Sugar help!!

mrscollis91
mrscollis91 Posts: 18 Member
in Getting Started
HELP!!!!!!!!!
Its my first day properly logging everything and I am 30g over on sugar!
Now I don't take sugar in hot drinks and have a smidge on cereals but it seems to be fruit and veg which is totting it up!
How imperative to my weight loss is it that I keep my sugar intake to the recommended amount and is it any better that it seems most of my sugars are natural from fruits and veggies?

I am so determined that I don't want that extra orange in an afternoon to be detrimental to my losses.
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Replies

  • GillianMcK
    GillianMcK Posts: 401 Member
    Can I ask what you do exercise wise??
    Fruit sugar can be a bit of a bugger if you're quite sedentary as the fructose is processed by the liver and laid down to fat much quicker if you're not active enough.
    I feel that starting out it's worthwhile speaking to a qualified dietician to get meal plans sorted out that are suitable for you and your goals.
    We can all comment on here with our opinions but I'm not qualified and only have my own knowledge from speaking to a dietician (lucky for me my sister in law is one) and mine's changes constantly depending on what I'm doing, so currently I'm weight loss so I'm aiming for between 1800-1900 calories a day (40%carbs, 30%protein and 30%fat) when I'm resting but adding in another couple of hundred when I'm exercising (running Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, Weights Tuesday &Thursday and PT on a Wednesday) as I wasn't dropping weight because I wasn't eating enough, it'll have to get looked at again in anouther few weeks as I've started marathin training so my running distances will be increasing over the next 17 weeks, so both calories and %'s will need to be reviewed.
  • EpsilonGamma
    EpsilonGamma Posts: 96
    Come on..you are blaming fruits and veges for your sugar uptake when you are eating cereal?

    Cereal has HEAPS of sugar.
  • changing4life
    changing4life Posts: 193 Member
    I don't think sugar is worth tracking. At the end of the day, sugar is just a carb. All refined carbs (white bread, white pasta, white rice, cakes, cookies, candy) are empty calories and contain little or no health benefits. If you track your carbs, eat healthy carbs (that contain fiber!!) and keep them within whatever macro percentages you choose for yourself, you will be eating healthier in general.

    As one of the other posters said, there are lots of things that contain sugar, (natural sugar) that are good for you. Fruit and milk come to mind first. You don't want to remove those things from your menu because they have tremendous health benefits.

    I am diabetic, and I don't worry about the sugar tracker at all -- in fact in my personal goals, I have it zeroed out, because like I said, at the end of the day, it's the total carbs that matter, not the sugar...
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
    If you are not sensitive to sugar (i.e. you don't feel crap a hour or so after you have eaten it and you don't crave it ) then I don't think there is a problem with sugar. It is just a simple carbohydrate. Make sure you hit you protein macro (I would suggest you work out what you protein level is before MFP factors it down after taking your deficit into account and eat that, there is research which suggests that by doing so you will burn less muscle and more fat as you lose weight), next try and eat the fat level that MFP sets for you and finally eat carbs to make up the rest.
  • leonardn2011
    leonardn2011 Posts: 10
    Sugar is very important to watch. I discovered that the fruits I was eating were adding quite a bit to my sugar count but I was more concerned with sugar coming from processed foods, high fructose corn syrup mainly. I encourage you to highly regulate the sugars that you do not obtain from fruits and not to worry too much about it coming from raw fruit. Below is a good explanation of fructose vs. glucose and others. Not to throw caution to the wind but relax about it. and no more captain crunch! lol

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/533337-fruit-sugar-vs-other-sugars/

    Also, please look at this article for alternatives to sugar and sweeteners (poison, i call it) to add to things you eat and drink.

    Good luck:)
  • leonardn2011
    leonardn2011 Posts: 10
    Here is that other link.

    http://www.naturalnews.com/040410_natural_sweeteners_artificial_sugar_alternatives.html
  • mrscollis91
    mrscollis91 Posts: 18 Member
    Hi Guys,
    Thanks for the helpful feedback.. its put my mind at ease. :smile:

    EpsilonGamma - The only cereals I eat are what bisks and porridge which contain NO sugar. Not sure which cereals you eat but I am very meticulous about picking a healthy breakfast cereal!!!

