Sugar vs Sugar Free Question

Calif_Girl67

Hi there,

Ok so here is my dilema, the scale seems to be always going up and down and I was drinking more then
8 glasses of water a day and was told by my Heart Dr that I am drinking way too much water and this is probably
the reason why the scale is going up and down = too much fluid.

Anyway, I have had several people tell me that I need to watch my sugar intake and for me that is very hard to
keep it under 30 grams because I eat fruit and greek yogurt almost everyday. I am finding it really hard to keep my sugar
numbers super low on account of me also having a sweet tooth.

Im just looking for advice and tips where Sugar is concerned, How do you NOT eat anything that contains Sugar ? DO you
buy and eat things that say "Sugar Free". I am so frustrated with the scale and if the Sugar is the main cause then I need to
find a way to STOP eating stuff that contains any Sugar at all, So......... How do you do this ?? Is Sugar Free foods really Sugar Free ? I am NOT a Clean eater I just eat things in moderation.

Suggestions please & Thanks

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

For fruit just eat berries. They're lower in sugar. You can buy things that have a "sugar free" label but be careful of products with a "no sugar added" label because these can still be high in sugar. If you like oatmeal, but either plain quick oats or plain steel cut oats and sweeten it with splenda/stevia.

sozisfitnow

you answered your question, eat mainly clean , seriously it works!

Calif_Girl67

you answered your question, eat mainly clean , seriously it works!

Thats not an option for me Lol, I can't cut out everything I love and in my opinion you should not have too as long
as you eat in moderation.

MrsTheunissen

you answered your question, eat mainly clean , seriously it works!

Thats not an option for me Lol, I can't cut out everything I love and in my opinion you should not have too as long
as you eat in moderation.

But is sugar the only thing that you feel is hinder you to lose the weight? Be carefull with processed foods and be true with your logging in your food diary.
And how much water are you dinking if your doctor is saying that you drink to much?

savlyon

Over at thegraciouspantry.com she has some great tips about cutting out sugar.

It's a good idea to reduce sugar intake because sugar is a drug that is addictive. There are serious complications with consuming too much sugar. I have read that even cancer feeds off of sugar. I have a horrible sweet tooth and I find that the weight comes off the best when I completely cut it out.

Tiffany (blogger from gracious pantry and clean eater) suggests that you limit fruit to 3 per day and watch your labels. Her challenge is to go 2-4 weeks without having anything with added sugar. Fruit is great! Otherwise, your packaged products--look at everything! I found that even garlic salt had added sugar in it. She wants you to cut out artificial sweeteners and honey, agave, anything. She has an entire list of the hidden names for sugar. Her reasoning behind even cutting out artificial sweeteners is that you need to be able to cleanse your taste buds of it (after a while your taste buds actually change) and then when you do add sugar back in, it is soooo sweet it doesn't taste good.

Artificial sweeteners can also make you bloat, so watch those.

I don't watch my sugar on MFP because if you drink milk and/or have fruit your sugar looks sky high. It doesn't differentiate between good and bad sugars. Also, the proper amount of sugar/carbs you intake is dependent on your level of cardio.

Good luck! It's a big battle but worth it.

CristinaL1983

I don't worry about fruit sugars and other natural sugars. I tend to try to stay away from refined sugars (I find that I'm hungrier than usual when I eat sugary foods) but I will add a little bit of brown sugar to my oatmeal (with frozen berries) if I want something sweet. Other than that, I don't have a problem with artificial sweeteners so I'll drink a diet soda.

To me, things with lots of sugar just have lots of empty calories and I try to use my calories for nutritious food but I don't worry about fruit sugars or even candy (maybe once a week). It hasn't impacted my weight loss at all (not negatively anyway).

Calif_Girl67

you answered your question, eat mainly clean , seriously it works!

Thats not an option for me Lol, I can't cut out everything I love and in my opinion you should not have too as long
as you eat in moderation.

But is sugar the only thing that you feel is hinder you to lose the weight? Be carefull with processed foods and be true with your logging in your food diary.
And how much water are you dinking if your doctor is saying that you drink to much?

Yes I think Sugar may be the issue and alot of people are telling me that it might be. I was drinking 64 + oz of water a day and my Heart Dr said that is too much so now i only drink when thirsty. I logg everything I put in my mouth good or bad

Calif_Girl67

Over at thegraciouspantry.com she has some great tips about cutting out sugar.

It's a good idea to reduce sugar intake because sugar is a drug that is addictive. There are serious complications with consuming too much sugar. I have read that even cancer feeds off of sugar. I have a horrible sweet tooth and I find that the weight comes off the best when I completely cut it out.

