Sugar "Goal"
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diannethegeek wrote: »grigglipuff wrote: »Can anybody explain to me how MFP calculates it's sugar goal?
Sugar intake is most concerning to me in my weight loss, so I'm wondering what the recommended intake amount is, and why? Is MFP pretty accurate with that? What do you guys do?
2. What is MFP's sugar target ?
The value is set at 15% of your daily calories from all the sugars in your foods. If your calorie goal is 2000 cals the sugar part is 300 cals or 75 grams per day. See http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1375583-a-message-about-myfitnesspal-s-updated-nutrition-goals
From: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10197460/sugar-faq-june-2015/p1
^The above post is included in the stickied "Most Helpful Posts"(must reads) on the Food and Nutrition board if you ever need to find it again. There's a lot of good stuff in the stickies.
Thank you!0 -
Hi everyone, thanks for all the discussion!
I have family history of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes - all of which I am trying to prevent with changes in my weight & my diet. Sugar is linked to all of these.
I don't concern myself much with fruits and veggies, so I suppose I should amend my original inquiry to ask about added sugar concerns.
Thanks to all for reminding me that MFP doesn't distinguish between added & natural. I'll have to keep that in mind myself.1 -
grigglipuff wrote: »Hi everyone, thanks for all the discussion!
I have family history of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes - all of which I am trying to prevent with changes in my weight & my diet. Sugar is linked to all of these.
I don't concern myself much with fruits and veggies, so I suppose I should amend my original inquiry to ask about added sugar concerns.
Thanks to all for reminding me that MFP doesn't distinguish between added & natural. I'll have to keep that in mind myself.
Obesity, inactivity and genetics have much greater impacts on all of those things. The concerns over sugar is mainly the fact that it doesn't provide much nutrient and when added to foods, it can make it very caloric (fats and salt is very similar). But if you are eating an overall wholesome diet, I wouldn't stress sugar, especially when the sugar is from fruits.
My personal philosophy has been improving food quality, with a focus on calories, protein and fiber and most importantly, how it affects my exercise.4 -
Why is sugar concerning you most? If your goal is weight loss, shouldn't it be calories?
If you are diabetic, pre-diabetic, or even insulin resistant monitoring sugar is HUGELY important. Based on her post I would imagine sugar intake is important to her for a specific reason.
Now, to answer the question at hand, MFP calculates sugar intake by first using your macro-nutrient % for carbohydrates and from there allots a certain % of those carbohydrates as sugar. This is completely customizable under the goals section.
She said weight loss. She mentioned nothing about diabetic or pre-diabetic.
Well I see she mentioned the negative impact on health from sugar (which I would argue is overhyped)...
OP, track fiber instead of sugar and aim for 15 grams per 1000 calories...0 -
grigglipuff wrote: »Can anybody explain to me how MFP calculates it's sugar goal?
Sugar intake is most concerning to me in my weight loss, so I'm wondering what the recommended intake amount is, and why? Is MFP pretty accurate with that? What do you guys do?
you should be worried about being in a calorie deficit. you don't need to worry about sugar unless you have some kind of medical condition that would make you sensitive to it.0 -
grigglipuff wrote: »Hi everyone, thanks for all the discussion!
I have family history of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes - all of which I am trying to prevent with changes in my weight & my diet. Sugar is linked to all of these.
I don't concern myself much with fruits and veggies, so I suppose I should amend my original inquiry to ask about added sugar concerns.
Thanks to all for reminding me that MFP doesn't distinguish between added & natural. I'll have to keep that in mind myself.
then you need to worry about hitting your micro nutrient and macro nutrient targets, moving more, and making sure that you maintain a healthy weight. You can do all of those and consume sugar.1 -
For me, the sugar "goal" is more like a terrifying "do not cross" line. I don't have any health issues requiring that I limit my sugar consumption but I have found that sugar consumption somehow just begets more hunger. I really try to avoid anything with more than 20g of sugar per serving, which permits every fruit and veg I've come across (really sweet stuff is around 15g) and it can even permit a handful of cookies and sweets but it keeps me from entering a weird cycle where I simply don't feel satiated.2
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Escape_Artist wrote: »I don't track sugar at all. It doesn't impact your weight loss, in the end it's about the calorie intake. Unless you have a medical condition and NEED to track your sugar intake, I don't see why you'd bother. I always go over my sugar because I eat a lot of fruits so I don't bother looking at it anymore.
Bolded is poppycock. Don't believe it... Added sugar (not what's in fruit) will impact your weight loss. And your health.