    GillianMcK - I try to vary my exercise - so twice a week I do a kettlebells class, and 3 times a week I do 30 mins cardio followed by 15 mins strength (squats, crunches, push ups, lunges etc.)
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Never tracked a gram of sugar throughout my weight loss... Watch Fiber instead and it seemed to work well for me.... Best of Luck
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    Unless you have a medical condition that requires monitoring sugar, ignore it. Sugar is a carb, so you already track it. Track fiber or something instead. The only thing converted into fat is excess calories, not an over consumption of one thing. Stay in a calorie deficit, watch your macros (protein, carbs, fats) keep those at a balanced level that you feel best at. Here's a great link to help get you started.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • Annalisa_87
    Annalisa_87 Posts: 56 Member
    I tend not to track sugar, to hard to track.
  • allysteven880
    allysteven880 Posts: 75
    Hi!
    May i know that what type of diet you used in your daily life routine? It is very essential to follow the diet plan and your exercise routine will also be very helpful. you can take fibrous food to maintain your calories inside body. Do not based on a single type of diet. Use different small quantity of diet which have low fat.
  • MaegK
    MaegK Posts: 12 Member
    If you are overdoing according to MFP and still loosing weight I would say you are probably okay. I find that tracking sugar makes a huge difference for my weight loss (although fruit sugar matters less). I am not saying I can't have 1 day during the week where I go over, but it can't be a regular thing.
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
    Come on..you are blaming fruits and veges for your sugar uptake when you are eating cereal?

    Cereal has HEAPS of sugar.

    You're thinking of "junk" cereals marketed to lazy parents.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Its my first day properly logging everything and I am 30g over on sugar!

    How many grams was that in total ?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1181259-so-what-s-with-this-sugar-then-revised-faq-jan-2014
  • Hope_Healthy
    Hope_Healthy Posts: 1
    Hi, I am new to this sight and have not even set up my profile yet. I am not new to quitting sugar. I stopped eating over 15 grams of sugar per serving in 2003. I have a few tricks that might help.. Sugar is deeply addictive, treat yourself like you are in a drug rehab. You can smell sugar after you have quit for awhile when you walk by the areas that hold candy and sugary items.. Tell people that you are trying to quit, let them know that it is a challenge. If you are at risk for healthy issues or desperately trying to lose weight hopefully this will build support from your peers. Try peppermint tea, it will help you relax and has a sweet taste - use stevia it is an all natural sweetener and you can find it at Discount Grocery stores. Try all types of diet sodas, find one that you can stand (if you are a hard core soda drinker like I was). Coke Zero is my favorite. Purchase sugar free treats like chocolates, pudding and cookies (keep them with you) if someone is pressuring you into a treat or eating one near you - pull out your own.. Practice then changing these treats out for healthy treats.. I would also work on cutting other carbs, like a drug they will make your system crave it.. I am Gluten free now and it is wonderful for feeling full and still losing weight. I eat all the veggies that I want but I keep my fruit low, I would pick to eat fruit when I know that I will be using it (in the morning or before exercise).
  • nelltrimble
    nelltrimble Posts: 2 Member
    Started a free nutrition course this week on site called coursera.org. Classes from actual university staff. Hoping to educate myself to make better choices. Anyone else interested? Check it out.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    HELP!!!!!!!!!
    Its my first day properly logging everything and I am 30g over on sugar!
    Now I don't take sugar in hot drinks and have a smidge on cereals but it seems to be fruit and veg which is totting it up!
    How imperative to my weight loss is it that I keep my sugar intake to the recommended amount and is it any better that it seems most of my sugars are natural from fruits and veggies?

    I am so determined that I don't want that extra orange in an afternoon to be detrimental to my losses.

    source of sugar does not matter..

    did you stay in a deficit for the day? If yes, then you will be fine.

