Fruit.. To Record or not to Record?

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HKayG
HKayG Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
I am having a problem with going way over my sugar limits everyday. I ma not saying this is all done to fruit, but man are they hefty on the sugary goodness!

However, it's getting to the point now, where i am cutting out fruit completly just to keep my sugar down. And if i'm going to choose between sweets and fruits for sugar and still remain in my calorie count, of course i am going to go for sweets (i'm not perfect, i am in my calories but don't always pick the healthier option!).

I know i am losing a lot of goodness because of this and i was wondering to myself if it would just be better not to log the fruit, because even if i'm going over on sugar at least i'm getting all the other benefits that fruit give.

I have about 2 portions of fruit a day, 3 if i'm feeling extra fruity and the other 2 portions normally come from veg with lunch/dinner.

What's your opinion?
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Replies

  • JustAnotherGirlSuzanne
    JustAnotherGirlSuzanne Posts: 932 Member
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    Record the fruit and change your settings so you track fiber rather than sugar. That's what a lot of people do.

    Just keep yourself accountable for not overdoing the sugary sweets that the sugar category is supposed to track. :smile:
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Unless you have medical issues don't worry about sugar. MFP sets its limits too low anyway.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
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    No. You need to log fruit. 3 servings of fruit per day can easily be 200 calories or more - which could wipe out a substantial portion of your deficit.

    A much better option would be to stop paying attention to sugar. Unless your are diabetic or have other medical conditions, tracking sugar is pretty much meaningless. Pay attention to your overall macros (carbs/fat/protein) and pay attention to your calories, and as long as your fruit/sugar intake fits into those goals, then don't worry about it.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    If you're going to log, and want any semblance of accuracy.

    You need to log all intake, otherwise your data set is not accurate, and essentially trash.
  • Twinmamamarion
    Twinmamamarion Posts: 33 Member
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    I would log, but as others have said, ignore the sugar goal. It's lame.
    Current Weight Watchers guidelines don't have you log, and they're really good at what they do, so there's something to it. Put still log, because of the caloric content. Hit your protein and calories, and you're golden.
  • SusanKing1981
    SusanKing1981 Posts: 257 Member
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    I removed the sugar section from my diary as it was always red! I can easily eat 8 portions of fruit a day.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    If it goes in your mouth, log it
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    If it goes in your mouth, log it

    Oh really?! :bigsmile:
  • ksuh999
    ksuh999 Posts: 543 Member
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    If log goes in your mouth?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    I would just stop tracking your sugar and trying to micro manage your micros unless you have some valid medical reason for doing so.

    Barring a medical condition or a propensity to consume vast quantities of sugar (like you're sucking down multiple Big Gulps every day, there's really no reason to track it. Hit your protein, hit your fat, and round out the rest with carbs and everything will tend to fall into place.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    Record the fruit and change your settings so you track fiber rather than sugar.

    ^This...
  • Pirate_chick
    Pirate_chick Posts: 1,216 Member
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    Unless you have medical issues don't worry about sugar. MFP sets its limits too low anyway.

    This. I had the same issue, and hated seeing red. So now I track fiber.
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
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    So you'd rather lie to yourself by not logging than go over your sugar?
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
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    Personally, I don't base my nutritional guidelines on what MFP suggests. Sugar and salt definitely fall into that category for me, as well as most of the other nutrition metrics like vitamin levels, etc. Sugar, unless you have a medical condition/ trying to keep the carbs low, is no biggie to me unless its all coming from added sugar in processed or low fat sources, as natural sugars in things like fruit and veg is always wrapped up in fibre to slow its absorption and thus any funky blood sugar effects. Salt's in the same category for me, although in fairness I'm not a salt addict like some in my family, and any salt tends to come from natural sources or the couple of pinches I might use over the course of the day.

    My personal opinion is that MFP just isn't comprehensive and accurate enough to measure much aside from the broadest things like carbs/ fat/ protein, and I definitely wouldn't be paying any overt attention to vitamin and mineral levels, as many of the database entries are deficient in this regard, plus %RDA means nothing to me, as most of these levels have long been observed to be based on minimal nutritional needs as opposed to optimal nutrition for the body.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    If you're going to log, and want any semblance of accuracy.

    You need to log all intake, otherwise your data set is not accurate, and essentially trash.

    this.

    log what goes in your mouth. otherwise don't log at all
  • DanielCathers
    DanielCathers Posts: 53 Member
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    1. Log everything.

    2. Eat more vegetables instead.
  • Docbanana2002
    Docbanana2002 Posts: 357 Member
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    You are acting like the site is somehow the boss of you, such that you'd lie to it and even make a less healthy choices to have it not "disapprove" of you with that red number? :) Doesn't make sense. This is why the word "cheat" is never in my diet vocabulary either. There is no cheat because I'm the one setting my goals and I can decide what I want to eat and what my goals are. If I deviate from my usual plan for some reason that is my choice (or a compulsive habit I would like to improve upon), not "cheating" on my diet like it is some externally imposed set of rules I have to follow or some lover I've betrayed.

    This site is for you to collect data for you to use in making informed choices about your diet. Log it so you have accurate data and then decide for yourself if you are meeting your goals. The defaults for sugar on MFP are rather low, such that people eating very moderate amounts of fruit are going to be showing as above the limit. I don't worry about sugar naturally contained in healthy foods because I am healthy and have no sugar related issues, and bc my overall calories and carbs are where I want them. Someone with with diabetes or on a low carb diet might have different goals for their sugar intake than I (though probably would just look at carbs more than sugar too)
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Record the fruit and change your settings so you track fiber rather than sugar. That's what a lot of people do.

    Just keep yourself accountable for not overdoing the sugary sweets that the sugar category is supposed to track. :smile:

    This for sure! This is what I do.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    If it goes in your mouth, log it

    Oh really?! :bigsmile:

    Mind out of the gutter girl. :tongue: :tongue: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

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