A bowl of fruit killed my sugar intake

VintageFit
VintageFit Posts: 90 Member
in Food and Nutrition
As a small step towards better eating, I resolved to fill a small bowl with fruit and use it as a snack instead of the usual crisps, chocolate, and leftovers I used to nibble on all the time.
But when I entered the fruits into my food intake, that one little bowl already made me go over my daily recommended sugar intake. Meaning I basically can't eat any more sugar for the rest of the day, which includes all three bigger meals...
Is that normal? I'm sure sugar from fruit is 'better' than sugar from sweets and other things, but it's still over the recommended amount...

Replies

  • jakeya16
    jakeya16 Posts: 40
    That seems odd. Was the fruit canned or dehydrated? They tend to contain much higher sugar levels then good ol fresh fruit!
  • VintageFit
    VintageFit Posts: 90 Member
    No, it's all fresh fruit - which made it kinda difficult to find on the lists. I tried to get as close to the proper amount of each without weighing them (for example a 'small' pear, a 'medium' apple and 10 grapes). But I think I underestimated more than overestimated the amount of fruit, tbh.
  • d3mon4ngel
    d3mon4ngel Posts: 242 Member
    Personally I ignore the sugar counts on here. Yes fruit can have a lot of sugar in it, but it also has a lot of nutrients and vitamins that crisps and chocolate don't.
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  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
    The sugar allowance on here is extremely low. Yes fruit (and some veg) will take you right over it. It's not something I worry about because I don't have a dietary or medical need to.
  • andrewjuu
    andrewjuu Posts: 76 Member
    I don't pay any attention to the sugar content of fresh fruit & I am basically down to my chart weight after losing approx. 95 lbs in 2 years. So make what you will of that. That being said, what you described above would make up about three servings of fruit for me. For example, when I eat grapes for a snack its usually around 15 grapes. Or I eat an apple, or I eat a pear etc etc. Not all three at one time. But that is me.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    I took sugar off my counter because MFP doesn't distinguish between natural sugars and added sugars (much like my own body). If it allowed us to track added sugars I would be interested in that just for data, but since it does not and I don't have a medical condition, I'm not going to worry about it.

    The real problem with added sugars is less about the sugars themselves and more about their presence in high calorie, hyper-palatable foods which people tend to over-consume, leading to weight gain and medical issues like diabetes. Since we're all tracking our intake on MFP and can see exactly what and how much we're eating, we're essentially nipping that problem in the bud anyway.
  • VintageFit
    VintageFit Posts: 90 Member
    That being said, what you described above would make up about three servings of fruit for me. For example, when I eat grapes for a snack its usually around 15 grapes. Or I eat an apple, or I eat a pear etc etc. Not all three at one time. But that is me.
    The entire bowl I put together constitues as snacking for a whole day. I don't eat all that in one sitting ;) it's just on the kitchen counter so every time I'm tempted to snack on unhealthy things I walk past it and grab some fruit instead.
    I am trying for five servings of fruit/veg a day or more, though. :)

    And thanks to everyone else for answering. I think I'll take the sugar-allowance of my tracker as well and instead focus on avoiding the 'bad' sugar-containers such as processed foods...
  • adriennepeters
    adriennepeters Posts: 1 Member
    The sugar in fruit is a healthier natural sugar, plus it's a complex carb which means it has lots of fiber and will keep you fuller longer
  • brimin101
    brimin101 Posts: 31 Member
    Yeah don't worry about the sugar counter on here. Replace it with the fiber counter to get a good idea of net carbs. Don't count sugar unless you have a medical condition which requires you to.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    Track something else in the column that defaults to track sugar. You probably already track carbs, sugar is just a carb. Track something else, or turn the column off and track fewer things.

    I've never tracked sugar. :-)
  • knackarsch
    knackarsch Posts: 53
    I found a day in my food journal where I felt like I ate really well, including a serving or two of fruit. I upped my sugar allowance to the amount I ate that day. That way I'm not totally ignoring my sugar intake, but it's not screaming at me if I eat an orange.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Have you updated your goals lately...MFP's old sugar recommendation was just for added/refined sugar. It has since been updated. Still, if you don't have a medical condition that warrants tracking sugar and you aren't throwing down multiple Big Gulp sodas daily and eating all kinds of other processed foods with tons of added sugar, I wouldn't worry about it. I don't track sugar...the only micro I track is fiber...manage your macro-nutrients, do not micro manage your micro-nutrients unless you have some compelling reason to do so.
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
    I also removed sugar count from my diary - I eat a lot of fruit, leading to red alert every day.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    2 bananas make me go over my sugar. That number is ridiculous. Forget the number, and eat the fruit.
  • toronto_j
    toronto_j Posts: 206 Member
    Just echoing what others said. I don't have a medical reason to worry about sugar, though I do try to keep an eye on it. But yesterday I went over the MFP "limit" just with a mini Greek yogurt and a cup of OJ. So yeah, I don't worry about it too much.
  • tmm_0127
    tmm_0127 Posts: 545 Member
    Just eat the fruit. MFP doesn't count the difference between added sugars and natural sugars.
  • KMC1012
    KMC1012 Posts: 20
    I am always over my sugar allowance because I cannot live without at least a banana and apple a day. Like a lot of people have mentioned it is natural sugar compared to say white sugar or sugar in a chocolate cake.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    sugar from fresh fruit doesnt count. Fresh fruit is paired with fiber molecularly, and while I am not sure the exact process of it, but it helps the sugar from having the same effect as added and processed sugars.

    LOL so by this logic if I eat some fiber with my candy bar the sugar in that does not count either?

    OP - sugar is sugar is sugar…

    I would not even bother tracking it.

    if you eat in a calorie deficit you will lose weight…so keep eating your bowl of fruit, as long as you maintain your deficit you will be fine..
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    Go read the American Heart Association's guidance on sugar again and read between the lines. They're talking about calories not sugar per se. Ignore your sugar intake and stick to tracking calories, fat, protein, carbs, and fiber. Eat the fruit.
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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    sugar from fresh fruit doesnt count. Fresh fruit is paired with fiber molecularly, and while I am not sure the exact process of it, but it helps the sugar from having the same effect as added and processed sugars.

    I used to be afraid of sugar as well. Truth is, dont be afraid of fruit. It is a gift from God and nature's candy.

    Worry more about the added and processed sugars in processed foods. THose are the ones you want to keep in moderation.

    As for the sugar count on MFP I took it off my microcounter, you can also personally re set your goals and up the sugar level so it wont bother you, or ignore it :)
    No. All sugar counts. Just because it comes from fruit doesn't mean the calories don't count.

    Saying that added and processed sugars are the ones you want to keep in moderation is basically saying "go ahead and eat as much fruit as you want" which would also be false.

    don't you know bro ..fruit sugar is nectar from the gods, added sugar is from the ninth layer of hell….

    oh and fruit is negative sugar too...
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