SUGAR!!!

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Danyellie513
Danyellie513 Posts: 5
in Food and Nutrition
Okay, I'm new at this but it's just after 1:00 P.M. today and I've already surpassed my daily goal intake of sugar. This is only my second day at this but just looking at the nutritional information on the stuff I'm eating I can't see how I'm not going to surpass it every day. I have a daily goal of 165 grams of carbs, including 24 grams of sugar. I'm already at 42. I've noticed a lot of the fruit I had so far today contains a lot of sugar, and in my PB & J sandwich there was 12 grams just in one 1 tablespoon of jelly.


So consensus, is this bad? Do I need to reevaluate what I'm eating? I'm staying under my calorie goal and I'm still at work but I plan on working out later. I'm going to burn some of it off, but I guess I just was curious about sugar intake and how much is too much.

Thanks in advance for any insight you might have!
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Replies

  • Christine1110
    Christine1110 Posts: 1,786 Member
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    I only eat sugar in fruit...two a day. I don't care if I am over. If you eat processed foods or takeout foods they have tons of sugar in many forms...and also sodium. I'm staying away from both. I have lost 20 pounds in 2 months from leaving it out.
  • enyo123
    enyo123 Posts: 172 Member
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    It'll be hard for anyone to give you a great answer about what changes can be made without being able to see your diary. But if your sugar is natural sugar from fruit and not from things like... cookies and processed foods, I wouldn't really sweat it too much.
  • JoshuaL86
    JoshuaL86 Posts: 403 Member
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    I don't track sugar, unless its added. I'm almost always over and I've lost 46 pounds.
  • walkner88
    walkner88 Posts: 165
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    People will argue about the sugar in fruit but like anything else enjoy it in modesty. If you have to have fruit go for strawberries, dragon fruit, raspberries blackberries. These are all lower sugar but still taste sweet. With your pb&j I recommend honey. Just a tiny drizzle of honey goes a long way in adding sweets to a sand which. Or pb, honey, and half a banana, is a good blend of protein and less sugar than jelly.
  • heatherrose9
    heatherrose9 Posts: 122 Member
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    I go over in sugar because of fruit!! I do try to eliminate sugar because I read somewhere (lol sorry no source) but that you should stay from unnatural sugar. So! I am normally over in sugar, but I do watch sugar content on food items-like, try sugar free jelly, it's just as good! or natural peanut butter! just pay attention to labels. through MY journey (which hasn't always been using this but has always been counting calories) i've learned to cut out most processed foods because the sodium and sugar just aren't worth it! eventually while counting calories you'll realize "woah why would i waste my calories, sugar, sodium on THIS packaged crap when i can have a huge bowl of natural goodness:)
  • diddyk
    diddyk Posts: 269 Member
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    I can't see your food diary, but I don't count sugar from fruit. (I don't track sugar at all anymore) I think the idea of tracking sugar is for processed sugar.

    As long as you stay under your calorie goal you should be ok.
  • iwantahealthierme13
    iwantahealthierme13 Posts: 337 Member
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    subtract any natural sugars (milk, fruit, veggies) and then the leftover is your real sugar intake.
  • KatFierce
    KatFierce Posts: 252 Member
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    FIrst worry about calories and eating cleaner as in less processed food more fruits, veggies, grains, lean protein. Then down the line ( Ive been at this over 8 months and IM still not there yet) you can start to worry abotu sugar etc. I wouldnt stress any of that untill you have a handle on the eating and exercise. The sugar is crazy to since MFP cant distinguish between good sugar( like fruit) and crap sugar( like candy) so even if you have a cup of oj and 2 bananas youll be over in sugar.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    I choose to track my carbs instead.
  • workoutgirl23
    workoutgirl23 Posts: 267
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    I personally don't track my sugar. i just track the calories. That's all that really matters to me. as long as i don't go over my daily calorie limit, then its a good day. sugar burns off quick any way, especially if you work out a lot. i wouldn't over worry about it. and besides natural sugar in fruits is good for you.
  • 4gr8kids
    4gr8kids Posts: 20
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    I've been on MFP since October. I was consistently losing weight until getting back into candy shortly after Easter.
    Sugar in fruit has not hurt me, but the sugar in candy (my lack of self-control) has the scale moving in the wrong direction :(
  • cupcakecutie1985
    cupcakecutie1985 Posts: 110 Member
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    I have also found this! I think it comes down to the old natural sugars vs. refined sugars! I am not an expert by any means, and really have no advice to offer, but I am with you on the always being over, when I feel that I don't have alllll that much sugar. I'll be interested to see if anyone has any constructive comments!!!
  • spikefoot
    spikefoot Posts: 419
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    I only eat sugar in fruit...two a day. I don't care if I am over. If you eat processed foods or takeout foods they have tons of sugar in many forms...and also sodium. I'm staying away from both. I have lost 20 pounds in 2 months from leaving it out.

