Ok I hate the sugar calculator!!!

MelissaWI
MelissaWI Posts: 133 Member
edited October 25 in Food and Nutrition
Like everything has sugar in it it seems.. I know some of you may not have that option on your food journal because I think you can add it as an option.. But it is driving me insane.. I struggle not going over the amount... What are you guys eating to get in the calorie recombination without going over??? I am at less than 900 calories and afraid to eat anything because of the grams of sugar... lol Everything else seems good and below.. I even use substitute sugars in my drinks, coffee etc...
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Replies

  • ddiestler
    ddiestler Posts: 353 Member
    I LOVE fruit..and I too am sturggling with sugar..sometimes, I'm over after breakfast and snack..ugh!!!!!!!!!
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    Most people on here dont even track their sugar due to fruit etc. Unless you have a medical condition, not a lot of point really.
  • MelissaWI
    MelissaWI Posts: 133 Member
    Most people on here dont even track their sugar due to fruit etc. Unless you have a medical condition, not a lot of point really.

    really.. lol that would be like a godsend if it did not matter, I was doing some research and it said women should be around 25 and men a bit higher and it was a cause in obesity.. So I figured it was like super important for wanting to lose weight.. So I am just confused.. And they recommend no sugar added things... Living healthy should be so much more less complicated if you ask me.. lol.. What happened to just the food pyramid from school??? lmao
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    Most people on here dont even track their sugar due to fruit etc. Unless you have a medical condition, not a lot of point really.

    really.. lol that would be like a godsend if it did not matter, I was doing some research and it said women should be around 25 and men a bit higher and it was a cause in obesity.. So I figured it was like super important for wanting to lose weight.. So I am just confused.. And they recommend no sugar added things... Living healthy should be so much more less complicated if you ask me.. lol.. What happened to just the food pyramid from school??? lmao

    For most of us it IS simple...just people tend to overcomplicate it, and as Sidesteal said "Stop micromanaging crap that doesn't matter". Great advice.
  • PaulaP22
    PaulaP22 Posts: 17
    Hey, I just started tracking sugar as well. I read this article, and found it very interesting regarding sugar and it's possibly toxic effects http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all
    I really like fruit, and I find if I eat much of it, I go over. So I try to keep in mind where my sugar comes from. If I eat a bunch of fruit and go over, I don't stress. But if I notice I"m over on sugar and it's coming from refined sugar/processed food, I try to be more mindful of that. Feel free to add me! :)
  • pope369
    pope369 Posts: 159 Member
    You may get this from several others here, but IMHO, all you need is a calorie deficit to lose weight. Getting exercise helps immensely, but watching the calories is key. Don't pet the sweaty things (or however that saying goes).
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    sucrose does matter to me, big time. i do not have any medical conditions, am very healthy, and sugar is a KEY FACTOR in my weight loss. i dropped 10-15 pounds by manipulating my sucrose intake, not my calories. i personally do not count calories. i believe its what youre putting into your body, not how much or how little. that is just me.
    But by taking less sugar, you reduced the total cals. That's what it all boils down to really. If you stayed on the same sugar, but dropped cals elsewhere, you'd see similar results. Well, not YOU personally, but the average person.
  • MelissaWI
    MelissaWI Posts: 133 Member
    so you are telling me if I eat good all day and am at 850 calories and I eat a 1/2 cup of blue bunny mint chocolate chip ice cream and 2 peanut butter cups and still am around 1100 calories and worked out and lost 600 calories I will still lose weight? lol
  • msclairvoyant
    msclairvoyant Posts: 15 Member
    You may get this from several others here, but IMHO, all you need is a calorie deficit to lose weight. Getting exercise helps immensely, but watching the calories is key. Don't pet the sweaty things (or however that saying goes).

