Sugar Intake

annams76

I am so frustrated because I try so hard to really watch my suagr intake. Yet I am told to eat as many fruits and vegetables as I want. I went over my sugar intake so far by 1 and I still have one more meal and a few snacks left for the day. I am a night shifter so I am pretty much going to be ending my day in a few hours. I eat breakfast and a lunch while on my shift, then when I get home I have dinner and snacks left for the day. Can someone tell me how to stay within the sugar limits but still be able to eat my fruit?

melsinct

I worry about added sugar, not fruit sugar. Many days I may eat a couple of pieces of fruit. between that and my daily plain Greek yogurt, my sugar numbers are through the roof. I don't sweat it but I do watch the added sugars...I use one teaspoon in the morning in my coffee then try to avoid it the rest of the day. I have been doing this since starting MFP well over 1.5 years ago and my most recent blood work looks great, so it works for me!

newhabit

honestly i don't worry about sugar intake too much. i worry about overall calories, at least 80 g of protein. if i do that, the carbs are usually lower and the fat is usually lower. sugar may not be great for you, but it is in many foods that have protein too (like greek yogurt) and i think it would be hard to avoid sugar to the level they have set on here. just my 2 cents. keep calories low and protein high, try to eat complex carbs like whole grains and the sugar will settle where it settles.

annams76

Thanks! I was starting to freak out because I have been doing everything I can to avoid the bad sugars and then I look at my sugar intake just off of a banana and I have already eaten 1/2 of what they required.

Factory_Reset

I finally took "sugar" off what I was tracking in my diary. I was always over by some, even on the days I didn't have anyt junk food. It was driving me crazy, so I stopped tracking it. Think mfp has it set very, very low.

AlabasterVerve

Can someone tell me how to stay within the sugar limits but still be able to eat my fruit?

I'm almost always below (some days well below) the MPF sugar limits. I eat berries almost daily but I'm still under about 15g or so even with the berries so you could probably fit another serving of fruit in on top of that. I follow a low carb, high fat whole foods diet.

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Chief_Rocka

I only count sugar from natural sources, like sugarcane.

Sarauk2sf

Unless you have a medical condition, don't bother to track it - it is just a subset of carbs.

iAMsmiling

I only count sugar from natural sources, like sugarcane.

Failed to use the sarcasm font. You're going to get reported.

Sublog

Unless you have a medical condition, don't bother to track it - it is just a subset of carbs.

What this lady said!! ^

All carbs get broken down to glucose by your body. Worrying about the type of carb is silly unless you have some specific medical condition.

pkonert

I don't track my sugar intake but when choosing foods I always check the sugar. Someone mentioned greek yogurt. Yes they all have sugar but some WAY more than others. My goal is to pick foods with 5-7 grams per meal. sometimes I don't know how much sugar is in something but when I can know I make an effort. I love Greek Yogurt. I started looking at my sugar and the Chobani I was eating had 19 grams!!! I found Dannon Greek light and fit. only has I think 7. But that is ALOT less. Same with smart ones or frozen lunches. Check the back. Try to stay around the 5gram limit. that takes a way a lot of options. Sugar is what all my stored fat was...once I laid off that the weight started to fall. I am closer to my goal weight so I don't watch it as much.
I also gave up fruit. I took daily vitamins. And I stopped diet Soda...There is still a form of sugar and studies show it can make you over eat! yikes!

Sarauk2sf

Unless you have a medical condition, don't bother to track it - it is just a subset of carbs.

What this lady said!! ^

All carbs get broken down to glucose by your body. Worrying about the type of carb is silly unless you have some specific medical condition.

Who are you calling a lady?

ChristyJade

Thanks! I was starting to freak out because I have been doing everything I can to avoid the bad sugars and then I look at my sugar intake just off of a banana and I have already eaten 1/2 of what they required.

Yeah mine is always miles over, between some fruit and yoghurt I am always over, not including anything else!! Will try to ignore it a bit more now then....

qnih

The American Heart Association issued a scientific statement in 2009 in which they advised:

A prudent upper limit of intake is half of the discretionary calorie allowance, which for most American women is no more than 100 calories per day and for most American men is no more than 150 calories per day from added sugars.

See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19704096

(Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added to foods during processing or preparation. They do not include naturally occurring sugars such as those found in milk and fruits.)

annams76

Thank you everyone!

isitsororo

This has been driving me nuts! A banana has 17 grams of sugar apparently. 17! Holy cannoli, how many grams was I eating before I restricted my caloric intake and ate more sweet things? I'd like to hear more about how (un)important this limit is, it seems difficult to meet. I stayed under on Mon and Tues but went over on Wed by 11 grams (see diary), even though I didn't eat much.

annams76

That is my same issue. I have been told by so many dieticians to eat as many fruits as I want but 2 pieces of fruit and you are over on sugars. By what everyone is saying is that it is not that important as long as it is natural sugars and not added sugars.

ChristyJade

Aye, I eat lots of fruit, at least I know to ignore this sugar now.

Its my TEA thats my biggest let down, 1tsp in each mug, and I have at least 5 a day! Think Im going to have to start cutting back that sugar...1/2 tsp please!

annams76

They have truvia and pure via which is natural sugar and don't taste bad at all. Jorge Cruise uses them as part of his belly fat cure diet.