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Escape_Artist wrote: »I don't track sugar at all. It doesn't impact your weight loss, in the end it's about the calorie intake. Unless you have a medical condition and NEED to track your sugar intake, I don't see why you'd bother. I always go over my sugar because I eat a lot of fruits so I don't bother looking at it anymore.
Bolded is poppycock. Don't believe it... Added sugar (not what's in fruit) will impact your weight loss. And your health.
Nope.1 -
Escape_Artist wrote: »I don't track sugar at all. It doesn't impact your weight loss, in the end it's about the calorie intake. Unless you have a medical condition and NEED to track your sugar intake, I don't see why you'd bother. I always go over my sugar because I eat a lot of fruits so I don't bother looking at it anymore.
Bolded is poppycock. Don't believe it... Added sugar (not what's in fruit) will impact your weight loss. And your health.
It doesn't impact weight loss. If it did, the twinkie diet guy wouldn't lost a ton of weight and improved all his health markers. The only thing it might effect is things like satiety or control over calories. This doesn't mean you should mainline sugar like cocaine, but it doesn't mean it can't be a part of a wholesome diet.1 -
Why is sugar concerning you most? If your goal is weight loss, shouldn't it be calories?
If you are diabetic, pre-diabetic, or even insulin resistant monitoring sugar is HUGELY important. Based on her post I would imagine sugar intake is important to her for a specific reason.
Now, to answer the question at hand, MFP calculates sugar intake by first using your macro-nutrient % for carbohydrates and from there allots a certain % of those carbohydrates as sugar. This is completely customizable under the goals section.
No I'm sorry - but if you are diabetic then Carbs are HUGELY important - not sugar - and that is as in number of carbs consumed in one sitting.
That's why I asked - why is sugar most concerning to you? To establish whether she believed there was a medical reason for monitoring.
and I have to say that taking a percentage of Carbs as sugar seems both inaccurate and not how it works - pretty sure that user entered data includes sugar entry, but it's optional hence the sugar tracking is not really that accurate
Of course as a goal sugar is customisable
Lol I certainly didn't mean to offend you, just wanted to correct your misinformation and hopefully educate you so you wouldn't comment on things you do not know about moving forward. Since your knowledge of the glycemic index seems limited to repeating what others say as if it were your own thoughts, I thought it was the right thing to do for OP. Anyway, good luck on your journey everyone!
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Escape_Artist wrote: »I don't track sugar at all. It doesn't impact your weight loss, in the end it's about the calorie intake. Unless you have a medical condition and NEED to track your sugar intake, I don't see why you'd bother. I always go over my sugar because I eat a lot of fruits so I don't bother looking at it anymore.
Bolded is poppycock. Don't believe it... Added sugar (not what's in fruit) will impact your weight loss. And your health.
It doesn't impact weight loss. If it did, the twinkie diet guy wouldn't lost a ton of weight and improved all his health markers. The only thing it might effect is things like satiety or control over calories. This doesn't mean you should mainline sugar like cocaine, but it doesn't mean it can't be a part of a wholesome diet.
Do you think refined sugar is good for you...that it's a healthy substance?
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To clarify, you are saying, "Added sugar will impact weight loss even in an energy deficit?"Escape_Artist wrote: »I don't track sugar at all. It doesn't impact your weight loss, in the end it's about the calorie intake. Unless you have a medical condition and NEED to track your sugar intake, I don't see why you'd bother. I always go over my sugar because I eat a lot of fruits so I don't bother looking at it anymore.
Bolded is poppycock. Don't believe it... Added sugar (not what's in fruit) will impact your weight loss. And your health.0 -
Escape_Artist wrote: »I don't track sugar at all. It doesn't impact your weight loss, in the end it's about the calorie intake. Unless you have a medical condition and NEED to track your sugar intake, I don't see why you'd bother. I always go over my sugar because I eat a lot of fruits so I don't bother looking at it anymore.
Bolded is poppycock. Don't believe it... Added sugar (not what's in fruit) will impact your weight loss. And your health.
It doesn't impact weight loss. If it did, the twinkie diet guy wouldn't lost a ton of weight and improved all his health markers. The only thing it might effect is things like satiety or control over calories. This doesn't mean you should mainline sugar like cocaine, but it doesn't mean it can't be a part of a wholesome diet.
Do you think refined sugar is good for you...that it's a healthy substance?
