Sugar MFP allowance help!

finchest
finchest Posts: 245 Member
edited December 17 in Health and Weight Loss
The other day, i decided to switch my diary to track some new nutrients. I don't consume anything with added sugar generally aside from an occasional protein shake or salad dressing, so i thought it'd be interesting to start tracking my sugar intake.

To my dismay, every day I've been grossly over the MFP sugar allowance of 35 g. Yesterday I had a handful of baby carrots and blew through 1/3 of my allowance without even realizing produce was part of the equation. A handful of sugar snap peas and I was past the halfway point. A glass of oat milk and I was over the top.
One cup of cooked cous cous is already over the limit of what's allowed in a single day.
A 16 oz *green* smoothie I got at the farmer's market had 1/2 my sugar intake for the day, from greens alone!

What the heck! I thought I was eating healthy!

My question is:
Are you able to stay within your sugar allowance according to MFP?
HOW?
Is it important to?
Any thoughts/advice on how to approach this numerical information and how to work with it in a productive way?
I'm so frustrated to see myself over the limit when I thought I was making great dietary choices. I'd love to understand!

Replies

  • crazytreelady
    crazytreelady Posts: 752 Member
    YES... this question needs to be answered...

    I go over mine by 40g :(
  • Stephyshoes
    Stephyshoes Posts: 45 Member
    I want to know, too! I've read thing about not having to be too concerned if the sugars come from natural food sources and to concentrate on added sugars...but I'd love to hear more from someone who knows!
  • mogriff1
    mogriff1 Posts: 325 Member
    That one baffles me also. I'm in the same boat. BUMP, I'd love to follow this thread.
  • ColoradoRobin
    ColoradoRobin Posts: 510 Member
    You can manually change your sugar, fiber, protein, carbs, etc if you like. I agree that the sugar allowance is really too low, and fiber and protein should be higher. If you click on the My Home tab, then select goals, then choose Manually set goals, you can adjust everything to your liking. It will keep the values it has already computed for you unless you click on a value to change it. Good luck!
  • sissypunks
    sissypunks Posts: 92
    me to hope someone can explain!
  • missyyclaire
    missyyclaire Posts: 572 Member
    This is a great question. I watch my sugar intake, because I'm diabetic and because I'm trying to see if keeping sugar levels low will help my weight loss. I'm no expert, but from what I read it's one of the best ways to aid weight loss. Good luck!
  • ColoradoRobin
    ColoradoRobin Posts: 510 Member
    If eating some carrots and an apple puts me over for the day, then I feel the allowed sugar is too low. Customize the settings to fit your nutritional goals.
  • wnwilli05
    wnwilli05 Posts: 19
    bump
  • Canbfit4life
    Canbfit4life Posts: 124
    its not a accurate count ,of course you should ignore the estimate mfp gives ,but of course you shouldnt be consuming a lot of unnatural sugars , but sugar that comes from fruits is fine.
  • theartichoke
    theartichoke Posts: 816 Member
    The standard on MFP tracks all sugars, added or not. Guidelines state that 40 grams is the limit for added sugars. Added means it wasn't grown with it. Bananas don't actuallt count but a Coke would. MFP doesn't differentiate between the two.
  • jenj1313
    jenj1313 Posts: 898 Member
    I tend to mentally go through and subtract out sugars from "real" foods (fresh fruits and veggies) and just look at the sugar from processed foods.

    I don't know if there's actually any credence for doing it that way, but otherwise, I'd be way over too just because of fruits and veggies.

    The one I'm stuck on though is greek yogurt. I LOVE Chobani yogurt with fruit on the bottom and that puts me over 1/2 my sugar allowance for the day by the time I've finished breakfast in the morning. Still struggling with that one b/c it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup, but it does have sucrose and it's obviously not "natural" fruit.

    I bought a big canister of plain yogurt yesterday and will probably start putting frozen berries (no added sugar) into that, but it's going to take more prep time (boo).
  • cyncetastic
    cyncetastic Posts: 165
    It depends what your goals are whether you want to watch or modify your sugar levels. Obviously natural sugars that come from fruit and veggies are going to "better" for you than processed sugars - but too much sugar in general isn't great and should be eaten in moderation.

    You'd be surprised by how much sugar is in things you never thought of as "sweet." Milk... bread... salad dressing... pasta sauce... salsa... ketchup.. etc. It's also important to consider WHEN you eat your sugars. Typically its best to eat any sugars (like fruit) with your first meal of the day or directly after a workout. Your body is best able to metabolize the sugars at those times.
  • mrmanmeat
    mrmanmeat Posts: 1,968 Member
    I don't count sugar from fruit or veggies or milk.

