Staying Below Sugar Goal

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knay112
knay112 Posts: 45 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Goodmorning!

I have a question that's been on my mind for a bit.

For my diet plan I pro-rated the recommended daily values for 2000 kcal to a 1400 kcal, which should (and it does) free me of 1 pound a week.

I usually meet my goals, except for sugar. I really watch my intake, read labels etc. but I just can't seem to mee that one goal!
By the time I've had breakfast, snack and lunch, I am already 3 grams over my daily goal of 50g of sugar.

I have a 4 oz glass of low sugar orange juice every morning, which gives me 10 sugars and I really don't want to quit that as I eat too little fruit as it is.

Other suppliers are my yogurt (Fage 0%) which I believe is the one yogurt with the lowes sugar out there.

Strangely enough, my coffee creamer (Land O Lakes Fat Free Half & Half) is another big supplier of sugar. I have tried to switch to Coffee Mate, but that was just so watery and tasteless...

Then, my lunch consists of yogurt (see above) and a mix of 3/4 cup of Kellog's All Bran Wheat Flakes, and 1/4 cup of Just Bunches. They are good for 5 grams of sugar each. Also something I really do not want to change.

Last but not least, I like to drink a glass of milk (8oz, let's not go overboard) with my dinner. My milk of choice is Hood Simply Smart Fat Free, which has no less than 12 grams of sugar!

So, we get to the question...

Am I being too anal about this?
Did I go wrong in taking the pro-rated sugar goal?

Any suggestions are welcome!
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Replies

  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Sugar is one that I find hard to stay below too.

    Switches I made were to replace my orange or grapefruit juice in the morning with either a light cranberry, or a spiced tomato juice. I also swapped to unsweetened soy milk instead of cows milk. And I really avoid dried fruits - before, I used to nibble a box of raisins on the way to the gym, whereas now I eat nuts instead.

    So it's a case of looking at each item (which you are doing) seeing if there's an alternative (not always possible), maybe cutting quantity.....and just accepting that it's only a targte. If you're happy with the food choices you're making, and going over on sugar doesn't seem to be affecting your weight loss, then don't worry too much about it.
  • kylengriffin
    kylengriffin Posts: 3 Member
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    I would agree with melanie, if you are happy with the results then I would not worry about it. I find it hard, one day with some orange juice and 3/4 cup or dry ceral I was already over my daily limit. Also a trainer at the Y that I go to said that it depends on how you are getting the sugar. I told him that most of my sugar came from fruits and he said not to worry too much about it, if it was coming from more empty calories (donuts) then that would be a problem. He looked at the recommended allowance that I got from this website and he was like this is good for now, but when I start really hitting the weights hard, I will need to up my carbs with supplements after workouts, but that will be a while longer. Keep up the good work.
  • Pookylou
    Pookylou Posts: 988 Member
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    I go over on my sugar most days, mainly from fruit (I have it on my cereal, for snacks etc), as long as the sugar is coming from there I don't mind too much that I am over. I try to limit the sugar from processed foods - but then again I try an limit them generally!
  • snowstorme
    snowstorme Posts: 125 Member
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    I would only worry about the ones where sugar is an actual ingredient, not just a natural part of the item.
  • Sweet_Potato
    Sweet_Potato Posts: 1,119 Member
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    I think the MFP sugar goals are set way too low. I'm always over the limit, but it could be from something as simple as an orange, a sweet potato, and some yogurt. I don't think anyone should be giving up fruits, vegetables, unsweetened yogurts, etc.
  • ChristineS_51
    ChristineS_51 Posts: 872 Member
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    Me too! I always seem to go over my sugar allowance - I am now drinking black coffee no sugar; drinking green tea during the day as I am OK having that without sugar; choosing lower sugar breakfast cereals; and eating vegies rather than fruit.

    Drinking milk is probably a real killer and not necessary nutritionally - milk has lactose which is sugar. I now have skim milk when I have milk on my cereal / in my hot drinks. Can you switch to low fat milk or skim milk rather than the creamer?

    I know in other threads people have discussed this, and even just a couple of pieces of fruit can put you over. Eating fruit rather than drinking the juice is a better choice and will also give you more fibre than straight juice. Maybe limit juice to once or twice a week?

