Is it just me or is the sugar allowance a little silly?

24

Replies

  • sabified
    sabified Posts: 1,035 Member
    For all the people who want to change it and can't find how to, Mike's recent blog post will help:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mike/view/myfitnesspal-tip-customizing-your-nutrition-goals-559060


    ERRRRMMMMM just realized I was wrong.
    It's in the "Food" tab, then settings.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • harley1968
    harley1968 Posts: 218 Member
    Yay lots of happy people now :smile:
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    I vote "silly"
  • ThriceBlessed
    ThriceBlessed Posts: 499 Member
    The sugar allowance is silly, I'm pretty sure it counts refined sugar only. I've not kept at my weight loss efforts for much of this year, and only recently got back on track, but when I AM sticking to it I eat a lot of fruit, and still lose lots of weight.

    As long as my total carbs and total calories are within the limit, I don't care.
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    I vote "silly"

    My vote too.
  • busy91
    busy91 Posts: 15
    It seems geared toward someone with diabetes. I eat 2 pieces of fruit too and I'm done for the day. I tend to ignore it. SILLY is the perfect word.
  • Sedna_51
    Sedna_51 Posts: 277 Member
    Same here. All the reputable literature I've read on sugar intake refers to restricting added sugars, but the MFP counter doesn't distinguish between added sugars (in sweets, sodas, etc) and natural sugars (in fruits, grains, etc.) Like many other people, I switched it out for fiber, which I've found to be more useful.

    That said, if you find it useful, have at it!
  • sophayz
    sophayz Posts: 592 Member
    i am over my sugar eating two cucumber lol yea its silly i only count my refined sugar
  • btwinkles
    btwinkles Posts: 54 Member
    I vote "silly"

    My vote too.

    so glad I read this post- My vote "silly". count me in. :)
  • LaserMum
    LaserMum Posts: 133
    I am diabetic and I've removed it from my diary too!

    I control my diabetes by limiting my carbs so I set my macros for lower carbs and higher fat and protein. Also, on the topic of fruit - berries are better for controlling blood sugar levels than some other fruits. Bananas send my sugars high, as does refined flour products. I wouldn't touch white bread unless I have no choice - like if I'm at a business lunch and there are no wholegrain options.
  • lildebuf
    lildebuf Posts: 1
    The sugar allowance appears to be flat out wrong. According to the AHA women can have 100 g of sugar - which is much more than the allowance on the app. (I'm sure the amount is different for everyone). Can someone from MFP comment on this?
  • mandeenicoleb
    mandeenicoleb Posts: 479 Member
    I took sugar off my macros and replaced it with calcium (something I actually need to track). It used to piss me off having like two fruits and being over. WTF? No thank you.
  • mayonie1
    mayonie1 Posts: 296 Member
    Eish that makes feel bad too...now I'm even scared to eat fruit coz it takes my sugar to the higher level and I hate to see red numbers in my diary.
  • I think it's just so you are conscious about how much sugar you are eating. I go over mine all the time just with fruit alone.
  • Specialkayrina
    Specialkayrina Posts: 242 Member
    I ignore it as well, I eat a lot of fruit!
  • LeslieRuth
    LeslieRuth Posts: 8 Member
    My Fitness Pal should allow for analysis of ADDED sugar instead of naturally occurring sugar. Almost all the complaints here refer to going over the sugar allowance because of fruit consumption.

    Another way around this is to just track carbs instead of sugar.
  • GTAFrank
    GTAFrank Posts: 730 Member
    I can't think of one day where I didn't go over. It's officially on ignore.
  • TheFife
    TheFife Posts: 1
    Oh thank goodness I'm not the only one who thought this was low! I've quit putting any sugar in my coffee and no sugary drinks, but fruit makes me go :happy: over all the time!
  • rprobbins
    rprobbins Posts: 12
    I agree with what everyone is saying... I leave it in as I do most of my entries thru my phone and when scanning something with the Barcode scanner I want to know how much sugar something has... Also 1 Greek Yougurt and I am over...

    I am new to this board (my 1st post actually) been using My Fitness Pal for 96 days now and lost 28 lbs, I guess I have to fill out my profile as I am just seeing how helpful the board can be....

    Good luck to all...
  • lcyfrn
    lcyfrn Posts: 121 Member
    Didn't imagine this post would receive so many responses! It seems that everybody has issues with the sugar allowance on mfp! Not very encouraging to get your '5 a day' is it? :)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Didn't imagine this post would receive so many responses! It seems that everybody has issues with the sugar allowance on mfp! Not very encouraging to get your '5 a day' is it? :)

    "Five a day" refers to fruits AND vegetables combined, not five of each.

    But like we all said, eat your fruit. It's good for you! Don't worry about sugar if you don't have a medical reason to do so.
  • gigi_RN2013
    gigi_RN2013 Posts: 141 Member
    agree !! i eat 2 bananas and i'm over my daily limit :(
  • sarahthin
    sarahthin Posts: 210 Member
    I got so insane over this that I eliminated to suger macro and put in fiber. That is the one place I had a problem getting enough. The sugars I was eating had fiber and seeing me over on suger blew my day.
  • Canderson58054
    Canderson58054 Posts: 132 Member
    I've worked out that if I were to eat 2 apples in a day then I would be over my allowance :s It seems silly to me!

    Best thing to do is use your common sense :) I'm type 1 diabetic.. and my Endo ( diabetic dr) & dietician told me to ignore the sugar content as well. Fruit has sugar in yes, but its also good for you. Instead, we go by total carbs, and I have a total carb goal to be under for each meal, snack, etc. Since starting here I just try to choose most of my carbs from fruits and veggies instead of bread and pasta, although I still enjoy my oatmeal and toast most mornings, and thats okay too :) Do what works for you!
  • Alisha28
    Alisha28 Posts: 406 Member
    It is 2 pieces of fruit and your over I don't pay attention to it.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    ... At the end of my day, I look at the numbers and subtract the amount of sugar that comes from fruit to get an idea where I was at for added sugar...

    This is what I do. I'm happy to track my sugar and those red numbers don't scare me at all. Once I subtract the fruit, I'm usually pretty close to goal or even under. :flowerforyou:
  • pluckabee
    pluckabee Posts: 346 Member
    At my highest weight I was prediabetic and even I ignore mfp's meagre sugar allowance on days that I have fruit.

    To be fair though, I ignore every macro set for me by mfp.
  • jlc041979
    jlc041979 Posts: 385 Member
    I've been wondering about this too. I feel better now and changed my settings to take this out. I hate those red numbers!
  • jmorale6
    jmorale6 Posts: 18 Member
    It's amazing how one banana was more than 80% of my sugar allowance for the day. I've started ignoring it as well.
  • LaserMum
    LaserMum Posts: 133
    Does anyone know if it's possible to move this to the Website Suggestions/Feedback forum? Maybe they could change the sugar allowance to be the total daily sugar recommendation instead of the added sugar.