Tiffany (blogger from gracious pantry and clean eater) suggests that you limit fruit to 3 per day and watch your labels. Her challenge is to go 2-4 weeks without having anything with added sugar. Fruit is great! Otherwise, your packaged products--look at everything! I found that even garlic salt had added sugar in it. She wants you to cut out artificial sweeteners and honey, agave, anything. She has an entire list of the hidden names for sugar. Her reasoning behind even cutting out artificial sweeteners is that you need to be able to cleanse your taste buds of it (after a while your taste buds actually change) and then when you do add sugar back in, it is soooo sweet it doesn't taste good.

Artificial sweeteners can also make you bloat, so watch those.

I don't watch my sugar on MFP because if you drink milk and/or have fruit your sugar looks sky high. It doesn't differentiate between good and bad sugars. Also, the proper amount of sugar/carbs you intake is dependent on your level of cardio.

Good luck! It's a big battle but worth it.

Thanks for the info, will check that site out I too have a huge sweet tooth so this will help to read.

Katetw

Hi there,

Ok so here is my dilema, the scale seems to be always going up and down and I was drinking more then
8 glasses of water a day and was told by my Heart Dr that I am drinking way too much water and this is probably
the reason why the scale is going up and down = too much fluid.

Anyway, I have had several people tell me that I need to watch my sugar intake and for me that is very hard to
keep it under 30 grams because I eat fruit and greek yogurt almost everyday. I am finding it really hard to keep my sugar
numbers super low on account of me also having a sweet tooth.

You asked your doctor about water intake, why not as him/her about sugar intake? Your doctor knows you much better than we do. I personally go over my sugar intake on here every day, because I consume a lot of fruit. I feel as long as it is natural and not processed sugars, it is okay.

I avoid anything "sugar free" that has junk like splenda, aspertaine, etc added to it. Some have already been discovered to be harmful and the others, well, I think we'll find that out someday. Obviously, sugar is as well, if you have too much, but I'd rather fight the devil I know than the devil I don't.

Anyway, that's my opinion. Good luck!

Calif_Girl67

Hi there,

Ok so here is my dilema, the scale seems to be always going up and down and I was drinking more then
8 glasses of water a day and was told by my Heart Dr that I am drinking way too much water and this is probably
the reason why the scale is going up and down = too much fluid.

Anyway, I have had several people tell me that I need to watch my sugar intake and for me that is very hard to
keep it under 30 grams because I eat fruit and greek yogurt almost everyday. I am finding it really hard to keep my sugar
numbers super low on account of me also having a sweet tooth.

You asked your doctor about water intake, why not as him/her about sugar intake? Your doctor knows you much better than we do. I personally go over my sugar intake on here every day, because I consume a lot of fruit. I feel as long as it is natural and not processed sugars, it is okay.

I avoid anything "sugar free" that has junk like splenda, aspertaine, etc added to it. Some have already been discovered to be harmful and the others, well, I think we'll find that out someday. Obviously, sugar is as well, if you have too much, but I'd rather fight the devil I know than the devil I don't.

Anyway, that's my opinion. Good luck!

My Dr is a Heart Dr not a Nutrionist Lol, maybe i need to see a Nutrionist too

savlyon

I don't think you are drinking too much water, but he may be concerned that you aren't getting enough salt. You might try putting some salt in your water or increasing your intake of that. Sometimes too much water can flush out the salt in your body and that is a problem too.

Calif_Girl67

I don't think you are drinking too much water, but he may be concerned that you aren't getting enough salt. You might try putting some salt in your water or increasing your intake of that. Sometimes too much water can flush out the salt in your body and that is a problem too.

No its not an issue of salt, My Heart Dr says that too much water is not a good thing and to only drink when thirsty and of course after exercise. I am a Heart patient now since Oct and retaining some water so the scale goes up and down but a few people have mentioned that too much sugar would also cause this so that why in the post its about sugar not water intake.

Calif_Girl67

Bump

Katetw

My Dr is a Heart Dr not a Nutrionist Lol, maybe i need to see a Nutrionist too

Your regular physician should be able to answer this question.

elyelyse

I almost gave up flavored yogurt because of the high sugar... then I found Siggi's. It's thicker than greek even, and packs in more protein for fewer calories and with less sugar. (the serving size is a bit smaller, but its still more protein per oz) For breakfast I will often have a serving of Siggi's with a half cup of cheerios and when I am done I am totally satisfied for hours.

A word of caution though, it's pretty expensive for yogurt... but for someone closely watching calories and sugar, I feel it's worth it.