Too much sugar for my breakfast?

I eat my breakfast, wait 30 minutes to 1 hour then I do my routine (weights), then half way through my routine (about 2 hours since breakfast) I drink protein powder with honey which adds more sugar on top of my breakfast.

This is my breakfast: (item, calories, fat, carb, sugar, protein) grams

PC-Organics Crunchy Corn Cereal, 120, 0, 28, 6, 2

NoName-Instant Skim Milk Powder, 90, 0, 13, 13, 9

Sun Maid-Natural California Raisins, 130, 0, 31, 29, 1

Campbell's-V8 Vegetable Cocktail Low Sodium, 50, 0, 11, 8, 2

--------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------

Total - 390, 0, 83, 56, 14

In my mind, I'm assuming that all of the above items will digest fairly quickly and give me the needed energy that I need. Or is that not true.

Well, I know that the daily limit for sugar is about 40 g. My current self-made meal plan, if I stick to it, will give me about 121 grams of sugar each day. Though, most of it comes from raisins 29g, honey 16g, apple 16g, banana 15.4g, and milk 13g.

Except for the breakfast and protein drink which give 73g, the sugar intake for each meal throughout the day is pretty moderate.

I actually had a pretty good meal plan before, but I stopped, and then made changes to it. I think I was able to hit my target calories and stay within or close to the 40g limit for sugar.

I think I had like, oatmeal, natural peanut butter, banana, and V8. About 380 cal, 10 fat, 63 carb, 23 sugar, 11 pro. That's not too bad, but they don't seem like the type of foods that would digest as fast.

I'm pretty active, well, at least when the weather gets warmer. So, I'm not too concerned, but it's best to know before problems come up.

I think your breakfast looks fine. The sugar in milk is lactose, not sucrose (table sugar) or fructose (fruit sugar). I've heard a rule of thumb that is: "Eat less than 100g of added sugar a day," which is not to include sugar from fruits, veggies, or milk. According to that, you're doing quite fine. If you like the raisins, there's no reason to give them up - but you could vary your breakfast. And most of the breakfast cereals made with whole grains and designed to start you off on the right foot don't have too much sugar, if eaten according to the serving size on the box. So in my non-expert opinion, I wouldn't worry! Keep the packaged/processed foods and added sugar to a minimum and you can't go wrong =]

About the whole/multi-grain cereals.

When I first saw the Kashi GoLean with protein cereal, I bought box several boxes. For those who have tried it too, will probably know that I still have unopened boxes. And probably will not open them. They seemed like the perfect cereal. Unfortunately, it gives too much gas.

I find corn cereals to be the best in terms of agreeing with my stomach.

Even oatmeal is not too good with me.

For fiber, brown rice is great.

That looks good to me.  It is a pretty high number, but as someone else pointed out, it's not all straight processed sugar.  Fruits (like your raisins) are naturally high in sugar, but are an important part of a healthy diet.  I'd say you're doing just fine.  I imagine you're a pretty active person, so it shouldn't have any negative effects on your weight.  The really important thing is do you crash a few hours after breakfast?  And I don't mean in the "wow I need a little snack" kind of way, I mean like a crippling crash.  If you do, then you might want to cut back a little, but honestly, I don't see a problem with your breakfast.

It is about 85% calories from carbs, which is good if you do a workout right after and you want lots of energy.  I think your right to pick things that will digest easily for a workout, that makes sense to me.  Just make sure to balance the rest of your day, get lots of protein after your workout and some good fats during the day and you'll be fine.

I wouldn't fret about 1 meal, unless you eat that same meal for all 3.

The only "added" sugar I use would be honey for my protein drink. From what I read, and the way I understand it is that taking protein with some simple carbs will increase its effect?

I mainly eat raisins for the potassium. Bananas are great but have wait for them to ripen. Ungassed bananas are the best, I think they are meant to be used in cooking (that's what its sign says), but when they finally ripen (about two weeks, when the stems turn black) they taste really good. Unfortunately they go bad fast after that. So after a long wait, you have eat them fast.

I recently found out about honey dates. After eating one, I had to eat another, then another....

Well, I don't think I've ever crashed any time on a usual day as I eat 2 - 3 hours apart. Most of my other meals have 10g of sugar or less.

My main concern was that health issues may come up later on. My grandma was diagnosed with diabetes a couple of years back after having a stroke, and I recall that she would just add sugar to many things. But at the same time she was not the active type.

Personally, I think I would have eventually ended up in a situation like that myself if I did not make some changes.

