Any tips for meeting low daily sugar goals??

debbiejo
debbiejo Posts: 18
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
I am on a 1,440 calorie/ day diet, and I am only allotted a daily goal of 29 for sugars. I am always way over on this and I am trying to limit my sugars, but I am discovering it in everything. A glass of milk has 15 and a wedge of watermelon has 18!! I have tried to switch to sugar-free alternatives whenever they are available and limiting sweets and high sugar fruits, but I am averaging about 50 over my daily sugar goals and most are from healthy natural foods.

Does anyone meet their daily sugar goals? Is 29 an insanely low number that nobody can possibly attain, or am I just taking in way too much sweet stuff? (The latter is unfortunately too true and that is why I am on this great web site now...) I have been having a hard time dropping weight for the last three weeks, and I am thinking it is likely from my sugars because everything else is looking okay on my food reports.

I would appreciate any advice or suggestions on low sugar foods.
Thanks!!

Replies

  • katznketo
    katznketo Posts: 323 Member
    Hi,
    Does that include natural sugars as in an apple?

    I am on no sugar diet. I have eliminated sugar because I feel horrible when I eat it. I just made my kids breakfast cookies. It's oatmeal ground into flour. The I put in the kitchen sink. Applesauce, baby food carrots, some dried raisons, almond extract, eggs and baking pounder.

    My kids love them and they are the pickyest kids in town.

    I decided to use SweetNLow until I got my weight off. I only put it in my coffee. Other than that, I eat lean cuisines, veggies, and salad, eggs and zuchini for breakfast. It is working for me. I'll adjust when I get where I want to be. be blessed, kc
  • klaflamme
    klaflamme Posts: 109 Member
    I bumped mine up to 45 grams. I try to keep both natural and processed sugars at this amount but this is my area of improvement - I'm usually over. I was wondering the same thing - do I count natural sugars too or just processed? For now, I'm shooting for the 45 grams total.
  • Vans
    Vans Posts: 388 Member
    read the book "cracking the fat loss code"
    the whole first week is a CARB DEPLETE week and you are allowed 20-30 carbs MAX daily.....
    she has day by day meal planners...I have done it...and it worked great for me.....
    so it mostly consists of all meats and greens....
    omlets
    nuts
    protein shakes (she mixes chocolate with raspberry crystal light or vanilla with orange crystal light to taste like creamsicle) these are VERY sweet for those who have a sweet tooth.....
    no sugar no salt PB
    all the green veggies you want.
    salads galore.....

    check out the book....she also has a great web site and great journal that I bring with me

    15$ on amazon!!!

    http://www.amazon.ca/Crack-Fat-Loss-Code-Outsmart-Metabolism/dp/007154691X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252478589&sr=8-1
  • feedme
    feedme Posts: 5
    I never reach the goal either. It's mostly because I eat fruit. I guess, if you want to lower your sugar you can reduce the amount of fruit you eat. I try to limit to 2 a day. But just look at where the sugar is coming from and try to cut down on whatever that item is.

    PS: You could also look at switching from milk to light soy milk.

    My bodybuilders friends eat no fruit or dairy (and absolutely no white flour, sugar), but I think there is value in terms of fiber and vitamins in fruit and dairy. I think it's more important to eat more low glycemic fruits, such as berries, apples instead of watermelon, bananas...
  • Veronica320
    Veronica320 Posts: 139
    I have the same problem. I don't eat any refined sugar, but I do like to have fruit with every meal, so I'm always way over on my daily sugar allowance. I'm not too worried about it yet because it's way better than how I used to eat and I'm seeing positive results.
  • Berna
    Berna Posts: 23
    Hi Deb
    I am hypoglycemic and thereby HAVE to keep my sugar intake to almost 0. It is extremely difficult but not impossible to do. The difficulty come in natural foods. The natural food (potatoes, whole grain breads, non processed cheeses etc.) are complex carbohydrates and break down slowly into sugar in your blood. These carbs are very slow in breaking down and thereby keep your blood sugar low. Unfortunately, your sugar counter registers the end result in ALL foods. So bare that in mind. Otherwise, try to stay away from "processed" or "refined" anything. And sugar subtitutes are your biggest enemy by far. If you want to sweeten your cereal use a banana or berries. If you use berries go high on the blueberries and strawberries they are your lowest sugar culprits and we all know how great blueberries are for detoxifying. Try to stay away from white bread, white pasta, and those lean cuisine type meals. You are better off to make your own meals. Try picking up a sugar reduced cookbook. There are scads of them out there. Also GOOGLE low sugar diets, there is a plethora of them and most of them are easy and quick.

    Hope this helps.

    By the way, I am not the best at keeping my sugar in check only because I LOVE my sweets, but, I do keep an eye on my intake. If I am really craving sweets, I will have a cup of berries. It tastes good, kills the craving and adds only minimal sugar to my intake.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    I'm frequently over as well, although with blood sugar issues, I should not be.

    I track the sugar nutrient and try to analyse WHY I am over. Was it all fruit? Or was it all processed sweets? Kashi cereal has 12g of sugar, and my morning melon has 13g. So maybe, I should have strawberries with Kashi cereal instead of melon? Strawberries are only 1g for two strawberries. If I see something that clearly is putting me over my limit, I try to shuffle it or cut it down/out to better meet my limit.
  • debbiejo
    debbiejo Posts: 18
    Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. I am so clueless to how food acts once it enters my body... other than it stays on my stomach and thighs... sigh... I will check out the suggested books and websites. I really appreciate everyone's help.

    I am mostly eating natural sugars, and really limiting artificial ones, but still finding my sugar numbers high. I am learning that not all fruit is good for me, and am trying to reduce the high sugar ones. I make most of my meals and try to eat whole grains as much as possible. I have been AMAZED and HORRIFIED at how much sugar is in the food that is "good" for me.

    I have been finding that most of my cravings for sweets are after dinner (I blame my mother for her wonderful desserts), but I found that if I go for a walk when I get home the craving is gone. I just have to get through the dishes and out the door, and try my hardest to avoid the family candy stash :wink:

    KCWriter - how did you bump up your sugars? Was it within MFP, or do you just keep that number in mind when you insert your meals? How did you decide on that number?

    Vans - What brand peanut butter did you find that is no sugar/ no salt? I use natural PB, but keep it minimal and would love to be able to eat more of it.

    Thanks again!!:flowerforyou:
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    It seems to be the one thing most of us struggle with. I don't worry too much about natural sugars in milk and fruit (the whole fruit, not just the juice). If I can keep the other sugars below 30 or so, I feel it's a success.
  • debbiejo
    debbiejo Posts: 18
    Thanks Brenda - that is a great way to look at it. I was thinking that natural sugars can't be all that bad for me because they provide additional vitamins and fiber. I will try to separate the natural from the artificial, and I am going to research my fruit sugars before I stuff them into my face... I have got to make that scale work its magic again!! :smile:
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