Sugar and how it affects weightloss/muscle building

slay0r

Hey Guys,

I don't really know a lot about sugar, I always get told not to worry about it but I do seem to have a very, very high intake of it from what I can see. According to a few sources men shouldn't be getting more than 30-40g of sugar a day, yet I can easily have that in one meal!?

My question is how much does it affect us and what are the side effects of having too much? I'm pretty sure everyone can view my diary so take a look at today for example, nearly 20g of the 60 I've already consumed are fruit, another 10 from natural yoghurt, then some from my no added sugar cereal.. is it as bad as I'm thinking?

I'm more concerned that my sugar intake is ALWAYS high, aren't I putting myself at more risk of diabetes etc? I must admit I do have a day every now and then where I just pig out on sweets and all sorts and my sugar intake must be in the hundreds literally like 200g+ I'm sure THAT'S not good for you either way!

SideSteel

If you assume the following conditions:

1) You are hitting your macros (and you have them set up reasonably well according to your body composition goals).
2) You are selecting "mostly" whole foods and not getting your entire carb source from Mtn Dew, for an absurd example.
3) You're consuming a hypocaloric diet

I wouldn't worry about it.

Now, if you were consuming absurd amounts of sugar, eating in a calorie surplus, and not working out, then you could have issues.

slay0r

Ahh thanks for that, I'm struggling I think because I'm eating 3000+ cals a day and the daily recommended amounts aren't really built for that kind of intake, I am training and I'm currently bulking so I do need a lot of calories throughout the day. I'm getting 3000+ cals, 300g carbs, 80g fat and 240g of protein.

It's more the sauces and things I have, I don't have a lot of spare time to cook at the minute so to save time I keep buying tomato based sauces and they do have a decent amount of sugar in them for example the bolognaise sauce I'm eating now 200g of it has 18g of sugar.. pretty high!

amy1612

A good idea on the sauce is to make a huge batch of homemade and freeze, fry onion,garlic, tomatoes, a pinch of sugar (if wanted) and season. Cook, freeze it, and then just nuke whenever you need it.

SideSteel

Ahh thanks for that, I'm struggling I think because I'm eating 3000+ cals a day and the daily recommended amounts aren't really built for that kind of intake, I am training and I'm currently bulking so I do need a lot of calories throughout the day. I'm getting 3000+ cals, 300g carbs, 80g fat and 240g of protein.

It's more the sauces and things I have, I don't have a lot of spare time to cook at the minute so to save time I keep buying tomato based sauces and they do have a decent amount of sugar in them for example the bolognaise sauce I'm eating now 200g of it has 18g of sugar.. pretty high!

Generally speaking during a bulk you're going to gain lean mass and a small amount of fat, and your bodyfat% will gradually increase during a bulk, not decrease.

Your macros look fine. You can reduce protein a bit and increase fat or carbs at your preference if you wanted to, but I don't think it's a necessity. Keeping carbs lower on a bulk isn't going to prevent fat gain. You're going to gain fat regardless as you're at a calorie surplus.

The biggest thing to watch for is to just monitor the pace at which you gain weight and adjust cals accordingly. If you stop gaining you should increase cals slightly and if you find you're gaining too fast you should back off a bit.

Gaining at too fast of a pace is what will likely make you fatter than you'd like.

wolfpack77

If you're eating over 3000 cals a day and still managing to keep your carbs around 300g and sugars under 90g, hats off to you. Especially if they're sourced from whole foods. But even if it was more, its really not a big deal.

I see you are getting big doses of protein, which is great.. but unnecessary. When you're bulking protein intake is less important than keeping your calorie intake high, which you're already doing. So why not have a little fun with it? You can back off the protein and get in more carbs and fats if you want. Thats what I enjoy about bulking. I just eat and dont worry too much about it.

Either way, you're doing fine keep it up.

WendyTerry420

Eating sugar does NOT cause diabetes. That's a myth.

I agree with Sidesteel too. If you are getting enough nutrients, and the right amount of calories, then don't worry about the sugar. If anything, the worry will cause an ulcer before the sugar causes problems.

ahamm002

As already mentioned, the most important factor is hitting your macro's. That said, supposedly body builders have an old saying: avoid the white death. I'm no body builder, but if you find yourself getting a good portion of your calories from pastries, ice cream, and Twinkies, then that could lead to insulin spikes and more calories getting turned into fat. It's less important during cutting cycles b/c if you're at a caloric defecit than sugar will just get burned off anyway.

Edit: if your sugar seems high just from eating fruits and other whole food sources then don't worry about it.

slay0r

Thanks guys! Very much appreciated!