Yikes! That's a TON of sugar! That should be a DAYS worth, not just on meal... Perhaps you should look for a lower sugar cereal, eat whole vegetables & fruits as opposed to drinking V8 & eating Raisins... and that milk... well eh, I don't actually drink dairy, so I am not quite sure how much less regular sugar would have as opposed to the powder you're using... What you need in this breakfast is PROTEIN... Where is it! I bet your starved by mid-morning! You also need fat in your life to survive and this breakfast has none!  

Actually, by the end of the day my calorie percentages are about like this:

25% Fat (62g (13g saturated fat, zero trans))

52% Carbs (299g (30g fiber, 121g sugar))

23% Protein (129g).

So it's pretty balanced, I guess? Except for the morning spike.

But I always make changes to my meal plan after a while. I'll probably have to too when summer finally comes.

From past experiences, it really is important to plan meals ahead of time. There were so many long cycling trips that I went on that burned so much calories that I could not comfortably eat back within the day. Just because I did not plan ahead, or did not have a plan for such days.

Which also explains why I can't seem to gain much muscle weight in the summer time.

I think the daily dose of processed sugar should not accumulate more than 50 grams, not 100.... I usually consume around 100 total, but I get more than half of that from fresh fruit and milk. Raisins do have very high sugar, and I dont know if it is natural or not, because I dont think grapes have that much, so it might be in the processing.

I think the cereal and vegtable cocktail are proicessed sugar, but I would look into the raisns and how they are processed. Also, your body can work off alot of sugar if eaten in the morning, so better to have more early so your body has a chance to work it off, say, instead of eating a cup of ice cream in the evening.

Hey ripples,

I really don't know if that's too high or not...if you think it is, can you cut some back? It never hurts to have less sugar in your diet.

I asked a gasterologist (sp) about V8 a while ago and he said that because of all the sodium, it really isn't a good option...and he didn't consider it healthy.  Even the "low sodium" V8 is still pretty bad because the product needs the sodium to maintain the long self-life. (still really processed).

I love veggies, and maybe you can make your own at home.

Sorry, I know that had nothing to do with sugar, but I thougth i'd pass that one to you.

For raisins vs grapes, raisins will always be higher in the nutritional information simply because you are eating more "dried grapes" per gram. One grape will weigh as much as several raisins.

I try to eat less processed foods than before. Always brought packaged snack bars along on cycling trips, but this year I'll probably bring raisins, peanuts, dates. The raisins will give me quick energy, the peanuts will give me energy slowly (I think) and protein, and I just like dates. All in a reusable container.

Half a can of salmon heated in olive oil would be my last meal of the day. I basically start the day with carbs and end the day with protein. It kind of makes sense to me how I'd want quick energy in the morning and then something that releases energy slowly through my sleeping hours and of course to help in the repairing and growth of my muscle.

For sodium, I'm not too worried as my daily total is about 2600 mg (a bit more than the upper limit of 2400 mg). For any processed food, I try get the one with the lowest amount of sodium for the type item or brand. But then again, going on long cycling trips or physical activity will impact that (I think). Last summer, I actually started putting sugar/honey in my water bottle, and then later on, a bit (just a bit) of salt. And I felt the difference. Because, well, from what I read and understand was that if you drink just water when exercising a long time (like a marathon) your body's ... electrolytes? ... will be diluted. In minor cases you will feel uncomfortable like been very tire, all the way to death (not sure about this) in extreme cases.

Honestly, I'm one of those who are not familiar with the fruits and vegetables part of the supermarket. I mean in terms of picking the ones that are ready and stuff like that. And then when i do get them home, what do I do with them? I'm not much of a cook. And then there's the preparation.

For now, the most I buy from that part of the supermarket are apples (bagged ones), bananas, and sometimes onions. Believe it or not, the first time I went to that part of the supermarket, I was like thinking "So..., what do I do? ... Hmmm... $ per lb ... how do I know how much I'm buying ... I don't see a scale anywhere ... how do I tell which ones are good... there's no date on them... Do I squeeze them?...ok, just take some good looking ones, put them in a bag, then ... go....".

Ok, probably it wasn't that bad, but it still felt ... "new".

Sounds funny, and it is quite funny. I mean when I buy other things, I just find it on a shelf where each and every one are basically the same, and it's $ for each. Yup, just pick any one, look at the expiration date, and pay for it.

Yeah...so, until I improve on my cooking of vegetables (I have tried, doesn't taste too good) I'll just drink V8, and of course spaghetti with tomato sauce. Oh, actually I do know how to make tomato sauce, but it takes quite a long time to make (to make it good).

Yeah..., not enough vegetables in my meal plan.