Need Ideas on How to Cut Back on Sugar

fitacct
fitacct Posts: 241 Member
edited September 30 in Food and Nutrition
Having a tough time keeping the sugar content down each day. I've yet to come in under that recommended daily goal of 24g. All other recommended goals have been met (I usually come in under, calorie-wise, and have to eat a snack to bring it up) and I'm losing weight but am concerned about the sugar...seems it's hidden in almost everything! sigh I can't do sugar-free (get raging headaches and tummy problems if I eat anything with artificial sweeteners) and I'm wanting to eat healthier and include more fruits in my diet, yet they're loaded with sugar, too. Any ideas or thoughts on how I can cut back on sugar and still eat fruits? Thanks!
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Replies

  • mefeight1964
    mefeight1964 Posts: 88 Member
    bump
  • adchill
    adchill Posts: 51 Member
    I am in the same place.
  • Bakins929
    Bakins929 Posts: 895 Member
    I consistently go over on my sugar because of all the fruit. There is just so much available this time of year, it's too good to pass up! I think if everything else balances out (carbs, calories, etc), and you are still loosing, I would not worry too much about it unless your doctor has specifically said to reduce sugar.

    Have you tried truvia? Does it give you headaches too?
  • CountryDevil
    CountryDevil Posts: 819 Member
    The sugar you get in fruits is different that is added to other foods. The sugar added to food is refined sugars and that is what you want to avoid. It hard, but it can be done. You do not need to work so much about the sugar in fruits since these are processed differently by the body.
  • NaomiLyn15
    NaomiLyn15 Posts: 388 Member
    if most of your sugars are coming from fruit, then I definitely wouldn't worry about it. If you are eating processed foods to get those sugars, then replace those foods with something more natural. The sugar that is found in fruit will not cause a problem, its the processed junk that does.
  • aneumany
    aneumany Posts: 165 Member
    have to pick wat u rather.. eat fruits or watch ur sugar...ive cut out fruit for the most part and use it as a treat bc i want to watch my sugar bc if not ill eat ENTIRELY too much, if u dont like artificial sweetners then just chek the sugar on everything and if its over 5 or 8? i wouldnt really bother with it.. depending on how full ull be after eating it.. thats basically wat ive done.. but not everyone watches their sugar...a personal choice...
  • MissHania
    MissHania Posts: 4 Member
    The sugar your body gets from fruit is processed differently from the pre processed sugar you will get in a lot of other foods. Don't be afraid to start adding fruit to your diet because of the sugar! Start watching for a week and see what has the most sugar content out of what you normally eat, and then try to find a replacement! Can you make the item your self? Could you just eat x instead of sugary y?

    I know that I get into sugar buzzes so to speak, I get low on energy and search out the sugar ( completely unconsciously mind you) to give me that quick burst. I get CRAVINGS for the sweet stuff and it just sits on my mind, but if I make a pointed effort to cut out majority of the extra sweets for two weeks my body no longer craves it, it learns to get its energy from the extra fruit I am putting in it instead of the sugary drink or candy bar.

    Good luck!
  • beckystephens
    beckystephens Posts: 117 Member
    dont worry about the fruit sugar if thats where your sugar count is coming from. its the processed sugar that you need to cut back on.
  • scarletfever2005
    scarletfever2005 Posts: 141 Member
    Being diabetic, I too watch my sugar. I can assure you that no matter the source all sugar has a glycemic effect which is what you want to keep a handle on .

    The answer is so simple that it is hard. Just simply don't eat sweet stuff, and limit your carbs. Do that and you'll be fine. But if you are losing weight, don't have diabetes, don't have metabolic syndrome, and otherwise feel great, I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you are going WAAAAY over.
  • lockef
    lockef Posts: 466
    Sorry guys, but refined sugar is exactly the same as sugar found in fruits. Foods high on the GI will affect how your insulin spikes, but there is no difference in how your body metabolizes it, or even HFCS.

