24 Grams Sugar for the Day? This seems unrealistic!

TeresaOH1
TeresaOH1 Posts: 31 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am over on Sugar EVERY DAY - some days more than twice over!

I am going back and looking at my choices and where I can make changes.... 1 banana & 1 yogurt = 22 grams sugar!

Does anyone know how fitness pal comes up with that?

Thanks!!! Sugar Overloaded!

Replies

  • Pandasarecool
    Pandasarecool Posts: 508 Member
    Bump
  • itsuki
    itsuki Posts: 520 Member
    If you're not diabetic, and you know the sugars you're getting are coming from good sources, just don't track it.
  • skonly
    skonly Posts: 371
    I stopped tracking sugar. 99% of mine comes from fruit. I'm not giving up fruit and regardless of what other people may say, no one has ever gotten fat from eating fruit.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    If you're not diabetic, and you know the sugars you're getting are coming from good sources, just don't track it.

    ^^^THIS

    I quit tracking sugar and replaced it with calcium.
  • pinkyleigh83
    pinkyleigh83 Posts: 148 Member
    I agree with itsuki, I wouldn't worry too much if it's coming from decent sources. I am almost always over thanks to fruit & greek yogurt.
  • ShaneOSX
    ShaneOSX Posts: 198
    Short answer, if the sugar is naturally occurring, such as in milk or bananas, just ignore it.

    However, you mentioned yogurt, some of which can have up to 20g of added sugar. That you might actually want to try to have in moderation.
  • Bus2012
    Bus2012 Posts: 13 Member
    I'm always over on my sugar (mainly from fruit) but I have reduced the level by which I'm over and it has made a difference to my weight loss. I still eat fruit but I will have blueberries instead of sultanas, a nectarine instead of an orange etc
  • MoveTheMountain
    MoveTheMountain Posts: 764
    Short answer, if the sugar is naturally occurring, such as in milk or bananas, just ignore it.

    However, you mentioned yogurt, some of which can have up to 20g of added sugar. That you might actually want to try to have in moderation.

    You're much better off tracking your overall carbs than your sugar. Starchy/empty carbs are just as bad for you as sugar, so eating, say, a lot of bread but no sugar is not going to get you very far. Forget tracking sugar, but definitely track your carbs and your carb sources. (And yes, people have gotten fat eating a crap load of bread along with a crap load of fruit.)
  • marthathebear
    marthathebear Posts: 498
    My doctor told me bananas are one of the worst for sugar. I avoid them. With fruits stick to berries.
  • SWilkins75
    SWilkins75 Posts: 277 Member
    My doctor told me bananas are one of the worst for sugar. I avoid them. With fruits stick to berries.
    Yep! I found this out and stopped eating bananas. Not worth it. I love me some frozen blueberries!
  • elrolloSurf
    elrolloSurf Posts: 7
    Banana is loaded with sugar and so is yogurt! I avoid both in favor of apples or green salad
  • kellya009
    kellya009 Posts: 54 Member
    I brought this up with my registered dietician, and she said that there actually isn't a recommended daily intake for sugar. As long as its coming from natural sources like fruits it's not really a problem. If you're eating cotton candy, chocolate bars, etc that is a problem. I stopped tracking sugar too. After a homemade fruit shake, Greek yogurt, and the lowest sugar granola bar on the market, I was way over. And there's nothing there I can cut out really, without losing fibre and protein.
  • SWilkins75
    SWilkins75 Posts: 277 Member
    Unless you're diabetic. Then any sugar whether it's natural sugar in fruits or not, isn't good for you.
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    Recommended Limits

    The American Heart Association recommends men limit added sugar to 36 g, or 9 tsp., per day and that women limit added sugar to 24 g, or 6 tsp., per day. An additional recommendation calls for limiting sugary soft drinks to 36 oz. per week, or 450 calories, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. The calories from soft drinks cause more weight gain than the calories from solid foods. These limits only pertain to added sugars, not sugars that occur naturally in some foods. The average American consumes 21 tsp., or 84 g, of sugar daily, far more than recommended.


    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/363283-recommended-daily-allowance-of-sugar/#ixzz255snd74j
  • foochick
    foochick Posts: 105 Member
    I love sugar, but it's poison to me. Even natural sugar spikes your blood sugar and then you release insulin to handle it, and insulin is a fat storing hormone. I cut it all out, except what I get in my veggies, and avocado....and an unavoidable gram or 2 a day in stupid seasonings and sauces. You almost cant find anything pre prepared that doesnt have sugar.
  • AVinmill
    AVinmill Posts: 88 Member
    I stopped tracking sugar. 99% of mine comes from fruit. I'm not giving up fruit and regardless of what other people may say, no one has ever gotten fat from eating fruit.

