Advice with sugar intake.

Petitepuce61034 · October 2012

Hi all,

I'm new here and started using this website maybe 2 weeks ago.

So here is my data :
- I'm currently 60.8kg , 1m60 (that's 5ft 3 for 9 st 8.0 lbs) , 27yo
- Work in an office but go try and go the gym twice a week (mostly Zumba Elliptical Trainer/ Bike. I didn't have much time these days but usually when I go I burn around 500cal per workout)

Below are my goals:
NUTRITIONAL GOALS
Net Calories Consumed* / Day 1,200 calories/day
Carbs / Day 165 g
Fat / Day 40 g
Protein / Day 45 g

YOUR DIET PROFILE TARGET
Calories Burned
From Normal Daily Activity 1,640 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal 1,200 calories/ day
Daily Calorie Deficit 440 calories
Projected Weight Loss 0.9 lbs/ week

FITNESS GOALS GOALS
Calories Burned / Week 390 calories/week
Workouts / Week 2 Workouts
Minutes / Workout 40 mins

Now my daily intake of sugar (goal) is 24g a day and I'm struggling not to exceed it. I struggle BIG TIME!
Most of my enormous intake is due to fruits, now I know fructose and glucose are very different and that fructose is obviously much better than getting a tea spoon of sugar as it is.
Just to give you an example, for lunch I just had a fun sized pear, and it's 10gr of sugar, so nearly half of my daily allowance.
A bowl of shredded wheats (literally no fat and no sugar at all) with semi skimmed milk is another 8gr of sugar ! Which means I'm nearly done for the day in total.

So I'm thinking of switching cow milk for another milk that would have less sugar, but I still need to eat fruits, right ?
I am DREADING the days when I eat yogurts, even the nature ones, because they are packed with sugar as well. I'm cutting down so much on that, now I am scared of running low on Calcium levels.

Aslo veggies have a lot of sugar, 2 cups of frozen french beans have 4gr of sugar, that's a fifth of my daily allowance.... All this combined and I pass my allowance by 10gr+ every day, i'm so angry at myself for that !!

Any advice on how to cut down on sugar levels would be much appreciated !! How did you personally cut on your sugar intakes ? Are there any vegetables I should avoid ? How do you manage to still eat fruits ?

Thanks !

jaihen · October 2012

I think myfitnessplan should adjust the sugar goal to read "added sugars". The American heart foundation now recommends 20g for women but this is added sugar not natural sugars such as lactose in milk or fructose in fruits. I had a panic just like you did as my goal is also 24g but this article helped... http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyDietGoals/Sugars-and-Carbohydrates_UCM_303296_Article.jsp

Chief_Rocka · October 2012

My advice is eat a reasonably balanced diet and ignore it.

julieh391 · October 2012

I have never paid any attention to sugar on here. If you eat a couple pieces of fruit you're going to be over, which is stupid if you ask me. I'm over every single day. And I've lost 43 lbs in 5 months. No worries. Enjoy your fruit.

PHATFOBIA · October 2012

Your obsession with 'sugar' is pointless. The only sugar you should be worried about is as has been pointed out sugar that is added to processed foods. There is ZERO point in tracking any other kind of sugar. In fact if you just stick to unprocessed whole foods generally there will be no sugar to worry about.

You haven't said what your goals are in the sense of what are you trying to achieve? You are not overweight according to basic BMI tables so rather than worrying about sugar you should find out what your body composition and bodyfat level is. If thats too hight then perhaps your aim should be to lose some fat and gain some muscle mass?

As it is you seem to be worrying about minor things that dont matter with no clear purpose.

Petitepuce61034 · October 2012

Well....

I had high and dangerous levels of triglycerides for years so I don't think it's that pointless, actually sugar is really bad, just as bad as having a cholesterol imbalance (good cholesterol vs bad cholesterol levels) In both cases it's bad for arteries, one is due to fats and the other one to sugars. But I agree with everybody and as I said in the post, I am aware of the difference between fructose and glucose. So I'll keep on eating my fruits and be happy (or I hope so haha!)

As for the BMI, this is not necessarily a great indicator of anything either, my BMI is still normal, but would ALSO be normal if I was 10 kg lighter, still there would be a great difference on the scale. I have put on 2 sizes in 2 years and all I'm asking is to get back to my original shape.

Anyway. In this case, is the sugar contained in milk, good or bad ?
Do you include a lot of dairy products in your diets ?
And if not, how do you compensate in order to get enough calcium in everyday life?

Ps: Thanks for the support everybody!

Chief_Rocka · October 2012

Well....

I had high and dangerous levels of triglycerides for years so I don't think it's that pointless, actually sugar is really bad, just as bad as having a cholesterol imbalance (good cholesterol vs bad cholesterol levels) In both cases it's bad for arteries, one is due to fats and the other one to sugars. But I agree with everybody and as I said in the post, I am aware of the difference between fructose and glucose. So I'll keep on eating my fruits and be happy (or I hope so haha!)

As for the BMI, this is not necessarily a great indicator of anything either, my BMI is still normal, but would ALSO be normal if I was 10 kg lighter, still there would be a great difference on the scale. I have put on 2 sizes in 2 years and all I'm asking is to get back to my original shape.

Anyway. In this case, is the sugar contained in milk, good or bad ?
Do you include a lot of dairy products in your diets ?
And if not, how do you compensate in order to get enough calcium in everyday life?

Ps: Thanks for the support everybody!

I think the point everyone is trying to make is that focusing on sugar amounts specifically is missing the forest for the trees. If you controlling calories, eating a balanced diet, eating mostly whole foods, avoiding excess junk, maintaining a consistent exercise program, then you're doing all you need to do. Whether you ate 20, 30 or 50g of sugar on a particular day simply doesn't matter.

Shannah256 · October 2012

don't worry about natural sugar, its the artificial sugar that it is really counting. I have the same problem, I always go over the sugar,by eating fruit, but it doesnt really matter, as I have managed to lose 30lbs in 3months

good luck

omanitshann · October 2012

I go over in sugar everyday, but I don't really care because I eat a relatively healthy diet.

Petitepuce61034 · October 2012

Hi all,

Thanks again for your feedback.

I'm feeling better to hear that more people are having the same issues re: going beyond what the website is saying - and still seeing positive results...

I am eating quite a healthy diet, actually trying to get a bit of everything while sticking to reasonable amounts. It's pretty balanced but I admit, it's hard to stick to a regular and continuous exercise programme

Perhaps that's the issue then.

Anyway it's nice to hear from other users and see how they handle things.
Good to know weight loss is still possible

Thank you !

MzStarrQueenB · October 2012

I keep my sugar under 80g per day

KalieHudson · October 2012

I always go over my sugar intake but I just ignore it.

scowper · October 2012

i'm almost always over my sugar limit but it's mainly from lactose and fructose so i don't freak out about it, as long as i'm not filling myself with processed sugar i don't worry about it. in my opinion it's better to snack on a fresh piece of fruit which might have "half" the sugar i should have in a day but has lots of other benefits like fibre and vitamins than have a packet of crisps which only have a gram or 2 of sugar but will be full of other nasties

Advice with sugar intake.

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