Anyone know why the MFP diary is so strict on sugar?
Eleanorshak
Posts: 9 Member
Hi there everyone,
I'm enjoying this site and finding it very useful. I find I come in just under my calorie allowance every day and about right for proteins, fats and carbs. But....sugar? Today, half a sweet potato, a spoonful of soy sauce and a glass of wine means I've taken in too much sugar as far as MFP's concerned. And yesterday the only faintly sweet things I had were two snacks - an apple and a banana. Too much sugar. I haven't touched any actual sugar - no sweets, cakes, cookies or plain old sugar - for a week, and my glass of wine today was the only alcohol I've had. But I come in as having to much sugar every day. I'm not taking much notice of it to be honest! But is there some info anywhere here about why they've decided on such strict sugar limits?
Good luck to all,
ES.
I'm enjoying this site and finding it very useful. I find I come in just under my calorie allowance every day and about right for proteins, fats and carbs. But....sugar? Today, half a sweet potato, a spoonful of soy sauce and a glass of wine means I've taken in too much sugar as far as MFP's concerned. And yesterday the only faintly sweet things I had were two snacks - an apple and a banana. Too much sugar. I haven't touched any actual sugar - no sweets, cakes, cookies or plain old sugar - for a week, and my glass of wine today was the only alcohol I've had. But I come in as having to much sugar every day. I'm not taking much notice of it to be honest! But is there some info anywhere here about why they've decided on such strict sugar limits?
Good luck to all,
ES.
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Replies
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I am always over too on sugar and under calories. I was wondering about that so it will be interesting to hear the answers.0
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I choose to ignore the sugar macro. Instead I watch my carbs. A lot of healthy foods contain major sugar
and it gets frustrating to watch that .. Besides a lot of sugar is easily burnt if exercising and if eating fruit/
veggies, there is fiber included. idk .. I'm no nutritionist but I agree MFP is strict on this one.0 -
I don't have mine showing it. I follow calories, sodium & carbs. It's just a guideline, adjust it to your needs when necessary.
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Unless you have a medical issue with sugar, you can probably ignore it.0
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I was thinking the same thing as I'm eating pretty healthily but always over on sugar too.0
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Because it's a dumb calculator. It calculates sugar as 10% of your carb goal, I believe. It's also a waste of time to track, as sugar is just a carb, and carbs are already tracked. There's zero need to track it twice, or pay any attention to it.0
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Because it's a dumb calculator. It calculates sugar as 10% of your carb goal, I believe. It's also a waste of time to track, as sugar is just a carb, and carbs are already tracked. There's zero need to track it twice, or pay any attention to it.
Yep, ain't that The Bitter Truth.
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Because it's a dumb calculator. It calculates sugar as 10% of your carb goal, I believe. It's also a waste of time to track, as sugar is just a carb, and carbs are already tracked. There's zero need to track it twice, or pay any attention to it.
Agreed :bigsmile:0 -
I don't track sugar either - no point!0
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The MFP sugar is the limit for added sugar and not total sugar. The World Health Organization says that about 10% of your total calories accounts for the naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables, dairy and the like. And the American Heart Association recommends women not to exceed 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day which is 24 grams.
So if you eat 1,600 calories a day a reasonable amount of sugar from all sources would be 65 grams (160 + 100 = 260 ÷ 4 = 65).
You can change your sugar limit to a number that seems reasonable to you or if you don't think sugar is a cause for concern at all simply ignore it or track something else so you don't have to see it. Yarwell wrote up an excellent sugar FAQ that explains the sugar limit and how to make changes to your limit: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1017237-so-what-s-with-this-sugar-then-faq0 -
Many people (myself included) just ignore it completely. I've changed my tracker to measure fiber instead, don't even look at sugar...0
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The MFP sugar is the limit for added sugar and not total sugar. The World Health Organization says that about 10% of your total calories accounts for the naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables, dairy and the like. And the American Heart Association recommends women not to exceed 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day which is 24 grams.
So if you eat 1,600 calories a day a reasonable amount of sugar from all sources would be 65 grams (160 + 100 = 260 ÷ 4 = 65).
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1017237-so-what-s-with-this-sugar-then-faq
This is the exact reason why they track sugar as 10%. Granted, I am at breakfast and already 13g over my sugar which is why I found this thread. I would argue that you should do your best to follow the sugar guidelines--even if you fail every dayum time. Here is why:
1) Other studies show that "Excess fructose consumption is a major contributor to insulin resistance and obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, arthritis, and other diseases".
2) For some people too much sugar causes inflammation.
3) it will make you aware of the amount of processed sugar in your diet. Sugar is not *just* sugar. Any sugar you ingest should be your choice and coming from the source of your choosing. Processed foods cram it in there in ways that seems to defy physics.
