Sugar Problems
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helenanj
Posts: 13
Hi All!
My name is Helena. This is my third time on Fitness Pal. I've been doing okay not tracking food/exercise for a while but not lately, as extra 11lbs are now showing.
I eat well, trying to stick to the 80/20 rule. My one problem seems to be the sugar intake. It's usually simple sugars from fruit but still. How do I eat my fruits and veggies without going over my sugar limits?
Whenever I track my food intake I am usually well under my calorie limit but over my sugars.
What am I doing wrong?
Do you have any ideas for veg/fruit/snack foods low in sugar?
Please help!
Thank you!
My name is Helena. This is my third time on Fitness Pal. I've been doing okay not tracking food/exercise for a while but not lately, as extra 11lbs are now showing.
I eat well, trying to stick to the 80/20 rule. My one problem seems to be the sugar intake. It's usually simple sugars from fruit but still. How do I eat my fruits and veggies without going over my sugar limits?
Whenever I track my food intake I am usually well under my calorie limit but over my sugars.
What am I doing wrong?
Do you have any ideas for veg/fruit/snack foods low in sugar?
Please help!
Thank you!
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Replies
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One thing you could do would be to track calories, protein, carbs, fat, and fiber, then from there make sure you come reasonably close to your goals, select about 80% whole and minimally refined foods, and stop tracking sugar entirely.0
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Unless you have a medical problem, you don't need to track sugars. By medical problem, I mean diabetes or pre-diabetes.0
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Since sugar is just a carb, just track carbs and don't worry about sugar.0
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Helena finally I just gave up fruit at this time and anything with added sugar. These notes on this book below finally helped me grasp that sugar is my heroin and that I had to let it go to live a fuller life. Best wishes. The sugar demon is a killer for me.
http://lowerthought.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/notes-to-good-calories-bad-calories.pdf-9 -
I think it's almost impossible to eat a healthy amount of fruit/ veggies per day (assuming a balanced diet) and still stay under the MFP goal. I don't generally track sugar for that reason. If I do look at it, I always subtract the sugar from fruit/veg just to give myself a number for refined sugars. Overall, I've never had much use for it though.0
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I only observe added sugar. There is a lot of natural sugar in things like fruit, some vegetables, milk, plain yogurt. The 25g a day that is recommended, I believe is about added sugar, so the flavoring of the yogurts, sodas, sugar in baked goods, candy, granola bars, flavored oatmeal packet, stuff like that.
I myself know that if I over-do added sugar and excess white flour, I simply don't feel good- headaches and sluggish, so I make sure to keep this crap at bay. I don't completely abstain, but just make sure I don't take in more than I can handle.0 -
I think it's almost impossible to eat a healthy amount of fruit/ veggies per day (assuming a balanced diet) and still stay under the MFP goal. I don't generally track sugar for that reason. If I do look at it, I always subtract the sugar from fruit/veg just to give myself a number for refined sugars. Overall, I've never had much use for it though.
I'm prediabetic and have been about or under my sugar goals for 75% of the time. The only time I will go over is if I eat more than 3 servings of fruit a day, and ones with lower sugar content at that. If you stick to veggies as your sugar source, you won't go over unless it is from something like sweet potato which tends to be higher in natural sugars or a rare sweet treat like dark chocolate. For someone like me, that is a problem, but if you don't have a problem, there is no real need to track your sugars.0 -
I only keep an eye on added sugars (refined, added sugars) and heavily refined carbs. I find that those affect my appetite and mood. An apple doesn't. A serving of peas doesn't.
YMMV of course.0 -
I am a diabetic, and I know what your problem is! You are not eating enough protein! As your meals proportionally include more protein, the sugars will drop.0
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Thank you all for your advice!!!! I really appreciate it! I will definitely focus more on refined/added sugars and not worry as much about naturally occurring ones.
As for my protein intake, please rest assured I shall get some at dinner!
Thank you again!!!0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I only keep an eye on added sugars (refined, added sugars) and heavily refined carbs. I find that those affect my appetite and mood. An apple doesn't. A serving of peas doesn't.
