Cutting down on sugar

nicolamoonbrains

Hi!

I have just been doing some research on my diet and have found I am eating over the RDA of sugar every day and I didn't realize this until now!

I eat on average between 40 and 70 grams per day sometimes more, and the RDA for a woman is 20 grams.

Is this really all that bad? I exercise 5 days a week for 30 mins (circuit training) so does this entitle me to eat more sugar?

Sugar is the hardest thing for me to cut out! What foods could I incorporate into my diet that will help with cravings?

Thank you!

downinaggieland98

I ended up not really tracking my sugars on MFP because if I eat any fruits whatsoever, I'm over. What I do is look at where my sugars are coming from. If they are natural sources, I really wouldn't worry about it too much. If it is refined sugars, then I'd definitely cut those back.

AsrarHussain

Hi!

I have just been doing some research on my diet and have found I am eating over the RDA of sugar every day and I didn't realize this until now!

I eat on average between 40 and 70 grams per day sometimes more, and the RDA for a woman is 20 grams.

Is this really all that bad? I exercise 5 days a week for 30 mins (circuit training) so does this entitle me to eat more sugar?

Sugar is the hardest thing for me to cut out! What foods could I incorporate into my diet that will help with cravings?

Thank you!

it depends i eat what fits my macros im about to eat half a bounty hald kitkat chunky hazel nut another half kitkat chunky with cocunut and 2 pizzas with chicken on top im still on a callorie deficit slightly over by 40 calls or so but no big deal

388gigi

There's a big debate on sugar. I try to only eat sugar in the form of fruit, vegetables and natural, full fat dairy products. From those products alone I probably go over 20g a day!

Big sugar culprits are cereals, low fat yoghurts, low fat anything really (they add more sugar to compensate)

I recently got a book (in Australia) called "I Quit Sugar". I bought it for the recipes, but there is a lot of information in there about sugar, and a plan on how to quit it if you want to.

shells72280

I ended up not really tracking my sugars on MFP because if I eat any fruits whatsoever, I'm over. What I do is look at where my sugars are coming from. If they are natural sources, I really wouldn't worry about it too much. If it is refined sugars, then I'd definitely cut those back.

I agree - if your fruits are coming from natural sourced, like fruits, then I would not really worry about it. But if it's coming from processed stuff - candy bars or white bread type foods, you should try to cut down on those.

I have the same battle - I would all my calories in a day on chocolate if I could. I try to limit myself to SMALL portions - like 3 bites each, but twice a day. Seems to be helping so far.

Good Luck!

Enonoid

Try to cut down on the refined sugars.

pebbs80

I'm trying to focus more on natural sugar sources. Fruits and veggies

If it's processed I try to keep that as low as possible

alpine1994

What everyone else said about getting sugar mostly from natural sources.

About the cravings, I didn't believe anyone when they told me that if I stopped eating so much sugar, I wouldn't crave it as much. Guess what. They were right. Even artificial sweeteners will trigger cravings. I cut out diet soda (I still have maybe 1 can of diet coke a month) and I was just really careful not to eat sugary things except once in a while. It's hard at first, but you will quickly adjust. Also, don't COMPLETELY deprive yourself. When you know you are deprived, you will think about it non-stop and then have a blowout. Tell yourself that if you REALLY need that can of soda, donut, etc. you can have it. But you just have to make the decision carefully.

nicolamoonbrains

Thanks! Lot's of great advice.

To be fair, about half the sugar in my diet comes from fruits but the rest comes from chocolate (I eat about 4 squares of dark chocolate a day), honey which I sweeten my teas with (not sure if that counts as refined sugar) and worst of all, fizzy pop and alcoholic drinks. I don't drink those everyday though (like I used too) I am trying to stop those completely.

I will definitely try to swap the refined sugars for natural sugars! I'll be researching for some good natural desert ideas.

Firefox7275

Thanks! Lot's of great advice.

To be fair, about half the sugar in my diet comes from fruits but the rest comes from chocolate (I eat about 4 squares of dark chocolate a day), honey which I sweeten my teas with (not sure if that counts as refined sugar) and worst of all, fizzy pop and alcoholic drinks. I don't drink those everyday though (like I used too) I am trying to stop those completely.

I will definitely try to swap the refined sugars for natural sugars! I'll be researching for some good natural desert ideas.

Switch to a low sugar/ sugar free dark chocolate or buy some cocoa powder and make your own chocolatey desserts/ snacks. Consider lower sugar fruits such as berries, grapefruit, rhubarb, red and black currants. Honey is sugar. yes it counts.

Rhonnie

If you are losing the weight you want, don't worry about the total to much, just try to limit the 'added' sugars. If you get to a point you aren't losing weight (or of course if you have a medical condition) then you can get serious about your sugar intake. At which point you probably want to do research outside MFP.

nicolamoonbrains

Thank you!

Firefox, I never thought of looking for sugar free chocolate! I tried finding some today in sainsburys and couldn't find any but I did find some in Holland and Barratts (UK) but only single bars and they are really expensive (but super delicious!) thanks for the tip!

Thanks rhonnie thats good advice also, I think it would be an idea to carry on as I am, avoiding refined sugars, and if I hit a plateau some weeks down the line think about sorting it out properly and seeing if it has an effect!