SUGAR INTAKE

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i notice on most days I struggle to keep under my sugars. I find most days I have porridge oats for breakfast, some fruit and an high protein yogurt will take me close to being over my sugar amount. Does it matter if I go over and still stay under my cals or will I gain weight??? HELP

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  • Lindsay_the_great
    Lindsay_the_great Posts: 209 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Remember that weight is a product of how many calories you burn v how many you consume. If all you eat is sugar but you stay within or under your goal you will technically lose. However, a whole host of health problems come with sugar overindulgence. Sugar contains no nutrients, so if you eat too much you are losing valuable calories that could nourish your body. Sugar leads to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, and liver problems. It is also addictive. Consuming sugar just makes you crave more sugar. Also be aware that artificial sweeteners have the same negative effects and worse. When you taste sweet your brain sends a signal to your body to react as if it's had sugar. The best thing is to try to retrain your palate.
    It's hard. I struggle with it too, but if you plan ahead you can do it. Make sure that your yogurt isn't filled with added sugars. Cut back on fruit and add in veggies instead. Make sure you're getting plenty of protein and fiber, foods which make you feel full..
    Good luck! (god knows i need it too)
  • courtney965
    courtney965 Posts: 26 Member
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    Thanks for the response! I eat up to 100g of protein a day I never eat all sugar I try to balance as best as I can. Some days I eat up to 150g of carbs and my sugar just always seems to be abit over due to fruit, yogurt and breakfast bars to snack on mid morning. I think I will try to swap some fruits with veggies and see how I get on!
  • lfrazier2482
    lfrazier2482 Posts: 82 Member
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    It's about calories in vs calories out. Sugar is not addictive. Eat your fruit.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Unles you have a medical issue forget about the sugar. MFPs limit is too low anyway. Sugar is not addictive that's just bro science along with the artificial sweetners having effects
    Remember that weight is a product of how many calories you burn v how many you consume. If all you eat is sugar but you stay within or under your goal you will technically lose. However, a whole host of health problems come with sugar overindulgence. Sugar contains no nutrients, so if you eat too much you are losing valuable calories that could nourish your body. Sugar leads to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, and liver problems. It is also addictive. Consuming sugar just makes you crave more sugar. Also be aware that artificial sweeteners have the same negative effects and worse. When you taste sweet your brain sends a signal to your body to react as if it's had sugar. The best thing is to try to retrain your palate.
    It's hard. I struggle with it too, but if you plan ahead you can do it. Make sure that your yogurt isn't filled with added sugars. Cut back on fruit and add in veggies instead. Make sure you're getting plenty of protein and fiber, foods which make you feel full..
    Good luck! (god knows i need it too)
    There is so much of this that is nonsense it's difficult to now where to start. Anyway unless you have medical issues don't worry too much about the sugar. Sugar is not addictive (have you ever known anyone rob a bank to fund their next doughnut fix? Sugar depending on the source contains calories your body needs calories. Sugars in fruit come along with lots of fibre and vitamins. As for artificial sweetners having the same effect there is no reputable peer reviewed science that backs that up.

  • Lindsay_the_great
    Lindsay_the_great Posts: 209 Member
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    Of course you don't have to rob a bank to get sugar. There's a ton of it in everything. There's no need to be so rude. There's empirical evidence for everything I said.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    No reason to cut back on fruit to reduce the carbohydrate numbers for the day. If our OP is eating at a deficit she will lose weight.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
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    All things in moderation. If you log honestly and eat less calories than you burn you will lose weight. Sugar occurs naturally in almost everything. There is no need to avoid eating fruit. Pay attention to portion sizes and if you are unsure, weigh and measure.
  • Khukhullatus
    Khukhullatus Posts: 361 Member
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    Of course you don't have to rob a bank to get sugar. There's a ton of it in everything. There's no need to be so rude. There's empirical evidence for everything I said.

    There's virtually no solid empirical evidence for the "sugar is addictive myth." Most of the studies conducted using fMRI show the same set of responses you would expect to see with harder drugs, it's true (although to a seriously diminished degree), but it's also the responses you get from nipple clamps or watching certain stressful videos. It just doesn't play as well on The Today Show to point out how massively flawed the research is in concept, much less in execution.
  • Bethany7053
    Bethany7053 Posts: 22 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I almost always go over my sugar too but I eat a lot of fruit during the day. I dont worry about it because the way your body handles and breaks down natural sugars found in fruits and diary is different than refined sugars. Your body breaks down refined sugars rapidly and increases your blood glucose very fast and tries to get it out of your system quick. Fruit sugars, also include fiber, making you feel full so you get something out of it.
  • nokorie
    nokorie Posts: 7 Member
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    I always go over my sugar limit because I eat a lot of fruit (apples and oranges) throughout the day. I do not worry about it at all. Just like Bethany and Zardoz said, fruit sugars are different from refined sugars due to the fibre and vitamins in fruit.

    Weight gain and loss is about calories - so just stick to your calorie limit and you'll be fine.
  • wootrition
    wootrition Posts: 15 Member
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    Of course you don't have to rob a bank to get sugar. There's a ton of it in everything. There's no need to be so rude. There's empirical evidence for everything I said.
    Actually, the bulk of peer-reviewed evidence on these subjects does not support anything you said, Big Lindsay. There are a lot of bestselling diet books currently on the market that say that stuff, mostly written by fringe doctors, but not much convincing in the way of actual science.
  • Amanda4change
    Amanda4change Posts: 620 Member
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    Unless you have a medical reason to limit your sugar intake, there is no need to track it, nor stick to the goal that MFP sets. I go over my sugar "goal" given by MFP every single day, just for the simple fact that I am hypoglycemic and require a certain number of carbs and sugars (such as in fruits) to keep my sugar levels high enough to keep me out of the hospital. Yet I'm losing 2 pounds per week on average. Weight loss comes down to a very simple fact, you must burn more calories than you consume. If you consume the same number of calories you burn you will maintain. If you consume more calories than you burn you will gain weight.