Sugar addict! But in a "good" way...

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westcoastgirl08
westcoastgirl08 Posts: 11
in Food and Nutrition
Hey fellow MFPers,

So I've been monitoring my meal logs lately and I'm very consistently under my calorie goal and having been losing weight at a relatively steady pace. HOWEVER, I absolutely love fruit... especially grapes and apples. My favorite veggies are unforunately the ones that are high in sugar as well (carrots, snap peas). My sugar intake in usually quite high in a day, and although it's primarily from natural sources I can't help but think how it affects my weight loss.... do you think I'd lose more if I cut back on the fruit?

Thanks! :)
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Replies

  • myfitnesspale3
    myfitnesspale3 Posts: 276 Member
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    All sugars have basically the same effect. Sugar has no RDA because it is not essential. If you cut them for a week or so then maybe you can reduce the cravings. Cutting fruits and other carbs did reduce my hunger.
  • Hell_Flower
    Hell_Flower Posts: 348 Member
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    I'm significantly over on my sugar everyday and have still lost 25lbs all up. My sugar intake is from fruit and veggies almost exclusively.

    If it puts me over on calories...that's when I consider cutting back. But on other things, not my fruit and veg. Since upping my intake to 7-10 portions a day, I sleep better, moods better, everything. And it hasn't stopped me losing weight.

    Seeing as fruit and veg contain a high amount of fibre, they travel pretty quick. As far as I'm concerned, not all sugar is created equal.
  • littlekitty3
    littlekitty3 Posts: 265 Member
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    The sugar in natural food responds better in the body because it is accompanied by natural fiber. The processed junk doesn't really go through the body to well.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Unless you have a medical condition, sugar isn't going to affect weight loss. Because the MFP goal doesn't distinguish between added sugar--which is what the AMA and WHO recommendations focus on--and sugar that just occurs in some nutrient-rich foods, I don't personally find it to add anything to just watching carbs. I'd say watch it for a bit, see if you are okay with where the sugar is coming from on the whole (no big surprises), and if it's mostly foods that you want in your diet regularly, don't worry about it unless you are going over calories or too low on protein or fat.

    I think it's interesting that there was an immediate assumption of cravings when you didn't say that. I know I like and want to include in my diet foods like peaches and cherries and plums, not to mention carrots, and yet I can't recall craving them in an unhealthy or obsessive way. Thinking mmm, a banana would really taste good right now seems a bad thing to start fearing and wanting to stop, unless it's some uncontrollable way or constantly, which seems really unlikely, especially if one is meeting their calories.

    Also, the "added sugar" recommendations I mentioned above are specifically based on the concern that people are eating too many calories from non nutrient dense foods, and thus the intentional carve out of fruit, veggies, and dairy. It's not based on some supposed harm from sugar itself, though I know there's lots of scare-mongering. It's really mainly an effort to get people to reduce their calories and get enough nutrients overall, which presumably you are already doing. So don't worry, and keep doing what you are.
  • maryjay52
    maryjay52 Posts: 557 Member
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    i have fruit about three times a day . my sugar cravings dropped a lot when i stopped eating stuff like cookies , candy , ice cream ect .. took a while because out of habit i was used to having it .. but learned to enjoy fruit .. its like having a dessert but healthier .. sometimes i take blueberries and drizzle melted raw honey on it ... mmmmm mmmm good
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
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    You said you're already under calorie goal. So the only way you'll lose more weight (real weight, not water) is to be even more under it. If you're like me and have your settings to lose just as much as you can without going into too high of a calorie deficit for health then nothing at all is going to make you lose faster. It sucks, but you have to be patient.
  • Kotuliak
    Kotuliak Posts: 259 Member
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    You're achieving your goals and eating what you enjoy. There is no reason to change anything!

    Certainly trying to comply with the silly rules of the fanatical preachers of "sugar is evil" is not a good reason, is it.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Your calorie deficit is what determines you weight loss, not the type of sugar you eat. Hit your protein, carbs and fat macros, and remove the sugar and replace it with fiber (or something else useful). There is no reason to track sugar unless you are diabetic. It will get tracked automatically as a carb by MFP.
  • beckyjeanleemaddox
    beckyjeanleemaddox Posts: 154 Member
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    I eat fruit every day and it has helped me so much with craving pastries, cakes, ice cream and candy. The fiber is a plus. As long as you have a deficit then you're going to cont. to lose wt. Fruit has a lot of health benefits also. I say eat the fruit b/c in the long run I think people are more successful if they include foods they love. If you would eat fruit if you weren't trying to lose wt then include it when you are b/c a lifestyle change is the best way to achieve your goal and to maintain it. :smile:
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
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    lol.. There is no such thing as "good sugar." As mentioned, the human body has no need for sugar.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
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    lol.. There is no such thing as "good sugar." As mentioned, the human body has no need for sugar.
    None? Are you saying that the brain does not need sugar?