What's the dose?0 -
Escape_Artist wrote: »I don't track sugar at all. It doesn't impact your weight loss, in the end it's about the calorie intake. Unless you have a medical condition and NEED to track your sugar intake, I don't see why you'd bother. I always go over my sugar because I eat a lot of fruits so I don't bother looking at it anymore.
Bolded is poppycock. Don't believe it... Added sugar (not what's in fruit) will impact your weight loss. And your health.
It doesn't impact weight loss. If it did, the twinkie diet guy wouldn't lost a ton of weight and improved all his health markers. The only thing it might effect is things like satiety or control over calories. This doesn't mean you should mainline sugar like cocaine, but it doesn't mean it can't be a part of a wholesome diet.
Do you think refined sugar is good for you...that it's a healthy substance?
Total diet context is what matters. And any type of sugar can be incorporated into a solid diet, including refined sugar.2 -
grigglipuff wrote: »Hi everyone, thanks for all the discussion!
I have family history of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes - all of which I am trying to prevent with changes in my weight & my diet. Sugar is linked to all of these.
I don't concern myself much with fruits and veggies, so I suppose I should amend my original inquiry to ask about added sugar concerns.
Thanks to all for reminding me that MFP doesn't distinguish between added & natural. I'll have to keep that in mind myself.
The link to sugar is actually a result of correlation studies that really show nothing more than that people who eat a lot of sugar are more likely to be obese (due to overall calorie intake which includes the sugar as well as fats, protein and alcohol) and people who are obese are more likely to suffer these diseases.
The big three known factors are genetics, obesity and inactivity.
You can't do anything about genetics but you can manage your weight and stay active.
The evidence shows that sugar intake doesn't actually cause diabetes so focus on the risk factors you can control (weight and activity level) and you'll be doing much better than most of the population.2 -
In my case, I maintain at 3000 calories. If I ate 2500 calories (protein at 150g for both situations) and 10% of my calories included added sugars vs the 0%, I would lose the same amount of weight and my heath would improve in both cases.0
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To clarify, you are saying, "Added sugar will impact weight loss even in an energy deficit?"Escape_Artist wrote: »I don't track sugar at all. It doesn't impact your weight loss, in the end it's about the calorie intake. Unless you have a medical condition and NEED to track your sugar intake, I don't see why you'd bother. I always go over my sugar because I eat a lot of fruits so I don't bother looking at it anymore.
Bolded is poppycock. Don't believe it... Added sugar (not what's in fruit) will impact your weight loss. And your health.
What's an energy deficit? I get all the energy I need without sugar.
It's my opinion. I have no evidence other than personal experience and maybe it's unique to me. I think sugar messes with weight loss. I think it's disingenuous to tell someone who is trying to lose weight not to worry about sugar, only look at calories. If CICO was all that mattered, losing weight would be super easy. It's very easy to get a caloric deficit of 1000 calories a day with a little exercise and proper dieting. But few people would say it's "easy." There are a thousand threads on here of people claiming to be in a caloric deficit and not losing anything. Maybe they aren't tracking properly or maybe there is more to weight loss than just CICO. Should you cut out all sugar and never have anything sweet? That's not what I'm saying. Should you limit the amount of sugar you intake if you're trying to lose weight? Absolutely...
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Escape_Artist wrote: »I don't track sugar at all. It doesn't impact your weight loss, in the end it's about the calorie intake. Unless you have a medical condition and NEED to track your sugar intake, I don't see why you'd bother. I always go over my sugar because I eat a lot of fruits so I don't bother looking at it anymore.
Bolded is poppycock. Don't believe it... Added sugar (not what's in fruit) will impact your weight loss. And your health.
LOL so you can be in a calorie deficit, eat sugar, and not lose weight? Please explain to me the mechanism that allows sugar to cancel out math and physics....2 -
Escape_Artist wrote: »I don't track sugar at all. It doesn't impact your weight loss, in the end it's about the calorie intake. Unless you have a medical condition and NEED to track your sugar intake, I don't see why you'd bother. I always go over my sugar because I eat a lot of fruits so I don't bother looking at it anymore.
Bolded is poppycock. Don't believe it... Added sugar (not what's in fruit) will impact your weight loss. And your health.
It doesn't impact weight loss. If it did, the twinkie diet guy wouldn't lost a ton of weight and improved all his health markers. The only thing it might effect is things like satiety or control over calories. This doesn't mean you should mainline sugar like cocaine, but it doesn't mean it can't be a part of a wholesome diet.
Do you think refined sugar is good for you...that it's a healthy substance?
in the context of an overall diet that meets micro, macro, and calorie targets, yes.0
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