Carbs and sugar

clairefaymcmillan529
clairefaymcmillan529 Posts: 7 Member
edited December 1 in Introduce Yourself
Hi I am new to this (week 2 and 4lbs loss!) but I am struggling with balancing my carbs and sugars. Everytime I stay below my goal carbs I end up over my goal sugar intake and vice versa. I struggle because I am a very fussy eater; I don't eat much meat except chicken and fish and struggle to put a balanced recipe in. Any tips on low carb low sugar meals would be helpful thanks :)

Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited April 2016
    This content has been removed.
  • clairefaymcmillan529
    clairefaymcmillan529 Posts: 7 Member
    Hi Noel

    Thanks! Think it was a big loss due to drastic change in my diet: I ate a lot of junk food so I don't expect that loss to maintain. Is there a difference in how much weight you put on with either? I mean is it better to be a little over on my sugar or carbs?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited April 2016
    This content has been removed.
  • clairefaymcmillan529
    clairefaymcmillan529 Posts: 7 Member
    That's great thanks Noel and good luck to you too!
  • NEOHgirl
    NEOHgirl Posts: 237 Member
    I have to watch my sugar & carb intake due to insulin resistance, and I don't usually have any trouble staying under my targets for either. That being said, if you HAVE to go over with one or another, keep the sugar lower. Consistently eating too much sugar over long periods of time might put you at higher risk for diabetes. Regular carbs also include other things, like fiber. Good luck!
  • clairefaymcmillan529
    clairefaymcmillan529 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks for the tip. I think I need to do a bit more research on meal prepping. I was having whole meal toast and banana for breakfast for the fibre benefits but then having pasta for lunch/dinner put me over my carb intake for the day. I think I just need to vary my diet a bit more :)
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited April 2016
    This content has been removed.
  • RunawayCurves
    RunawayCurves Posts: 688 Member
    Lots of green veg. I eat lots of spinach especially with meals, fresh baby spinach seems to work as an appetite suppressant for me while carbs tend to make me more hungry but that is just me. We all have to experiment to find what works best individually.
  • sana56kg
    sana56kg Posts: 11 Member
    Add me ♡♡♡♡ :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited April 2016
    I don't get it. Sugars are a type of carb. When you eat more sugar you would necessarily eat more carbs.

    What sometimes happens is someone on low calories will cut starchy carbs (like rice and bread and pasts and potatoes) and increase fruit and veg, and of course fruit and veg (especially fruit) has lots of sugar, while pasta and potatoes do not. If you are hitting your protein and fat goals and simply eating lots of vegetables and fruit (which are primarily carbs), I wouldn't worry about being over a low sugar goal (it's low if you have a low calorie goal, since it's 15%).
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    It's possible that in the MFP macros that you can select to show in your diary, the one called "sugar" is referring to simple sugar or added sugar. I'm not sure. But I can see why you want to track that one separately from carbs if you want to avoid it. :)

    No, the MFP "sugar" category is a subset of carbs and includes all sugar (carbs are generally sugars (simple carbs--this is about the molecular structure, not nutrition), starch (complex carbs), and fiber). I know in some countries fiber doesn't get included, but on US labels it is, typically.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited April 2016
    This content has been removed.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    OP: you've said you're over your "goal" for carbs and sugars, but haven't given us any information about what those goals are or how you arrived at them. Based on that I'm guessing you're just going with the defaults that MFP has given you and you have not gone in and manually tweaked your macro goals?

