Total sugar a day

larabrunori
larabrunori Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everybody, I have a question about the daily intake of sugar setted by MyFitnessPal. I don't eat any form of added sugar, but quite a lot of veggies and fruits and I find it very difficult to fit in my daily sugar allowance. Do you have any suggestion about daily intake of naturally occurring sugars? Thanks so much!

Replies

  • isulo_kura
    isulo_kura Posts: 818 Member
    Unless you have a medical condition I would just totally ignore it.
  • larabrunori
    larabrunori Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks for your reply... Just wandering is anybody fitting in those limits?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I ignore mine and just focus on the calories. I eat a lot of fruit and I found that I was always going over. I just reset my settings so that it isn't one of the main things I'm tracking.
  • larabrunori
    larabrunori Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks can I ask you how much is your level? I found that I am always about 80gr a day :(
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    larabrunori wrote: »
    Thanks can I ask you how much is your level? I found that I am always about 80gr a day :(

    Looking at the past 30 days, I ranged 25-97 grams a day, most days being 60-80. I don't know how you eat your sugar, but I have found as long as it isn't crowding out other things I need to eat, I feel good. As long as I stay within my calorie range, my weight loss continues. Some people find that sugar makes them feel hungrier. I get really hungry if I eat just fruit, so I usually combine it with other things to make sure it doesn't have this impact on me.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2015
    larabrunori wrote: »
    Thanks for your reply... Just wandering is anybody fitting in those limits?

    Yes, I usually do these days. That's because it's based on percentage of total calories, so is pretty easy if you have more calories (although I don't worry about it). If you are at 1200, it could be more challenging, especially if you eat lots of fruit, beets and sweet potatoes, dairy, etc.

    Anyway, I agree with the advice to ignore it. It's a quick way to get a sense of how much you are consuming and if it might be an issue. If you know where your sugar comes from and are not bothered by it or your overall carb levels, it doesn't matter. There are more nuanced ways to make sure you have a healthy diet.
  • larabrunori
    larabrunori Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks everybody for your replies. I think you're right lemurcat12, I have 1380 calories and I eat lot of greek yogurt, fruits and vegs so for me it's going to be difficult to fit in... most probably since I know that anyway these are not added sugar or from processed food I'll rise my limit to 80 gr (thanks janejellyroll for your range... I feel much better now!!).
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    If you're consuming it mostly from naturally occurring sources like fruit, I wouldn't worry much about it. That limit is set by the FDA for added sugars only, not fruit or other naturally occurring sugars. You would only want to watch it if you tend to consume more foods with added sugars (which may "crowd out" the amount of micronutrients you are consuming by not consuming enough fruits and vegetables) or if you have an existing condition that requires to to watch them (but then, you would generally need to watch all carbohydrates and not just sugar).

    In short, focus more on ensuring you are getting enough protein, fat, and micronutrients in balance with carbohydrate consumption.
  • mandychowx
    mandychowx Posts: 179 Member
    I never look at my sugar intake on MFP. But I personally won't eat any food containing more than 10g of sugar per serving.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    So apples are out?
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    I use my own private database for foods based off of USDA and label info. I don't add sugar to any of these entries. I Have no idea how much sugar I consume.
  • breezy0906
    breezy0906 Posts: 164 Member
    I had the same issue with my fat goals. I always go over but it's because my diet is heavy in avocados nuts and salmon. So I just focus on the calories
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    larabrunori wrote: »
    Thanks for your reply... Just wandering is anybody fitting in those limits?

    Yep, at 15% of calories for total sugar it is at least 45 grams a day and generally it fits with guidelines such as the EU and Aus at 90 grams/day in a 2000 cal diet.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I only really look at added sugars. The mfp database, as has been pointed out, doesn't consider the source of the sugar nor what food it's part of.
    Based on what you posted, it sounds like you're eating some yummy and healthy foods. If you're losing weight and are also eating plenty of good fats and enough protein, I wouldn't fret the sugar number.

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