Hello and Sugar Help

gemheelsdown
gemheelsdown Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
Hello,

I'm new today. Not sure how much personal information is safe to put? But I'm GemHeelsDown (Gem) and live in the South East of England. I'm 36 and weight waaaay too much to be comfortable. So today starts my journey, I am wiping the slate clean with my previous false starts and embracing the good bits and the bad bits to know what to repeat and what not to from my previous attempts at losing weight/being more healthy and adopting a better more active lifestyle.

I have a quick question if anyone can help. I love eating fruit, I like to get my 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, only this app sets the sugar limit really low if I eat two or three pieces of fruit I go over my daily allowance of sugar. Can I adjust my levels without it affecting my weight loss? Surely fruit is a good thing?????

Replies

  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
    Hi Gem,

    Welcome to MFP and good luck with your weight loss

    Unless you have a medical reason to avoid sugar (Diabetes etc) then do not worry about the sugar limit, especially if most of it is coming from fruit.

    I stopped tracking sugar early on and replaced it with fibre, because its one of the things I wasn't getting enough of
  • sofiachohdary
    sofiachohdary Posts: 74
    Don't worry about the natural sugar in fresh fruits, they also come with enough fiber to digest it properly. It's the processed sugar you need to worry about (candies, cakes etc). That's the real killer. Fruits eat as many as you want.
  • gemheelsdown
    gemheelsdown Posts: 2
    hi both, thanks for that, I was a little worried!! I shall eat fruit till my hearts content then :)
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
    Don't worry about the natural sugar in fresh fruits, they also come with enough fiber to digest it properly. It's the processed sugar you need to worry about (candies, cakes etc). That's the real killer.Fruits eat as many as you want.

    Killer of what?
  • maz504
    maz504 Posts: 450
    Don't worry about the natural sugar in fresh fruits, they also come with enough fiber to digest it properly. It's the processed sugar you need to worry about (candies, cakes etc). That's the real killer. Fruits eat as many as you want.

    Nope.
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
    I ignore sugar, completely irregardless of source. I track fiber in its place. I meet my micro/macro targets for health and stick to my respective calorie target for whatever goal I've set, whether it be weight loss, maintenance, gain.

    http://www.fitnessbaddies.com/your-problem-with-sugar-is-the-problem-with-sugar/

    ^this is an excellent read
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  • obesityiskillingme
    obesityiskillingme Posts: 1
    No matter how hard I try I seem to go over in sugar every single day even when I am below in everything else. I do eat a lot of fruit though and I am still losing so I figure I'm doing okay as long as my sugars mainly come from fruit and not candy/chocolate etc.
  • Kevindgolden
    Kevindgolden Posts: 9
    I am cutting out all processed sugar in my diet for 7 days.. you would be surprised at what has processed sugar in it. "Processed Sugar" is the enemy!...LOL. Natural sugar from fruit is not bad, but.... I would not go crazy on it or over indulge just like anything else over indulgence is probably not good in my humble opinion.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Don't worry about the natural sugar in fresh fruits, they also come with enough fiber to digest it properly. It's the processed sugar you need to worry about (candies, cakes etc). That's the real killer. Fruits eat as many as you want.
    Sugar is well sugar no matter where it comes from processed sugar is no more a killer than fruit sugar. But yes don't worry about it
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
    I am cutting out all processed sugar in my diet for 7 days.. you would be surprised at what has processed sugar in it. "Processed Sugar" is the enemy!...LOL. Natural sugar from fruit is not bad, but.... I would not go crazy on it or over indulge just like anything else over indulgence is probably not good in my humble opinion.

    My name is SugaryLynx, I'm a processed sugar fairy and I've come for your soul
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  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Any cakes, cookies or other processed food you don't want you can send my way.

