How can I eat less carbs & sugars?

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niightwind
niightwind Posts: 81
in Food and Nutrition
Hello once again MFP.
I am in need of advice. I'm finding my calorie goal of 1300-1450 very easy to stick to.
With some time I've also found reducing how much sodium I have easier as well.
But my problem is staying low with sugar and carbs.
I eat a lot of fruit, as I find myself feeling more full from it and fruits like berries & apples are my favorite things to eat or snack on.
However, the amount of sugar & carbs is making me a bit concerned. I almost every day go over in carbs and/or sugar and its getting depressing to always see the number in the red. Everything else I eat is for the most part low in carbohydrates.. aside from fruit.

For example: I've so far eaten today a cup of blackberries, half a cup of raspberries, one grapefruit, and a carrot. That has brought my sugar up to 31g which is already over my daily goal, and my carbs up to 46 which is almost half of my daily goal.

Can someone please tell me how I can reduce this? Should I stop eating fruit and stick to veggies only?
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Replies

  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
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    Why are carbs and sugars a bad thing when you say you are getting them from healthy sources?

    You need the nutrients from fruits and healthy carbs so cutting out fruits won't help you much.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,669 Member
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    Hello once again MFP.
    I am in need of advice. I'm finding my calorie goal of 1300-1450 very easy to stick to.
    With some time I've also found reducing how much sodium I have easier as well.
    But my problem is staying low with sugar and carbs.
    I eat a lot of fruit, as I find myself feeling more full from it and fruits like berries & apples are my favorite things to eat or snack on.
    However, the amount of sugar & carbs is making me a bit concerned. I almost every day go over in carbs and/or sugar and its getting depressing to always see the number in the red. Everything else I eat is for the most part low in carbohydrates.. aside from fruit.

    For example: I've so far eaten today a cup of blackberries, half a cup of raspberries, one grapefruit, and a carrot. That has brought my sugar up to 31g which is already over my daily goal, and my carbs up to 46 which is almost half of my daily goal.

    Can someone please tell me how I can reduce this? Should I stop eating fruit and stick to veggies only?
    Eat more protein. This usually helps with satiety and doesn't spike insulin the same as carbs do.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • niightwind
    niightwind Posts: 81
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    Why are carbs and sugars a bad thing when you say you are getting them from healthy sources?

    You need the nutrients from fruits and healthy carbs so cutting out fruits won't help you much.

    When I looked around the food & nutrition forum on this site, a lot of the advice I saw given to people was the reduce carbs and sugars. I'm not sure if that was carbs and sugars from junk foods or from healthy sources though!
    Its all quite confusing to me :frown:
  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
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    What works for some won't work for all. I don't see the point of lowering the kinds of healthy food you eat if you are meeting your caloric goals and are losing weight.
  • Luthorcrow
    Luthorcrow Posts: 193
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    One I would say keep your protein up. You don't want it to dip below 15% and I personally prefer a 40/30/30 combo just because i need the extra protein and keeps me satisfied.

    Two, I think the sugars column is misleading because it is really processed sugars you really should be worrying about not such much natural occurring sugars in fruit. I go over on my sugar all the time but its all natural foods so I just ignore it.
  • Sexyf28
    Sexyf28 Posts: 47 Member
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    I've been following a modified Dr. Bernstein diet and his idea is that only SOME fruit is good. The lower in sugar ones. So I can eat apples, oranges, strawberries, etc but no bananas, watermelon, other berries, etc... So if your a lover of all fruit, maybe look up each fruit and see the sugar in it and go with something a little less?
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Are you losing weight?

    If you're sticking to your calorie goal, that's the main thing. Everything else is a bit of juggling to tweak to what works.

    fruits, yeah, they're high in carbs and sugars. but if that intake isn't impeding your weight loss there's no reason for you to restrict them.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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    Why are carbs and sugars a bad thing when you say you are getting them from healthy sources?

