Sugar in take too high?

amyshiel
amyshiel Posts: 9
in Food and Nutrition
I try and keep with in the guidelines for calories, fat, protein, sugar etc, but I find the sugar one the hardest of all! For example, today, I have had half a cup of milk, 2 x whole grain toast with pbj, a pear and a slice of cheese and I am at my daily in take of sugar. and haven't yet had lunch etc!

How important is it?
Do you track sugar?

I work out daily, running, circuits, riding etc and always burn an additional 400 cals a day so I am sure that helps the sugar intake to.

Any advice greatly received!

Replies

  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    I have no advice but I'll tell you I'm in the same boat. I fill up my sugar requirements with just the vegies I eat during the day. I had no idea bell peppers had so much sugar, lol. The default for me is 29 grams. I went over this with just the fresh pineapple I had for breakfast. Even though I go over it constantly, I don't pay it much mind. I just figure that as long as most of my sugar intake comes from whole foods but to each their own.
  • HudaSaman
    HudaSaman Posts: 46
    I have faced the same issue and people here advised me to not count natural sugar, only added sugar and sugar from processed food. But those natural sugar from fruits and healthy food should not be bad for your diet.

    So do not worry about the total too much just make sure that sugar come from healthy and natural food as much as you can .
  • amyshiel
    amyshiel Posts: 9
    Thanks! I am allowed 31g and my pear was half of that LOL! I don't add sugar to anything and try and eat healthy fresh and whole foods and don't buy any processed so hopefully it doesn't matter to much. Try to eat just 31g really limits your "fresh" in take which can't be good
  • HudaSaman
    HudaSaman Posts: 46
    Yes that's right... when I focus too much on sugar I end up eating no fruits. and this is not good..
  • Mrskatie
    Mrskatie Posts: 27 Member
    Not all calories are created equal, and not all sugars are created equal.
    If your sugar is coming from fruits or from non-starchy veg, I wouldn't worry too much about it, (although if you're trying to lose, then you shouldn't be going too crazy on the fruit and sweet veggies).

    It's the empty calories and added sugars you need to really watch.
  • WorkoutMusicDiva
    WorkoutMusicDiva Posts: 36
    I am having the same challenge. I have been watching my sugar grams like a hawk and I had cut fruit and yogurt out for a few weeks. Today I experimented and had fruit in breakfast and mid morning snack and went over. I have been making substitutions (like sprouted grain breads for whole wheats which many have added sugars) and I have switched regular granola bars for Atkins snack bars. But I do love fruit and yogurt so today's experiment has shown me that I need to watch the combinations I'm putting together in a single day. My non-medical opinion is that even though sugars from milk and fruit are natural, I think the grams still count...hey, they still count for diabetics, right! So I think it comes down to everything in moderation. I suggest keep an eye on it but dont get super stressed out over it.
  • ac_boubou
    ac_boubou Posts: 28 Member
    Cool! I'm glad to know that I don't have to cut down fruits and veggies! I was a little worried with my sugar intake, Mine is set to 26gr. I tried today to stick to that 26 gr, and i was so hungry this afternoon, I picked a fruit in the fridge because there would be no way I could keep it up till supper!

    By the way, i'm looking to have natural sugars coming from fruits, vegetables, milk...instead of processed sugars! I'll stick to that :smile:
  • TeeDeezy
    TeeDeezy Posts: 40 Member
    I just stumbled on that No Think Diet video this morning and listened to it out of curiosity. I swear the guy told me I shouldn't eat bananas because they were high in sugar. And then later on in the video he said I could eat pie and cupcakes in moderation. What an idiot.

    Natural sugars still have to be moderated. But, most of the time those sugars come with a lot of other nutrients that help offset the negative aspects of the sugar (i.e. fiber, vitamins, etc.). Your pear, for example, had about a 1/4 of your total needed intake of fiber for the day.

    You can't go crazy with it. If you eat 8 pieces of high-sugar fruit a day, it's probably going to make it difficult to lose weight. But, for the most part I'd worry about the processed sugars that come in bread, sodas, processed fruit juices, etc. And not so much about the sugar you'll get from eating an orange in the morning and an apple for lunch.
  • rbro1979
    rbro1979 Posts: 11 Member
    Hi Guys,

    HudaSaman is right. It will take a lot of natural sugar like sugar in milk and fruit for your body to start to store it as fat. Natural sugars are a key source of your daily energy. It's added sugar that's the problem. The calorie counter on myfitness doesn't differentiate between the two. Added sugar has little nutritional value (but is well addictive and tasty mmmmm). Natural sugars have a lot of nutrients your body needs. Try thinking of it the same way as you think about daily fat intake....saturated fat is not the best for you but unsaturated (like fish oil etc) is needed.

    Don't worry about eating fruit and veg...it'll take a lot of munching to start gaining unwanted fat from it!