    If that is the case, be aware that
    1. MFP's sugar goals are AGGRESSIVELY low at 15% of total calories from all sources of sugar (including fresh whole fruit). Some people may argue that this is a good thing, but be aware that levels that low are not actually universally accepted as the right UPPER LIMIT for all people. I mean, most people will agree that keeping an eye on your sugar is a good thing, and keeping it low certainly won't hurt you. But MFP's actual limit is considered by many to be much lower than is necessary for health and can be quite challenging to achieve. US guidelines are 10% from "added sugars" which are distinct from the sugars in dairy products, fruits and some vegetables. It's frankly quite hard to stay under MFP's blanket limit of 15% (especially if your total calorie level is low) if you eat more than one piece of fruit a day plus some dairy and onions in something you ate for dinner lol. For whatever it's worth, I lost half my bodyweight and improved all my metabolic numbers drastically with my sugar limits set to DOUBLE what MFP recommends.

    2. MFP's default carb goal is very much in line with general US guidelines at 50% of total calories. Many people will tell you that is actually higher than necessary -- that it might be a good idea to set a lower carb goal. Matter of personal preference IMO. I am not a "low carb" person but I do limit my carbs to <45% of my total calories. Low carb true believers tend to go more at <20% of calories or some blanket number like 50 or 100 grams (suuuuuper low, I can't even imagine).

    3. As @lemurcat12 says above, sugar is a subcategory of carbs. So it's not really normal or expected that pushing one number down will raise the other. It is possible, given the way MFP sets default goals, that you could make an attempt to lower sugar by say, giving up candy, fruit, fruit juice, and dairy products, while loading up on whole wheat bread and pasta and end up achieving your sugar goal but going over on your carb goal. The opposite -- lowering your carbs w/o also lowering your sugar -- is maybe do-able for a person with really weird goal settings, but really next to impossible to achieve.

    In terms of weight loss, your question "is it better to be over sugar or over on carbs" is actually not really the right question for most people unless you have an underlying metabolic disorder. Really, as long as you're staying within sight of your daily CALORIE target, how that is spread over your carbs, fats, and protein makes little difference, and sugar not really at all. That is not to say that macronutrient distribution has no impact on HEALTH, but little on weightloss. (SOME, but really not enough to worry about when for most of us just staying satisfied and strong on a calorie budget is hard enough).

    Finally, you might get some very helpful and specific advice if you opened your diary so people here can see more about your goals and the foods and quantities you're eating to achieve those goals.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited April 2016
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    I thought that was what I said. Diary carb category: everything but sugars.

    Carbs includes sugars. For example, if you had 180 g carbs and 40 g sugar, the 40 g sugar is IN the 180 g carbs also.

    As a result, if you don't have quick added calories or alcohol, the three macros (carbs, fat, protein) should add up to total calories (conversion being 4 cal per g of protein or carbs, 9 cal per g of fat). It doesn't work perfectly due to rounding, but should be close.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • clairefaymcmillan529
    clairefaymcmillan529 Posts: 7 Member
    sympha01 wrote: »
    OP: you've said you're over your "goal" for carbs and sugars, but haven't given us any information about what those goals are or how you arrived at them. Based on that I'm guessing you're just going with the defaults that MFP has given you and you have not gone in and manually tweaked your macro goals?

    If that is the case, be aware that
    1. MFP's sugar goals are AGGRESSIVELY low at 15% of total calories from all sources of sugar (including fresh whole fruit). Some people may argue that this is a good thing, but be aware that levels that low are not actually universally accepted as the right UPPER LIMIT for all people. I mean, most people will agree that keeping an eye on your sugar is a good thing, and keeping it low certainly won't hurt you. But MFP's actual limit is considered by many to be much lower than is necessary for health and can be quite challenging to achieve. US guidelines are 10% from "added sugars" which are distinct from the sugars in dairy products, fruits and some vegetables. It's frankly quite hard to stay under MFP's blanket limit of 15% (especially if your total calorie level is low) if you eat more than one piece of fruit a day plus some dairy and onions in something you ate for dinner lol. For whatever it's worth, I lost half my bodyweight and improved all my metabolic numbers drastically with my sugar limits set to DOUBLE what MFP recommends.