    I agree with this... although every once in a while I add a bit of sugar here and there but it is by no means how I used too.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    turn Sugar off it if bugs you, or set a higher limit. There's no difference between added and natural sugars in terms of nutrition - it's the same molecule in either case - but if you're not trying to reduce it then don't track it.

    Fructose is fairly controversial - it has to be processed by the liver. http://physrev.physiology.org/content/90/1/23.long if anyone fancies a long read.
  • MsMargie1116
    MsMargie1116 Posts: 323 Member
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    It could be one of two things.
    1. Reevaluate your foods. Foods that are high in Carbs could be high in sugars, regardless of how many calories it has.
    2. You may have your sugars set too low. You can change this on the "MY HOME" tab under the "Goals".

    Hope this helps. :smile:
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Never tracked a gram of sugar in 35 months and have lost a few pounds.....
  • dvisser1
    dvisser1 Posts: 788 Member
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    do you have blood sugar medical issues (diabetic, pre-diabetic with elevated a1c, hypoglycemic, etc.)? If not, it's just a goal to shoot for in my opinion. What works for me may or may not work for you, so please understand that. I am typically over on everything except calories on any given day, and slightly over on calories at times. I've lost 39 lbs since late January, and it fell off fast at first and now these last 2 lbs don't want to budge. I try to keep from going way over on anything, my aim is for a balanced diet that is healthy but does not exclude anything. I will still eat ice cream and french fries, but definitely think twice and make sure I've got room in my calorie plan before eating that stuff.

    Intense exercises will "earn" you a higher sugar intake because you need to replenish some of the energy you burned quicker than your body can metabolize fats and proteins. That is one way to counter the effects of excess sugar intake.

    As you're just getting started..... a) don't freak out if you go a little over on any or all of the macros MFP tracks (calories, sugar, carbs, etc). The target numbers are simply that, a target based on average people. Learn what feels right for your body by tweaking your diet and giving your body a little time to adjust to it.
    b) ask questions on here but also do your own research. A lot of people on here (myself included at times) will preach their opinion on what you should do like it's some sort of gospel. There are a lot of good, well intentioned people on MFP who have learned a lot about eating and exercising to be healthy, but only you know your body.
    c) don't freak out if the scale doesn't move or goes up slightly. Definitely try to avoid the mental trap I fell into of weighing yourself every day. Weigh regularly, but once or twice a week is plenty. If you do weigh everyday (and I still do most days) just be aware of regular fluctuations in body weight. Definitely don't panic and starve yourself because the scale went up half a pound. That will make things worse.
    d) use something other than just the scale to measure progress. Progress pictures, body measurements, etc. You can reshape your body and slim down without ever loosing a single pound. Muscle is much denser than fat so 1 lb of muscle takes up a lot less space than 1 lb of fat, but 1 lb still weighs 1 lb.
  • Danyellie513
    Danyellie513 Posts: 5
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    Thanks for all the answers guys! I just saw that little red number in the negative, and I didn't like it! But I'm not really eating too many processed foods and it's more natural sugar so thanks for the tips, and I didn't even realize that my food journal was set to private, so sorry about that!
  • AllergicToExercise
    AllergicToExercise Posts: 436 Member
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    I also worried about this as fruit takes me over on sugar most days but this kind of put my mind at rest. 
  • mrmanmeat
    mrmanmeat Posts: 1,968 Member
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    Okay, I'm new at this but it's just after 1:00 P.M. today and I've already surpassed my daily goal intake of sugar. This is only my second day at this but just looking at the nutritional information on the stuff I'm eating I can't see how I'm not going to surpass it every day. I have a daily goal of 165 grams of carbs, including 24 grams of sugar. I'm already at 42. I've noticed a lot of the fruit I had so far today contains a lot of sugar, and in my PB & J sandwich there was 12 grams just in one 1 tablespoon of jelly.


    So consensus, is this bad? Do I need to reevaluate what I'm eating? I'm staying under my calorie goal and I'm still at work but I plan on working out later. I'm going to burn some of it off, but I guess I just was curious about sugar intake and how much is too much.

    Thanks in advance for any insight you might have!

    I don't worry about sugar in fruit.
    I worry about sugar in things such as candy, etc.

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