Sugar...how bad is it..for real.

Iluvcheezits
Iluvcheezits Posts: 27 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Please don't think I am a total moron. I am just in denial and I think I need some obvious advice to push me in the right direction.

I'm exercising (walking on treadmill) , dieting (a little) but I'm eating at least one dessert a night. I feel like a full on addict because I cannot seem to go without it. I'm under my goals (half of the time) but the "content" of my nutrition is horrible...and I know it.

Is this truly why I'm not losing anything? Is sugar killing me?

Thank you for any thoughts and the tolerance for dumb questions.

Replies

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,206 Member
    The simple answer is no, if your within your calorie goal. You say your dieting a little and doing some exercise and your food choices aren't very good. I suspect that recording exacting calories isn't happening, so I suspect your lack of weight loss is from not knowing where you stand. If your eating a lot of processed foods the likelihood your accuracy in calorie counting is off, is pretty much a given..
  • Dhalyia
    Dhalyia Posts: 8 Member
    I tried to cut all sugar and became a crazy woman. It depends upon your serving sizes I guess. Having 1/2 gallon of ice cream nightly is not a good usage of your calories. Look towards reducing empty calories.

    I have a tsp of sugar in my 20 oz tea, and nightly I eat one square of chocolate.
  • olDave
    olDave Posts: 557 Member
    Sugar just MIGHT be kiling us! Otto Warburg theorized that sugar just may be the cause of most cancers...that was in 1931!!!


    German scientist Otto H. Warburg's theory on the origin of cancer earned him the Nobel Prize in 1931, but the biochemical basis for his theory remained elusive.

    His theory that cancer starts from irreversible injury to cellular respiration eventually fell out of favor amid research pointing to genomic mutations as the cause of uncontrolled cell growth.

    Seventy-eight years after Warburg received science's highest honor, researchers from Boston College and Washington University School of Medicine report new evidence in support of the original Warburg Theory.
  • ModoVincere
    ModoVincere Posts: 530 Member
    If you're not a diabetic and you are coming in under calorie and getting adequate nutrition....then enjoy the desserts.
    Do be aware that there's no real nutritional value to most desserts so you might be better off just having some fruit.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    I've been able to successfully lose 35 lbs while eating desserts, candy, wine and cheese. I add cream and sugar to my coffee and enjoy the occasional party or potluck where I don't know what's what. I eat everything in moderation and stick to my calorie goal. I eat at restaurants very little, though, because you just can't trust the nutritional info over the long run. If you make stuff from scratch, you get way closer to the actual calories though everything is an estimate anyway.

    A food scale is a must too.

    EDIT: BTW, you don't have a lot of weight to lose. What is your calorie target? I recommend setting MFP to lose 1/2 lb per week and eating back your exercise calories.
  • JenniBaby85
    JenniBaby85 Posts: 855 Member
    I've been able to successfully lose 35 lbs while eating desserts, candy, wine and cheese. I add cream and sugar to my coffee and enjoy the occasional party or potluck where I don't know what's what. I eat everything in moderation and stick to my calorie goal. I eat at restaurants very little, though, because you just can't trust the nutritional info over the long run. If you make stuff from scratch, you get way closer to the actual calories though everything is an estimate anyway.

    A food scale is a must too.

    EDIT: BTW, you don't have a lot of weight to lose. What is your calorie target? I recommend setting MFP to lose 1/2 lb per week and eating back your exercise calories.


    :flowerforyou: :heart: I've managed to lose over 20lbs doing the same ^_^
  • SnazzyTraveller
    SnazzyTraveller Posts: 457 Member
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
  • SnazzyTraveller
    SnazzyTraveller Posts: 457 Member
    (^if you have an hour and a half, check it out!^)
  • Xiaolongbao
    Xiaolongbao Posts: 854 Member
    Is sugar killing me?

    Well there are all sorts of ways to answer that. Sadly you're going to die of something. It doesn't matter how perfect your diet.

    It would be hard to argue that refined sugars are any good for your body but if eating a little makes you happier then why not. Personally I tend to avoid them but that's because I'm a HUNGRY person and I need all of my calories to have lots of nutritional value. You already know fruit is a much healthier choice but if the dessert is a treat that helps you stay healthy the rest of the time then I say have it.
  • Xiaolongbao
    Xiaolongbao Posts: 854 Member
    Oh. Just want to add that actually if I was you I probably would give it up just because I hate feeling that there's anything I HAVE to have. I was like that with diet coke. I know there's a million arguments for and against and I'm not interested in going into all that. I only drank a can a day but if I couldn't have it I really missed it and I looked forward to that can way too much. So I decided to quit cold turkey because I hated the idea that my body was so enthrall to a particular substance.

    But then I'm a freak who doesn't drink coffee, or tea or particularly like alcohol so maybe these things bother me more than other people.
  • mistesh
    mistesh Posts: 243 Member
    What there is an inverse correlation between your daily sugar intake and your lifespan? Come to think of it, there is.

    http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2010/03/3222/ucsf-lecture-sugar-and-obesity-goes-viral-experts-confront-health-cri
  • Iluvcheezits
    Iluvcheezits Posts: 27 Member
    Thank you so much for everyone's feedback. It sounds like it may be more likely that I must not be logging correctly then.

    OK I guess it's time to be honest. UGH! I need to lose 30 and I'm at 1200 a day...ridiculous! I'm freaking 6 ft..OK maybe I'm just trying to make an excuse but still... :)

    Thanks again
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    Thank you so much for everyone's feedback. It sounds like it may be more likely that I must not be logging correctly then.

    OK I guess it's time to be honest. UGH! I need to lose 30 and I'm at 1200 a day...ridiculous! I'm freaking 6 ft..OK maybe I'm just trying to make an excuse but still... :)

    Thanks again

    See, if you're only eating 1200 calories/day and many of them are coming from desserts and stuff, then you're probably not actually getting the nutrients your body needs. I lost weight from 180 to 158 lbs eating about 2100 calories daily (while burning about 400-500 daily on average, sometimes up to 1000 or more in a day as an endurance runner). So I could afford, say 1800 calories of good food and 300 of crap (my opinion only).

    I still suggest you change your goal to 1/2 a pound a week. I think you're not eating enough. This has to be sustainable to work. In 6 months time you'll feel like a million buck and it won't have killed you to get there.
  • ModoVincere
    ModoVincere Posts: 530 Member
    Thank you so much for everyone's feedback. It sounds like it may be more likely that I must not be logging correctly then.

    OK I guess it's time to be honest. UGH! I need to lose 30 and I'm at 1200 a day...ridiculous! I'm freaking 6 ft..OK maybe I'm just trying to make an excuse but still... :)

    Thanks again

    See, if you're only eating 1200 calories/day and many of them are coming from desserts and stuff, then you're probably not actually getting the nutrients your body needs. I lost weight from 180 to 158 lbs eating about 2100 calories daily (while burning about 400-500 daily on average, sometimes up to 1000 or more in a day as an endurance runner). So I could afford, say 1800 calories of good food and 300 of crap (my opinion only).

    I still suggest you change your goal to 1/2 a pound a week. I think you're not eating enough. This has to be sustainable to work. In 6 months time you'll feel like a million buck and it won't have killed you to get there.
    this!

Categories