    OP unless you have a medical condition that you need to monitor your sugar for... I would not bother tracking sugar and switch to fiber :)

    Now who's got the cookies and cake that's what I came in here for
    images-GimmeSugar_Fullpic_1.gif
  • RabbitLost
    RabbitLost Posts: 333 Member
    Don't worry about the natural sugar in fresh fruits, they also come with enough fiber to digest it properly. It's the processed sugar you need to worry about (candies, cakes etc). That's the real killer. Fruits eat as many as you want.
    Sugar is well sugar no matter where it comes from processed sugar is no more a killer than fruit sugar. But yes don't worry about it

    Much truth in here. Also, I don't think there is an "official" daily recommended allowance on sugar like there is for other micro nutrients. The only reason to limit sugar is if you have been advised by your doctor or medical professional.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Don't worry about the natural sugar in fresh fruits, they also come with enough fiber to digest it properly. It's the processed sugar you need to worry about (candies, cakes etc). That's the real killer. Fruits eat as many as you want.

    So what is the killer part... I just want to make sure I understand. Since my health markers have been very carefully monitored by 3 physicians over the past 18 months that I have been doing this. Every single one of them has improved. Blood work, EKG, PFT, you get the idea.

    And in the past 18 months I've eaten a pretty well balanced diet that including ice cream lots and lots of ice cream, cakes, cookies, just in smaller amounts then I used to eat.

    So unless you have a medical condition its not a killer, and can be included as part of a well balanced diet.
  • mabug01
    mabug01 Posts: 1,273 Member
    You have to experiment and see what's good for you. I'm in an older age group and I find I will not lose weight if I eat more than 1 serving of fruit a day, even if I stay within my calorie limit. If you are young and otherwise healthy, you may not need to concern yourself with fruit sugar. Good luck!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Don't worry about sugars, just keep your total carbs within your macro. Unless you have a medical issue, there is no reason to separate out the sugars. I am diabetic (T2) and I don't track my sugars.

    Yes, fruit is better for you nutritionally than processed sugary things but it still comes down to calories in vs, calories out.
  • melissaclaire93
    melissaclaire93 Posts: 30 Member
    I LOVE Fruit and even with eating it 5 times a day (or sometimes more) and I still have managed to lose weight! I don't eat any processed sugar though. So no bread, or artificial stuff. Every body is different though and all natural things are good for you in moderation so I say fruit it fine as long as you don't go over board!
  • sofiachohdary
    sofiachohdary Posts: 74
    Fruit has a lot of fiber, which slows down your body's digestion of glucose, so you don't get the crazy insulin spike (and subsequent crash) that candy causes. That also means your body has more time to use up glucose as fuel before storing it -- as fat.

    I know that if I have 200 calories left for the day, and I want to snack on something, if it's the choice between let's say 9 apricots or a small chocolate bar, I would prefer to get the apricots. Why?

    Fruits have fiber, vitamins, minerals, water. And there are chances I won't eat the whole 9 apricots, I would feel fuller sooner.
    A chocolate bar of the same calories on the other hand, has no nutritional value, I will be done with the whole thing in 2 seconds, and still feel hungry and craving for more sugar.

    And come on people. How many of you waste all your calories only on fruits? How many people do you know that can eat enough fruits to make them fat? Unless they're already stuffed with other things.
  • sofiachohdary
    sofiachohdary Posts: 74
    And of course the original poster is gonna count his/her calories. Nobody signed up on MFP and said "my goal is to consume 5000 calories worth of fruits daily"! Lol.
  • sdsheridan
    sdsheridan Posts: 5 Member
    I'm keeping track of sugar because I love sweets and I'm trying to cut down on candy, soda, etc. Replacing it with fruit which has not as much sugar.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member

    I have a quick question if anyone can help. I love eating fruit, I like to get my 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, only this app sets the sugar limit really low if I eat two or three pieces of fruit I go over my daily allowance of sugar. Can I adjust my levels without it affecting my weight loss? Surely fruit is a good thing?????

    In the absence of a medical condition I wouldn't bother tracking sugar. Just keep an eye on your overall calorie intake.

    The issue with sugar isn't really the substance itself but rather how it comes packaged.

    Added sugar usually comes packaged with fat or in a concentrated form. This makes it highly palatable which makes over eating much more likely or harder to resist.

    Sugar found in fruit comes packaged with other stuff (fibre for example). In addition, it is also generally fructose which is the preferred source for topping up liver glycogen which will then send a "full, stop eating" signal to your brain so helps with fullness (and therefore reduces over eating.

    You may have guessed the biggest issue here is...over eating.

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