Sugar intake help

Hi everyone!

I thought I was eating incredibly healthful meals but apparently at 670 calories I've already surpassed my sugar "allowance" for the day? Anyone who has advice on not only total sugars consumed, but what makes a good or bad sugar would help.

It's common sense that whole fruits and veggies are great for you. However if I eat the amount of fruit I anticipate is healthy I am way over my sugar! Here's what I've eaten today:

3/4 cup 2% yogurt, no sugar added - Fage
3/4 cup Kashi honey almond flax cereal
1 banana
1 12-oz can of low sodium V8
1 12-oz smoothie made entirely from fresh berries & fruit, no sugar added

That's 3 servings of fruit and 2 servings of veggies, but somehow I'm way over on sugar already :(

Replies

  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
    This is one of the problems I have with MFP's nutrition settings. Maybe they're referring to processed sugar? Whatever it is, I ignore it. Most of my sugars come from fruit so I don't worry about it.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Sugar is just a carb. If you have no medical issues related to sugar intake, and are already tracking your carbs, there is no need to track sugar at the same time. Track fiber instead would be my recommendation.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Fruit and dairy have quite a bit of sugar typically. That cereal probably does too.

    I don't worry about it personally--I tracked sugar long enough to confirm that I wasn't getting any from surprising sources and that I was only over when eating lots of fruit (which doesn't worry me, although I do try to eat more whole veggies than fruit in general), and then decided to track fiber instead. Unless you have health issues the usual limits on sugar apply to added sugar and even that to protect against eating too much calorie dense, low nutrition foods. If you know you aren't and especially since you are tracking calories directly, I see no reason to worry about sugar levels on their own.
  • Fruits, especially bananas, are high in sugar. I watch my fruit intake. Yes, it's natural but it's still sugar, in my opinion.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Banana is the highest sugar fruit going, "honey almond cereal" sounds like a high sugar product. You should have a goal from MFP of at least 54 grams, MFPs goal is in line with some national guidelines for example Australia has a Dietary Recommended Intake value for total sugars of 90g per day.

    See the Sugar FAQ
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,000 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Sugar is just a carb. If you have no medical issues related to sugar intake, and are already tracking your carbs, there is no need to track sugar at the same time. Track fiber instead would be my recommendation.

    ^^^This...