    I think that a lot of people don't get this. You could lose weight eating pizza everyday as long as you stay at or beneath your calorie goal. Will you be healthy? No. But you'd lose weight. It's not as difficult as people make it seem.
  • sarscab
    sarscab Posts: 13
    I have the exact opposite problem. Most of the time I have ~20 grams of sugar left!
  • MHunte
    MHunte Posts: 149
    Sugar increases weight gain because we all need energy and sugar helps that, however with modern sedentary lifestyle of minimum exercise most of the sugars that are taken are overloaded. This is because we no longer hunt or gather all day, or walk extensive distances each day.Instead we focus on jobs and a more stressful lifestyle in which sugar is surrounding us in many processed foods. Because of extra energy and extra stress the body goes into more stress and it needs to come out somewhere and that somewhere is usually in weight gain. When cutting down or cutting out sugar one can expect to get a bit rundown due to the body going into a rapid detox, this is because sugar helps hide the feelings of eating bad or bad lifestyle. When one confronts the problem and starts eating better the liver and kidneys need to filter out all the crap that has been consumed over the many, many years..
    In time over the months the health will change to feel better and the weight will start to roll off. Do this type of diet for over 6 months to see some amazing results.
  • bjfmade
    bjfmade Posts: 543 Member
    I don't worry about the sugar as most of my numbers are from fresh and frozen fruit.
  • Cmon78
    Cmon78 Posts: 67 Member
    I was always over on sugar so I just stopped tracking it.....and still lost the weight.
  • sfoster3171982
    sfoster3171982 Posts: 76 Member
    I'm struggling with Sugar and sodium as well. Its hard to keep that in the back of your head on top of the calories. It's a never ending battle. Keep it up and we'll all get through this one day at time
  • stevwil41
    stevwil41 Posts: 608 Member
    so you are telling me if I eat good all day and am at 850 calories and I eat a 1/2 cup of blue bunny mint chocolate chip ice cream and 2 peanut butter cups and still am around 1100 calories and worked out and lost 600 calories I will still lose weight? lol

    Basically, yes. I don't track sugar. I eat chocolate in some form or another every day. It works for me. Other people choose to track differently than I do and personally, I'm fine with that. One thing I have noticed on these boards though, is that a lot of people think their way is the only way and are very forceful in their beliefs. You're probably going to get quite a few different opinions about what you should do. The key is figuring out what's going to not only work for you but be something that you can sustain long term. Good luck with everything and just for the record I had 2 Resses miniatures this morning:)
  • BarbWhite09
    BarbWhite09 Posts: 1,128 Member
    Yea...I added sugar onto my thing once & then spent 3 days stressing out over it. I removed it...Lol. It's like so impossible not to have much sugar...
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
    People are right when they're saying that calories are what make you gain weight, and nothing else really factors into weight loss other than calories. Please eat enough calories, even if you go over your sugar or your carbs or anything else. Stick to your cal goal, and you'll lose.

    That said, I make a point to try to keep my sugar to 30 each day. I'm not perfect at it yet, but I have drastically cut my sugar intake. I'm in the process of switching to Stevia in the Raw in my coffee. I don't eat fruit that often. I stay away from candy and baked goods. But other than the stevia, I don't *replace* sugar in my diet. I just don't have it.

    If you look at your diary, you'll see where the sugar's coming from. If you decide you still want to watch your sugar intake, the best first step is to see where it's coming from, and make changes from there.
  • granolagrl85
    granolagrl85 Posts: 135
    I don't sweat sugarr if it comes from fruit. I had 1/2 serving orange and 1 cup of milk and it said I only had 6 grams of sugar left.
  • sherrywtrmn
    sherrywtrmn Posts: 26 Member
    I was told that it is okay if you go over the sugar recommendation on MFP (within a reasonable amount) because it doesn't consider the source. If most of y our sugar intake is coming from fruits, then it's not too bad because it's natural. However, if you're eating candy bars everyday, then that might be a problem.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    so you are telling me if I eat good all day and am at 850 calories and I eat a 1/2 cup of blue bunny mint chocolate chip ice cream and 2 peanut butter cups and still am around 1100 calories and worked out and lost 600 calories I will still lose weight? lol

    If you're saying you're netting 500 calories per day then yes, you will still lose weight.

