Sugar-Lets be honest!

I guess it depends on what you mean by "sugar." Sucrose is sucrose and fructose is fructose, etc. There's still research being done on whether or not highly processed (refined) sugars like HFCS actually get shunted to the liver without being broken down. The theory being that the subsequent process would then prompt insulin resistance.

It'll be interesting to see how future research comes along.

Actually sucrose is composed of two sugars, fructose and glucose.

Did you have some contextual reason for establishing a well-known distinction between mono and disaccharides?

Did you have some contextual reason for establishing a well-known distinction between mono and disaccharides?

Maybe he has a sucrase-isomaltase deficiency... or think that people with sucrase-isomaltase deficiency might be interested in the distinction!



and yes, i was agreeing with sunshine, ill make it clearer next time

My goodness! People do have a habit of being rather rude and easily offended on here!

To the original poster - I am wondering if you posted this topic to get people's opinions, or to start a debate? When I read your original post, I though that you were looking for opinions, although it was clear that yours was that sugar hinders weight loss.
However, once people started posting their opinions, it appeared as if you were not looking for that after all and just wanted everyone to agree with you.

To the people who have said some snarky things about anti-sugar (the only description I can think of) posts: I agree with you that eating too many calories is what causes us to get - and stay - fat, regardless of where those calories come from (honestly, I always ate a lot of healthy foods, I just ate way too much of them), and reducing your calories (to a healthy level, not 700-800 calories/day) and moving your body are how you lose weight. I firmly believe that fruits, veggies, and other "healthy" carbs play an important role in overall good health, and that probably means consuming more than 29 grams of total sugar a day.
HOWEVER - perhaps belittling, teasing, etc. is not the best way to get that point across to other people.

To the lady that said fat made her fat and sugar kept her fat: I urge you to consider that MFP sets guidelines that will allow you to lose weight at a healthy, maintainable pace. 700-800 calories/day make it very difficult to get adequate nutrients (protein, fat, and yes even carbs, but also things like fiber, potassium, calcium, etc). It is also less likely that you will be able to maintain your weight loss.

Above all things, we need to focus on getting healthy and supporting one another. We don't have to agree with each other about everything and, honestly, different people's bodies respond differently to certain things. Diabetics do need to watch their sugar intake (both the source AND the quantity). Women with PCOS often have to watch their carb intake. People who are recovering from surgery, those with Celiac or other diseases, and those who are being treated for (or in remission with) cancer have other individual food requirements.

For most people, however, nutritious, well-balanced meals and snacks in sensible portions, adequate hydration, and exercise are the keys to not only losing weight but also to a healthy lifestyle that will last.

MFP is here to provide a community of like-minded individuals - we all want to get healthy. If we see people making choices that we don't agree with, we should be able to tell them, but we should do so with CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.

... ok, I'm getting off my soapbox now. :flowerforyou:

bump

Anyone got any sugar?

Shhhhh thats bad for you ;D

My goodness! People do have a habit of being rather rude and easily offended on here!

To the original poster - I am wondering if you posted this topic to get people's opinions, or to start a debate? When I read your original post, I though that you were looking for opinions, although it was clear that yours was that sugar hinders weight loss.
However, once people started posting their opinions, it appeared as if you were not looking for that after all and just wanted everyone to agree with you.

To the people who have said some snarky things about anti-sugar (the only description I can think of) posts: I agree with you that eating too many calories is what causes us to get - and stay - fat, regardless of where those calories come from (honestly, I always ate a lot of healthy foods, I just ate way too much of them), and reducing your calories (to a healthy level, not 700-800 calories/day) and moving your body are how you lose weight. I firmly believe that fruits, veggies, and other "healthy" carbs play an important role in overall good health, and that probably means consuming more than 29 grams of total sugar a day.
HOWEVER - perhaps belittling, teasing, etc. is not the best way to get that point across to other people.

To the lady that said fat made her fat and sugar kept her fat: I urge you to consider that MFP sets guidelines that will allow you to lose weight at a healthy, maintainable pace. 700-800 calories/day make it very difficult to get adequate nutrients (protein, fat, and yes even carbs, but also things like fiber, potassium, calcium, etc). It is also less likely that you will be able to maintain your weight loss.

Above all things, we need to focus on getting healthy and supporting one another. We don't have to agree with each other about everything and, honestly, different people's bodies respond differently to certain things. Diabetics do need to watch their sugar intake (both the source AND the quantity). Women with PCOS often have to watch their carb intake. People who are recovering from surgery, those with Celiac or other diseases, and those who are being treated for (or in remission with) cancer have other individual food requirements.

