Sugar & Its Effects...

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ssitari
ssitari Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys,

I've been reading a lot about sugar and its overall effects on diet, working out, losing, and mood. I've been in a 'rut' with losing over the past few months, and after reading a lot of these articles, I'm starting to think this is an area I need to look into even more.

Even just including blueberries, carrots, and an apple throughout the day, send me sugar levels past where they should be. Then if I were to have something sweet at the end of the night, forget it.

I'm trying to cut out sugars as much as possible for the next week or two (even limiting fruits at this point) and then introduce them back in gradually. I'm hoping that'll kickstart things back into gear for me.

Has anyone else on here tried that approach, and what have you eaten during that phase as replacement snacks (I'm looking for some new ideas). The thing that scares me, between a few eggs and chicken at breakfast, a handful of almonds, and some olive oil on my salad at lunch, my fats are already over where they should be for the day.

Sorry if this is a 'beat-to-death' topic here, but any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
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    Sugar, in my opinion, is pointless to even track if you don't have a medical reason to limit them. Sugar won't cause you to not lose weight.

    I am over my sugar amount set here by the middle of my breakfast daily. I took sugar off of what I track.
  • rowanwood
    rowanwood Posts: 510 Member
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    I think limiting additional sugar, like sweetened cereal, etc, isn't a bad idea but only because its random extra calories. But avoiding fruit and carrot because they have too many natural sugars? That's crazy. Sugar is the fuel for your body. EVERYTHING you eat gets converted to sugar before your body can use it.

    This is, imho, one of those fad things and I can't wait for it to go away.
  • MarieS1967
    MarieS1967 Posts: 37 Member
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    May I suggest removing added sugars, High fructose corn syrup, etc.? However, when you do look at added sugar it is in everything, even ketchup and peanut butter. But fruit, while some more high than others in sugar, offer numerous other benefits, such as fiber, vitamins and minerals. Good luck!
  • ssitari
    ssitari Posts: 13
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    Rowanwood, it surprises me too!! MFP doesn't count the "Sugar" number as natural vs. sweetened and artificial -- so that could be a huge factor there. 60g of sugar from fruit and veggies vs. 60g of sugar from cookies and ice cream are two totally different things, and that I completely understand.
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
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    The MFP system doesn't distinguish between sugar from fruit and such vs. refined sugar. For that matter, it doesn't distinguish between refined carbs and natural carbs. Refined carbs are as bad as refined sugars. Thus, you have to actually be smart about this. You want to satay under 20g of REFINED sugar, but up to 100g of natural sugars are acceptable.

    http://www.rodale.com/recommended-sugar-intake

    By the same token, if you are under your carb goal every day, but it's all from white bread and pasta, don't be too pleased with yourself.
  • StripedSmoker
    StripedSmoker Posts: 104 Member
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    Oh geez, sugar. It's so hard to keep an eye on your sugar intake because there is so much hidden sugar in all kinds of food. Too much sugar of course isn't good, it's in everything so not eating is a good way to avoid sugar. But don't do that. If you want to cut down on sugar just don't eat cookies everyday and avoid stuff like coke. I do eat candy but not often, that's about how it should be eaten to be healthy, I guess.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    As long as your sugars are from natural sources (fruits, veggies, dairy) you are fine. It's the processed sugars you have to watch. Unless you have a medical condition or consume WAY too many processed sugar snacks I would drop it from your measurements and pick like cholesterol or something. Tracking sugar will drive you crazy, especially if you are a Veggie or Vegan.

