Sugar "Goal"
grigglipuff
Posts: 44 Member
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?
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?
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Replies
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Why is sugar concerning you most? If your goal is weight loss, shouldn't it be calories?
You can amend any of the goals to suit if you go into your settings. The MFP goal will be based on all sugar consumed and it will build up in your diary from a large number of incorrect data entries .. there is no way to separate intrinsic from added sugar before you ask
Personally I set my protein and fats as minimums based on grams per bodyweight calculations, I eat a generally nutritious diet with a wide range of vegetables and foods, I don't exclude or worry about anything that doesn't matter (no medical conditions) and I totally ignore anything but calories and hitting those minimums.
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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.4
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I've been wondering about this too. I eat a lot of fruits and always go over my sugar. Not sure if I should try to limit it....0
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I don't pay any attention to my sugar goal and I've lost 90lbs not paying any attention to it. Calories = King.6
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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.6 -
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 carbs 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.
FIFY... carbs, not just sugar are more of a concern.
OP, you have to remember that MFP doesn't distinguish between natural and added sugar. If you are getting your sugar from natural sugars, and don't have a medical condition, I wouldn't stress it. If you have something like PCOS, diabetes, i would look to increase fats and decrease carb consumption. And if you do eat carbs, go for low GI fruits or low sugar veggies.5 -
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 customisable2 -
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!0 -
"No I'm sorry - but if you are diabetic then Carbs are HUGELY important - not sugar"
Um... sugar is a carb
You just incorrectly paraphrased what the moderator said above you. 
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"No I'm sorry - but if you are diabetic then Carbs are HUGELY important - not sugar"
Um... sugar is a carb You just incorrectly paraphrased what the moderator said above you.
Yes, sugar is a carb, but diabetics still have to be concerned with other carbohydrates like starches due to the impact on blood glucose.
It's why carbs > sugar when it comes to diabetes, IR and PCOS.2 -
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 carbs 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.
FIFY... carbs, not just sugar are more of a concern.
OP, you have to remember that MFP doesn't distinguish between natural and added sugar. If you are getting your sugar from natural sugars, and don't have a medical condition, I wouldn't stress it. If you have something like PCOS, diabetes, i would look to increase fats and decrease carb consumption. And if you do eat carbs, go for low GI fruits or low sugar veggies.
Sugar is ABSOLUTELY a greater concern to diabetics. Other carbs are important, yes, but if you are diabetic a sugary food/drink can kill you a lot quicker than white bread.0 -
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 carbs 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.
FIFY... carbs, not just sugar are more of a concern.
OP, you have to remember that MFP doesn't distinguish between natural and added sugar. If you are getting your sugar from natural sugars, and don't have a medical condition, I wouldn't stress it. If you have something like PCOS, diabetes, i would look to increase fats and decrease carb consumption. And if you do eat carbs, go for low GI fruits or low sugar veggies.
Sugar is ABSOLUTELY a greater concern to diabetics. Other carbs are important, yes, but if you are diabetic a sugary food/drink can kill you a lot quicker than white bread.
So based on this, diabetics shouldn't worry about rice, potatoes, quinoa, legumes, or anything other non sugary high carb food because they have a lower GL?0 -
I just said other carbs are important. So yes, obviously they should worry. You simply stated what was MORE important.0
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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 carbs 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.
FIFY... carbs, not just sugar are more of a concern.
OP, you have to remember that MFP doesn't distinguish between natural and added sugar. If you are getting your sugar from natural sugars, and don't have a medical condition, I wouldn't stress it. If you have something like PCOS, diabetes, i would look to increase fats and decrease carb consumption. And if you do eat carbs, go for low GI fruits or low sugar veggies.
Sugar is ABSOLUTELY a greater concern to diabetics. Other carbs are important, yes, but if you are diabetic a sugary food/drink can kill you a lot quicker than white bread.
Not really. At least not for me. For me, they are both bad.
Sugar is sugar. Carbs are sugar, just really long chains of them, which in some cases, like for white bread, can be turned to sugar in your mouth before you even swallow it.
For someone without diabetes, I would think a healthy sugar level would be from a couple of fruits per day, without other added sugars (beyond what naturally occurs in produce and dairy). For a diabetic, keeping sugars very low (I go with below 10g) is what i consider to be healthiest, along with keeping carbs low too.1 -
Sugar is ABSOLUTELY a greater concern to diabetics. Other carbs are important, yes, but if you are diabetic a sugary food/drink can kill you a lot quicker than white bread.
As a diabetic, I count carbs. I actually traded sugar out for fiber on my diary because I don't need to track sugar. Carbs are the only thing that matters for me, well and sugar alcohols because I don't care for them, so I don't eat much sugar free candy and the like. The carbs on regular werther's original and a sugar free ones are exactly the same per serving. They would have the same effect on my blood sugar.
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It would be nice to assume, but usually the specific reason is "everyone says sugar is evil and causes belly fat'2 -
I just said other carbs are important. So yes, obviously they should worry. You simply stated what was MORE important.
I would make the argument that tracking carbs is more important because if carbs are low, sugar will be too, but just because sugar is low, doesn't mean carbs will be. So why track two when tracking the carbs will provide a much greater impact.2 -
If you happen to be diabetic I strongly suggest you go back to basics and visit your primary medical team, because your knowledge, or at least the way you communicate, is lackingWhy 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!
Why would you think your misinformation would offend me? Concern me possible but I'm not offended so no need to apologise. Shall we compare knowledge of the glycemic index then?"No I'm sorry - but if you are diabetic then Carbs are HUGELY important - not sugar"
Um... sugar is a carb You just incorrectly paraphrased what the moderator said above you.
Yes sugar is a carb, as is starch and fibre ...I didn't paraphrase anything psulemon said, I didn't even read it before posting, I used your wording...we both merely said similar things based on your misinformation ..that carbs are monitored by diabetics
I'm glad that's cleared up
Of course nobody knows if OP has any medical condition so perhaps we should wait till she speaks about her goals in sugar tracking
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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.3 -
Why is sugar concerning you most? If your goal is weight loss, shouldn't it be calories?
You can amend any of the goals to suit if you go into your settings. The MFP goal will be based on all sugar consumed and it will build up in your diary from a large number of incorrect data entries .. there is no way to separate intrinsic from added sugar before you ask
Personally I set my protein and fats as minimums based on grams per bodyweight calculations, I eat a generally nutritious diet with a wide range of vegetables and foods, I don't exclude or worry about anything that doesn't matter (no medical conditions) and I totally ignore anything but calories and hitting those minimums.
Sugar concerns me the most for all of the negative impacts it has on my health. Yes, I have a weightloss goal, but my goal is overall physical health. Sugar's links to cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc. are what concern me most.1 -
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
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