Sugar... How do you do it?

QFT.

& to the person saying if you "must" eat fruit, are you serious? Now fruit is evil, too? Good lord. :noway:

If you MUST eat fruit, eat grapefruit or berries. They're lower in sugar.

Of course you should eat fruit - any fruit....Not sure what you mean by "must " eat fruit....If you are not diabetic, don't worry about natural sugar - minimize the use of refinde sugars - cereal, cookies etc...

Sugar/simple carbs just cause more sugar/simple carb cravings. Cutting them out eliminates cravings. I still eat things like oatmeal (plain oats, not the packets with sugar) but cutting out sugar/fructose has stopped all of my cravings.

Eat your fruit and don't worry about it.

THIS ^^

If you're working out don't worry about it

Ditto... one piece of fruit can blow this... I personally, look at carbs as a whole and just watch the added sugars not the natural ones.

Hit (or exceed) your protein, hit (or exceed) your fat. Hit (as closely as possible) your calories. Don't sweat the sugar and carbs. They will fall into place as a side effect of the other variables being controlled.

QFT

Splenda!!!! All the way! I know, the health mongers might get after me for this, but it is my savior. What Im really into right now is flavored teas, from Harney and Sons. They have amazing flavors, fruity, cinnamon, mint, chocolate, etc, and I find I have to have some splenda, or honey in them, and I am really excited to say they are filling that void for me. I used to drink 10 cups of coffee throughout the day, loaded with creamer and sugar, or Splenda, but now that Im on the tea, I have one cup of coffee in the morning with the 1/2 and 1/2 in it, and splenda, then the rest of the day, I might have 2 or 3 cups of tea, no 1/2 and 1/2. I allow myself the calories from the honey, and log it, but it fixes my sugar fix!

Fat helps transport fat soluble vitamins, increases satiety, fish oils help reduce arterial inflammation, and keep insulin levels down. At 18 most of this won't impact you but for a life long change it is good to take in a decent amount of quality fats.

I'm only on day 2 of a high-fat, high protein diet, and already I can tell I feel significantly different. Of course, because I'm lifting now, I'm hungry as a horse, but seriously, it just feels DAMN good. Also, I don't get sleepy after a healthy fat/protein heavy meal like I would after a carb one. I do my lifting/cardio(ugh... cardio...) fasted, and then eat a fat/protein-heavy breakfast with veggies. I was doing high-carb, high-protein, but high-fat, high-protein feels a LOT better and more satisfying. It's hard to get truly "low carb" when I factor in veggies, though. I eat potatoes because 1) they're filling, 2) they're extremely high in potassium and other excellent nutrients, and 3) I just love them, and I don't plan on stopping, so that's a hit to my carb numbers. They would be lower, but... then I wouldn't be eating potatoes. And I f***ing love potatoes. So... yeah. I know lots of people don't believe in eating white stuff, but I make the exception.

Anyway. You get the point. Fats help with vitamin absorption, as Craigamears said, but also they help with brain function. It's a massive part of why humans have the large brains that we do: We started eating animal protein and fat and eating a LOT of it. And it sped evolution along quite nicely.

at fear of sounding stupid why would i want to exceed fat?

Because dietary fat =\= body fat. Fat is really healthy for you. It provides satiety, improves skin, hair and brain function and a wealth of other benefits as already discussed.

Btw, sugar doesnt make you fat.. calories do. If you arent eating a surplus you aren't gaining fat. It truly is that simple.

at fear of sounding stupid why would i want to exceed fat?

Because dietary fat =\= body fat. Fat is really healthy for you. It provides satiety, improves skin, hair and brain function and a wealth of other benefits as already discussed.

Btw, sugar doesnt make you fat.. calories do. If you arent eating a surplus you aren't gaining fat. It truly is that simple.

Half agree! Fats are essential, after all.. you'll literally die if you don't have them, protein too! But not all dietary fats are good for you in excess! Especially if you're already having problems with weight control. Just like sugar, when abused, fats can lead to weight gain. the problem with fats of course they are more than twice as calorie dense as sugar, 9cal per gram...

let's not forget...to have all the wonderful benefits of fat..one only needs about 30 grams a day...not to mention your body can literally use its own fat to do all those wonderful things.

at fear of sounding stupid why would i want to exceed fat?

Because dietary fat =\= body fat. Fat is really healthy for you. It provides satiety, improves skin, hair and brain function and a wealth of other benefits as already discussed.

Btw, sugar doesnt make you fat.. calories do. If you arent eating a surplus you aren't gaining fat. It truly is that simple.

Half agree! Fats are essential, after all.. you'll literally die if you don't have them, protein too! But not all dietary fats are good for you in excess! Especially if you're already having problems with weight control. Just like sugar, when abused, fats can lead to weight gain. the problem with fats of course they are more than twice as calorie dense as sugar, 9cal per gram...

The only fat to avoid is transfats since a body can not process them. You can limit saturated fats but i havent seen conclusive evidence on that one.

But no matter how much fat you eat, regardless of age, if calories in < calories out, weight loss will occur. Its not to say the other macro nutrients arent important because they are.. but its all about calories for weight loss.

Full Agree I am a great supporter of cal IN cal OUT...I have been for 11 years! We don't have to get into the science. I really hate debating about ghrelin, leptin, GH, and gluconeogenesis to a 17 year old girl trying to lose 5 to get into a bikini. Trans fats arent necessarily bad if you have it in slight moderation. Just like alcohol...just because the body doesnt know what to do with it exactly, doesn't mean it's messing your body up (unless of course you are abusing it).

Good! so it's settled, let's not exceed anything, but eat everything, but just a little bit, or else you may get fat.