Anybody tracking sugar? I keep going over ughh!

mscrholder
mscrholder Posts: 38 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I can't seem to stay in the green in my sugar column although I've been doing pretty well with staying under in calories, carbs, sodium, fat, and protein. Any suggestions/advice?
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Replies

  • bwiggans
    bwiggans Posts: 3
    what are you drinking and eating? gotta check the sugar count in what you consume, i know i have the same issue but i know what is causing my sugar to be in the red every day. damn Pepsi lol.
  • sherryjohnson2012
    sherryjohnson2012 Posts: 102 Member
    hard to tell when your food diary is not open to view...
  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
    My trick is to have more protein. I actually end up going over my daily "recommended" protein intake pretty much every single day, but I'm usually below (well below, even) on carbs (and sugar). Basically, eat lots of veggies, some meat, and high protein foods without willingly cutting carbs (keep eating fruits) and it all should sensibly fall into place.

    The numbers are guidelines, too. Maybe it'll work that way for you. Just make sure you spread out in the other nutrient types too though. Some healthy fat can is good for you!

    Edit: oh wow, forget I said anything, I actually wasn't tracking sugar as I thought and I'M in the red all over the place. My own fault though. Energy drinks amostly. But it's been a few bad days. Usually, sticking away from any sugary drinks does the trick :)
  • columbus27
    columbus27 Posts: 178 Member
    Open your diary. Try not to drink your Cal and watch your fruit.
  • JBHawaii
    JBHawaii Posts: 94
    if it is from fruit and you are consuming it in moderation then I would say don't worry. If its from processed horribleness then its time to pull in the reigns and figure out what it is that puts you over and get rid of it.

    I eat 'over' my sugar occasionally but its because I follow a paleo diet and I eat fruit as one of my primary carb sources... nbd if its from the 'right' source.
  • dr0p4ah0y
    dr0p4ah0y Posts: 22
    I have the same problem! For me, fruit is the culprit so I try to cut back on that. :) (And I keep my diary closed too, haha)
  • southpaw211
    southpaw211 Posts: 385 Member
    I have to make a major effort with my sugar - I'm constantly going over. I did stop eating most processed things and I'm not eating any refined sugar or anything bad. So I guess that's one plus - it's all natural sugar. Except for that coke at the movies last week... but I totally saved up for that and it was worth every sip. Yum.

    I'm thinking I need to just get sugar off my page so it doesn't psyche me out every day. If you know you're eating healthy and not junk, you might want to do the same. Also - I'm focusing more on fruits that have far less naturally occurring sugar in them. That really helped me today.
  • jennable
    jennable Posts: 48 Member
    I noticed the same thing when I first started. Just a banana and a cup of yogurt would put me over on sugar. It made me much more aware of the amount of sugar I consume. It is tough!
  • noctilumina
    noctilumina Posts: 65 Member
    I hadn't been looking at sugar until I read your post. Thanks for bringing it up, and thanks to all for the helpful replies. If I eat 1 medium Fuji apple and 3 steamed and peeled baby beets then I've crossed into the red for that day. I've just started my journey to health and fitness, and it will be a long time before I worry about that particular red number!
  • r1ghtpath
    r1ghtpath Posts: 701 Member
    look at where it's coming from. fruit? carbs? treats? how low are you setting it?
  • angelraguel
    angelraguel Posts: 142 Member
    where are you getting your other colums from? I only have Calories, Carbs, Fat, Protein colums :o
  • mscrholder
    mscrholder Posts: 38 Member
    Thank you all sooo much for the advice!! I apologize for asking my question with a closed diary. It's all yours now! : )
  • mscrholder
    mscrholder Posts: 38 Member
    Thank you soo much! What fruits are you choosing with low sugar?
  • lilmzzgreeneyez
    lilmzzgreeneyez Posts: 133 Member
    i track my sugar and sodium. i almost always go over too. unfortunately a greek yogurt has like 18 grams of sugar in it and thats really high since my limit is like 39 grams. then add a banana or a bowl of cheerios and im over lol. right now im in the red at 10 grams over and i still have way too many calories im suppose to be eating. it sucks.
  • Jill_newimprovedversion
    Jill_newimprovedversion Posts: 988 Member
    All I can tell you is this: When you set up your food diary settings, you can track whatever you wish.
    I don't know WHY MFP picks the numbers they do, but I'm assuming they know something I don't.
    There are suggested guidelines here for a reason.
    I think it's a wise idea to keep track of as many as possible
    Calories, Fat, Sodium, Carbs, and Sugar seem to have the biggest impact on your overall health.

    Eventually it's a great challenge to keep ALL them close to the line....

    I do notice how my body responds to a high sugar content day, even if it's mostly from fruit.
    My body doesn't seem to know the difference.........it just triggers the sweet tooth
    and it starts going NOMNOMNOM.....GIMME MORE>>>>>>>>>>>>
  • Jill_newimprovedversion
    Jill_newimprovedversion Posts: 988 Member
    i track my sugar and sodium. i almost always go over too. unfortunately a greek yogurt has like 18 grams of sugar in it and thats really high since my limit is like 39 grams. then add a banana or a bowl of cheerios and im over lol. right now im in the red at 10 grams over and i still have way too many calories im suppose to be eating. it sucks.

    may I offer a suggestion? I started getting PLAIN greek yogurt, and sweetening it stevia and vanilla or adding fresh fruit.
  • noctilumina
    noctilumina Posts: 65 Member
    where are you getting your other colums from? I only have Calories, Carbs, Fat, Protein colums :o