YMMV of course.
I agree with this. I love summer fruits and so spent the summer going nuts on peaches and plums and melon and all the rest, and so went from never being over my sugar limit in the winter and spring to being over every day, and there were no negative effects at all. So I decided to track fiber instead.
With respect to added sugar (kind of off topic, I guess), if you think you might be eating more than you realize, that's a reason to log it, but I'm comfortable that I know what has lots of sugar and what doesn't out of the foods I eat, and have found that I can monitor mine as much as I care to by making sure that I get enough protein, eat within my calories, and get in all the vegetables that I should. After that, the "added" sugar I have room for is necessarily limited and not IMO a concern.0 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »Helena finally I just gave up fruit at this time and anything with added sugar. These notes on this book below finally helped me grasp that sugar is my heroin and that I had to let it go to live a fuller life. Best wishes. The sugar demon is a killer for me.
http://lowerthought.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/notes-to-good-calories-bad-calories.pdf
Gary Taubes "research" has been thoroughly debunked for quite some time. The only time I would worry about sugar is when its taking away from other nutrients. Eating candy or "empty calories" won't harm you if the rest of your diet is on par. In the end, total diet context is necessary because the only thing wrong with sugar is that it doesn't really have any nutritional value outside of some immediate energy.
Personally, I don't have a medical issue, so I don't worry about any type of sugars, but I concentrate on getting adequate nutrient dense food throughout my diet.
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GaleHawkins wrote: »Helena finally I just gave up fruit at this time and anything with added sugar. These notes on this book below finally helped me grasp that sugar is my heroin and that I had to let it go to live a fuller life. Best wishes. The sugar demon is a killer for me.
http://lowerthought.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/notes-to-good-calories-bad-calories.pdf
Gary Taubes "research" has been thoroughly debunked for quite some time. The only time I would worry about sugar is when its taking away from other nutrients. Eating candy or "empty calories" won't harm you if the rest of your diet is on par. In the end, total diet context is necessary because the only thing wrong with sugar is that it doesn't really have any nutritional value outside of some immediate energy.
Personally, I don't have a medical issue, so I don't worry about any type of sugars, but I concentrate on getting adequate nutrient dense food throughout my diet.
psulemom I am new to this subject (7 Aug 2014) and my research has been focused on managing my pain. Sugar makes my joints in my feet (well all over my body) very tender that makes walking painful. The coconut oil helps some but cutting out carbs (sugar especially) helps with pain manage even more.
It appears one who "debunked" Gary Taubes research has now stated that Gary was correct based on new studies and that he was wrong about sugar?
http://www.dietdoctor.com/i-was-wrong-you-were-right
I think all agree if one cuts out the carbs it could reduce the chance of high BP, cancer and other age related diseases.
One objective of cutting out my carbs (there will always be 'accidental' carbs) is to activate CMA or Chaperone Mediated Autophagy to see if it will help reverse my cataracts that started to form about 5 years ago and seem to be static since that time. Preventing macular degeneration would be a plus as well to clean up any being stage of cancer cancer cells. I hope to get new blood work soon to see if my numbers are better or worse from coconut oil/ketosis.
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/ketones-and-ketosis/ketosis-cleans-our-cells/
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All sugar is natural, and MFP's limit is in line with national guidance. EU and Aus suggest 90g/day for sugars from all sources as a limit.0
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GaleHawkins wrote: »
psulemom I am new to this subject (7 Aug 2014) and my research has been focused on managing my pain. Sugar makes my joints in my feet (well all over my body) very tender that makes walking painful. The coconut oil helps some but cutting out carbs (sugar especially) helps with pain manage even more.
It appears one who "debunked" Gary Taubes research has now stated that Gary was correct based on new studies and that he was wrong about sugar?
http://www.dietdoctor.com/i-was-wrong-you-were-right
I think all agree if one cuts out the carbs it could reduce the chance of high BP, cancer and other age related diseases.
