3rd September
3 x Yes
I have the most difficulty with Tracking in this challenge. I can do a 'wet finger' calories thing, but I know it won't be very accurate. Tracking is the most important measure here; if I don't track, I cheat and don't lose weight. In my case, it's best if I pre-plan. In that case I know how many calories I have got to play with. If I don't pre-plan, I often gave a problem and it makes it difficult not to cheat!⁸⁷

MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »

@MadisonMolly2017 great to know, thanks. Can I get sum clarification wen I go to nutrition part of mfp it has sugar goals set at 45g and sodium is set at 2300mg. So my question is are u aiming for 100g of sugar instead of 45g and 1800 for sodium instead of 2300? If so that wld be heaps better 4 me as I'm finding it hard to fit in much friut at 45g. Alto I must admit I am having a little refined sugars treat every night. Atm I am just focusing on the sugar part then next month im hoping to monitor salt as well.

Hi Donna aka @donna25trinity!

SODIUM
“ The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day and moving toward an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 mg per day for most adults.”

The Canadian recommendations are stricter:


“Articles in this release > Sodium
Canadians consume a large amount of sodium. Although some sodium is needed to control blood volume and to help cells function properly,1 most Canadians consume far more than is necessary, or recommended. Results from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS — Nutrition (see Data source) indicate that, among people aged 19 to 70, over 85% of men and 60% of women had sodium intakes exceeding the recommended upper limit beyond which health risks increase (Table 1).

Most sodium is consumed as sodium chloride, usually called “table salt.” In fact, a US study has estimated that 90% of sodium intake comes from sodium chloride.2 Processed foods are the main source, accounting for 77% of average daily sodium intake. Another 12% occurs naturally in foods, and salt added during cooking (6%) or at the table (5%) makes up the remainder.2

Recommended sodium intake
Dietary recall
All ages exceed recommended levels
Salt and more salt
Risk of hypertension
Provincial differences
Slightly below US intake

Recommended sodium intake

The Institute of Medicine (IOM)1 recommends the following “adequate intakes,” or AIs, per day:

1,000 milligrams (mg) for children aged 1 to 3
1,200 mg for children aged 4 to 8
1,500 mg for people aged 9 to 50
1,300 mg for adults aged 51 to 70
1,200 mg for seniors over 70 years of age.
The IOM has also established a “tolerable upper intake level,” or UL (see Definitions and Limitations), which ranges from 1,500 mg to 2,200 mg of sodium per day for children and adolescents aged 1 to 13, up to 2,300 mg per day for people aged 14 or older. Consumption exceeding these limits increases the risks of adverse health effects, especially those linked to hypertension.1

Note: they also say not to go over 2,300 mg per day (for adults).

🌸—> I have low blood pressure, so I average 1,800-2000mg per day over each year.
In 2018, my average sodium was 1,444 as I was working to keep it under 1,500.
🌸in the past 7 days, my sodium average has been: 1,497. Down 600 from the previous week.🎉


Fruits & Sugar
I eat a little 82% dark chocolate each day - about 6 grams of sugar. Most of my sugars come from apples (40 g most days) & nonfat milk (13-26 grams per day.) Some dates & raisins have been driving up my sugars, so I’m not replacing them when the containers are empty.

The recommendation I saw for sugars from the UK’s NHS:
“Eating too much sugar can make you gain weight and can also cause tooth decay.

The type of sugars most adults and children in the UK eat too much of are "free sugars".

These are:

Any sugars added to food or drinks. These include sugars in biscuits, chocolate, flavoured yoghurts, breakfast cereals and fizzy drinks. These sugars may be added at home, or by a chef or other food manufacturer.

Sugars in honey, syrups (such as maple, agave and golden), nectars (such as blossom), and unsweetened fruit juices, vegetable juices and smoothies. The sugars in these foods occur naturally but still count as free sugars.

Sugar found naturally in milk, fruit and vegetables does not count as free sugars.❣️❣️

We do not need to cut down on these sugars, but remember that they are included in the "total sugar" figure found on food labels.

