Always going over my daily limit on sugar

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HELP! I have drastically cut out the junk food and 95% of the soda I drink. Calories daily usually isn't a problem. I'm exercising and starting to see some results from that. But daily I exceed my sugar limit!!! And most of what I am eating - especially at work - is fruits/veggies...............

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
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    The sugar recommendation from mfp is baloney. Replace it with something useful like fiber.
  • jazzywhitfit
    jazzywhitfit Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi Jen! If your goal is weight loss, then you're def in the right mind set of wanting to limit your daily sugar! Even fruit sugar can be detrimental to weight loss goals unless you're extremely active and are able to burn most of it off.
    Without seeing your current food intake, I'm going to guess you may be eating fruits that are too high in sugar. I would try switching to low glycemic fruits (berries, apples, citrus) before reaching for the higher in sugar ones (pineapple, bananas, mangoes etc) and see if that helps! Reserve those higher sugar fruits for special treats or desserts.
    I'm a certified health coach as well as a personal trainer, if you have any more questions please don't hesitate to message me!
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
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    I ignore sugars from natural whole foods.
    It's the added sugars that I watch. I try not to eat a snack that has more than 10 added.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Unless you have a medical reason to watch your sugar intake, it isn't a big deal. Some look at the number MFP gives you as added sugar (which can't be differentiated from natural sugar). Others don't even bother tracking it and switch to fiber.
  • jenlaw71
    jenlaw71 Posts: 56 Member
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    I have been advised in the past from my doctor to "watch" my sugars as she described it a year ago I was borderline borderline diabetic. That was the day I basically went cold turkey on soda! I will "treat" myself to 1 midget tootsie roll from the gym post workout if I feel I deserve it.......otherwise my snacks are fruits/veggies.......

    Jazzy - sending you a message!!!
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
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    My opinion is similar, but I add one point: sugar in fruit comes with fiber and other useful nutrients. The fiber slows the uptake (so I hear). So, for example, an orange has 70kcal, mostly from its 12 grams of sugar. But you also get 3 grams of soluble fiber and a number of great vitamins. You could instead choose to drink the equivalent amount of sugar calories from (6 oz of) Coke, but you won't get the nutrition of an orange.
  • bruhaha007
    bruhaha007 Posts: 333 Member
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    It is suggested by nutritionists to keep your total sugars for a woman to fewer than 50 g per day. We need some sugars to function properly and keep our metabolism in check. The issue is excessive sugar adds calories and has been shown to cause inflammation in excessive amounts. I personally would increase veggies and back off on the fruits if you are still having trouble getting under the recommended amounts by cutting out junk food. Hope that helps.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
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    Hi Jen! If your goal is weight loss, then you're def in the right mind set of wanting to limit your daily sugar! Even fruit sugar can be detrimental to weight loss goals unless you're extremely active and are able to burn most of it off.
    Without seeing your current food intake, I'm going to guess you may be eating fruits that are too high in sugar. I would try switching to low glycemic fruits (berries, apples, citrus) before reaching for the higher in sugar ones (pineapple, bananas, mangoes etc) and see if that helps! Reserve those higher sugar fruits for special treats or desserts.
    I'm a certified health coach as well as a personal trainer, if you have any more questions please don't hesitate to message me!

    What sort of training do you need to become a certified health coach?

    Also, if she is in a calorie deficit, how will sugar hinder her weight loss?
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    I don't track my sugar at all. I switched it for fiber, which is a much more important thing to track.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
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    Hi Jen! If your goal is weight loss, then you're def in the right mind set of wanting to limit your daily sugar! Even fruit sugar can be detrimental to weight loss goals unless you're extremely active and are able to burn most of it off.
    Without seeing your current food intake, I'm going to guess you may be eating fruits that are too high in sugar. I would try switching to low glycemic fruits (berries, apples, citrus) before reaching for the higher in sugar ones (pineapple, bananas, mangoes etc) and see if that helps! Reserve those higher sugar fruits for special treats or desserts.
    I'm a certified health coach as well as a personal trainer, if you have any more questions please don't hesitate to message me!

    This is not true. I wish I could flag people who offer their "certified" services to people on MFP. (Unfortunately, the have to be a bot to earn the spam flag according to MFP rules.)

    I'm curious as well though, what education did you receive that taught you the rules of thermodynamics don't apply to fruit?
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,007 Member
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    Unless you have a medical reason to limit sugar I wouldn't worry too much about it.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Hi Jen! If your goal is weight loss, then you're def in the right mind set of wanting to limit your daily sugar! Even fruit sugar can be detrimental to weight loss goals unless you're extremely active and are able to burn most of it off.
    Without seeing your current food intake, I'm going to guess you may be eating fruits that are too high in sugar. I would try switching to low glycemic fruits (berries, apples, citrus) before reaching for the higher in sugar ones (pineapple, bananas, mangoes etc) and see if that helps! Reserve those higher sugar fruits for special treats or desserts.
    I'm a certified health coach as well as a personal trainer, if you have any more questions please don't hesitate to message me!

    This is not true. I wish I could flag people who offer their "certified" services to people on MFP. (Unfortunately, the have to be a bot to earn the spam flag according to MFP rules.)

    I'm curious as well though, what education did you receive that taught you the rules of thermodynamics don't apply to fruit?

    As a note, you can report non-bot posts that you think are spam, just don't use the flag. It's a super simple, not confusing system.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
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    A long time ago, I saw a diet program in which people were put on an island.
    All they could eat is bananas for 14 days. As much as they could. Any amount.
    They lost weight.
    There is also a banana diet. 30 bananas a day. I would never try it.
    http://www.bustle.com/articles/40290-the-banana-diet-involves-eating-30-bananas-a-day-sounds-like-absolute-insanity
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
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    Can you post a sample daily menu? You'd be surprised where sugars can hide.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    Most of the sugar guidelines for healthy people refer to added sugars, and are simply a way to ensure that people get enough nutrients without eating excess calories. Look at your overall diet; if you are getting a variety of foods and hitting your nutrition goals (protein, fat, fibre, vitamins, etc.) without going over your calorie goal, sugars may not be an issue for you. I would check with your doctor, though, if she has had any concerns about your blood sugar, past or present.
  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
    edited February 2016
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    I didn't take much notice when I lost this weight of sugars I ate really healthy and exercised -71lbs in 11 months

    ch4ari87mtkx.png
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,986 Member
    edited February 2016
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    jenlaw71 wrote: »
    I have been advised in the past from my doctor to "watch" my sugars as she described it a year ago I was borderline borderline diabetic. That was the day I basically went cold turkey on soda! I will "treat" myself to 1 midget tootsie roll from the gym post workout if I feel I deserve it.......otherwise my snacks are fruits/veggies.......

    Jazzy - sending you a message!!!

    Proportionally, on days like Monday, you are eating a great deal of high carb / high sugar fruit and very little protein. I wouldn't stay full for an hour with 1.5 cups of cantaloupe for breakfast. I need to have protein and fat with fruit to feel full - apples and cheese, for example.

    Berries are much lower in carbs/sugars than other fruits.

    Also, the entry you are using for cantaloupe is a user-created entry and is wrong. I can tell it's wrong at a glance because it says 0 for carbs. The system entry is "Melons, cantaloupe, raw." I found this in http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/ and then cross matched it in MFP.

    Furthermore, I see you are eyeballing your bananas and using a size rather than a weight. When I switched to using a digital food scale, I couldn't believe how off my guesses for bananas had been. Food scales are faster, more accurate, and you don't have to wash cups afterwards.

    You could ask your doctor for a referral to a dietitian to help you put together a meal plan appropriate for someone pre-diabetic.