Sugar Counter?

lcmartin
lcmartin Posts: 163 Member
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
WOW! I've only had breakfast and I'm already over my daily sugar intake by 12? Now I didn't have a "normal" breakfast, but it wasn't bad. I was on the run, so I stopped by Starbucks and got the Perfect Oatmeal with nuts and brown sugar. Now I probably should have skipped the brown sugar, But what surprised me was my drink!! I ordered a Sugar Free Vanilla latte with skim milk....that had 22 grams. MPF has me set at only 24g a day! UGH!

As I recap the week...I was always over in Sugar or Protein. Anybody have any suggestions for lower sugar foods? Seems like everything has sugar in it.

Replies

  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    Keep in mind that milk has natural sugar in it (Lactose) - much like sugar from fruit or vegetables, this sugar isn't something you should be overly concerned about. Since you ordered a drink that was "sugar free" it shouldn't have had any added sugars in it, so the whole 22g should be natural sugar. Natural sugar comes packaged with other good stuff - fiber, vitamins, other nutrients, etc., whereas added sugar is more "empty" calories with no nutritional value. Sugar from milk, fruits and veggies is much different than sugar from a candy bar.

    Personally, I don't count milk or fruit/veggie sugars when I'm comparing my daily sugar totals to my limits. Unfortunately right now, food labeling isn't required to differentiate between added and natural sugar.
  • jowily
    jowily Posts: 189 Member
    Since a Latte is mostly milk - your sugar count would be high. Might be better to have coffee with a bit of cream. It is a natural sugar - but it's still a sugar, as in fruit (lactose and fructose respectively). Some oatmeals have a lot of sugar as well (not just the brown sugar you put on top). I am more focused on calories and salt, and then sugar from natural sources (ie yogurt, fruit, etc) and trying to stay away from processed foods with sugar in them (and if I need sugar, I am using truvia (stevia) or sun light crystals (stevia and natural sugar) and trying to avoid most other sweeteners.
  • lcmartin
    lcmartin Posts: 163 Member
    Thanks. That makes me feel better. I thought I was making a "good" choice, then was freaked out! So for lunch, I decided to have 1/2 c of lowfat 1% cottage cheese, 3.5oz chicken breast and some red/yellow/orange bell peppers....so now it's showing that I'm way over in my protein. Is it necessarily bad to be over in Protein?
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    Thanks. That makes me feel better. I thought I was making a "good" choice, then was freaked out! So for lunch, I decided to have 1/2 c of lowfat 1% cottage cheese, 3.5oz chicken breast and some red/yellow/orange bell peppers....so now it's showing that I'm way over in my protein. Is it necessarily bad to be over in Protein?


    Do a search for protein - there have been TONS of posts the past few weeks about this. To sum it up, most MFP-ers think the site suggests a pretty low % of protein (I've upped mine to 25%, with 55% carbs and 20% fat) and most people seem to exceed the MFP recommended amount. Unless you're eating a long-term diet with very high protien levels (like 50%) there shouldn't be any problem.
  • PinkDog
    PinkDog Posts: 68 Member
    How do you have things broken down? You can go a little over in protein, but too much is still too much. What is your total daily calorie allottment?

    For 1500 calorie diet on a healthy person it should be:

    40% Carbohydrates (150g)
    30% Proteins (113g)
    30% Fats (50g)

    Sugars -- max of 60g per day (try to keep at least 40g from 'good, natural' sugars as accountant_boi said)

    Sodium -- under 2500 unless you are hypertensive then under 2000

    Personally, I also find sugar the HARDEST one to limit -- it can be your whole day gone from one thing! Good luck!
    Hope that helps! :)
  • lcmartin
    lcmartin Posts: 163 Member
    Thanks for all your quick answers. Here's what my MFP has me set at:

    Calories: 1210
    Carbs: 166
    Fat: 40
    Sugar 24
    Protein: 45
    Fiber: 14

    Maybe I should do some research and re-evaluate those numbers?
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    How do you have things broken down? You can go a little over in protein, but too much is still too much. What is your total daily calorie allottment?

    For 1500 calorie diet on a healthy person it should be:

    40% Carbohydrates (150g)
    30% Proteins (113g)
    30% Fats (50g)

    Sugars -- max of 60g per day (try to keep at least 40g from 'good, natural' sugars as accountant_boi said)

    Sodium -- under 2500 unless you are hypertensive then under 2000

    Personally, I also find sugar the HARDEST one to limit -- it can be your whole day gone from one thing! Good luck!
    Hope that helps! :)

    40% in carbs actually seems pretty low - it would be considered a low-carb diet. Most figures I hear say that "normal" carb intake should be around 50 or 55% of daily calories with fat 20-30%.

    In the end, everyone has different needs - the 55% carbs, 25% protien and 20% fat has worked for me so far, so I'll keep at it. If you're doing lots of intense workouts and trying to build muscle, a higher protien % might be warranted. You can try experimenting and see which combination seems to work best for you (in terms of weight-loss, energy, general 'how do you feel', etc.)

    One thing - the MFP Fiber amounts are definitely too low! I've read women are recommended to get around 25g of fiber a day.
  • le098098
    le098098 Posts: 1
    There's a really good dedicated Sugar Counter app here:

    https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sugar-counter-how-to-shop/id889832288?mt=8
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