    All the best

    Russ x
  • beatricelombule
    beatricelombule Posts: 96 Member
    I have had the same problem. I think sugar that comes from fruits is good for you.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Sugar is just a carb. As long as you're eating enough fats and protein, your carbs/sugar aren't important unless you have a medical issue that requires carbs/sugar to be monitored. As long as you're under your calorie goal, you'll lose weight. Some people find that sugar (even from fruit) causes them to have more sugar/carb cravings. If this isn't the case for you there's no need to limit sugar.

    For information on setting your macro target, read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/911011-calculating-calorie-macronutrient-needs?page=1#posts-13821336
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    If you're not diabetic, diagnosed prediabetic, or hypoglycemic, and you're not on some spiffy new "only pastries and ice cream" diet, there's almost no need to track sugar separately from other carbs. If you're consistently at or under your carb allowances on MFP's settings, you're unlikely to have any problems in this area.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    I don't track it anymore. I eat at least twice the default setting just in fruit every day.
  • lqichick
    lqichick Posts: 162 Member
    I noticed in the previous posts that some of the posts talk about double digit Gm/day carb numbers. Did you folks put the umbers in one your own or did MFP do it for you?

    I ask because I am in the triple digits and want to be sure nothing is amiss.
  • HudaSaman
    HudaSaman Posts: 46
    I have been entering my food here in MFP for more than a week now.. and I really can advise any to take it as a guideline. It helps alottt to stay balanced but it sometimes cheat you. Because as rbro1979 it does not differentiate between the good fat and sugar and bad ones..
    for example.. it will warn you if you took more fiber or protein, and when seeing the red color you will feel you did something wrong. But I don't think it's bad . more fiber is good for diet as experiments say !
    So stay cool and do your best :)
  • siceton
    siceton Posts: 2 Member
    I GO OVER MY SUGAR ALLOWANCE ALMOST EVERY DAY. AND NOT JUST BY A LITTLE BIT. ITS REALLY HARD TO STAY WITHIN ALL THE GUIDLINES. BUT IM TRYING SO I SUPPOSE ITS BETTER THAN NOTHING, PLUS IM STILL LOOSING WEIGHT. XX GOOD LUCK
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    I noticed in the previous posts that some of the posts talk about double digit Gm/day carb numbers. Did you folks put the umbers in one your own or did MFP do it for you?

    I ask because I am in the triple digits and want to be sure nothing is amiss.
    Speaking for myself, I adjusted the numbers MFP gives to be more protein-heavy and less carb-heavy; it still has me eating triple digits in carbs every day.

    Barring specific medical concerns, carbs aren't evil.
  • pzawodzinski
    pzawodzinski Posts: 5 Member
    I had a similar question which prompted me to do a little research.

    Simply put, there are good sugars and bad sugars. If the sugars come from nature they are good, if not, they are bad.

    Based on what you logged as eating for today, you are eating the good sugars.

    If you were to say you ate a handful of Swedish fish...well, let's just say that wouldn't be considerd good!

    I too found it hard to track sugar, but once I learned a little more I don't pay as much attention to the total as I do the detail that makes up the total. Hope this helps a little... me and Mr. Google are best buds!
  • Brads2ndLife
    Brads2ndLife Posts: 72
    I try and keep with in the guidelines for calories, fat, protein, sugar etc, but I find the sugar one the hardest of all! For example, today, I have had half a cup of milk, 2 x whole grain toast with pbj, a pear and a slice of cheese and I am at my daily in take of sugar. and haven't yet had lunch etc!

    How important is it?
    Do you track sugar?

    I work out daily, running, circuits, riding etc and always burn an additional 400 cals a day so I am sure that helps the sugar intake to.

    Any advice greatly received!

    If you want to keep sugar down and still eat fruit, Pears are just about the highest sugar per gram option there is. Apples are another popular fruit that are at the high end of sugar content. Grapes really high too.

    Try choosing bananas, oranges, rockmelon (or any melon) and berries and check out how much better your sugar number looks.

    Although personally I tell myself if I over eat snacking on fruit I am still a million times better off than the huge bag of potato chips or McDonalds burger I have been 'snacking' on for my most of my life.
  • Brads2ndLife
    Brads2ndLife Posts: 72
    I had a similar question which prompted me to do a little research.

    Simply put, there are good sugars and bad sugars. If the sugars come from nature they are good, if not, they are bad.

    Based on what you logged as eating for today, you are eating the good sugars.

    If you were to say you ate a handful of Swedish fish...well, let's just say that wouldn't be considerd good!

    I too found it hard to track sugar, but once I learned a little more I don't pay as much attention to the total as I do the detail that makes up the total. Hope this helps a little... me and Mr. Google are best buds!

    There may be good and bad sugar. I don't really know.

    But I think both types need to be burned off soon after intake or they will turn into equal amounts of fat store.
  • SirBonerFart
    SirBonerFart Posts: 1,185 Member
    I've noticed the successful people on this site don't focus on tracking their sugar intake
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    I've noticed the successful people on this site don't focus on tracking their sugar intake
    Such wisdom out of a newbie to the forums. I'm impressed :flowerforyou:

    Sugar is really a matter of personal preference. Just eat enough protein and fat. Everything else-whatever works for you.

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