    If you click on the "Food" tab on top, and then the "Settings" tab underneath that, you can select up to 5 nutrients to track. I had carbs, protein and fat as default, and then I added saturated fat and trans fat. I honestly don't know what trans fats are, but after a week of never having one show up in my food, I switched to sodium. (I'm eating a lot of frozen entrees because I'm just starting and I like that the nutrition facts and portions are already in the database here. :tongue:) When that didn't go anywhere near red I tried sugar!
  • r1ghtpath
    r1ghtpath Posts: 701 Member
    you'd be better off picking veggies over fruits for snacks. but, really look at the 100cal snack bags. my friend said if you're gonna watch your sugar keep each item at 5 or under. those snack bags things are over 5. maybe eat more protein? that would knock out some of the sugars.....

    i don't eat a lot of fruit. i love fruit, but i don't eat much of it. if i'm going to snack, i try something that is higher in protein. i do sugar free breads if i have to have carbs/ bread. sugar free protein bars if i can. low carb/ low sugar protein powder.
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
    I don't have diabetes, so I don't track sugar.
  • Cal28
    Cal28 Posts: 514 Member
    Does it matter? (Genuine question)

    I'm AWFUL for sugar but everything else is pretty much okay when I'm on track. How 'bad' is it? x
  • mkbledsoe
    mkbledsoe Posts: 132
    I have the opposite problem. I am always way low on carbs and eat almost no sugar, but am always way over on protein and fat.
  • mrsleftybrown
    mrsleftybrown Posts: 42
    [/quote]

    may I offer a suggestion? I started getting PLAIN greek yogurt, and sweetening it stevia and vanilla or adding fresh fruit.
    [/quote]

    I like this suggestion. I had never thought about doing this but this is a great idea. I have made my own dips for veggies using the individual PLAIN greek yogurt and then added a couple of teaspoons of dip of my choice. It is a great lunch option and gets my protein in.
  • tmandras
    tmandras Posts: 22 Member
    honestly, all the prepackaged meals is pushing the # up. Try to cook your own night or day before for lunch/dinner, better for you overall!
    Fruit always throws me off but I just try to have it early in the day. I use stevia or xylitol in my oatmeal, yogurt, etc. to sweeten
  • zenchild
    zenchild Posts: 680 Member
    I'm always over on sugar but I'm under on carbs. A handful of cherries and an apple puts me over sugar. I stopped tracking it. I track fiber instead. Tracking fiber is much more important for my overall attitude to the world.
  • SoozeE512
    SoozeE512 Posts: 439 Member
    Sugars are always the worst for me, but the majority of mine come from healthier choices than what I used to eat so I'm not as concerned. A cup of milk and an apple are enough to put my sugars into the red, but it's better that than a bag full of milk chocolate candy. If the majority of your sugars are coming from sweets, then either limit the amount that you have, or even better, try to switch those out for fruits and veggies. It's not easy at first, but it's worth it.
  • cwilli36
    cwilli36 Posts: 45 Member

    There are suggested guidelines here for a reason.
    I think it's a wise idea to keep track of as many as possible
    Calories, Fat, Sodium, Carbs, and Sugar seem to have the biggest impact on your overall health.

    She's exactly right. I didn't look at the diary, but just from my personal experience so far with MFP, keeping my sugar, sodium and calories in check seem to be when I lose the most weight. Sometimes I go over a little, no worries, but try to keep pretty close. If you are making good choices all around, it will come together.

    I always go over when I eat a FiberOne bar. I always eat the light yogurts and stay away from bananas...lol But bananas aren't "bad" for you, but they will put you over everytime. My trainer says to limit fruit to one serving a day and eat more veggies. I eat strawberries and apples. They have less sugar.

    I also use the GNC Lean Protein 25 shakes for snacks, they have 2 grm of sugar (something like that) but 25 protein. I was told to eat 1/2 my weight in protein grams each day. It puts me over according to MFP, but all together with keeping the sugar, sodium and calories lower, its working!

    Good luck. You will find your balance. Just keep working!
  • CEHayes73
    CEHayes73 Posts: 221 Member
    Mine is over all the time, too. I think it's from fruit, and I'm not worried about how that is affecting me. I've been working with a dietician, and her advice to me has been that as long as my total carbs are okay, not to worry.
  • marygettingfit
    marygettingfit Posts: 49 Member
    I was tracking my sugar also and was going over if i had alot of fruit. I now don't worry as much as long as my carbs are ok. I also now track my fiber as i feel i need to up it!! :heart:
  • bugzinc
    bugzinc Posts: 291 Member
    I think a big thing is HOW are you going over? Are you eating fruit and going over, or did you drink a soda and go over?
    Not all calories are created equally...same goes for sugars :)
  • RobinvdM
    RobinvdM Posts: 634 Member
    I don't track sugar, thanks to some brow beating from my dietitian.

    When I first started tracking food with MFP I was constantly obsessed with monitoring sugar intake, however my dietitian made it clear that if I was eating right, and the sugars were from natural sources then DON"T WORRY ABOUT IT. Worry about making sure the sugar comes from natural sources like fruit- instead of junk / processed foods. So my results have been great, if you aren't diabetic don't worry about it. I am not saying it is the ideal answer but there are much bigger factors to worry over like sodium, protein, fat, and calories. I don't think I have been under in my sugar column since starting MFP, haha.

    So- don't sweat it, Just make sure you pay attention to the source of your sugar, not the quantity.

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