    Yup, I agree. If you know most of the sugar is from fruit then forget about it and track something else.
  • MoveTheMountain
    MoveTheMountain Posts: 764
    I brought this up with my registered dietician, and she said that there actually isn't a recommended daily intake for sugar. As long as its coming from natural sources like fruits it's not really a problem. If you're eating cotton candy, chocolate bars, etc that is a problem. I stopped tracking sugar too. After a homemade fruit shake, Greek yogurt, and the lowest sugar granola bar on the market, I was way over. And there's nothing there I can cut out really, without losing fibre and protein.

    It bugs me when people say don't worry about sugar if it comes from fruit... (so I'm quarreling with the nutritionist, not you!) The fact is, if you eat 5 pears, that's about 500 calories, and 80 grams of sugar (125 grams of carbs). That's going derail almost anyone's calorie plan for the day, and it is a lot of sugar.

    There's a built in assumption that no one is going to over-eat on fruit, so it gets treated as if it's a friee food, but it's not. Hey, I'd love to have 5 plums a day, or 5 nectarines. I let myself have 1. That's it. Because if it has calories - and if you care about how many calories you're taking in - you need to count it. You can't binge on apples any more than you can binge on ice cream without it hurting your progress. Eating too many calories is eating too many calories, plain and simple.

    To be fair, you can probably eat as much broccoli as you can force down without every having to worry about the calories (or the sugar), because 4 cups of broccoli is like 40 calories. Good luck even getting close to eating 200 calories worth of broccoli in a day. But fruit? You need to watch your fruit intake!
  • christimw
    christimw Posts: 183 Member


    It bugs me when people say don't worry about sugar if it comes from fruit... (so I'm quarreling with the nutritionist, not you!) The fact is, if you eat 5 pears, that's about 500 calories, and 80 grams of sugar (125 grams of carbs). That's going derail almost anyone's calorie plan for the day, and it is a lot of sugar.

    There's a built in assumption that no one is going to over-eat on fruit, so it gets treated as if it's a friee food, but it's not. Hey, I'd love to have 5 plums a day, or 5 nectarines. I let myself have 1. That's it. Because if it has calories - and if you care about how many calories you're taking in - you need to count it. You can't binge on apples any more than you can binge on ice cream without it hurting your progress. Eating too many calories is eating too many calories, plain and simple.

    To be fair, you can probably eat as much broccoli as you can force down without every having to worry about the calories (or the sugar), because 4 cups of broccoli is like 40 calories. Good luck even getting close to eating 200 calories worth of broccoli in a day. But fruit? You need to watch your fruit intake!

    i used to be one of those people. oh it's fruit? its fine, it's natural and not processed, it's not going to make you fat. while it's not as bad as processed sugar, it's STILL sugar, i'ts STILL going to raise your insulin, and it WILL keep you from losing weight.

    i'm glad i know better now.
  • oerin
    oerin Posts: 1 Member
    Thank you for this topic! I've only been using MFP for about 10 days, and I'm over on my sugar every day, while under on my total calories 80% of the time. I don't have a lot of weight to lose, but I'd like to shed the several pounds I've gained in the past few months and then keep it off. I feel like MFP helps me be more discriminating about what I eat. After reading this, I'm going to "play" with my sugars, trying to avoid as much processed food as possible--even my 1 slice of whole grain bread has 5g of sugar!
  • msdivine26
    msdivine26 Posts: 42
    I think it's your yogurt. Most yogurt sold in the US is EXTREMELY sweetened. Try a more natural-sourced yogurt without added sugar!
  • Fit_And_Heathy_Goalie
    Fit_And_Heathy_Goalie Posts: 55 Member
    I asked a similar question yesterday and a MFP member suggested keeping my sugar intake to 60 grams or less (based on a suggestion from her nutritionist). This seems very doable if you stick to 2-3 servings of fruit a day, a serving of plain greek yogurt, etc. I checked my food diary for the past few days and I range between 45-60. I agree that it's extremely important to limit non-natural sources of sugar! It's amazing how many products contain hidden, added sugar! Hope this helps!

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