Why is my sugar allowance so high??

jameschappell1
jameschappell1 Posts: 9 Member
edited December 19 in Food and Nutrition
Hi, I'm just really confused about why when I have entered all my physical details for weight loss onto this my fitness pal app (I'm pretty much an average male with light activity) it has told me that my daily sugar intake should be around 50 grams a day??
Near enough everything I have read online has told me an average males sugar intake should be around 30-35 grams, so I'm confused at why the 2 are contradicting each other.
Any insight would be great, thanks :)

Replies

  • kpsyche
    kpsyche Posts: 345 Member

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10197460/sugar-faq-june-2015/p1

  • jameschappell1
    jameschappell1 Posts: 9 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    jameschappell1 wrote: »
    Hi, I'm just really confused about why when I have entered all my physical details for weight loss onto this my fitness pal app (I'm pretty much an average male with light activity) it has told me that my daily sugar intake should be around 50 grams a day??
    Near enough everything I have read online has told me an average males sugar intake should be around 30-35 grams, so I'm confused at why the 2 are contradicting each other.
    Any insight would be great, thanks :)

    MFP sugar goal is total sugar, including added and natural sugars from fruit, vegetables and dairy. The numbers you’ve seen may be only added sugars - but since nutrition labels don’t differentiate between added and natural (nor does the body BTW) it’s not currently possible to measure and track only added sugars.

    Do you have a medical reason to restrict sugars? Many people here have found that simply eating a balanced and varied diet, within an appropriate calorie goal, negates any value from obsessing over sugar and many people have stopped tracking it on MFP altogether, focusing instead on fiber or some other nutrient they find more meaningful.

    Thanks, that was really helpful.

    I do not have any medical reasons to be avoiding sugar, I was just worried that eating the amount stated on my MFP nutrional value would effect my weight loss as the sugar content seemed high.
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.
  • jameschappell1
    jameschappell1 Posts: 9 Member
    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    Thanks for the help mate, may what are the reasons of so many people stopping tracking there sugars and replacing it with fiber? I understand that sugar is just a carb, so if I'm still with in my carbs for the day sugar won't matter to much, is that the reason?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    jameschappell1 wrote: »
    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    Thanks for the help mate, may what are the reasons of so many people stopping tracking there sugars and replacing it with fiber? I understand that sugar is just a carb, so if I'm still with in my carbs for the day sugar won't matter to much, is that the reason?

    I never really tracked mine because when I gave up soda I wasn't really having much in the way of added sugars for me to really be concerned enough to track it. Mostly veg and some fruit and a treat here and there.

    If I had an issue with over-consumption of sugar I would have gladly tracked it to help me rectify that...but once the sodas were gone it was a non issue. I also tracked fiber because early on I wasn't eating enough fibrous foods.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    On average I get about 70g and I eat *mostly* whole foods. I think I get a little extra from Halo Top but not much. Unless you have diabetes I wouldn't even track it. I only know mine because I was curious
  • KarySti
    KarySti Posts: 4 Member
    So Should i pay attention on the grams of sugar on my fitnesspal? I can only eat 2 or 3 fruits and then I'm over my 53grams of sugar? Can I eat more fruits to hit my calorie goals and just ignore the sugar grams?
  • KarySti
    KarySti Posts: 4 Member
    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    So what about if somedays I'm over my fiber? Is that good or bad?
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    KarySti wrote: »
    So Should i pay attention on the grams of sugar on my fitnesspal? I can only eat 2 or 3 fruits and then I'm over my 53grams of sugar? Can I eat more fruits to hit my calorie goals and just ignore the sugar grams?

    Yes. Tracking sugar doesn't provide any helpful information for weight loss if you know your calories.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    KarySti wrote: »
    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    So what about if somedays I'm over my fiber? Is that good or bad?

    That's good. Fiber, like protein, is better treated as a minimum not as a limit.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    KarySti wrote: »
    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    So what about if somedays I'm over my fiber? Is that good or bad?

    Treat fibre, protein, and fat as minimums. Aim to hit or exceed them. Don't let the red color deter you. It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. Of you're over or under one day, don't worry about it too much. You can't look at a single day in isolation. Look at trends and averages over time.
  • sm1le_1x
    sm1le_1x Posts: 1 Member
    I found out that a lot of products contain wrong amount of sugar. For example Muffin from starbucks or Rice cake(racio) and many others. What's interesting that information about other nutrients is correct. This is a strange fact, why do you hide information about sugar? it's not fair
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    Who is "you"?

    Some answers as to why sugar grams might not match up: recipes sometimes change, sometimes there are similar items that you might be confusing for the one you want, some things have different recipes or sizes different places, and people (users of this site) are sometimes sloppy when entering things they don't care about (like sugar grams).

    Odd post to add to this particular thread, but not a bad thread to revive, I suppose.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    jameschappell1 wrote: »
    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    Thanks for the help mate, may what are the reasons of so many people stopping tracking there sugars and replacing it with fiber? I understand that sugar is just a carb, so if I'm still with in my carbs for the day sugar won't matter to much, is that the reason?

    Fiber helps with digestion in the colon and also helps many with satiety throughout the day. At this point in time if you don't need to worry about carbs, I wouldn't worry about them. Focus on getting enough fat, protein, and fiber and let the rest fall where they may.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    KarySti wrote: »
    kballsocc wrote: »
    Same here, I find tracking fiber more useful. Sugar I used to worry about when I started but I realized I'm nearly always under lest I have a venti chai tea latte or some treats that add up during the day.
    If you are constantly going over their recommended amount it would be worth looking into what foods you're eating.

    So what about if somedays I'm over my fiber? Is that good or bad?

    That's good. Fiber, like protein, is better treated as a minimum not as a limit.

    For the most part, yes. Too much fiber will cause gastrointestinal distress in some people. But in general, you are better to be above than below.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    I know it's almost a month after Halloween, but it's a zombie thread.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    sm1le_1x wrote: »
    I found out that a lot of products contain wrong amount of sugar. For example Muffin from starbucks or Rice cake(racio) and many others. What's interesting that information about other nutrients is correct. This is a strange fact, why do you hide information about sugar? it's not fair

    Unfortunately, the "verified" green check marks in the MFP database are used for both user-created entries with sufficient upvotes and admin-created entries that MFP pulled from the USDA database (no upvotes needed). To find admin entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP.

    Note: any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was user entered.

    For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP. (Alas, you cannot just scan with your phone and assume what you get is correct.)
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