needing more energy varies).
I'm not really sure if this helps me lose weight - I don't really use it for that. I use this because when I was in college I had a lot of health issues and started getting serious blood sugar crashes.

ShaneOSX

This is not even close to accurate. For one, several of those are toxic, like aspartame. HFCS is under fire for a reason. Fiber has a completely different effect than sugar. Sugar alcohols do not effect blood sugar, and what's more are not fully metabolized, you can actually subtract a percentage of the carbs from the nutrition label if they are made of sugar alcohols.

The facts:
1) All chemically created sweeteners are toxic.
2) Sugar alcohol is created by taking a starch (like corn) and hydrogenating them to a 3rd of the original molecule. So essentially they are starchs but 1/3 the calories. They are still carbs and they still affect the blood sugar like a normal starch would (aka complex carb).
3) Nothing allows you subtract calories. NOTHING.
4) HFCS is under fire because molecularly it is the EXACT same as sucrose. The body doesn't care if it's sucrose (table sugar) or HFCS, they both send blood sugar levels to spike, and they both cause an insulin response. The only major difference? The FDA doesn't require HFCS to be logged as sugar.

1. I'm inclined to agree with that, but I didn't say otherwise to begin with.

2. "There is less of an effect from sugar alcohols than either sugar or starch."- American Diabetes Association (and all other organizations)

3. I didn't say calories, I said carbs. From the American Diabetes Association again:

If a food has more than 5 grams of sugar alcohols:

Subtract ½ the grams of sugar alcohol from the amount of total carbohydrate
Count the remaining grams of carbohydrate in your meal plan

4. HFCS is under fire for a variety of things, including potentially causing increased fat deposits in the abdomen. Most of that is unproven. But that's a whole other thread.

5. Starting your post by calling it "The Facts" doesn't strengthen an argument.