    You need the nutrients from fruits and healthy carbs so cutting out fruits won't help you much.

    When I looked around the food & nutrition forum on this site, a lot of the advice I saw given to people was the reduce carbs and sugars. I'm not sure if that was carbs and sugars from junk foods or from healthy sources though!
    Its all quite confusing to me :frown:

    Don't check your common sense at the door. Does it sound logical to you that fruit would prevent weight loss?
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
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    Why are carbs and sugars a bad thing when you say you are getting them from healthy sources?

    You need the nutrients from fruits and healthy carbs so cutting out fruits won't help you much.

    When I looked around the food & nutrition forum on this site, a lot of the advice I saw given to people was the reduce carbs and sugars. I'm not sure if that was carbs and sugars from junk foods or from healthy sources though!
    Its all quite confusing to me :frown:

    Don't check your common sense at the door. Does it sound logical to you that fruit would prevent weight loss?

    Exactly. I wouldn't even bother tracking sugar. It does not hinder weight loss if you have no medical need to
  • BrandonDoom
    BrandonDoom Posts: 64 Member
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    Go paleo or primal. Problem solved.
  • niightwind
    niightwind Posts: 81
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    I have been losing weight {gained a bit back the last few days but I just got over the flu so that may be why}.
    I'm probably just overly paranoid about every detail of what I hear about dieting.

    I have my goals set at 30/35/35 - should I try changing that?
  • Fbl778
    Fbl778 Posts: 1
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    Hummus is high in protein and vitamin A and also a good source for other things. Its low in calories too!
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
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    1g of protein per lb of lean body mass
    .35x body weight for g of fat
    rest in whatever you like (carbs)

    Percentages are not the best to go by.
  • niightwind
    niightwind Posts: 81
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    Thanks for all the different opinions/suggestions.
    I suppose I'll just try different things until I find what works best for me. :flowerforyou:
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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    Why are carbs and sugars a bad thing when you say you are getting them from healthy sources?

    You need the nutrients from fruits and healthy carbs so cutting out fruits won't help you much.

    When I looked around the food & nutrition forum on this site, a lot of the advice I saw given to people was the reduce carbs and sugars. I'm not sure if that was carbs and sugars from junk foods or from healthy sources though!
    Its all quite confusing to me :frown:

    Don't check your common sense at the door. Does it sound logical to you that fruit would prevent weight loss?

    Exactly. I wouldn't even bother tracking sugar. It does not hinder weight loss if you have no medical need to

    Common sense also states that high fat foods would prevent weight gain, but it doesn't. too high calories prevent weight gain.

    huh?
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    Carbs and sugars from fruits and vegetables are certainly beneficial and you are correct that sugar from fruits is higher than in vegetables. Is there a medical reason for you to keep natural sugars low? It's difficult to know what else you're eating and what your activity level is since your profile is private. Do your research and observe whether your health is thriving on the foods you are eating. My advice would be to eat half portions of fruits but it appears that you are doing that already. Sounds like you're doing a great job!
  • BrandonDoom
    BrandonDoom Posts: 64 Member
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    More fat more protein less carbs. Solved.
  • nickyfm
    nickyfm Posts: 1,214 Member
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    Just pair your fruit with a protein source, like 5-6 Almonds to slow down it's absorption.
    :)
  • Smonks00
    Smonks00 Posts: 31
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    Carbs and sugard are not bad things. you want to make sure you are getting them from healthy sources (Veggies, fruits, whole grains) you want to avoid suag and carbs from processed foods and baked goods. i will say this. if you are trying to lean out i would cut down on the amount of fruit.
    in the original post all that person had eaten was fruit and 1 carrot. your body needs protein, and veggies also! you shoud fill up on those and leave fruit to snacks and desserts. starting your day of with protein instead of Sugar will completely change things for you.
  • Smonks00
    Smonks00 Posts: 31
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    Go paleo or primal. Problem solved.
    yes this worked wonders for me!

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