    I would worry about calories first. Once you've gotten to a place where you can regularly eat your calorie goal then you can improve the quality of your food. But in the end with weight loss it's about calories in/calories out.
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    I don't neccessarily agree thats true. reducing sucrose or not eating any sucrose (which i do now) doesn't mean you have to reduce your caloric intake. i am still eating the same calories, but better sources of calories. for instance, instead of a 100 calorie packet of cookies, i am eating grilled chicken or spinach or a handful of plain almonds. of course, if you go from eating a lot of bad food to eating bad food but less, you could lose weight calorie-wise. although im not sure why anyone would do this as it is not optimizing their health....
    sucrose does matter to me, big time. i do not have any medical conditions, am very healthy, and sugar is a KEY FACTOR in my weight loss. i dropped 10-15 pounds by manipulating my sucrose intake, not my calories. i personally do not count calories. i believe its what youre putting into your body, not how much or how little. that is just me.
    But by taking less sugar, you reduced the total cals. That's what it all boils down to really. If you stayed on the same sugar, but dropped cals elsewhere, you'd see similar results. Well, not YOU personally, but the average person.

    Glad you are making healthy choices. For weight loss it really doesn't matter though. Calorie balance is what is important. Not how much sugar you have.
  • justjo83
    justjo83 Posts: 16 Member
    I agree that it's what you eat that matters more if you eat an apple all of the fibre counter balances the sugar. However if there is an excess of sugar ( or carbohydrates) in you body and wants to use energy it is first going to take it from the sugar store which is a quick high energy fix before it takes it from the fat stored in your cells.
  • jabba11
    jabba11 Posts: 44 Member
    Sugars are a factor in control of your insulin levels and as such helps control how your body deals with fat and its use. Many people are insulin resistant and need to watch there sugars intake. You should look to eat "like a cave man". Nuts berries meats cheese (in moderation), no processed foods no white flour etc. eat veggies lower in sugars like spinach, cabbage, etc..watch things like tomatoes and "sweet" fruits like grapes raisins dates etc. You can make it work I do on a regular basis..
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    i am still eating the same calories
    How do you know? You just said you don't count them. Don't you think that when you cut down on sugar, that just happened to cut your calories?
  • MelissaWI
    MelissaWI Posts: 133 Member
    Thanks, I wont feel so horrible if I have a snack now and then.
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    You may get this from several others here, but IMHO, all you need is a calorie deficit to lose weight. Getting exercise helps immensely, but watching the calories is key. Don't pet the sweaty things (or however that saying goes).

    I think that a lot of people don't get this. You could lose weight eating pizza everyday as long as you stay at or beneath your calorie goal. Will you be healthy? No. But you'd lose weight. It's not as difficult as people make it seem.

    I honestly can't agree because this has never been my experience, although I'm sure calorie counting has been the way that many have lost weight. At 156lbs, I dropped down to 140 within 1-2 months from no exercise, just from reducing my sucrose intake to under 15 grams per day. I did not count calories. I have kept the weight off for two years. Following this, I followed an organic lifestyle (not raw or vegetarian, just organic) and lost an additional ten pounds within another one and a half months. No calorie counting. No gym. In my opinion, my weight loss had nothing to do with how much or how little I was eating but WHAT I was eating.

    Some people ignore sugar, some people measure it for weight loss. I think looking at where your sugar is coming from and decreasing your sucrose could be useful to you. I think most people would agree that high amounts of sucrose are not healthy.

    You didn't count calories, but that does not mean that your total calorie count was not lowered. Since you did not track calories, you don't know how much you were actually eating.

    Im sorry, but that does not make it true. All science says that it is energy balance.
  • supershiny
    supershiny Posts: 170 Member
    Where your calories come from does matter (i.e. you can technically lose weight on the krispy kreme diet), but you will probably be unhappy while you are doing it (e.g. get sugar headaches, low energy).
  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
    We have some "rules" in our house regarding sugar. We try not to buy anything with sugar (or its derivatives, naturally or unnaturally) listed in the first three ingredients. Secondly, we try to buy things with >5g sugar/serving. But we love fruit and could care less if that increases our sugar intake.

    My BF is the one who cares about this more than I do and I'll always have caramel in the fridge just waiting to be put on top of vanilla ice cream, BUT my personal (and unscientifically proven) claim on sugar is that if it comes from a fresh, natural source (fruit), it's okay, but if it's added to my food because the base food is crap (processed food, "low-fat" items, etc) then I care more about going over.

    The idea being close to a "clean diet" principal.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    i should be studied then....because somehow i'm losing weight from reducing my sugar, not my calories.
    Once again: if you don't count calories then how would you know if you've reduced them?
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    Since you have4 no idea if you are eating under maintenance or not I don't see how you can say that.

    I am a nutrition major. All of my books, case studies, and lectures must be wrong right?
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