    I am determined to lose weight and to me, sugar is sugar is sugar - I don't care where it comes from, if I can avoid it I will!
  • princeofswift
    princeofswift Posts: 1 Member
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    Yeah, I agree with the thought that if what you're eating is working for weight loss, then don't worry about going over your sugar goal. One way to reduce your sugar while consuming similar products would be to eat the higher-fat versions of your dairy products, which contain less sugar, but I can see how you might not want to try that. I think if what you are doing is working, then you certainly don't have to take MFP's recommendations for sugar as some kind of gospel - it's a generic recommendation not at all tailored for you!
  • mby3
    mby3 Posts: 1
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    All good conversations so I think you are on the right track. MFP has very low goals, compared to a "standard guide" such as the one on the side of the bread I just ate. For a 2,000 cal diet (many of us are lower), the recommended grams is 300g carb. I think MFP philosophy is to lose weight, cut sugar. Maybe unrealistic.

    Does MFP ever reply to these questions, or just the users?
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited July 2019
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    I'm confused about why you bumped your own thread from 7.5 years ago, but welcome back. Are you at goal or wanting to lose?
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,980 Member
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    FWIW, to assess you sugar intake, have to distinguish between "natural" and "added" sugar sources.

    MFP measures ALL sugar regsrdless of souce but health recommendations regarding sugar are ONLY related to addrd sugar, which is about 150 cals or 35gms or about 7 tsp of added sugar dsily for men. There's lower recommendation for women. The WHO has an even lower recommendation of about 100 cals or about 5 tsp of aded sugar based on a 2k cal diet. Look it up.

    There is no recommended limit on sugar from "natural" food sources, like fruit and veggies.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
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    I'm under my sugars every day. But my diet is plant based with seafood, eggs and some dairy (pescatarian).

    The only added sugar for me is a rare cup of tea.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
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    Original post is from before the second Obama presidential term officially began.

    OP bumped the thread with a link to this: http://www.reducetriglycerides.com/diet_triglycerides_sugar.htm

    The link confirms what many told OP before (the recommended sugar limits -- not MFP's goals, but the ones to pay attention to for most people -- refer to free sugars, not sugar in fruit, dairy, and veg, etc.). I would personally not limit foods like fruit or plain greek yogurt due to misplaced concern about "sugar" given MFP's goal if I were also feeling satisfied with my diet, hitting my calories, and getting sufficient protein, healthy fats, and veg (which also have sugar, but not as much as fruit).

    It's otherwise a pretty silly link, however, since it asserts: "Although we are eating way too much sugar, consuming less sugar is not that easy as it would seem. Cutting back to 10 - 12 teaspoons a day is going to be tough."

    IME, this is not really true. I even cut added sugar entirely out for a while as an experiment and found it pretty easy, and my MFP diary confirmed that I was not getting sugar from surprising sources. So I would say it's pretty easy to avoid added sugar for the most part (obviously if one eats dessert foods, cereals or yogurts with added sugar (plenty don't have it), or various other packaged items with lots of added sugar, you may end up excessing a goal, but it's not like it's difficult to see or limit what has added sugar).

    What OP's particular concern is now, hard to know, since she didn't say when she posted her link, and the first post was so very long ago.
  • Emmapatterson1729
    Emmapatterson1729 Posts: 1,296 Member
    edited July 2019
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    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Original post is from before the second Obama presidential term officially began.

    OP bumped the thread with a link to this: http://www.reducetriglycerides.com/diet_triglycerides_sugar.htm

    The link confirms what many told OP before (the recommended sugar limits -- not MFP's goals, but the ones to pay attention to for most people -- refer to free sugars, not sugar in fruit, dairy, and veg, etc.). I would personally not limit foods like fruit or plain greek yogurt due to misplaced concern about "sugar" given MFP's goal if I were also feeling satisfied with my diet, hitting my calories, and getting sufficient protein, healthy fats, and veg (which also have sugar, but not as much as fruit).

    It's otherwise a pretty silly link, however, since it asserts: "Although we are eating way too much sugar, consuming less sugar is not that easy as it would seem. Cutting back to 10 - 12 teaspoons a day is going to be tough."