For most people, however, nutritious, well-balanced meals and snacks in sensible portions, adequate hydration, and exercise are the keys to not only losing weight but also to a healthy lifestyle that will last.

MFP is here to provide a community of like-minded individuals - we all want to get healthy. If we see people making choices that we don't agree with, we should be able to tell them, but we should do so with CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.

... ok, I'm getting off my soapbox now. :flowerforyou:

^^This, so much this!!

Bump.
I agree. It's like that commercial that says "whether it's corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can't tell the difference. Sugar is sugar." Although one may taste better over the other, it's all the same to your body. It's especially important if you're a diabetic, it's much better to eat the natural sugars.

EDIT: and I have to say that so many people are being rude. This is a place to be SUPPORTIVE!

I read through the entire thread and found it very helpful. After eating 3 pitted dates today, I logged them to find out that I used up half of my MFP sugar limit for the day! I had no idea there was so much sugar in dates.

I need to monitor everything more carefully - calories, protein, sugar - so all the information was helpful. Thanks for the thread everybody.

You got fat from eating too many calories. No single macro makes you fat.

I also looked at your diary. You think that lowering sugar helped you lose weight? Not that you are eating 700-800 calories a day?

Hmm.

i just gotta love what dietists have to say ^^

Is there something wrong with what was said? *confused*

*sigh* haters...

I am on a special diet at the moment due to metabolism issues and digestion issues. My doctors and nutritionists have created this plan for me. I am not starving myself. It is not long term. get off my back.

Didn't realize that for expressing an opinion that is about ME, and only me, makes it ok for other My Fitness PALS to bully and pass judgement based on what you see in my diary. FFS every time I post, I am getting attitude about it. If I close my diary, I get attitude about that.

So, how much weight do you have to lose and keep it off for how long before you are entitled to act so bloody high and mighty?
some really bitter people here!

Well, maybe there is a health reason you have that diet and if a MD is watching over it, then fine. However, don't come around talking about Fat making you fat and sugar keeping you fat and not eating much of either is causing you yo lose weight. You are losing weight because you are probably eating less than a third of what you probably need for weight loss. It's not because you are not eating much sugar or much fat, it's simply eating way fewer calories than it takes to maintain weight.

People can lose weight safely on very low calorie diets, but looking at what you're eating the contents of your calories are not ideal for a VLCD. You should be getting a lot more protein in that.

Well, let's see.

I don't track sugar and never have (disclaimer: I don't have diabetes or pre-diabetes - if you do, you probably need to be aware of it).

I do, however, eat a lot of fruit. At least one banana (often 2) each day. A large Granny Smith apple every day. Lots and lots of baby carrots (3+ servings every day). I drink original almond milk, which has sugar. I eat bread, which has sugar.

I don't eat a lot of added or refined sugar, except for an occasional treat.

I have shed 109 pounds since mid September 2010. I've dropped my body fat from 56% to 22%.

I'm going to say that consuming sugar really didn't "hinder" my weight loss.

Thanks for easing my concerns about sugar! Congrats on your success!!

I dont understand what my calorie deficit has to do with my sugar intake? Too much sugar whether from fruit or a candy bar cant be good for you and those limitations have been put there for a reason. Obviously fruit is better than a candy bar because fruit has much more nutritional value but too much sugar from either cant be good.

I went to a nutritionist once who prepared a food plan for me to follow for 3 months and she avoided most fruits with higher amounts of sugar, even though it was all natural sugar. My food plan was to help me lose weight, and all fruits were slowly being put back on my diet after the first 4 weeks, but she did say that no person on this earth is overweight by getting their sugar only from fruits, but if you are trying to LOSE weight, then you should avoid in the beginning some of the fruits that are higher in sugar, and slowly add them back to your diet. My goal was to lose 15 lbs by the end of the 3 months and following her diet I lost a total of 12 lbs. without ANY exercise. By the way, I have an appointment with her in the next 2 weeks...

Anyone got any sugar?

Shhhhh thats bad for you ;D

Haha, you're also funny!

You got fat from eating too many calories. No single macro makes you fat.

I also looked at your diary. You think that lowering sugar helped you lose weight? Not that you are eating 700-800 calories a day?

Hmm.

i just gotta love what dietists have to say ^^

Is there something wrong with what was said? *confused*

*sigh* haters...

I am on a special diet at the moment due to metabolism issues and digestion issues. My doctors and nutritionists have created this plan for me. I am not starving myself. It is not long term. get off my back.

