So frustrated with the sugar!

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rickyd88
rickyd88 Posts: 75 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone,

I'm on day 6 of MFP and I'm down 5lbs. With the numbers given to me I've halved my daily calorie intake and reduced my sugar intake by about 75%. Before joining I didn't realise how much sugar was in chocolate, cereal and all those yummy desserts!

Call me a weird one but I don't eat meat and I don't eat vegetables, but I LOVE fruit. Every evening I spend about an hour trying to plan the next days meals and trying to keep within the numbers. I stick within my calorie and carb limit but go over on the cholesterol and protein due to the soya and eggs I eat.

My main problem is the sugar! Because I don't like vegetables I tend to get my '5 a day' from fruit, but will make juices using veg occasionally. I don't mind drinking the juice from veg but I gag every time I eat veg and I think this comes from being force fed when I was a child. I still have chocolate if my calorie limit allows after meals, but I'm finding that without even factoring it in I've used up my 30g daily goal of sugar. As an example, tomorrow morning I will have a fresh carrot, apple and ginger juice (followed by a cup of tea with sweetner) and already that's 18g of sugar. When I get to work I will have an organic natural yoghurt which has 8g of sugar in. I've basically already blown my limit.

Should I be worrying about sugar from fruits and yoghurts? I've tried to cut out added sugar from my cups of tea and replacing with sweetner, changed to sugar-free or diet drinks. The only extra sugar I add into my diet is if I have porridge of a morning, because I can't eat it without sugar.

By going over the limit am I fighting against my attempts to lose weight? I'm trying so hard to eat more healthily but still allowing myself to enjoy some of the things I used to, so that I don't get fed up and binge eat.

Any help would be great. One day without seeing those red numbers would make me feel like I'm finally doing something right!

Replies

  • volrathdesign
    volrathdesign Posts: 43
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    I hear you loud and clear on reducing my sugar intake I struggle with it every single day.

    I've drastically changed my daily eating habits over the last two months and I still go over my sodium and sugar intakes on a daily basis. Even on days I'm 100% good I still end up going over with those 2 categories.
  • rickyd88
    rickyd88 Posts: 75 Member
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    I've found that a lot of the tinned food and pre-packaged meals I used to eat were bad for my sodium. However, I drink 1.5l of water a day, not including cups of tea so I'm thinking that I stay within range now because I drink so much. Have you tried increasing your water intake?
  • volrathdesign
    volrathdesign Posts: 43
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    I've found that a lot of the tinned food and pre-packaged meals I used to eat were bad for my sodium. However, I drink 1.5l of water a day, not including cups of tea so I'm thinking that I stay within range now because I drink so much. Have you tried increasing your water intake?

    i'm usually hovering around 8 glasses. it's such a pain in the *kitten* to drink water every 30 minutes it's sooooooo boring and bland. i usually guzzle the majority of my daily intake during and after my workouts.
  • gerink
    gerink Posts: 50
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    My doctor warned me about sugar in fruits. Fruits that I add to my oatmeal in the morning include apples, blueberries, raspberries all are low in sugar as opposed to using sugar. Took a while to get used to it but now sugar is way to sweet to me. Grapes are also low in sugar. Don't eat yogart due to the sugar. With the vegs - try putting a mixed variety of seasonings on the vegs - it helps and keeps the sodium low and the fat off them also.
  • rickyd88
    rickyd88 Posts: 75 Member
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    My doctor warned me about sugar in fruits. Fruits that I add to my oatmeal in the morning include apples, blueberries, raspberries all are low in sugar as opposed to using sugar. Took a while to get used to it but now sugar is way to sweet to me. Grapes are also low in sugar. Don't eat yogart due to the sugar.

    Thanks for the reply.

    Now I'm slightly confused. The juice I have in the morning is made of 2 carrots, 1 medium apple and a tiny slice of ginger. MFP tells me that is 18g of sugar! Is MFP wrong or have I really got to leave my daily intake at that, without even reaching the recommended '5 a day'?

    And if 100g 'organic low fat natural yoghurt' gives me 8g of sugar then what CAN I eat?

    It seems like the stuff which is supposedly better for me to eat than a chocolate bar is giving me just as much sugar. This dieting lark really isn't easy :(
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    You are eating vegetables and fruit that are higher in sugar. Go with spinach, brocolli, tomato, avocado, berries, etc.

    Also, get some unsweetened greek yogurt. A 1 cup serving has like 5 or 6 grams of sugar and more protein.
    Use berries for adding fruit to the yogurt.
    My doctor warned me about sugar in fruits. Fruits that I add to my oatmeal in the morning include apples, blueberries, raspberries all are low in sugar as opposed to using sugar. Took a while to get used to it but now sugar is way to sweet to me. Grapes are also low in sugar. Don't eat yogart due to the sugar.

    Thanks for the reply.

    Now I'm slightly confused. The juice I have in the morning is made of 2 carrots, 1 medium apple and a tiny slice of ginger. MFP tells me that is 18g of sugar! Is MFP wrong or have I really got to leave my daily intake at that, without even reaching the recommended '5 a day'?

    And if 100g 'organic low fat natural yoghurt' gives me 8g of sugar then what CAN I eat?

    It seems like the stuff which is supposedly better for me to eat than a chocolate bar is giving me just as much sugar. This dieting lark really isn't easy :(
  • rickyd88
    rickyd88 Posts: 75 Member
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    Ugh, all the ones I don't like. I guess I better just get on with it then. Thanks for the help :)

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