For example, I have made choices to remove a particular granola from my diet because it has 13g of sugar per 45g of food. If I wanted to top my morning cereal with 4 spoonfuls of sugar (1 tsp of sugar = 4g sugar) I would have done it. I will change it for my healthy fruit instead.0 -
Unless you have a medical issue with sugar, you can probably ignore it.
This.
I don't track sugar. It's pointless for me, since I eat mostly healthy whole foods.
Instead, I track and make sure I consume a lot of FIBER .
so many benifits of fiber ~ helps lower cholestrol, regulates blood sugar, great for your GI track (aka moves things along!), and helps you feel full, AND HELP WITH WEIGHT LOSS / WEIGHT MANAGEMENT. yeah!.
Foods naturally high in fiber include whole-grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, legumes, nuts, and seeds
http://www.webmd.com/diet/fiber-health-benefits-11/compare-dietary-fibers
http://www.webmd.com/diet/fiber-health-benefits-11/fiber-weight-control
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fiber/NU000330 -
This is the exact reason why they track sugar as 10%. Granted, I am at breakfast and already 13g over my sugar which is why I found this thread. I would argue that you should do your best to follow the sugar guidelines--even if you fail every dayum time. Here is why:
1) Other studies show that "Excess fructose consumption is a major contributor to insulin resistance and obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, arthritis, and other diseases".
2) For some people too much sugar causes inflammation.
3) it will make you aware of the amount of processed sugar in your diet. Sugar is not *just* sugar. Any sugar you ingest should be your choice and coming from the source of your choosing. Processed foods cram it in there in ways that seems to defy physics.
For example, I have made choices to remove a particular granola from my diet because it has 13g of sugar per 45g of food. If I wanted to top my morning cereal with 4 spoonfuls of sugar (1 tsp of sugar = 4g sugar) I would have done it. I will change it for my healthy fruit instead.
But the issue is that MFP counts processed sugar and sugar from fruit, dairy, etc as exactly the same. I go over the sugar amount just by the amount of fruit I eat in a day, never mind if I eat yogurt, add milk to my scrambled eggs, or do decide to have that ice cream so deliciously staring at me from the freezer. That's why it can be distressing, because it's so easy to go over even when eating healthy foods.0 -
Most people eating a western diet are consuming far more sugar than is required, which is associated with higher rates of obesity. Added sugars add no nutritional value except calories into diets, so a textbook healthy diet shouldn't provide more than 10% (WHO) to 15% (many other countries' nutrition guidelines) of calories from sugar.
In a typical diet the majority of sugar comes from drinks such as fruit juice or soda, which provide calories but not as much nutrition as if you were to eat naturally-occurring sugar in whole foods, e.g. fruit.
If you eat a lot of fruit (good) you will consume a lot of sugar (bad)... If this is the case in your diet don't stress about it, but if your sugar is coming from soft drinks or high-sugar snacks then look at whether you are consuming excess amounts of those foods.0 -
I would not worry about it, I just watch the carbs. I'm diabetic (very well controlled primarily through diet and exercise) and contrary to popular belief sugar (sucrose) is not as much of a problem as starchy carbs (flour etc) and fruit (fructose). the really bad one is High Fructose Corn Syrup which is twice as bad as refined white sugar and is in just about all processed foods because its cheap.0
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Also, you can manually change your nutrition goals - perhaps that is something you could do so you don't get the distressing red numbers every day!0
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Most people eating a western diet are consuming far more sugar than is required, which is associated with higher rates of obesity. Added sugars add no nutritional value except calories into diets, so a textbook healthy diet shouldn't provide more than 10% (WHO) to 15% (many other countries' nutrition guidelines) of calories from sugar.
In a typical diet the majority of sugar comes from drinks such as fruit juice or soda, which provide calories but not as much nutrition as if you were to eat naturally-occurring sugar in whole foods, e.g. fruit.
If you eat a lot of fruit (good) you will consume a lot of sugar (bad)... If this is the case in your diet don't stress about it, but if your sugar is coming from soft drinks or high-sugar snacks then look at whether you are consuming excess amounts of those foods.
LOL at good and bad sugar...
curious how when sugar is the same at molecular level your body somehow knows the difference between 'good' and 'bad" sugar...labeling foods good and bad is, in my humble opinion, just not that smart...0 -
^^THISUnless you have a medical issue with sugar, you can probably ignore it.
This.
I don't track sugar. It's pointless for me, since I eat mostly healthy whole foods.
Instead, I track and make sure I consume a lot of FIBER .
so many benifits of fiber ~ helps lower cholestrol, regulates blood sugar, great for your GI track (aka moves things along!), and helps you feel full, AND HELP WITH WEIGHT LOSS / WEIGHT MANAGEMENT. yeah!.
