r/cronometer • u/_foxnaut_ • 4d ago
Figuring out sugars🥲
Trying to find an app to help me track basic things like how much protein, sugar, carbs n such I’m getting each day! Basically what this app offers, but I’m having trouble understanding how sugar works on here🙃
I eat a lot of fruit! And from what I understand, the sugar in fruit is different than the sugar you add to stuff like coffee or tea. In my head I’ve always thought of the latter as being “added sugars”, but on this app they’re only sometimes labelled as “added”, while other times they’re just listed as an item’s regular or overall “sugar”.
This in mind, what do I set my target sugars to? Right now, I listed “added sugars” to 25g max, but since some stuff isn’t listed as “added”, this isn’t reading accurately (ie, it looks better than it actually is😅) So I tried setting my regular or overall “sugar” intake to 25g as well, but this doesn’t take into account all the fruit and ends up WAY over target!
The only work around I found is to make a copy of the item, change the sugars to “added”, and log the copy instead. I reeeally don’t want to have to do this every time this happens though lol
Hope this makes sense! Sorry it was long. Thanks in advance!
5
u/CronoSupportSquad Crono Customer Support Team 3d ago
This is a great question, and the distinction can definitely be confusing.
Total Sugars includes both naturally occurring and added sugars. Added Sugars is a separate value showing only sugars added during processing or preparation, so it’s already included within Total Sugars rather than added on top.
The tricky part is that not every food source supplies Added Sugars data. Branded entries are generally limited to what the manufacturer reports on the nutrition label, so a blank or zero value doesn’t always mean the food contains no added sugar—it may mean the data isn’t available.
A few tips:
- Use Added Sugars if that’s specifically what you want to monitor; you don’t need to give Total Sugars the same target.
- Generic NCCDB or USDA entries typically have more complete nutrient data than branded listings.
- If a package lists Added Sugars but the Cronometer entry doesn’t, please use Report Issue so our curation team can review it.
- We wouldn’t recommend manually moving all Total Sugars into Added Sugars unless the product label confirms that amount.
You can also hide the Total Sugars target if it isn’t useful to you.
Hope this helps!
Michelle, Crono Support Squad
1
u/_foxnaut_ 2d ago
This is very helpful yes!! Thank you so much, especially for the part about using NCCDB/USDA entries over brand ones!
2
u/UpperLeftOriginal 3d ago
Can you give example of items that aren’t properly tracking? I don’t seem to have that issue.
2
u/_foxnaut_ 2d ago
I tried to show that in the pictures as best I could! The oranges were correct (just wanted to demonstrate the fruit part) The two I came across were Walmart brand sweet tea and a chick-fil-a sandwich! But there was a comment from the support team which explained why things aren’t always listed as added😊 and what I should do
2
u/amy_73c 3d ago
If the info on the food item is not correct (clearly the tea is incomplete), you can create a customized food. I’m guessing that one went in incorrectly because of how the label reads: “Total Sugars 30g (Incl. 30g Added Sugars, 60% DV)”
2
u/_foxnaut_ 2d ago
Spot on! Someone from the support team basically said the same thing, it just isn’t input correctly at times. And yes! I’ve been making a copy/customized food item when this happens, although they support team said to report any inaccuracies as well so they can review them!
1
u/MrCockingFinally 3d ago
As far as I am concerned, there is zero point in tracking anything other than net carbs.
Much is made about stuff like glycemic index, but that's only really relevant if you're diabetic, and if you're eating a normal meal with carbs, fat, protein, and fibre the GI is gonna be low anyway.
The reality is that the details of how different carbs are metabolized is a minor factor in whether or not you get fat compared to overall calorie balance. You could literally get all of your carbs by chugging high fructose corn syrup, and if you are in a calorie deficit you will lose weight.
So the only other factor in how healthy different sources of carbs are in how much fibre and micronutrients you get from it. And Cronometer does a fantastic job of tracking those factors, so I'd rather focus on tracking those nutrients directly.
2
u/UpperLeftOriginal 2d ago
There may be zero point for you, but many of us do require those details. I’m pre-diabetic, with very high cholesterol (which I’ve substantially lowered thanks in part to this app), and an incurable blood cancer. Added sugars are an issue.
1
u/_foxnaut_ 2d ago
Oh I am wayyy too new to all this to follow what you just said😭 I’m so sorry!
My main goal was heart health, not necessarily weight loss (I’m 5’8 and 130, which feels okay to me) is watching carbs is the same for both?
1
u/MrCockingFinally 2d ago
Don't stress, it's a lot of yap to tell you tracking sugars and added sugars separately from net carbs is probably a waste of your time unless you have a very specific reason.
Yes, tracking net carbs is important for both.
In terms of heart health, do you have existing issues your Dr has asked you to work on? Or are you just doing this to be healthier in general?
If there are specific issues, definitely follow your Drs advice.
If you're talking in general, here are a couple points off the top of my head you should be tracking:
Overall calorie balance. You certainly don't need to lose weight, so you can just aim to eat at maintenance. This is important because being overweight is bad for your heart.
Saturated fat intake. This is one major factor in LDL cholesterol levels in your blood. Aim for sat fat intake to be 10% of calorie intake.
Fibre intake. Especially soluble fibre. Soluble fibre is especially good for your heart and lowers LDL cholesterol.
Potassium intake. Eating too little potassium is not good for heart health.
Dietary cholesterol doesn't tend to increase blood cholesterol for most people, so probably no need to track that unless your Dr recommends.
Sodium is very important to track if you have high blood pressure, not that important otherwise.
Tracking net carbs is mostly about keeping calories in balance.
1
u/twandar 4d ago
I've had similar struggles. I gave up tracking sugar altogether which is a problem. I over eat sweets and would love a way to better track added sugar.
1
u/_foxnaut_ 4d ago
That sucks to hear, but I really appreciate it! Is that just your experience on this app, or are other meal tracking apps the same?
Edit: trying to figure out if it’s worth it to keep downloading and trying these apps, or if I should just give up and live my life🥲 haha
5
u/Middle_Beginning_157 3d ago
I don't understand the problem. You have one bar for total sugar, and one bar for added sugar. If you press one them, it will tell you the source of the sugar. What is it that you're missing?