    Our bodies can make it. No need to ingest it. That said, I eat raisins and blueberries and bananas because they have other nutrients I do need. So far so good, although I tend to eat them along with other things because otherwise I get either nauseated or hungrier than I need to be.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
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    lol.. There is no such thing as "good sugar." As mentioned, the human body has no need for sugar.
    None? Are you saying that the brain does not need sugar?

    Our bodies can make it. No need to ingest it. That said, I eat raisins and blueberries and bananas because they have other nutrients I do need. So far so good, although I tend to eat them along with other things because otherwise I get either nauseated or hungrier than I need to be.
    Yes I know that but will you body actually create enough through glucogensis to provide the brain with enough to meet its requirements?

    And with that said, the body is creating it because it "needs it", no?

    Since you are an obviously athletic person, I bet there are times in your day even during waking hours that your body creates ketones to compensate for you using up your carbs, and you seem to be doing just fine. So why worry about your body making sugar, either?

    I haven't found anything that says fueling the brain with added sugar is required, but if you have a scientific link I'd like to read it.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    Options
    lol.. There is no such thing as "good sugar." As mentioned, the human body has no need for sugar.
    None? Are you saying that the brain does not need sugar?

    Our bodies can make it. No need to ingest it. That said, I eat raisins and blueberries and bananas because they have other nutrients I do need. So far so good, although I tend to eat them along with other things because otherwise I get either nauseated or hungrier than I need to be.
    Yes I know that but will you body actually create enough through glucogensis to provide the brain with enough to meet its requirements?

    And with that said, the body is creating it because it "needs it", no?

    Since you are an obviously athletic person, I bet there are times in your day even during waking hours that your body creates ketones to compensate for you using up your carbs, and you seem to be doing just fine. So why worry about your body making sugar, either?

    I haven't found anything that says fueling the brain with added sugar is required, but if you have a scientific link I'd like to read it.
    The statement wasn't added sugar isn't needed it was sugar isn't needed.

    Let me be more precise: Is there any indication that going on a diet that contains zero consumption of sugar from any source (I mean sugar, not carbs!) is bad for the brain?
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Options
    lol.. There is no such thing as "good sugar." As mentioned, the human body has no need for sugar.
    None? Are you saying that the brain does not need sugar?

    Our bodies can make it. No need to ingest it. That said, I eat raisins and blueberries and bananas because they have other nutrients I do need. So far so good, although I tend to eat them along with other things because otherwise I get either nauseated or hungrier than I need to be.
    Yes I know that but will you body actually create enough through glucogensis to provide the brain with enough to meet its requirements?

    And with that said, the body is creating it because it "needs it", no?

    Since you are an obviously athletic person, I bet there are times in your day even during waking hours that your body creates ketones to compensate for you using up your carbs, and you seem to be doing just fine. So why worry about your body making sugar, either?

    I haven't found anything that says fueling the brain with added sugar is required, but if you have a scientific link I'd like to read it.
    The statement wasn't added sugar isn't needed it was sugar isn't needed.

    Let me be more precise: Is there any indication that going on a diet that contains zero consumption of sugar from any source (I mean sugar, not carbs!) is bad for the brain?

    Carbohydrates are broken down into sugar (glucose and fructose) by your body. And the fruit that you said you eat contains sugar - lots of it, actually. And glucose can also be obtained by the body from meat and fat. It's in everything, sorry. :smile:
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    Options
    lol.. There is no such thing as "good sugar." As mentioned, the human body has no need for sugar.
    None? Are you saying that the brain does not need sugar?

    Our bodies can make it. No need to ingest it. That said, I eat raisins and blueberries and bananas because they have other nutrients I do need. So far so good, although I tend to eat them along with other things because otherwise I get either nauseated or hungrier than I need to be.
    Yes I know that but will you body actually create enough through glucogensis to provide the brain with enough to meet its requirements?

    And with that said, the body is creating it because it "needs it", no?

    Since you are an obviously athletic person, I bet there are times in your day even during waking hours that your body creates ketones to compensate for you using up your carbs, and you seem to be doing just fine. So why worry about your body making sugar, either?

    I haven't found anything that says fueling the brain with added sugar is required, but if you have a scientific link I'd like to read it.
    The statement wasn't added sugar isn't needed it was sugar isn't needed.

    Let me be more precise: Is there any indication that going on a diet that contains zero consumption of sugar from any source (I mean sugar, not carbs!) is bad for the brain?

    Carbohydrates are broken down into sugar (glucose and fructose) by your body. And the fruit that you said you eat contains sugar - lots of it, actually. And glucose can also be obtained by the body from meat and fat. It's in everything, sorry. :smile:

    I have no problem with that. But hypothetically, let's say someone got zero sugar (not counting carbs which I do know are broken down) from any source, including fruit. Is there any evidence their brain would be harmed in any way? Cause if so, I haven't seen it.

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