Watching Sugars

sabolfitwife
sabolfitwife Posts: 423 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've recently started trying to really watch my sugar intake. I follow a woman on Instagram who is two weeks "sugar free" (keeping her sugar intake under 10g/day. Her pictures show amazing progress from how her stomach looks in the morning and how it looks in the evenings with hardly any sugar, no bloat at all. I find myself very bloated in the evenings and would like to try this out to see if I can get rid of it! Based on MFP's guidelines, I'm only allowed 36g of sugar a day, which two pieces of fruit (which I LOOOVVVVEEEE) and I'm already way over that allotment. So, I was curious what your guys' favorite low/no sugar snacks/meals are?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Low sugar snacks - nuts, seeds, dry roasted edamame

    Low sugar meals - a lean protein (fish, chicken, eggs, pork tenderloin, tofu, beans, etc.), non-starchy vegetables, oil for cooking, small serving of minimally processed whole grain (brown/wild rice, quinoa, bulgar, etc.).
  • enitsirhck
    enitsirhck Posts: 36 Member
    I also try to limit my sugars, but not to that extent. The main thing you'll have to do is cut out the majority of processed grains, no breads or pastry. You'll be drinking only plain water, unsweetened tea or coffee (tip for unsweetened coffee: get a french press and freshly ground beans, it makes all the difference!) and you'll likely be giving up dairy as well.

    As bcattoes said, you're going to be eating lean proteins - and you won't have the benefit of the vast majority of sauces or marinades to get it down. I typically go with balsamic vinegar, but even that has 2-4g of sugar per TBSP depending on the brand.

    The pitfalls don't stop there though - if you're like me and cannot stand "sugar-free" aka "asparatame sweetened" substitutes, you have to read ALL the ingredients as well as the nutritional content. Another sneaky sugar is "sugar alcohols". I don't know enough about sugar alcohols to say anything about them but my favorite "low sugar" protein bar, ThinkThin, does contain sugar alcohols (these SHOULD be listed in the nutritional label.)

    Finally, you have to be very careful that you don't trade one culprit for another - nuts, seeds and delicious roasted edamame as well as many other low-sugar snacks contain high amounts of sodium - you can't have sweet so you turn to salty. That can cause just as much bloating as the refined carbs.

    When you limit your sugars so much, you tend to shy away from fruits and many vegetables - some good low sugar vegetables are broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus. However, try to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables regularly as they contain the fiber which allows your body to digest those sugars, plus all those great vitamins.

    Finally, to answer your question, hard boiled eggs/egg whites are a great snack.
  • sabolfitwife
    sabolfitwife Posts: 423 Member
    I defintely don't want to cut out all sugars, I just want to try to stay closer to the MFP guideline. I hate seeing the red numbers when I go over. For starters, I've picked up some beginner items. I love almonds (I buy raw, unsalted ones), I grabbed the mini Babybel light cheese wedges (delicious little snacks), unsweetened almond milk, oats (to make my own granola with ((I usually coat with cinnamon, but do spices really count as they have no nutrition label on the jars!)). My biggest downfall is I usually will have a piece of fruit for my snacks. A banana mid-morning, an apple mid-afternoon, maybe another piece of fruit for dessert. I haven't bought any yogurt or granola bars in two weeks as I know those are ridden with unnecessary sugars that I'm trying to cut out. For dinner we almost always have chicken or steak (I go by serving sizes) but my boyfriend loves marinades, so I guess I'll have to cut my portion beforehand and keep it dry from the marinades as those are heavy with oils.
  • rachaelbmh
    rachaelbmh Posts: 54
    Green smoothies made with low-sugar fruits like lemons/limes. I find that with the tartness, I don't need it nearly as sweet.
  • tiffaniedemayo
    tiffaniedemayo Posts: 38 Member
    I have never really payed to much attention, to the amount of sugar i put in my body until now. All the females in my family, have been diagnosed with diabetes prior to turning 50, and for me that is only 3 years away. My daily limit on sugar is 44 grams, and i am a bit shocked to see just how much sugar is in the things i have eaten all of my life, like instant oatmeal, a large iced coffee from "you know where", and Chinese food.
    As i did my grocery shopping today, i looked at many things i always buy, and tried to make better choices, and it was not easy. I did however find some really awesome things i didn't know about like "perfect portions" from Quaker, with no sugar! :flowerforyou:
    AND Jell-o makes a pudding that has no sugar, only 60 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 2 grams of prebiotic fiber.
    Now if i can just find something bubbly to drink, i can get rid of the coca-cola!! :blushing:
  • victoriousO
    victoriousO Posts: 63 Member
    I just started this program and have already found out that sugar intake is going to be a trial! I will check posts for help in this area. I need to loss about 55 lbs am really looking forward to getting healthy because health issues are looming near...
  • enitsirhck
    enitsirhck Posts: 36 Member
    My advice is to not worry so much about the sugar contained in fruits and vegetables, especially if they are whole or only lightly cooked, because those contain the fiber necessary to help your body process those sugars at a more controlled rate as opposed to the spike you get from a Snickers bar or whatever. If you're craving sugar or feel your energy flagging, some fruit or dried fruit can be a good choice. The guideline is really more concerning the processed sugars in stuff like breads, sauces - stuff like fruit is not so bad, the key as always is in moderation! An extra 15-20g of sugar from fruit isn't going to break the "bank" - I know it's tempting to try and keep the numbers green, trust me I know haha.

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