MFP - allowed sugar per day seems tiny

Mr_Boy
Mr_Boy Posts: 42 Member
in Food and Nutrition
MFP has set me a daily goal of 1200 calories in order to lose 2lb a week. Without exercise that's really hard, so I'm basically forced to do 45min on the bike each day and suddenly I can eat decent meals as long as I keep snacking to virtually zero.

But anyway, one thing I consistently fail to meet is the sugar goal. My )pre-exercise) targets are:

Calories: 1200
Carbs: 165
Fat: 40
Protein: 45
Sodium: 2500
Sugar: 24

Sugar goes up to about 30 with my daily exercise. The thing is, even on days where I do not eat a single sweet thing - literally not a solitary square of chocolate. I still go over. Maybe not a lot, but some. And I'm not eating tonnes of processed savory food like a McD burger either. 3 healthy home-cooked meals under my calorie target and I'm still maybe 3-5 over on sugar.

Now I'm not worried about it, but it seems a bit crazy that on the day I am super healthy I am over my target, what about the day I have a treat of half a custard cream ;)

Is this a common issue with MFP or is it just me?

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    MFP counts ALL sugar .....sugar in dairy, sugar in fruit, sugar in candy.

    I try to avoid "added" sugar.....but have no medical issues with sugar. So I changed my settings in MFP to track fiber instead. Now, I can ignore sugar.
  • SID081108
    SID081108 Posts: 7 Member
    it's not just you, I go over my sugar every day. I have no idea why it's so low here. I've used two other websites similar to MFP, and neither one had such low daily sugar goals.
  • SamMorBelsmom
    SamMorBelsmom Posts: 164 Member
    MFP counts ALL sugar .....sugar in dairy, sugar in fruit, sugar in candy.

    I try to avoid "added" sugar.....but have no medical issues with sugar. So I changed my settings in MFP to track fiber instead. Now, I can ignore sugar.

    This. Fiber is more important to me and my health than sugar, but I am also not a sugar fiend either. If you stick to healthy sugars in fruit and limit your added sugars, I would just switch it to fiber, like me and ^ and relax! And yes, when I was watching it, I was always over. When one low fat Greek yogurt contains 16g of sugar in it....oh GOSH! lol. Hope this helps.
  • mrslcoop
    mrslcoop Posts: 317 Member
    You're a 31 year old male only netting 1200 calories... might I suggest you calculate your BMR (basil metabolic rate) and never eat below that. You would have to be under 5 feet and below 120 lbs for that to be what you should be netting daily.

    ETA: It might also help if you open your diary so we can see what you're eating to determine what might be causing your "high" sugar content. Do you eat a lot of fruit?
  • samammay
    samammay Posts: 468
    The default MFP macros are all sorts of messed up. You need more than 40 grams of protein a day. The general rule of thumb is 1g of protein per pound of body weight.

    I would check out a site such as Scoobys (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) and use those numbers.
  • rushfive
    rushfive Posts: 603 Member
    This is a great question. I have been fighting the sugar number also.
    I deal with high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

    Looking forward to the responses here.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    The sugar recommendation is as per the WHO's (World Health Organization) recommendation for ADDED sugar...which is a bit silly in and of itself, but an eye opener if you are/were someone who drink a lot of soda for example.

    Also anyone wanting more info...use the search function...this topic comes up multiple times per day, every single day.
  • laurafulcher1234
    laurafulcher1234 Posts: 1
    You know when I first started MFP it set me at 1200 calories too, however when i talked to my trainer she said that was not high enough. I went to a BMR calculator and it said my calorie intake should be 1608 - so I changed my calories on MFP to 1500 and it did up my sugar as well to 30 a day. I experienced the same at the beginning with the sugar and always going way over. Look for sugar free products and always look at the nutrition facts for the sugar content. There is sugar in almost everything - I had never realized how much. Since I have been paying more atttention to the sugar in foods I have been consistently under my sugar daily. Got to find the Sugar free or Low sugar foods! :-) Hope this helps.
  • thickgirl2011
    thickgirl2011 Posts: 7
    I've just started on MFP again and have noticed this as well. Do some general research on how much sugar one should intake daily on other sites. Adjust as necessary, remember that no one site is perfect. If you are just starting set small goals like meeting protein intake or calorie intake first. Once you get the grove or want to break a plateau try to hit the sugar targets. Lastly, remember that sugar is in all carbs, fruit, even cottage cheese, geez!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    The default MFP macros are all sorts of messed up. You need more than 40 grams of protein a day. The general rule of thumb is 1g of protein per pound of body weight.

    I would check out a site such as Scoobys (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) and use those numbers.

    Um no......not per pound of body weight ........per pound of LEAN body weight.

    But men should almost definitely be taking in more than 1200 net calories......maybe your set up was wrong (?)
  • MrsFowler1069
    MrsFowler1069 Posts: 657 Member
    MFP counts ALL sugar .....sugar in dairy, sugar in fruit, sugar in candy.

    I try to avoid "added" sugar.....but have no medical issues with sugar. So I changed my settings in MFP to track fiber instead. Now, I can ignore sugar.

    This. Fiber is more important to me and my health than sugar, but I am also not a sugar fiend either. If you stick to healthy sugars in fruit and limit your added sugars, I would just switch it to fiber, like me and ^ and relax! And yes, when I was watching it, I was always over. When one low fat Greek yogurt contains 16g of sugar in it....oh GOSH! lol. Hope this helps.

    Me too... :)
  • Kadoober
    Kadoober Posts: 289 Member
    I would blow through the bulk my MFP mandated sugar intake by the time I finished my morning smoothie. I removed it from my view, and added Fiber. If you have a specific reason why you are concerned with sugar intake, track it, but if most of your sugar comes from fruit, I wouldn't worry about it. I exceed my sugar, protein and fiber almost every day. I have high cholesterol, so I make sure to stay below that, and fat, and of course calories, and don't worry about the rest.
  • samammay
    samammay Posts: 468
    The default MFP macros are all sorts of messed up. You need more than 40 grams of protein a day. The general rule of thumb is 1g of protein per pound of body weight.

    I would check out a site such as Scoobys (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) and use those numbers.

    Um no......not per pound of body weight ........per pound of LEAN body weight.

    But men should almost definitely be taking in more than 1200 net calories......maybe your set up was wrong (?)

    I have read it both ways. LBM sounds a lot smarter. :)
  • Mr_Boy
    Mr_Boy Posts: 42 Member
    Good to hear it's not just me. I am not specifically watching my protein/sugar/salt because I know if I eat healthily they will be OK and if I eat junk they won't :)

    1200 calories a day is low but note I'm only little to begin with - my healthy weight is 10st and I have 2st to lose. If I gain 300 calories from exercise, that's actually plenty for 3 big filling meals... heck I sometimes have 1-200 left over for a glass of wine :)

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