Need calories without sugar! Help!

sjoy711
sjoy711 Posts: 40 Member
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
When I exercise, my calorie intake increases and I have a hard time filling those calories without going over on my sugar. I go over on my protein and fiber, but I'm not as worried about those as I am the sugar. How can I eat more without taking in all the sugar?? I try really hard to eat non-processed and I don't eat sweets, pop, and drink sugar free water mixers. What more can I do???

Replies

  • sgp329
    sgp329 Posts: 184
    How do you feel about peanut butter? It has approx 190 calorie per 2 tbsp serving. I find it quite delicious as a treat for those days when I need to boost up calories a bit. There is also cheese. Perhaps sugar free wheat bread with some cheese (I love Laughing Cow cheeses any flavor).

    Best of luck to you!
  • cakefarm
    cakefarm Posts: 33
    What are you eating that puts you over your sugar limit?
  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
    Looks like you need to eat more in the beginning of the day and less later on. You need good complex carbs with protien
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
    Im quite often over on sugar but it all comes from dairy products and fruit so Im not concerned about it. If your only source of sugar is similar don't sweat it too much . . . just don't go eating a whole bag of apples in a day!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I'm always way over on sugar because I eat nuts and a lot of fruit. I don't even track it. I'm not giving up fruit to save on natural sugars.
  • DancingDreamer
    DancingDreamer Posts: 520
    if most of your sugar is from natural sources like fruit i wouldnt be worrying so much, that kind of sugar is actually good for you. and just a tip, MFP's sugar ratio is really low for a site that counts fruit sugars into the mix. if you're not going over by a TON i think you're fine. :/
  • sjoy711
    sjoy711 Posts: 40 Member
    I reviewed my food diary and it looks like my largest source of sugar is cereal. Hmmm...I try to eat the healthy ones - Go Lean Crunch (12 sugars) or Frosted Mini Wheats (10 sugars). Maybe I should just go with oatmeal and fruit for breakfast? I eat peanut butter every day, but limit myself to 1 TBLS. Any other suggestions?
  • Melora
    Melora Posts: 65 Member
    That seems like a lot for cereal. I love my Life Cereal and it has 6g of sugar. When you add milk the sugar goes up too....12g in a cup of skim milk.
  • ka_42
    ka_42 Posts: 720 Member
    Great question! Sorry- I'm not much help. So many foods are loaded with sugar it's going to be really difficult to stay under. In my opinion, after looking at your diary , I think you're doing just fine! Unfortunately, you may find that oatmeal has a lot of sugar as well, especially the instant versions. Good luck!
  • cakefarm
    cakefarm Posts: 33
    Yeah cereal in the morning would make me ravenous.

    As someone just said - I'd definitely try upping your protein in the morning. Eggs or 1% cottage cheese (3 g sugar) or Greek yogurt. That will decrease your hunger and lower your sugar.
  • Beebee78
    Beebee78 Posts: 703
    I would suggest peanut butter xxx
  • ♥_Ellybean_♥
    ♥_Ellybean_♥ Posts: 1,646 Member
    ooo yea Kellogg's mini wheats are horrible! They are filled with sugar.. there are much healthier cereals out there... look for one with High Fiber in it.. Your Net Carbs is what you really should be looking at.. as this is what processes into your body and causes sudden increases in your blood sugar causing you to get hungry faster.

    Oatmeal is a good source of both Fiber and Protein and will keep you full longer.

    I wouldn't worry so much about the sugars that come from fruit as they are natural sugars and process into your body differently than other sugars.
  • CHANGES4ME
    CHANGES4ME Posts: 132 Member
    :wink: GO 2 ABOUT.COM, I NEEDED INFO ON LOW CARB DIETS, ( WITH PROTEIN ), & IT GAVE ME A VERY NICE LIST OF PROTEIN FOODS I CAN HAVE ( WITH HOW MANY GRAMS PER OZ )I TALKIN BOUT NUTS, PORKS, BEEF, FISH, ETC..... TYPE IN CALORIE FOODS THAT R SUGAR FREE, IT WILL GIVE U FRUITS, OH JUS A LOTTA INFO......& GL 2 U..........
  • ♥_Ellybean_♥
    ♥_Ellybean_♥ Posts: 1,646 Member
    Also I noticed that a lot of your sugars are coming from Potatoe's, Bread etc. If you could swap that stuff out for say Sweet Potatoes or Wheat Bread that would help, because it's a more complex carb and processes into your body more slowly.

    On your Ham Sandwich are you using bread 19 carbs? I'm guessing 2 slices of white bread? try wheat or whole grain.. White bread is made of 95% sugar
  • sjoy711
    sjoy711 Posts: 40 Member
    Oh no - we use Aunt Millie's 100% Whole Wheat Bread. We don't eat any white bread anymore. But great suggestions everyone! I agree - I probably need more complex carbs in the morning - an egg or cottage cheese is a great idea! And I'm going to have to try Laughing Cow Cheese - I keep hearing about it and I've never tried it. I'll cut out the cereal for now and see where that gets me. It's just frustrating that even the veggies I choose have sugar in them. Keep posting ideas if you have any. And thanks bunches!!
  • FemininGuns
    FemininGuns Posts: 605 Member
    :tongue: Kick the cereal out and replace with oatmeal... add some stevia and cinnamon to the mix - YUM! Plus, you'll be more regular
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Oh no - we use Aunt Millie's 100% Whole Wheat Bread. We don't eat any white bread anymore. But great suggestions everyone! I agree - I probably need more complex carbs in the morning - an egg or cottage cheese is a great idea! And I'm going to have to try Laughing Cow Cheese - I keep hearing about it and I've never tried it. I'll cut out the cereal for now and see where that gets me. It's just frustrating that even the veggies I choose have sugar in them. Keep posting ideas if you have any. And thanks bunches!!