    2. MFP's default carb goal is very much in line with general US guidelines at 50% of total calories. Many people will tell you that is actually higher than necessary -- that it might be a good idea to set a lower carb goal. Matter of personal preference IMO. I am not a "low carb" person but I do limit my carbs to <45% of my total calories. Low carb true believers tend to go more at <20% of calories or some blanket number like 50 or 100 grams (suuuuuper low, I can't even imagine).

    3. As @lemurcat12 says above, sugar is a subcategory of carbs. So it's not really normal or expected that pushing one number down will raise the other. It is possible, given the way MFP sets default goals, that you could make an attempt to lower sugar by say, giving up candy, fruit, fruit juice, and dairy products, while loading up on whole wheat bread and pasta and end up achieving your sugar goal but going over on your carb goal. The opposite -- lowering your carbs w/o also lowering your sugar -- is maybe do-able for a person with really weird goal settings, but really next to impossible to achieve.

    In terms of weight loss, your question "is it better to be over sugar or over on carbs" is actually not really the right question for most people unless you have an underlying metabolic disorder. Really, as long as you're staying within sight of your daily CALORIE target, how that is spread over your carbs, fats, and protein makes little difference, and sugar not really at all. That is not to say that macronutrient distribution has no impact on HEALTH, but little on weightloss. (SOME, but really not enough to worry about when for most of us just staying satisfied and strong on a calorie budget is hard enough).

    Finally, you might get some very helpful and specific advice if you opened your diary so people here can see more about your goals and the foods and quantities you're eating to achieve those goals.

    Thanks for the info. To be perfectly honest, I downloaded the app as a tool to allow me to loose weight and eat healthier and yes you are correct I am using the app calculations based on my information and am working from that. I don't really know enough about carbs and sugars in general hence my question.

    I have been eating lots of pasta,fruit and veg and whole meal bread and assume that the carbs are from the pasta and bread and the sugars are from the fruit as you point out.

    I just happened to notice that on days where I'm below the set goal for carbs I tend to be over over the set sugar goal but I'm not particularly varying my diet except for the above stated so I just found it odd.

    Thanks for the info anyway and I will take it all on board.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    My suggestion would be to focus on getting your protein in and you will see carbs and sugars drop from there. Feel free to check my diary for inspiration. A good alternative is protein bars and shakes - many have 1 gram of sugar, low cal and high protein since I saw you don't like meat!
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    clairefaymcmillan529 wrote: »
    sympha01 wrote: »
    OP: you've said you're over your "goal" for carbs and sugars, but haven't given us any information about what those goals are or how you arrived at them. Based on that I'm guessing you're just going with the defaults that MFP has given you and you have not gone in and manually tweaked your macro goals?

    If that is the case, be aware that
    1. MFP's sugar goals are AGGRESSIVELY low at 15% of total calories from all sources of sugar (including fresh whole fruit). Some people may argue that this is a good thing, but be aware that levels that low are not actually universally accepted as the right UPPER LIMIT for all people. I mean, most people will agree that keeping an eye on your sugar is a good thing, and keeping it low certainly won't hurt you. But MFP's actual limit is considered by many to be much lower than is necessary for health and can be quite challenging to achieve. US guidelines are 10% from "added sugars" which are distinct from the sugars in dairy products, fruits and some vegetables. It's frankly quite hard to stay under MFP's blanket limit of 15% (especially if your total calorie level is low) if you eat more than one piece of fruit a day plus some dairy and onions in something you ate for dinner lol. For whatever it's worth, I lost half my bodyweight and improved all my metabolic numbers drastically with my sugar limits set to DOUBLE what MFP recommends.

    2. MFP's default carb goal is very much in line with general US guidelines at 50% of total calories. Many people will tell you that is actually higher than necessary -- that it might be a good idea to set a lower carb goal. Matter of personal preference IMO. I am not a "low carb" person but I do limit my carbs to <45% of my total calories. Low carb true believers tend to go more at <20% of calories or some blanket number like 50 or 100 grams (suuuuuper low, I can't even imagine).