    Sugar does not make you fat, eating in a calorie surplus does. Eat sugar, stay in deficit, and you will lose weight.
  • leonardn2011
    leonardn2011 Posts: 10
    Source of sugar does not matter...

    ndj1979, I hope that you don’t consider the toxically concentrated sugars in most processed foods to be equivalent to those found in raw fruit.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    ndj1979, I hope that you don’t consider the toxically concentrated sugars in most processed foods to be equivalent to those found in raw fruit.

    the sugar content of a banana is a lot higher than many processed foods.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Hi, I am new to this sight and have not even set up my profile yet. I am not new to quitting sugar. I stopped eating over 15 grams of sugar per serving in 2003. I have a few tricks that might help.. Sugar is deeply addictive, treat yourself like you are in a drug rehab. You can smell sugar after you have quit for awhile when you walk by the areas that hold candy and sugary items.. Tell people that you are trying to quit, let them know that it is a challenge. If you are at risk for healthy issues or desperately trying to lose weight hopefully this will build support from your peers. Try peppermint tea, it will help you relax and has a sweet taste - use stevia it is an all natural sweetener and you can find it at Discount Grocery stores. Try all types of diet sodas, find one that you can stand (if you are a hard core soda drinker like I was). Coke Zero is my favorite. Purchase sugar free treats like chocolates, pudding and cookies (keep them with you) if someone is pressuring you into a treat or eating one near you - pull out your own.. Practice then changing these treats out for healthy treats.. I would also work on cutting other carbs, like a drug they will make your system crave it.. I am Gluten free now and it is wonderful for feeling full and still losing weight. I eat all the veggies that I want but I keep my fruit low, I would pick to eat fruit when I know that I will be using it (in the morning or before exercise).

    no, no, no …
    smell sugar,really>

    OP - just eat in a calorie deficit and you can eat sugar…wow
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Source of sugar does not matter...

    ndj1979, I hope that you don’t consider the toxically concentrated sugars in most processed foods to be equivalent to those found in raw fruit.

    yes, actually I do…

    sugar is sugar, when you look at at it at the molecular level it is all the same …and there is no way for your body to distinguish between sugar from fruit, and the sugar i put in my coffee in the am ..

    I have done it this way for a long time and have had success...

    why is added sugar toxic, but fruit sugar heavenly? That is like saying crack is toxic, but cocaine is OK….
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    Source of sugar does not matter...

    ndj1979, I hope that you don’t consider the toxically concentrated sugars in most processed foods to be equivalent to those found in raw fruit.

    It's processed the same in your body, so idgaf where my sugar comes from. Also BINGO for the word "toxic"
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Source of sugar does not matter...

    ndj1979, I hope that you don’t consider the toxically concentrated sugars in most processed foods to be equivalent to those found in raw fruit.

    It's processed the same in your body, so idgaf where my sugar comes from. Also BINGO for the word "toxic"

    BINGO!
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    It's too early here for some much food demonization and talk of "sugar addiction" and "toxic sugar". But here's my .02 anyway. I do not track sugar, I track fiber instead. I have ice cream every single day, or cake, or cookies or donuts or Poptarts. Often I also have sugary, processed cereals. Captain Crunch (mentioned above) is one of my favorites, *gasp*. But I also hit my overall calorie goals as well as my macro/ micro and fiber goals. Having the food I enjoy, in moderation, has definitely made my weight loss easier and more enjoyable and I have lost nearly 130lbs in about a year and a half. Depriving yourself of foods you love for no good reason is not sustainable, IMHO. It certainly would not have worked for me. Been there, done that. Now I keep it simple and think of no foods as bad or unhealthy, some are just more calorie dense than others. It's been a revelation.
  • GillianMcK
    GillianMcK Posts: 401 Member
    Source of sugar does not matter...

    ndj1979, I hope that you don’t consider the toxically concentrated sugars in most processed foods to be equivalent to those found in raw fruit.