One objective of cutting out my carbs (there will always be 'accidental' carbs) is to activate CMA or Chaperone Mediated Autophagy to see if it will help reverse my cataracts that started to form about 5 years ago and seem to be static since that time. Preventing macular degeneration would be a plus as well to clean up any being stage of cancer cancer cells. I hope to get new blood work soon to see if my numbers are better or worse from coconut oil/ketosis.
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/ketones-and-ketosis/ketosis-cleans-our-cells/
Keep in mind that your needs are quite different than a person who does not have a medical condition. And while there is no issue with cutting out carbs or sugars from one diet, it isn't necessary for those without medical conditions. I will caveat, that understanding ones total caloric intake is what truly matters. Should you be getting a large portion of your calories from "empty calories"? No. As i noted, it's suggested to get as much nutrient dense foods as possible to ensure your body is properly nourished. So for the OP, while it's not a bad idea to cut out "empty carbs", it isn't necessary for weight loss. I generally suggest increasing fruits because they are full of nutrients and have fiber.
Regarding the bold, I would not agree with that either. Cutting carbs, does not inherently lower your blood pressure, reduce cancer or other disease. What lowering carbs can do, is lower calories because fat and protein keeps you full longer, reducing the frequency of meals consumed or even the amount of calories consumed. Overall, weight loss will improve all those conditions (even if you did an 80/10/10 vegan diet. Also keep in mind those conditions can also have genetic components. For example, I have high LDL's because both my parents do. I also have certain types of cancers in my family which make me higher risk.
Below is a good article on taubes.
http://weightology.net/?p=2510 -
@helenanj
I'm not gonna bother reading all the other posts, i'm sure it's full of "facts" regarding added sugar vs. natural sugars.
But, if you want to eat less sugar in general (whatever type it may be as it's all processed as glucose when it enters your body), try eating fruits and veggies that are lower in sugars.
Fruits Lowest in Sugar
Small Amounts of Lemon or Lime
Rhubarb
Raspberries (more about berries on low carb diets)
Blackberries
Cranberries
Fruits Low to Medium in Sugar
Strawberries
Casaba Melon
Papaya
Watermelon
Peaches
Nectarines
Blueberries
Cantaloupes
Honeydew melons
Apples
Guavas
Apricots
Grapefruit
Fruits Fairly High in Sugar
Plums
Oranges
Kiwifruit
Pears
Pineapple
Fruits Very High in Sugar
Tangerines
Cherries
Grapes
Pomegranates
Mangos
Figs
Bananas
Dried Fruit, such as dates, raisins, dried apricots, and prunes0 -
If you're worried about the effect of fruit or vegetable sugars on bloody sugar, maybe try googling glycemic index and low GI foods.0
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What I am learning is the human body is very complex. Even body fat sends messages to the brain by the way of hormones for example. A food that may be positive for one person may be harmful to another person. Studies on the same subject have outcomes that are all over the board. Much of the research used to support articles that I read is 30-50 years old.
Chaperoned Mediated Autophagy (CMA) is very interesting to me. Very much sugar/carbs seems to make CMA impossible. That does not make sugar evil unless one is wanting to experience the long term results of CMA.
Just like the subject of motor oil on Bobistheoilguy site I find dieting supporters can often turn it into a religious activity dumping all reason into a landfill. If 10% of what we know today is deemed factual 10 years from now I would be surprised.
Just like some are coming around to Gary Taubes point of view today there are others that are not. Gary's early work is often based on data research that was aging quickly until now. By spring we should read about the results of the $5 million Energy Balance Consortium Study.
http://www.wired.com/2014/08/what-makes-us-fat/
Energy Balance Consortium Study
Purpose: Monitoring energy expenditure and appetite
Time frame: September 2013 to December 2014
Participants: 17 overweight and obese males, ages 18 to 50
Question: Does altering carbs and fat in the diet affect calories burned or cause hormonal changes?
Procedure: After four weeks of a standard diet designed to maintain weight, subjects make a drastic switch to a ketogenic diet (5 percent carbs, 80 percent fat) with the same number of calories. If Taubes' hypothesis holds, the change in diet should reduce fat mass and be accompanied by increased energy output.
Cost: $5 million
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