    3. As @lemurcat12 says above, sugar is a subcategory of carbs. So it's not really normal or expected that pushing one number down will raise the other. It is possible, given the way MFP sets default goals, that you could make an attempt to lower sugar by say, giving up candy, fruit, fruit juice, and dairy products, while loading up on whole wheat bread and pasta and end up achieving your sugar goal but going over on your carb goal. The opposite -- lowering your carbs w/o also lowering your sugar -- is maybe do-able for a person with really weird goal settings, but really next to impossible to achieve.

    In terms of weight loss, your question "is it better to be over sugar or over on carbs" is actually not really the right question for most people unless you have an underlying metabolic disorder. Really, as long as you're staying within sight of your daily CALORIE target, how that is spread over your carbs, fats, and protein makes little difference, and sugar not really at all. That is not to say that macronutrient distribution has no impact on HEALTH, but little on weightloss. (SOME, but really not enough to worry about when for most of us just staying satisfied and strong on a calorie budget is hard enough).

    Finally, you might get some very helpful and specific advice if you opened your diary so people here can see more about your goals and the foods and quantities you're eating to achieve those goals.

    Thanks for the info. To be perfectly honest, I downloaded the app as a tool to allow me to loose weight and eat healthier and yes you are correct I am using the app calculations based on my information and am working from that. I don't really know enough about carbs and sugars in general hence my question.

    I have been eating lots of pasta,fruit and veg and whole meal bread and assume that the carbs are from the pasta and bread and the sugars are from the fruit as you point out.

    I just happened to notice that on days where I'm below the set goal for carbs I tend to be over over the set sugar goal but I'm not particularly varying my diet except for the above stated so I just found it odd.

    Thanks for the info anyway and I will take it all on board.

    Generally speaking I just wouldn't sweat the sugar goal in particular. MFP's default is just so hard to achieve unless you really really care about it (seriously, if you're generally quite close to goal, then half a banana one day could throw you over, which is absurd). Unless your doctor has referred you to a nutritionist who has given you marching orders on the subject, it just isn't an appropriate limit for most of us. I'd prioritize reaching or exceeding a fiber target way higher than staying below MFP's sugar goal. Or go in and adjust your sugar goal to something more reasonable like 20% - 25% of calories or even higher if your calories are low.

    Another thing you might want to check then is that you are choosing accurate database entries for the foods you log. In particular, make sure that the "carb" entry and the "sugar" entry are not suspiciously blank. Obviously the values should be zero for meat and olive oil, and in general your common sense will tell you if something looks crazy wrong.

    A lot of newer people are shocked to realize what a high proportion of entries in the database are bad. The reason is mostly that the vast majority of database entries were entered by other users and there has historically been no verification process. A lot of people only care about calories and leave macros blank, a lot of people care about calories and macros but not sugars and might leave those blank, and a lot of people are, I guess, just careless AF and enter junk data. Also long-time users are increasingly seeing some problems with the "official" database entries created and maintained by MFP itself -- some process they've been running has been messing stuff up, though that's mostly just affecting serving sizes and proportionate calories for them (e.g., counting 10 g of garlic as a kilo of garlic or something).

    Tips:
    1. When you enter a food in your log that you've never logged before, take a moment to review the nutritional data. You'll learn pretty quickly how to spot truly bad entries at a glance.
    2. Take advantage of MFP functions like "copy meal to date," "copy meal from date," your favorite foods lists, and your recent foods lists. You can adjust quantities after they are logged into the meal you're working on. It saves a lot of time logging just in general, but in particular that way you can keep using database entries that you've already validated without having to keep checking them over and over again.
  • carolinealder245
    carolinealder245 Posts: 7 Member
    I've just read the 'I quit sugar' book by Sarah Wilson. What an eye opener. It's changed how I shop, cook and eat and I'm feeling great. Her recipes are really good. Good luck.
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