Happy Feet

Some good observations.
There are no bad calories perse, just bad applications. A little bit of glucose will not hurt anyone, especially if consumed during physical exertion. But if over consumed on a regular basis it does.

I basically quit sugar a little more than a year ago after doing a month long food challenge that excluded it while also watching a friend my age go through complications due to diabetes. The break helped me get over the craving for sugars and refined carbs and I began looking at how many "instant" calories I usually consumed on the average day along side any slower acting nutrients:

Breakfast
2tsps sugar (2 coffees for breakfast)
carb (toast)

Break
1tsp sugar (coffee) or juice
carb (buns crackers or cookies)

Lunch
1tsp sugar (coffee)
carbs (bars, buns, cookies, crackers)
Cake or treats if someone brought them. I work in a facility where there is always a birthday, pizza day or something.

Break
1tsp sugar (coffee)
carb

Dinner
Lots of carbs...

Night snack
carbs...

I saw that I was constantly dosing myself with fast acting calories so that any slower acting ones would be never be used and consequently transformed into fat. I was also riding a roller coaster of sugar spikes/insulin dumps/sugar lows. It was a bad habit I picked up while being extremely physically active that carried over into a later somewhat active (but not to that degree) lifestyle.

I still eat quick calories if riding or running long distance and some here or there won't kill me but day to day I forgo the constant dosing of them and instead eat slow acting carbs/proteins and vegetables for more constant blood sugar levels. It really was an eye opener to see how constant and insideous the quick sugar/carb dosing was.