How much sugar can we eat?

The government recommends that free sugars – sugars added to food or drinks, and sugars found naturally in honey, syrups, and unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and purées – should not make up more than 5% of the energy (calories) you get from food and drink each day.

This means:

Adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, (roughly equivalent to 7 sugar cubes).”

🌸I eat about 2,100 calories a day.
NHS is saying 5% of calories about 26 grams of “free sugars” per day for me.
US says 10% of calories 52 grams

I think I’m averaging about 6g - 18 g + dates now.

But when I was going nuts with Graham crackers (all tracked!) that number went up to 7 times that & so did my appetite lol I was also eating many more dates.

Another day I found I had a shocking sugars number due to a lot of dates spread throughout the day. Clearly my sweet tooth was activated.

So, to answer your question..
You want to have fewer than 5-10% of your calories coming from “free sugars” and you probably know a gram of sugar is 4 calories, so it’s easy to calculate the grams you can have per day.

I’m not familiar with MFP’s algorithms as I use My Net Diary. They recommended <25% of daily calories from all sugars. 131 grams for me.
They recommended < 10% of daily calories from added sugars. Or 52 grams for me.



So here’s why I track…I’ve kept ALL sugars under 100 for a few years, but look…NOT the past 3 months…

Thus, the issues with my appetite the past few months. And my weight. And actually I’ve been a bit more tired & “creaky.”

Thank you! I see clearly now what I need to change

I hope this helped!

Best,
Maddie[/quote]

@MadisonMolly2017

Wow i love love love this Maddie! Thank u so much for your time and all the detail. This is just amazing, I really appreciate it and i knew that u were the person I needed to come to wen I was ready to stop ignoring the need to tackle the whole sugar/salt issue. Ill keep u posted with how it all goes. Thanks again. Xox

For me, it is tracking. I had no idea I was eating so much before I started to track. At first tracking was a time consuming pain but now it takes just a few minutes for each meal. I pretty much eat a rotation of the same things and that makes it even easier. Plus it helps me to make sure I’m eating enough protein or I will just eat all day. My activity has always been pretty consistent. My weight issues are purely related to eating far too much.

Saturday, September 4

Tracking: Yes
Calories: under with some exercise calories but it was an active day and I needed a bit more fuel so all good.
Exercise: Yes, full body warm up 10 min, core 10 min, lift upper body 20 min, lift arms & light weights 10 min, fully body stretch 10 min, chest & back stretch 10 min, focus flow yoga hamstrings 10 min & pigeon 10 min, golf 9 walk.

Pass days to date - 0

September 4

UAC goals
✅ Exercise 20+ minutes
✅ Calories within budget
✅ Tracked every detail I consumed
Pass days used: 0/3

Additional challenges
✅ 3+ strength sessions in last 7 days (9/3, 9/1, 8/30)
✅ 17k+ steps (23,960 steps)
✅ 7 day avg. 7.5+ walking miles (9.4 miles)
Additional challenges met: 4/4 days

Today's Activities
🚶‍♂️ 44 min Afternoon Walk (2.32 miles)
🚶‍♂️ 98 min Evening Walk (4.67 miles)

@seilidhe - ❤️

9/04
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? 👍🏻
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? 👍🏻
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? 👍🏻

3 Pass Days Remaining

Yes, no, no.
Pass days used 3

@seilidhe Sending you a hug for strength. 🫂💞

Exercised 20+ minutes: Yes to the 5th power. So much gardening I was flattened by it all. 3 hours then a break the another hour. Whew!
Tracked all intake: Yes
Kept with my calories: Yes with a generous allowance due to all the exercise.

bradkcrew wrote: »

Exercise: Weight circuit, 20 minutes elliptical, 30 minute walk. Race day tomorrow! 10k run in preparation for the 15k. I am really nervous.

Tracking:

Calories:

U going to kill it! Xxo