Fruit and sugars...
MyrnaSolganick
Posts: 60 Member
If I eat one piece of fruit a day - an apple, say - it puts me over my daily grams of sugar. What to do?? we are supposed to eat fruits and vegetables but fruits are high in sugar....BTW, I am on 1200 calories so my plan does not have a lot of wiggle room.
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Replies
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Ignore it (I changed my diary to show fibre instead of sugar). The recommendation is based on the WHO recommendation, which is actually for added sugar. Sugar naturally occurring in food is fine, unless you have some medical reason to limit it.15
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During my losing phase I eat 4 oz of protein , 2 cups of vegetables, and 1 cup fruit (for lunch and dinner). I don't think I have ever gone over in my sugar recommendation. My daily total is less than 1200, so my question is what are you eating in a typical day?
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fdlewenstein wrote: »During my losing phase I eat 4 oz of protein , 2 cups of vegetables, and 1 cup fruit (for lunch and dinner). I don't think I have ever gone over in my sugar recommendation. My daily total is less than 1200, so my question is what are you eating in a typical day?
Your daily total shouldn't be less than 1200, and for most it should be higher, unless you are short, older, or sedentary (or a combination of those). How far under that 1200 are you?
As previously stated, the recommendation is based on added sugars. OP doesn't need to worry, and there's no need to analyse what she's eating.13 -
Please define "added sugar". Is that the sugar in a Tbsp of preserves I put into my greek yogurt? Or is it in a WW muffin I bake? Or the 24 teddy grahams that are my dessert at night? BTW, I am short, older and I sit at my job. I do have a recumbent bike which I use 4-5 times a week. Nony_Mouse, how did you change your diary to show fiber??0
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MyrnaSolganick wrote: »Please define "added sugar". Is that the sugar in a Tbsp of preserves I put into my greek yogurt? Or is it in a WW muffin I bake? Or the 24 teddy grahams that are my dessert at night? BTW, I am short, older and I sit at my job. I do have a recumbent bike which I use 4-5 times a week. Nony_Mouse, how did you change your diary to show fiber??
Have a look at the ingredients label on those things, if it lists sugar (or fructose, corn syrup, etc), there's added sugar. But distinguishing that from any naturally occurring sugars is nigh on impossible, unless the nutrition label specifically states amount of added sugar. Seriously, you don't need to worry about it unless you have a medical reason to.
To change what you see in your diary, from your homepage go to settings, then diary settings, and use the drop down boxes under nutrients tracked. I have mine as fibre and iron, in addition to carbs, fats and protein.8 -
Don't worry so.much about the sugar. I ate a banana every day for my mid morning snack while losing weight.7
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MFP's default sugar goal is 15% of total cals. It includes the 5-10% recommended added sugar limit (it's 10%, but the WHO says 5% is even better, although this is more for people who don't have diets that are otherwise monitored for cals and nutrients), plus a quite low assumption for other sugar, perhaps based on the abysmal stats with respect to average fruit and veg consumption. It is NOT meant to limit those things (except to the extent that it's important to have a well-rounded diet with sufficient protein, healthy fats, and fiber) and there are no credible studies suggesting that you need to worry about fruit and veg consumption or intrinsic sugar (the issue with added sugar is more about cals, nutrients, and what it is normally paired with, it's not some demon either).
That said, even a large apple is estimated by the USDA at about 23 g of sugar, so there is NO way that should be over the MFP default goal. Either cals are super low (and if so you should be monitored by a doctor who can say if apples are okay on your special diet), or the entry you chose is bad.MyrnaSolganick wrote: »Please define "added sugar". Is that the sugar in a Tbsp of preserves I put into my greek yogurt? Or is it in a WW muffin I bake? Or the 24 teddy grahams that are my dessert at night?
Are the preserves 100% fruit with nothing removed? If so, they have intrinsic sugar, not free sugar. If there's some added table sugar or the like, then of course that's added sugar. The WHO defines added or "free" sugar to include honey, syrup, and fruit juice, also. I don't know if there is sugar added to the muffin, but it seems likely unless it uses artificial sweetener. Yes, I am sure there is sugar added to the teddy grahams, the package should tell.
I'm not saying anyone needs to care about this, but it's not that hard to figure out if you do (and if you don't, don't worry about the sugar limit).
I agree with Nony Mouse that often the best option is to make sure you are eating sufficient protein, healthy fats, and fiber, and if the diet otherwise is calorie appropriate and seems generally nutrient-dense, great, no need to micromanage sugar.8 -
fdlewenstein wrote: »During my losing phase I eat 4 oz of protein , 2 cups of vegetables, and 1 cup fruit (for lunch and dinner). I don't think I have ever gone over in my sugar recommendation. My daily total is less than 1200, so my question is what are you eating in a typical day?
