Taking in more sugar ON Whole30?

[blyamanda]

First, a couple of confessions:

1. I am on Day 12 and I'm still tracking calories and macros in MFP. I am aware that it's problematic and one of my goals by the end of the month is ridding myself of this habit. 

2. I know this isn't a weight-loss diet, but I am, like many others, hopeful that I can get rid of some stubborn fat. This is not my primary goal (which is resetting some bad habits around relying on processed foods and avoiding healthy food like fruit), but it's one of them.

As mentioned above, I'm still tracking food. I don't really want to do this anymore, but so far I've stuck with it because I'd like to see about how many calories I'm eating when I'm feeling satiated and energetic, and I'd like to see just about how many carbs and fiber I'm taking in. I am an active person, walking on average 3-4 miles a day and a few times a week weight-lifting and running. 

Before Whole30, I was gluten-free (for nearly 7 years) because of diagnosed Hashimotos and digestive issues, and I was low-sugar most of the time. In fact, I avoided fruit except berries, and ate a lot of stuff with erythritol/stevia. So, generally, my sugar intake was fairly low. Now I'm allowing myself fruit (about two servings a day), which is AWESOME (I missed it!), and eating potatoes, and NOT eating fake sweeteners. I'm happy with this. However, I do see that I'm taking in lots more sugar on a daily basis than I used to. And just about the same amount of fiber (I used to rely heavily on Quest bars, which include a lot of fiber, for pre- and/or post-workout). For reference, in the two days before I started Whole30, I ate 16 and 18 grams of sugar, respectively. During Whole 30, I've eaten anywhere from 29 g (low end) up to 100, with an average daily intake of between 45-75 g. 

In general, this Whole30 adjustment just hasn't been hard for me at all. It's been so easy that part of me is worried that I'm actually going to gain or just maintain weight (I know, I know, NSVs). When really I look and feel my best when I'm a little more lean. What to think about this increase in fat in my diet PLUS an increase in sugar (even if they're good sugars combined with fiber from whole foods)?

[SugarcubeOD]

So this concern is sort of precicely why we tell people not to track macros.  Quest bars (not food) and stevia/artificial sweetners are NOT the same as potatoes and fruit.  Doesnt matter if they have the same sugar content or fibre content, it's not the same. Food grown in a field, not in a lab (quest bars) is going to have vitamins, minerals, fibre attached to that naturally occurring sugar, which you did note, but really think about that... nature makes perfect food and processed stevia and quest bars are not perfect food.

Trust the program, trust your body and stop tracking.  Seriously... write down what you eat in a journal or on a piece of paper and then mark down how you feel energy wise... use that to track and sort out how much to eat to feel your best... random numbers in a tracking app mean nothing... trust yourself... don't let an app freak you out!

[blyamanda]

Thanks, SugarcubeOD.

I hear what you're saying, for sure. I'm following Melissa's advice on this at the moment--that I'm pairing this tracking with a diary of how I feel after meals. I do think that supplements such as whey protein can be great for active people, as long as they don't have any issues with lactose. So I don't think that "it's not real food" is necessarily right-on. And nature can make "perfect food," but per this diet rationale itself, it's not always perfect for everyone's body. So some people will do more or less well with more or less fruit, for instance. 

I'd like to just "trust my body," but I also just wonder about the science of this. If I'm indeed taking in more sugar (even natural sugars), with my particular background, I'm wondering how that will impact my results. 

[SugarcubeOD]

1 hour ago, blyamanda said:

Thanks, SugarcubeOD.

I hear what you're saying, for sure. I'm following Melissa's advice on this at the moment--that I'm pairing this tracking with a diary of how I feel after meals. I do think that supplements such as whey protein can be great for active people, as long as they don't have any issues with lactose. So I don't think that "it's not real food" is necessarily right-on. And nature can make "perfect food," but per this diet rationale itself, it's not always perfect for everyone's body. So some people will do more or less well with more or less fruit, for instance. 

I'd like to just "trust my body," but I also just wonder about the science of this. If I'm indeed taking in more sugar (even natural sugars), with my particular background, I'm wondering how that will impact my results. 

I believe Melissa's advice is to track for a day or two if you want, not for the duration of the program.  Whey protein is manufactured in a lab.... 

You're right tho that everyone is different and some people do better with less fruit... I personally eat none.  If you want to decrease your natural sugar intake then stop eating fruit for the program and see how you feel.  

What results are you looking for that you're worried this will impact?  Bearing in mind your answer of course that this is NOT a weight loss or calorie restriction 'diet' and that it's an elimination plan meant to help you determine how individual foods affect your body and for helping change your relationship with food.

[blyamanda]

Whey protein are proteins isolated from whey, which is a milk byproduct. Sure, it's processed, if that's what you mean, as are "natural flavors" that you find in things like Lacroix and various gums you find in certain foods (all compliant for Whole30) and so on--they're developed in kitchen labs but come from real foods. I'm not anti-whey protein, so...I don't know what else to say about that. 

Melissa does strongly advise against it, but I'm going with strategy 3 for now, quoted below, and it's what I've decided is best for me at the moment.

"Strategy 3: Keep tracking, with caveats

If you feel like you really need to keep tracking as thoroughly as you are used to for the entirety of your Whole30 (which I’ll strongly recommend against), then I’m going to assign you additional homework. Along with your intake, I also want you to journal how you feel after each meal, and during the times between meals. This can be done on your smartphone or computer, or in a paper journal—but you need to be able to go back and compare your macros and calories with how you’re feeling."

With regard to what I want to get out of the program: lots. Mostly a nutritional reset and a focus on cooking for myself again. I also want to test my reactions to things other than gluten. But my reason for bringing this all up is this: if sugar consumption and insulin resistance is one of the main things we're trying to address here, I think it makes sense for me to ask the forum how taking in more sugar (through fruit and starchy vegetables I didn't eat much of before) on a daily basis might affect me in the short-term and long-term. Body composition wise as well as sugar craving-wise. 

[laura_juggles]

If you're really that worried, cut the fruit. If you're eating 2 servings of fruit a day, you're eating on the high end of the template for fruit anyway (which is 0-2). Not a dang thing you can get in fruit that you can't get in vegetables. 

I also used to be a Quest bar junkie. Did my first Whole30 without a ton of fruit, then reintroductions, then tried a bite of a Quest bar when I was going from one gym to another in the middle of a pretty crazy day of teaching 5 group fitness classes. It was so disgusting that I gagged. Seriously...those things are not food.