    Carbs are sugar, no matter whether they're whole grain or white. But the sugar in the whole grain processes differently in your body and is much better for you.

    Really, natural sugars are not the enemy and it's nearly impossible to eat a healthy, balanced diet and come in under MFP's recommendations. They're way low and unrealistic. Sugar has never affected my losses or my health as long as I was eating healthy foods and the right number of calories.

    I think you probably shouldn't worry about it -- unless you're diabetic, of course!.
  • clipsychic
    clipsychic Posts: 99
    Great suggestions... I've often wondered the same.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    Oh no - we use Aunt Millie's 100% Whole Wheat Bread. We don't eat any white bread anymore. But great suggestions everyone! I agree - I probably need more complex carbs in the morning - an egg or cottage cheese is a great idea! And I'm going to have to try Laughing Cow Cheese - I keep hearing about it and I've never tried it. I'll cut out the cereal for now and see where that gets me. It's just frustrating that even the veggies I choose have sugar in them. Keep posting ideas if you have any. And thanks bunches!!

    Carbs are sugar, no matter whether they're whole grain or white. But the sugar in the whole grain processes differently in your body and is much better for you.

    Really, natural sugars are not the enemy and it's nearly impossible to eat a healthy, balanced diet and come in under MFP's recommendations. They're way low and unrealistic. Sugar has never affected my losses or my health as long as I was eating healthy foods and the right number of calories.

    I think you probably shouldn't worry about it -- unless you're diabetic, of course!.

    Great summary of the sugar issue! I feel MFP's limits are low as well - I don't usually eat much added sugars - I get it all from fruit and a little dairy (reasonable portions of both) and I still go over most days. I quit tracking it because of that.
  • SkinnyGal08
    SkinnyGal08 Posts: 56 Member
    Thanks for this post was having the same issue and needed answers :)
  • cakefarm
    cakefarm Posts: 33
    Jackie Warner suggests that you never purchase anything with over 5 g of sugar. I think that's a good place to start. If you follow that rule and are not losing weight, start looking to lower your fruit. Different people have different reactions to sugar and carbs.
  • HerbieSue
    HerbieSue Posts: 288
    I read this in Jorge Cruises Belly Fat Cure Book: "It is important to note that although refined sugars differ--on a molecular level--from natural sugars found in fruits and vegetables, the body processes all sugars in the same way. Blood sugar levels and insulin spike in identical ways whether you ingest a banana or 31 grams of white refined sugar."

    Needless to say, I quit eating bananas......31 grams of sugar??? Whether he is an expert or not, I started trying to keep my sugars below 15 grams a day like he suggests and was able to finally reach my WW goal weight! Every little tip may help somebody, and limiting my sugars was a big help to my weight loss efforts.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    I read this in Jorge Cruises Belly Fat Cure Book: "It is important to note that although refined sugars differ--on a molecular level--from natural sugars found in fruits and vegetables, the body processes all sugars in the same way. Blood sugar levels and insulin spike in identical ways whether you ingest a banana or 31 grams of white refined sugar."

    Needless to say, I quit eating bananas......31 grams of sugar??? Whether he is an expert or not, I started trying to keep my sugars below 15 grams a day like he suggests and was able to finally reach my WW goal weight! Every little tip may help somebody, and limiting my sugars was a big help to my weight loss efforts.

    All foods with sugar do not affect blood sugar levels in the same way. Low-Glycemic index foods do not produce the "spike" that higher glycemic index foods do. Their effect on your body takes much longer due to how they are processed. It is much easier on your body when you stick to lower glycemic-index foods. Since you mentioned bananas - they are cosidered a low-glycemic index food. Granted, the riper a banana is, the higher its glycemic index is, but the average glycemic index for a banana is in the low range (51). They are much healthier and will not spike blood sugar like eating table sugar would.

    Here is the general Glycemic Index classifications.

    Low GI 55 or less: most fruits and vegetables, legumes/pulses, whole grains, meat, eggs, milk, nuts, fructose and products low in carbohydrates

    Medium GI 56–69: whole wheat products, basmati rice, sweet potato, sucrose

    High GI 70 and above: baked potatoes, watermelon, white bread, most white rices, corn flakes, extruded breakfast cereals, glucose
  • Leela30
    Leela30 Posts: 177 Member
    For breakfast I normally eat Kashi GO LEAN -- the crunch, while tastier, has more calories and fat to it. The regular GO LEAN has 140calories per cup 6g of sugar and 13g of fiber. Thats the only cereal I've ever seen with that much protein and fiber in it. Plus, it's low on fat. I've recently stopped paying attention to the sugar content on MFP. Mostly because I like to eat a lot of fruit, and that's really unfair that I'm getting yelled at for eating too much healthy fruit. So I would mostly not pay too much attention to that.

    I have the problem, just today, I was 600calories short because I worked out. So I just had a peanut butter sandwich and an apple, because otherwise I know if I don't eat enough, my body will starve...and then I won't lose anything anyway. When you're food shopping just keep an eye open for the food labels and ingredients. If you don't understand what's in it, don't eat it.
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