The limit on 1200 cal is 45 g, and to use myself as an example, picking Sunday, I had 58 g of sugar (none added) from:
a small banana (10 g)
blueberries (5 g)
a pear (dessert after dinner) (15 g)
tomatoes (6 g)
fennel (4 g)
cauliflower (3 g)
peppers (2.5 g)
broccoli (2 g)
cabbage (2 g)
Plus less than 2 g each (often less than 1) from a variety of other veg, some nuts, and beans.
While this day included a good amount of fruit (I tend to undereat fruit in the winter so have been making an effort to include more in my diet), I have gone over 45 in just veg before. This is why the total amount of sugar can be a poor measure, as IMO it's usually a good thing to be eating more veg and fruit (I aim for around 10 servings of veg and at least 2 of fruit).4 -
The recommendation to limit added sugar is generally not useful for people who are already counting calories.
Limiting added sugar is a reasonable way to reduce calorie intake (thus the WHO recommendation to limit them) but if you're already counting your calories, it becomes unnecessary to also track sugar (assuming there's no medical reason for the individual).
I second the recommendation to track fiber instead.10 -
Calories are what drive weight loss. As long as you are eating less calories than your body burns, and are without health issues to consider, it’s ok. As others suggest, track something else4
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MyrnaSolganick wrote: »Please define "added sugar". Is that the sugar in a Tbsp of preserves I put into my greek yogurt? Or is it in a WW muffin I bake? Or the 24 teddy grahams that are my dessert at night? BTW, I am short, older and I sit at my job. I do have a recumbent bike which I use 4-5 times a week. Nony_Mouse, how did you change your diary to show fiber??
Added sugar is all those things.
But if you're getting enough protein, healthy fats and plenty of varied, colorful veggies/fruits routinely, and hitting your calorie goal, it's not worth worrying about, IMO.
Even WHO, if you read the verbiage, is mainly concerned that added sugars can (1) drive out needed nutrition at sensible calories, (2) cause calorie surplus at adequate nutrition, and/or (3) increase risks for things like dental caries. If those aren't happening, I'd say sugar level is a minor issue.
Best wishes!
P.S. I'm older, too, sedentary outside of intentional exercise, and 5'5", which is at most medium height.
I lost weight and maintain just fine, in good health, acting as per above. 4 -
Dont fear the fruit...
https://youtu.be/H8xDttIY1f8 0 -
I really don't pay attention to the "sugar goal" or even the macros very much. I had a can of soda with breakfast but if it's in my calories it's still okay. I've been trying to add healthier stuff into my diet because it's more nutritionally compete and better for you, but if you hit your calorie goal, you'll lose weight.1
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Unless you have a specific medical need to track sugar then don't bother, it's just a subset of carbs.3
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »fdlewenstein wrote: »During my losing phase I eat 4 oz of protein , 2 cups of vegetables, and 1 cup fruit (for lunch and dinner). I don't think I have ever gone over in my sugar recommendation. My daily total is less than 1200, so my question is what are you eating in a typical day?
Your daily total shouldn't be less than 1200, and for most it should be higher, unless you are short, older, or sedentary (or a combination of those). How far under that 1200 are you?
As previously stated, the recommendation is based on added sugars. OP doesn't need to worry, and there's no need to analyse what she's eating.
Thank you for your concern, but I am following a weight loss program as prescribed by a doctor. The question about what food is being eaten seems like it was appropriate.0 -
I am watching my sugar intake for health reasons and just tried adding the tsp of sugar I had in my coffee to my food diary and the one I used from the search was counting it as 100 grams instead of 4.2 grams in the "sugar" category so be sure the food you are adding has the info listed correctly.2
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Thank you all for your comments. As a result of the discussion here, I omitted the sugar column from my nutrients, and added in fiber. I feel much better now that I do not have to see how many grahams of sugar are in my apple, or in my 24 daily teddy grahams. I tend to be a middle of the road kind of gal, and I know what is healthy eating. These days, I rarely eat a loaded dessert; I dont drink alcohol, eat fast food or junk food, no red meat, etc. I do like a small sweet treat daily which is usually teddy grahams or Kedem cookies, or a skinny or chilly cow. Onward!6
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I'm on 1200 calories per day. I eat 500g of cut fruit per day. I find it healthy, filling and good calorie value. I dont worry about the sugar.
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