    I do count sugar from ice cream, dressings, etc.
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
    I agree 35 is way too low. I cook from scratch, rarely add sugar to anything, and only bake treats once in a while, and my sugars are usually 70-150 g. I eat plenty of fruit, a little bit of chocolate, occasional honey. If you're getting it from whole foods, and you're not diabetic or fructose intolerant or such, I wouldn't worry about it. Just look for the added and processed sugars.
  • sarahdee2007
    sarahdee2007 Posts: 257
    I don't count sugar from fruit or veggies or milk.

    I do count sugar from ice cream, dressings, etc.

    Me too!
  • Leiki
    Leiki Posts: 526 Member
    The American Heart Association recommends men limit added sugar to 36 g, or 9 tsp., per day and that women limit added sugar to 24 g, or 6 tsp., per day. An additional recommendation calls for limiting sugary soft drinks to 36 oz. per week, or 450 calories, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. The calories from soft drinks cause more weight gain than the calories from solid foods. These limits only pertain to added sugars, not sugars that occur naturally in some foods.

    In other words, this is sugar like the sugar we get from processed foods, or the sugar we may add to our coffee. It does not include sugar we obtain naturally from fruits and vegetables.
  • finchest
    finchest Posts: 245 Member
    How do you draw the line on artificial vs. natural sugars, then? In the example I posted, would cous cous count then as artificial or natural? It is a natural food, but a single cup of cooked cous cous is already over the daily allowance according to MFP! So confusing. Thanks, by the way, to those who responded! It's good to know I'm not alone, and that there are other ways of looking at it.
  • lindastefanini
    lindastefanini Posts: 5
    BUMP
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
    Check the package to see whether there are any sugars on the ingredients. If not, those are naturally occurring sugars. Personally, I wouldn't consume a lot of cous cous (even if I could) because it is still a processed food. It is not whole wheat, it is refined wheat. I would substitute a whole grain (rice, cracked wheat, millet) or pseudocereal (buckwheat, quinoa) instead.
    How do you draw the line on artificial vs. natural sugars, then? In the example I posted, would cous cous count then as artificial or natural? It is a natural food, but a single cup of cooked cous cous is already over the daily allowance according to MFP! So confusing. Thanks, by the way, to those who responded! It's good to know I'm not alone, and that there are other ways of looking at it.
  • aacorral
    aacorral Posts: 2 Member
    Bump :wink:
  • liminalca
    liminalca Posts: 4 Member
    Pamela Peeke wrote a great book called "The HUnger Fix". One of the things she talks about in the book is sugar consumption, which she recommends keeping under 100 grams so this is the number I use. I think MFP is too low and probably it's because we "over 50's" arene't allotted very many calories in general. Even though I changed it, it ended up reverting back, so I decided not to worry about it!
  • LadyL2012
    LadyL2012 Posts: 127 Member
    I think this question needs to be answered in 2 parts:

    1) This is the one macro I struggle with. Carbs KILL your sugar allowance, but as we all know we needs carbs for the energy to do the workouts. My oats in the morning blow half of my allowance alone. The only days I don't go over my sugar allowance if I happen to eat low carb that day. Basically if you want to keep in your sugar range avoid carbs, fruit, sweet veg, savoury 'snacks' and obviously sugar. But for most of that would lead to an unbalanced diet and also a pretty unenjoyable one.

    For me personally I try to not go too far over (which is impossible at the moment with all the easter eggs). As long as I am 'close enough' with my sugar goal then I am satisfied. That is with my current sugar goal set at 30g, I can normally stay within the 30's.

    2) Is it that important? Well that depends on how sugar affects you personally. For me sugar is a killer on my love handles and flat stomach. If I eat a slightly higher sugar diet for a bit, say over Xmas, but keep everything else the same; my stomach gets more rounded at the bottom (you know which bit I mean ladies!) and my love handles get WAY worse. Whereas for the other macros I don't get any obvious effects if I go over for a bit. Sugar for me makes a huge difference to the appearnce of my body even wih only a little increase. I know some get the same effect for carbs. Perhaps experiment for a bit to see what your 'demon macro' is. Try a higher carb diet for a week, then a higher sugar etc and see if one or more than one really makes a difference.
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