Foods naturally high in fiber include whole-grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, legumes, nuts, and seeds
http://www.webmd.com/diet/fiber-health-benefits-11/compare-dietary-fibers
http://www.webmd.com/diet/fiber-health-benefits-11/fiber-weight-control
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fiber/NU000330 -
I'll just say this.... Increasing fiber + Physical Activity + Micronutrients + Water > Lowering sugar and worrying about minute details that won't really matter if the former is done.0
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I don't know where you're getting this information from. Dr. Atkins isn't alive anymore to push his diet and silly claims.Most people eating a western diet are consuming far more sugar than is required, which is associated with higher rates of obesity. Added sugars add no nutritional value except calories into diets, so a textbook healthy diet shouldn't provide more than 10% (WHO) to 15% (many other countries' nutrition guidelines) of calories from sugar.
In a typical diet the majority of sugar comes from drinks such as fruit juice or soda, which provide calories but not as much nutrition as if you were to eat naturally-occurring sugar in whole foods, e.g. fruit.
If you eat a lot of fruit (good) you will consume a lot of sugar (bad)... If this is the case in your diet don't stress about it, but if your sugar is coming from soft drinks or high-sugar snacks then look at whether you are consuming excess amounts of those foods.
I dated an Asian girl once upon a time. We ate more meat/poultry in a day than her family ate in a week. If by 'western diet' you mean consuming a lot of cake and other sugary desserts, sure. But on a daily basis I struggle to meet my carb intake of 5-7 g per kg of lean body mass (~300g of carbs), while it is more than easy to exceed my protein intake (~100g) and fat intake because I don't stuff my face with cookies and cake every meal and there's huge cuts of chicken or meat with practically everything you eat.
Also, the sugar in fruit is exactly the same sugar that appears in said sugary desserts -- fructose.
The nutritional value of sugar is that it gets stored in muscles as glycogen, which is used as energy to allow your muscles to fire. It's also used in your brain's metabolic processes. But I guess if you ignore all that, it 'has no nutritional value.'
You're not the only one though. My brother came over the other day and told me the oatmeal I was eating was bad for me because it had sugar in addition to carbs. This was AFTER he had seen a nutritionist, which means either he completely misunderstood the nutritionist's advice (more likely) or the nutritionist hasn't read a book since the 1990s. I explained to him why sugar was listed as a sub category to carbs on nutrition labels and he should stop getting wound up about sugar.0 -
Hi again
To clarify (which I should have done earlier) the 'good' and 'bad' sugar labels were tongue in cheek. Parvg you are right about all sugar ending up as the same think once it's metabolised. The point I was trying to make was that about cake and sweets, no way would I slam oatmeal or fruit or any other food that provides high levels of nutrients to the diet. My information comes from my background as a nutritionist! (hence my embarrassment that this was misinterpreted).0 -
I seem to have earned back sugar in the meter after my workout. Hmmmm...0
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As already noted, the guidlines are for "added sugars". Such as eating a donut or CoCo Puffs. If you eat fruit, you are going over and it's no big deal if you go over because of fruit.
So you could ignore it and track something else like fiber and just make sure carbs in total are below what MFP says.
Or.... you can create a new meal called fruits and vegatables. Track all your F&V's in this meal, then whatever that meal total is for sugar, just subtract it from the rest of your daily sugar intake. If you do this, you should also make sure you are within your carbs.
If you are diabetic or have other sugar medical problems, then ignore everything I said and watch all your sugars.0 -
My sugar is always way over due to fruit mainly! I have chosen to ignore this. Concentrate on your Sat Fat intake over sugar 0
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I took sugar off of the homepage for my daily tracking and replaced it with fiber. So all I see at a quick glance are cals, fat, carbs, protein, and fiber. It works for me I hate seeing those numbers going into the red! 0
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I go over everyday. I only drink water, except either a latte or coffee in the morning. Hot tea in the afternoon when it is cold I like sugar in my coffee and tea. Hasn't stopped my weight loss. I tried every artificial sweetener, and dont like them.0
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mfp isn't strict on sugar, I think you lot just haven't been aware of your intake for a long time and how high content things are in sugar so everything seems like a lot and mfp seems mean but it really isn't but if you can't cope with controlling your sugar then don't count it.
90 grams or less is the recommended amount0 -
Sure, but it's apples and oranges (pardon the pun here). It's a common misconception a lot of people have...Hi again
To clarify (which I should have done earlier) the 'good' and 'bad' sugar labels were tongue in cheek. Parvg you are right about all sugar ending up as the same think once it's metabolised. The point I was trying to make was that about cake and sweets, no way would I slam oatmeal or fruit or any other food that provides high levels of nutrients to the diet. My information comes from my background as a nutritionist! (hence my embarrassment that this was misinterpreted).
Fruits (and flavored oatmeal) aren't better for you because the sugar is 'better' -- it's the same sugar as yielded from sugar cane, it's just that sugar cane is easier to extract fructose from than, say, apples.
Fruits and flavored oatmeal are better for you because they contain other vitamins and minerals that a candy bar or piece of cake does not.0
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