Didn't realize that for expressing an opinion that is about ME, and only me, makes it ok for other My Fitness PALS to bully and pass judgement based on what you see in my diary. FFS every time I post, I am getting attitude about it. If I close my diary, I get attitude about that.

So, how much weight do you have to lose and keep it off for how long before you are entitled to act so bloody high and mighty?
some really bitter people here!

Well, maybe there is a health reason you have that diet and if a MD is watching over it, then fine. However, don't come around talking about Fat making you fat and sugar keeping you fat and not eating much of either is causing you yo lose weight. You are losing weight because you are probably eating less than a third of what you probably need for weight loss. It's not because you are not eating much sugar or much fat, it's simply eating way fewer calories than it takes to maintain weight.

People can lose weight safely on very low calorie diets, but looking at what you're eating the contents of your calories are not ideal for a VLCD. You should be getting a lot more protein in that.

i will come around and say what I like. OP asked for opinions, I did not claim to know more than anyone else. I gave my opinion. Geeze, here i was thinking i was saving time not posting a dozen paragraphs of back story. thank you so much for enlightening me, I was not aware that YOU know better than my own doctors what I should and should not have, regarding protein. I will be sure to let him know that he's doing it wrong.

the last three weeks are NOT what I am referring to, re: lower sugar. I've been on MFP since August. Prior to that, I ate a lot of sugar. I reduced my sugars substantially and kept my calories at 1310 for many weeks. I was losing. The last 3 weeks are not to do with weight loss, they are to do with allergies, diarrhea, head aches, build up of vitamins in my system that should be just flushed out...problems I have had for years and have just recently been able to co-ordinate all the crap from the specialists.

I do not log my food here to count calories right now. I have to straighten out the other issues. the diary is my log of what I eat, and I journal how I feel, etc. that's all. not a badge of honor.

Some of you might think that I asked for this huge backlash, because I left my diary open. I left it open because many of my pals feel they need honesty to be friends. So my choice is, close my diary and lose some of my friends who are a great resource and inspiration to me, or get flak from know-it-alls. I am a big girl, so I will just keep doing what I am doing. I realize it goes against what others in the forums believe, I am just not sure why it makes people so angry.

Follow your doctor My doctor has lost weight and suggests eating my BMR, my trainer has different advice. It's all a balancing act, one day you'll be feeling better and be able to eat more
Keep at it girl!

The vitamins in most fruit is overrated, most only have Vit C and you can get all the body needs in a day from one fifth of a red pepper. Fruit has evolved to be attractive to animals as a way for plants distributing their seeds. They are all about advertising, a bright colour and bit of sugar to sweeten the deal, but there is no advantage to the plant to pack them full of any real nutrients that the plant needs for its own growth. Vegetables have all the good vitamins.

This is so very incorrect. Fruits offer a variety of vitamins that are essential for us. Most of them have way more than vitamin C.

There are also a lot of micronutrients in fruits and vegetables that we have identified, but don't quite know of their health benefits yet.

^^Agreed.

There are way more health benefits to fruits & veggies than modern science has even considered figuring out.

Weight loss is not an exact science and you're not going to come up with an exact number for everyone simultaneously to follow to shed the same weight. The same way that our DNA creates differences in our outside appearance it also creates differences inside and we've only got a fraction of that figured out too.

What do we know? We need a balanced mealplan of carbs, protein and "good" fats to keep us going. Everyone's macro goal is different and its that carb % that'll dictate how many grams of sugar that you're body actually needs and handles through different tasks on any given day. The more carbs coming from fiber is probably a good thing as most people don't get the recommended intake, but you're body does need a good balance of sugars too.. "good" sugars. For most healthy individuals, I don't see why you would cut fruit or dairy out of your diet when you're getting vitamins and minerals and nourishment from it just because it has sugar in it.

No - not all sugars are equal. If you're going over that carb % from sugars, whether refined or process then yes you're probably going over on sugar and hindering your weight loss but if you're hitting your carb % and getting the recommended intake of dietary fiber and keeping your "added" sugar down, which would eliminate undue stress on your body, I don't see how that's going to cause you not to lose weight.

In terms of weight loss and weight loss alone, it doesn't matter how much sugar you eat. You could eat pure sugar all day long, and as long as you have a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight. However, in terms of health - naturally occuring sugars and manufactured sugars are metabolized basically the same by your body. However, the vitamins and fiber in fruit are value-added benefits to consuming "fruit sugar" that are not present in eating a bag of smarties.