Sugar

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Okay, so I know this is talked about often and I'm sure there's a ton of threads already for it, but to be quite honest, I didn't feel like taking the time to find the right one to post on that is still relatively active. Sew me.

ANYWAY. I'm finding it difficult to stay within the limits of sugar intake, and no it's not because I eat junk. On a usual day, I eat an apple and a Luna bar for my snacks, and for the mornings make fruit smoothies with berries, bananas, low-fat vanilla yogurt, and ice. I do drink one cup of coffee a day (trying to ween myself off of it) or else I get major headaches and/or I'm super crabby. I use two equal per cup. I stay within my calorie goals for the day (more often than not) and still find my sugar intake to be almost double what it is supposed to be by breakfast! My question is: does the type of sugar you consume matter towards your total count or is it okay to go over your sugar limit for the day if it's from mostly fruits?

Just a side note: I heard somewhere that your daily sugar intake is about 11% of your calories. Doing the math out, I came up with this:
1300 net cal/day goal
11% of 1300 = 143 cal
143 cal sugar x (1tsp/15cal) x (4.2g/tsp) = 40.0 g sugar a day.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I do EVERYTHING by the numbers (I'm an engineer, I can't help it) so when things don't match up or work out it bugs the ever living hell out of me.

Any help is much appreciated!

PS my diary is open so if you'd like take a look at that and let me know what I can change :)

Replies

  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    If you do not have a medical condition, do not worry about sugar.

    When in a caloric deficit, it is VERY unlikely you're consuming an unhealthy amount of sugar.
  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
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    I was also under the impression that you dont worry so much about the sugar from whole foods. You need to pay more attention to the added sugars.
  • Ravepixie87
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    Seems most of your sugar is coming from fruit, cut down on that or do as said above dont worry about it
  • kaceelawlor
    kaceelawlor Posts: 184 Member
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    Okay, thanks all!
  • johnny059qn
    johnny059qn Posts: 163 Member
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    The fruit is fine. Yes, fruit has sugar. Your yogurt has a ton as well as the starbucks caramel.

    If it is important to you then that's where I would cut. But it is not imperative.

    Good luck!!
  • kaceelawlor
    kaceelawlor Posts: 184 Member
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    The fruit is fine. Yes, fruit has sugar. Your yogurt has a ton as well as the starbucks caramel.

    If it is important to you then that's where I would cut. But it is not imperative.

    Good luck!!

    Yes, I know the Starbucks is high in sugar. That is my weekly treat. One starbucks drink every Sunday (when the boyfriend and I are running errands. It's our routine).
  • FitBeto
    FitBeto Posts: 2,121 Member
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    I'm not crazy all the time you know some people, some people, some people call me insane. yeah they call me insane.
  • lewcompton
    lewcompton Posts: 881 Member
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    Unless you are a diabetic do not worry about the glucose in fruits... Avoid excessive refined sugars whether by man (granulated, powdered, brown) or by nature (honey)... If you are diabetic then focus on eating fruits with a lower glycemic index there are plenty of online info sources to check if this is a problem. With my family history I am trying to stay on the low glycemic index end of the spectrum.
  • suttercm
    suttercm Posts: 189 Member
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    That's pretty low sugar target. I'm diabetic and my daily goal is higher than that!
  • libbymcbain
    libbymcbain Posts: 206 Member
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    If the sugar is from fruit, don't worry about it. Someone told me that it is a good idea to aim for 30-50g of fibre each day and not to worry about sugar if I did that (it takes a good bit of fruit and veggies to reach that target, unless you eat like 300g of lentils a day).
  • electricmeow
    electricmeow Posts: 68 Member
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    I've had your same question for the past 3 years on MFP. I used to get so irritated by people who said "fruit is sugar...sugar is sugar, doesn't matter, cut it out" But I've been looking into evolutionary/alternative approaches toward health (not government funded weight loss crap haha) and it's interesting what they say...

    Obviously our ancestors didn't have sugar cane processed the way we do. If you were eating sugar, you were likely eating other "nutrients" around it like chips of wood and plant material. Fruit was rare to come by, and certainly hadn't gone through the genetic selection to be as sweet as it is now. Our taste buds were more sensitive though, so to them is was sweet enough. Our fruit has so much more sugar now, and we're led to believe we need to eat 4 servings of it a day!

    Who says we need to eat so much sugar? The same people that tells us to eat 7 servings of toxic GMO treated wheat, and sneaks high fructose corn syrup into a large fraction of our food. "Diet" foods are the worst as far as toxic GMO corn products, and this is exactly why our country is as unhealthy, allergically reactive, and addicted to food! Okay okay okay, off my soapbox, had to throw that out there...

    BASICALLY you DO need to question everything you have learned your whole life. Including fruit needing to be in your diet every day. We do not need so much fruit!

    Why are we told we need it? Well, for nutrients...but you can get the same nutrients in fruit as you can in vegetables. Consider fruit to be dessert. Smooties--I know can be packed with great protein--also have a ridiculous amount of sugar. They are packed with nutrients, but they don't have the fiber to break down the sugar as efficiently. And I'm not talking flaxseed, I'm saying it's different to eat berries whole, as opposed to berries already blended (pre-digested) for you.

    And Luna Bars....oh how I love them so.... Sadly they're just a nutritious candy bar. They don't have a lot of protein. I don't know about you, but I realized they don't really fill me up that much, its just a psychological thing because they are tasty and have protein. The good news is, when I have a sweet craving, I have Luna/Clif bars to go to instead of a snickers. But there is no nutritional reason why you should have one every day.

    I'm so sorry break it down like this...I used to think people would create these replies to rain on your parade and make you feel stupid. I was just in your same exact boat, and I still struggle with this. Make it a goal to not buy fruit, maybe just for daily smoothies if you must...and only eat luna bars in replacement for candy. 11% is very accommodating to a serving of fruit, some yogurt, and other sugars that (...mysteriously...) slip into American foods.

    Almost forgot! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Trader Joe's 100% Stevia, their stevia packets would do too. But its the most amazing replacement for sugar that isn't Splenda. Good for your coffee :-) Don't get Truvia because it is stevia plus GMO corn chemicals.

    Everyone should read Eating for Beauty by David Wolfe, and Lights Out: Sleep Sugar and Survival by TS Wiley.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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  • Amanda82691
    Amanda82691 Posts: 298 Member
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    It can be hard if you just look at the total sugar intake. But I wouldn't worry so much about your sugar as long as most of it is coming from natural sources such a fruit and veggies then I wouldn't worry I would focus more on your carbs and such! :)
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    Sew me.


    Do you mean a shirt or something? I would make a sweater, but that would be knitting.
  • Crystalclear22
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    I am quite healthy and active, but do have reactive hypoglycemia. My nutritionist has me working with 35 g sugar a day, which is conveniently what MFP has set my sugar metrics at (34g/day). I consume 1600 calories/day for .5 lb weight loss per week.

    I was told that the type of sugar in my case doesn't matter. Sugar is sugar as far as my body is concerned. So 'healthy' sugar goes into the same bucket as 'bad' sugar. I cut the sugar out of my coffee (switched to stevia), cut back on the fruits a bit (maybe switch from bananas and apples to melons - less sugar there, or only eat fruit a couple days a week instead of every day), and started eating plain greek yogurt instead of the flavored ones (6g sugar versus 20g!). You can add some almonds, splenda or stevia and cinnamon to your yogurt and it still tastes good without all that sugar. :)

    Good luck!