    Here's an interesting vid if you've got the time...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
  • twink44
    twink44 Posts: 34 Member
    I am watching my sugar to prevent diabetes and because I believe it acts as an inflammatory in my body. That being said. . . I love good tasting sweet things. I prefer my fruit in pie. Kinda get the picture? I am eating an apple a day and not loving it, but it is helping with appetite and vitamins/minerals. Before I go after a carb, I try to get past the urge with a small piece of cheese or a glass of vegetable juice with some fiber. At night, when it's time for a little reward at the end of the day I have one square of dark chocolate with seasalt. The salt kicks up the experience of sweet. I can manage the fudge bars from Weight Watchers and I avoid artificial sweeteners. Maybe you could try making some with a little stevia and fruit to sweeten with lowfat milk. I read an interesting book "The Four Hour Body" which talks about eating mostly protein and vegetables with very little fruit or dairy because of the way the body processes. There was a lot of science in the book - can't say if it was junk or not, but he recommended you could easily eat fruit once a week and be just fine. What's you favorite daily sweet treat? I will see if I can figure out a good substitute.
  • TipMcE
    TipMcE Posts: 158
    Hi there,
    It's amazing how many products have added sugar, so first I recommend you start reading labels. You'll notice stuff like pasta sauce has lots of added sugar. Also many of the "lite" salad dressings have more sugar than their regular counterparts. Bread and cereals are also sneaky. Most of the whole/multi grain products have added sugar or molasses to sweeten them up! Keep an eye on serving size as well as sometimes a serving of something is quite small. Also beware of labels that claim "no sugar" on the front of the product. Sometimes there is high fructose corn syrup instead! There are some lower sugar products out there that do not use artificial sweeteners, Trop 50 Juice is one of them and Polaner makes good jam that is sweetened with fruit juice (this is not the "sugar free" Polaner, which has artificial sweetener). Finally, dairy products contain a lot of sugar in the form of lactose, so even if there is no sugar added, it's naturally occurring in those products and is treated just the same by your body as sugar. I think if you work on reducing the amount of sugar added products, you'll then have room in your diet for fruit. Maybe you can find some information on sugar content in specific fruits by searching on diabetes related websites. But I think the sweeter the fruit, the more sugar. I hope this helps a little. I'm not an expert, these are just things I've noticed when reading labels and trying to cut back on sugar too!
  • twink44
    twink44 Posts: 34 Member
    I just read online that Dreyers (Edy's) non-fat frozen yogurt with 180 calories per cup has 90% of Daily Calcium and no artificial sweeteners. I am going to check it out. Don't know how many grams of sugar.
  • eating4balance
    eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
    The general rule of thumb is to get less than 10% of your daily calories from "added sugars." This equates to about 40 grams for the average dieter. That is actually a lot, but... on to the rest of your dilemma.

    3 servings of fruit a day is the average recommendation. Berries are very low in sugar compared to higher sugar fruits like apples.

    To cut back on sugar, here are the main things they are hidden in:

    - Cereal- try a lower sugar, higher fiber cereal like Kashi Go Lean Original
    - Yogurt- try plain greek yogurt mixed up with strawberries (use a food processor for a more commercial taste)
    - Instant oatmeal- try plain oatmeal with greek yogurt or cottage cheese mixed in, with some added fruit
    - Ice cream- make your own banana ice cream by blending a frozen banana until creamy (with a little milk)
    - Juice- don't drink juice. Instead, have the counterpart fresh fruit. More fiber, more filling and less calories
  • fitacct
    fitacct Posts: 241 Member
    I am in the same place.

    Best wishes!
  • fitacct
    fitacct Posts: 241 Member
    No, my doc did not tell me to cut back on sugar also. I read that high sugar intake contributes to a higher triglyceride level so I decided to cut back on sugar on my own. I've tried Truvia....tummy problems with it. : ( There's not one artificial sweetener I've found that I can handle.
  • fitacct
    fitacct Posts: 241 Member
    The sugar your body gets from fruit is processed differently from the pre processed sugar you will get in a lot of other foods. Don't be afraid to start adding fruit to your diet because of the sugar! Start watching for a week and see what has the most sugar content out of what you normally eat, and then try to find a replacement! Can you make the item your self? Could you just eat x instead of sugary y?

    I know that I get into sugar buzzes so to speak, I get low on energy and search out the sugar ( completely unconsciously mind you) to give me that quick burst. I get CRAVINGS for the sweet stuff and it just sits on my mind, but if I make a pointed effort to cut out majority of the extra sweets for two weeks my body no longer craves it, it learns to get its energy from the extra fruit I am putting in it instead of the sugary drink or candy bar.

    Good luck!

    Thanks for the insight and good wishes. I tend to have low blood sugar so I guess my body is just adjusting to the drastic cut in sugar. If it takes two weeks for your body to adjust to the lowered amounts of sugar, then maybe that's what's happening to me, too. I should just give it time (it's only been a week and a half since I started this meal plan). Thanks!
  • fitacct
    fitacct Posts: 241 Member
    Being diabetic, I too watch my sugar. I can assure you that no matter the source all sugar has a glycemic effect which is what you want to keep a handle on .

    The answer is so simple that it is hard. Just simply don't eat sweet stuff, and limit your carbs. Do that and you'll be fine. But if you are losing weight, don't have diabetes, don't have metabolic syndrome, and otherwise feel great, I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you are going WAAAAY over.

    I'm not diabetic (tend to go in the opposite direction - low blood sugar), nor do I have metabolic syndrome so I guess just watching so I don't go too far over the recommended daily sugar allowance will be okay in the long run (hopefully!). : ) Thanks!
  • fitacct
    fitacct Posts: 241 Member
    Sorry guys, but refined sugar is exactly the same as sugar found in fruits. Foods high on the GI will affect how your insulin spikes, but there is no difference in how your body metabolizes it, or even HFCS.

    Here's an interesting vid if you've got the time...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

    Thank you for the video link. I will view it later tonight. The subject matter looks very interesting!
  • isys5
    isys5 Posts: 213
    It is crazy all the added sugar, I was shocked that is 24g of sugar in milk...really! I don't eat hardly any "added" sugar but when I do I now use Agave syrup. It does not taste exactly like sugar but has a nice flavor & you don't need much at all. I love it with berries & cottage cheese or yogurt, nice treat.
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