    IME, this is not really true. I even cut added sugar entirely out for a while as an experiment and found it pretty easy, and my MFP diary confirmed that I was not getting sugar from surprising sources. So I would say it's pretty easy to avoid added sugar for the most part (obviously if one eats dessert foods, cereals or yogurts with added sugar (plenty don't have it), or various other packaged items with lots of added sugar, you may end up excessing a goal, but it's not like it's difficult to see or limit what has added sugar).

    What OP's particular concern is now, hard to know, since she didn't say when she posted her link, and the first post was so very long ago.


    Damn, I can't believe I missed that, I've been pretty good at noticing the OP date!!
  • fitpal4242
    fitpal4242 Posts: 109 Member
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    Same here.. every day. Always over my sugar goal & under the protein. I know I should address the protein, but the sugar is hard. I try to consider the source instead- natural like fruit vs. processed foods. I like to have watermelon as a snack after my morning workout, and always get the warning message about my sugar goal when I input it.. but I think that’s just fine, considering my go-to after a tough workout was to stick a spoon in the ice cream carton at one time!
  • lisa2113940
    lisa2113940 Posts: 21 Member
    edited July 2019
    Options
    knay112 wrote: »
    Goodmorning!

    I have a question that's been on my mind for a bit.

    For my diet plan I pro-rated the recommended daily values for 2000 kcal to a 1400 kcal, which should (and it does) free me of 1 pound a week.

    I usually meet my goals, except for sugar. I really watch my intake, read labels etc. but I just can't seem to mee that one goal!
    By the time I've had breakfast, snack and lunch, I am already 3 grams over my daily goal of 50g of sugar.

    I have a 4 oz glass of low sugar orange juice every morning, which gives me 10 sugars and I really don't want to quit that as I eat too little fruit as it is.

    Other suppliers are my yogurt (Fage 0%) which I believe is the one yogurt with the lowes sugar out there.

    Strangely enough, my coffee creamer (Land O Lakes Fat Free Half & Half) is another big supplier of sugar. I have tried to switch to Coffee Mate, but that was just so watery and tasteless...

    Then, my lunch consists of yogurt (see above) and a mix of 3/4 cup of Kellog's All Bran Wheat Flakes, and 1/4 cup of Just Bunches. They are good for 5 grams of sugar each. Also something I really do not want to change.

    Last but not least, I like to drink a glass of milk (8oz, let's not go overboard) with my dinner. My milk of choice is Hood Simply Smart Fat Free, which has no less than 12 grams of sugar!

    So, we get to the question...

    Am I being too anal about this?
    Did I go wrong in taking the pro-rated sugar goal?

    Any suggestions are welcome!

    Honestly? I would suggest changing things that you're not willing to change as your only solution.

    Learn to like black coffee. Those creamers often have too much sugar and trans fat to fit into a healthy diet.

    Stop trying to replace actual fruit with juice. A cup of raspberries is half the sugar of your 4oz orange juice, and it has dietary fiber, which is hugely important for your health and digestion. Recent studies have shown that fruit juice is not as healthy as we once thought and regular consumption of it can increase your risk of cancer and diabetes. Also, the recommendation of daily fruit also comes with the recommendation of variety. You aren't going to get the intended nutritional benefits of fruit just by drinking orange juice as it is lacking in many micronutrients that other fruit will provide. You should be eating actual fruit that still contains its fiber and you should be varying the types of fruit you consume. Otherwise, I don't see it as worth the insulin response.

    Have you looked into other cereals? I eat a lot of dry Cheerios and never go over my sugar goal. If that doesn't work for you, look for whole grain and sugar free anything, really. You can also cut out the cereal and eat some veggies and leafy greens instead. Breakfast cereal is known as having a lot of sugar, so you might be making things more difficult for yourself by including it if you don't like/can't find sugar free options.

    Also, you can try unsweetened cashew, almond, or soy milk instead of dairy milk. They often have the same calcium content with much lower calories and no sugar. I prefer Silk unsweetened vanilla cashew milk personally: 25 calories a cup, more calcium than dairy milk, and no sugar.

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