    As a Diabetic I have to track my sugar, but I'm usually well under 15g/day unless I have a 'treat' occasionally.
  • bluntlysally
    bluntlysally Posts: 150 Member
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    if you don't have a medical reason (aka - your doctor told you) to watch sugar, then remove it from your macros here. be sure to add carbs and just watch that instead. sugar is a carb and it will work itself out. natural sugars aren't to be worried about either. mfp doesn't bother to differentiate between natural and processed stuff.
  • grannyofjacob
    grannyofjacob Posts: 1 Member
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    I've been at this for 105 days now and i have lost 22lbs to date. By the end of each day my sugar and protein are over. The sugar can be over as much as 20 or as lose as 1my protein can be over as much as 45. Even with these numbers I am still losing the
    weight. I can't do alot of exercising because of injures i received in a car accident back in 2001, but i walk as much as i can, i do a few sit ups . I just do it in moduration. so dont worry about your sugars and just stick with it.
  • skinnymel
    skinnymel Posts: 85 Member
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    My doctor said carrots are basically sugar sticks, so I only eat those occasionally. The fruits you mentioned are excellent. The main problem I've seen with sugar is that it is usually in things that aren't doing my body any favors anyway, such as sweets and white pastas, etc. 25 grams of sugar daily is an reasonable goal.
  • lovinmyselfagain
    lovinmyselfagain Posts: 307 Member
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    I eat carrots almost every day and several servings of fruit every day, and I lost 76 pounds in a year. So, as far as I can tell, it hasn't slowed down my weight loss journey. Like everyone else said, don't worry about the natural sugar that is in fruits and veggies, and focus on limiting processed/refined sugars. I also don't worry that much if I go over on monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Natural peanut butter, avocados, almonds, pecans, and olive oil are regular staples in my diet, so having just a couple of these items in a day and I'm over my allotment of fat. I do watch my saturated fat intake though. My main focuses are getting my daily goal of protein and fiber every day and watching my sodium and processed carb intake.
  • zonah
    zonah Posts: 216 Member
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    If your body is reacting to the sugar in whole foods you are eating and your not eating much boxed process food or adding sugar to your diet from other areas. I think you need to see your Dr.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I don't do high fructose corn syrup and I watch my intake of added sugar. I eat fruit and berries like crazy though. Your body metabolizes sugars from fruit and veg slower (good thing) than added/refined sugars due to they are wrapped up in all kinds of fiber.

    I couldn't ever give up my fruit and veg...way too many nutritional benefits; fruit is just awesome nutrition. Anyone with high LDL should be enjoying an apple a day and some fibrous berries like raspberries and blackberries...excellent sources of soluble fiber as well as all kinds of vitamins and minerals.

    OP...I highly doubt sugar is your problem, especially sugars from fruits and such. Personally, I would avoid high fructose corn syrup...the more I read about that, the more I'm convinced that it's basically poison and the body doesn't know what to do with it other than store it as fat...that's the only "sugar" I have eliminated all together.
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    I find the food fact sheets provided by The British Dietetics Association useful

    http://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/Sugar.pdf
  • ssitari
    ssitari Posts: 13
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    cwolfman13 - that's a great point! I've started label reading the past two weeks and am starting to do the same thing. I was surprised to see how much High Fructose Corn Syrup is in pretty much everything.

    To all of the other responses, thank you. I have a few friends that have been eating strictly paleo for the past year, and have seen great results, but I think that might not be the exact diet for me. I came on here to get some insight from others, and you guys have all helped a lot!
  • worldtrekker1
    worldtrekker1 Posts: 14
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    This is a fascinating look at sugar in diet by an endocrinologist - it has had over 3,400,000 views.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

    After watching, I am fine with the sugar I get in whole fruit as it is packaged in a natural form with fiber and macronutrients. However, this has really curbed my sugar intake in other areas.
  • zonah
    zonah Posts: 216 Member
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    This is a fascinating look at sugar in diet by an endocrinologist - it has had over 3,400,000 views.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

    After watching, I am fine with the sugar I get in whole fruit as it is packaged in a natural form with fiber and macronutrients. However, this has really curbed my sugar intake in other areas.

    Thanks for posting the youtube link I'm going to go watch now!
  • Lunachic77
    Lunachic77 Posts: 434 Member
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    This is a fascinating look at sugar in diet by an endocrinologist - it has had over 3,400,000 views.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

    After watching, I am fine with the sugar I get in whole fruit as it is packaged in a natural form with fiber and macronutrients. However, this has really curbed my sugar intake in other areas.

    I just watched this entire video...wow. Thank you for posting this. I generally tend to stay away from sugars because I have watched documentaries on how bad it is for you...but when Dr. Lustig broke it down chemically it really hit home. Makes total sense of why there is an obesity epidemic.

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