    It's processed the same in your body, so idgaf where my sugar comes from. Also BINGO for the word "toxic"

    Sorry it's not processed the same in your body, fruit sugars are processed by the liver and absorbed at once, therefore increasing fat cell production (this really only applied if you are sedentary, if you are active it will use it as energy rather than building as fat), fruit does expand in the gut and make you feel fuller.
    I always speak to a dietician regarding what should be going in my diet and review it on a quarterly basis!!
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    Source of sugar does not matter...

    ndj1979, I hope that you don’t consider the toxically concentrated sugars in most processed foods to be equivalent to those found in raw fruit.

    It's processed the same in your body, so idgaf where my sugar comes from. Also BINGO for the word "toxic"

    Sorry it's not processed the same in your body, fruit sugars are processed by the liver and absorbed at once, therefore increasing fat cell production (this really only applied if you are sedentary, if you are active it will use it as energy rather than building as fat), fruit does expand in the gut and make you feel fuller.
    I always speak to a dietician regarding what should be going in my diet and review it on a quarterly basis!!

    sy44zq.jpg

    Cool story. Excess calories are the only thing converted into fat. I could sit on my butt and eat 1500 calories of fruit and lose weight, if I chose. Though, I would probably be more than sedentary from all my runs to the bathroom.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Source of sugar does not matter...

    ndj1979, I hope that you don’t consider the toxically concentrated sugars in most processed foods to be equivalent to those found in raw fruit.

    It's processed the same in your body, so idgaf where my sugar comes from. Also BINGO for the word "toxic"

    Sorry it's not processed the same in your body, fruit sugars are processed by the liver and absorbed at once, therefore increasing fat cell production (this really only applied if you are sedentary, if you are active it will use it as energy rather than building as fat), fruit does expand in the gut and make you feel fuller.
    I always speak to a dietician regarding what should be going in my diet and review it on a quarterly basis!!

    get a new dietician...

    how does your body differentiate between fruit sugar and added sugar?

    Like phoenix said..excess calories get stored as fat...so if you over eat then you get fat...you can eat in a deficit, eat sugar, and lose fat.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Come on..you are blaming fruits and veges for your sugar uptake when you are eating cereal?

    Cereal has HEAPS of sugar.

    You're thinking of "junk" cereals marketed to lazy parents.

    :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh:
  • leonardn2011
    leonardn2011 Posts: 10
    So your right! sugar is sugar, sort of.... Let's take High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) as an example.

    Fructose is found in fruits and other food, of course. When fructose is found in fruit, for example; its in relatively low quantities and accompanied by many other things such as phytochemicals and fiber which are very healthful.

    Plain sugar table sugar (the stuff you put in your coffee) has a scientific name, Sucrose. Sucrose is a combination of two mono saccharides that are Glucose and Fructose. HFCS is not that different from table sugar, chemically speaking. However, HFCS is a highly concentrated amount of only Fructose (which is absorbed only by the liver, unlike Glucose which is metabolized differently. Just for those who say your body processes it the same :)

    Refined fructose is bad for your health because it is concentrated and not surrounded by all those other good things nature provides. It's also much easier to consume ungodly quantities of it. Also, the many other detrimental health affects it causes that you will have to research because I am tired of outlining this.

    Check this article out from the guardian that talks about Fructose as a start. I haven't been doing this along time like yourself but I dont take every piece of advice or opinion to heart and no one should. Just be aware what you are saying is incorrect and dangerous.

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/21/fructose-poison-sugar-industry-pseudoscience
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    Hi OP-

    All that matters for weight loss is that you're eating less calories than you burn. If you want that orange and it fits in your calorie goal, then eat it. If you want a piece of candy, or a piece (or even bar) of chocolate and it fits in your calorie goal for the day, then eat it.

    You will not derail your weight loss because of sugar. Don't listen to this nonsense.

    I'd recommend you start looking at people that have open diarys and have successfully lost weight on their tickers if you'd like to see proof that this works. Example, look at CindyinPG , ndj's and ed's diary (they all posted in here) also check out my diary (though I didn't have a bunch of weight to lose, I've been maintaining my weight for well over a year)

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