Impossible to meet MFP's nutrition suggestions?

lyzistrata
lyzistrata Posts: 10 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My goals, according to MFP:
1,300 cal/day
Carbs / Day 163.0 g
Fat / Day 43.0 g
Protein / Day 65.0 g

I feel like there is no way to meet those very tight goals, especially without going over MFP's recommendations for sugar intake, EXTRA especially since MFP doesn't differentiate between added sugars and natural sugars. I eat a lot of fruit and "sweet" vegetables to curtail my sweet tooth, and maybe that's my problem, but I also drink skim milk to meet MFP's goal for my calcium intake, and two cups of the stuff is about 80% of my calcium goal but 50% of my sugar intake, according to MFP.

It's very frustrating to me, especially because I have a family history of diabetes, and I consume very little, if any, added sugars to help prevent the disease occurring in myself. So I seldom drink soda or enjoy treats such as cakes, cookies, pies, etc., but can't I have an apple or a pear or sweet potato?

Replies

  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    I ignore sugar. Unless you're under a doctor's advice to track sugar/carbs, you can ignore it. Also, you should get more calories (more room to meet nutrient needs) if you exercise.
  • Wronkletoad
    Wronkletoad Posts: 368 Member
    "MFP doesn't differentiate between added sugars and natural sugars. "

    no difference.
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
    You can change what nutrients you track in your settings. You can also change your goals if you feel your current goals are too restrictive.

    I don't track sugar, it's tracked already as carbs. I instead track fiber and sodium.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Sugar (refined or natural) is just a carb. If you are tracking carbs, no need to double up and track sugar also. Most people track fiber instead.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    Actually, my problem with MFP's goals is that their carbs and sugars are WAY, WAY too high. I eat far below them.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    grimmeanor wrote: »
    Actually, my problem with MFP's goals is that their carbs and sugars are WAY, WAY too high. I eat far below them.

    You can change them.

  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    grimmeanor wrote: »
    Actually, my problem with MFP's goals is that their carbs and sugars are WAY, WAY too high. I eat far below them.

    You can change them.

    I did not know that. I looked around for a way to change it some time ago. Must have missed it.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    Wronkletoad wrote: »
    "MFP doesn't differentiate between added sugars and natural sugars. "

    no difference.
    This.

  • wmcmurray61
    wmcmurray61 Posts: 192 Member
    I used to track sugar but was in the same boat you are. Everybody here is right about it just being another carb. My biggest frustration is sodium but it's getting better. I think Honsby's suggestion to pay more attention to fiber is a good one. It probably does the most good of anything in terms of health. I always seem to fall short but am working on it. I have actually grown fond of oatmeal and believe me I never thought I'd see the day!
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    grimmeanor wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    grimmeanor wrote: »
    Actually, my problem with MFP's goals is that their carbs and sugars are WAY, WAY too high. I eat far below them.

    You can change them.

    I did not know that. I looked around for a way to change it some time ago. Must have missed it.


    Go to Settings - Goals - and pick custom instead of guided. Change away.
  • lyzistrata
    lyzistrata Posts: 10 Member
    jkwolly wrote: »
    Wronkletoad wrote: »
    "MFP doesn't differentiate between added sugars and natural sugars. "

    no difference.
    This.

    By that, I meant HFCS vs. sugar found naturally in fruits. There is a difference between those, and the way that your body absorbs and processes them.
  • lyzistrata
    lyzistrata Posts: 10 Member
    People are saying you can change what you track. Where do you do that?
  • lyzistrata
    lyzistrata Posts: 10 Member
    lyzistrata wrote: »
    People are saying you can change what you track. Where do you do that?

    Nevermind, I found it in the Settings under the Food header. Now I feel better. I can track things that are more important to me at a glance, like iron and calcium. Thank you!
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    lyzistrata wrote: »
    jkwolly wrote: »
    Wronkletoad wrote: »
    "MFP doesn't differentiate between added sugars and natural sugars. "

    no difference.
    This.

    By that, I meant HFCS vs. sugar found naturally in fruits. There is a difference between those, and the way that your body absorbs and processes them.

    Not really. Maybe if you drink HFCS without anything else. If it's part of a balanced diet, it's not all that different. The only real concern with HFCS in relation to health is that it is added to so many things. You have to be mindful. Since it's just a carb, if you track carbs and remain within those goals, you, by default, will lower your consumption of HFCS making it a wash in my opinion.

  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    grimmeanor wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    grimmeanor wrote: »
    Actually, my problem with MFP's goals is that their carbs and sugars are WAY, WAY too high. I eat far below them.

    You can change them.

    I did not know that. I looked around for a way to change it some time ago. Must have missed it.


    Go to Settings - Goals - and pick custom instead of guided. Change away.
    Thanks!

    I did see that once, I just wasn't sure what ratios for EVERYTHING needed to be at that time so I skipped it. Thanks for pointing me back to it, as I'm armed with a lot more knowledge now.
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
    lyzistrata wrote: »
    People are saying you can change what you track. Where do you do that?

    Go to home tab, then settings.

  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    lyzistrata wrote: »
    People are saying you can change what you track. Where do you do that?

    Settings - Goals

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Just decide which of the goals you want to focus on and do that. Especially at first you'll drive yourself crazy trying to meet everything, and after a while you may find that customized goals work better for you (I increased my protein and decreased my carbs) or that you disagree with the reasoning for a particular goal (I don't care if I go over my sugar since I mostly do because I eat lots of fruit and dairy during certain times of the year).

    I watch calories, macros (customized), and fiber now, with the remaining slot one that I alternate. But at first I'd use the tool to (a) watch calories, and (b) understand your diet better, to possibly figure out what's working and what's not and if there are any nutrition concerns you weren't aware of. For example, some claim that they eat all kinds of hidden sugar. I did not discover that to be so, but if it had been it would have been interesting and I might have chosen to respond to that information in some way.
  • habit365
    habit365 Posts: 174
    If you want to stay within the sugar guidelines, you can have an apple or pear or sweet potato, but you probably can't have them all in a single day along with several glasses of milk. If you are serious about cutting back on the sugar, you are going to have to learn to love non-sweet veggies too. This isn't an MFP is setting impossible standards issues, it's that you don't want to do it (a lot of people don't). There are people who would argue on the side of ignoring sugar intake, especially from natural sources, and there are those who would suggest choosing eating berries over apples, etc. to cut back on sugar.

    MFP recommendations on sugar intake have actually increased a lot since 2013, and ARE supposed to include both added and naturally occurring sugars.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    habit365 wrote: »
    This isn't an MFP is setting impossible standards issues, it's that you don't want to do it (a lot of people don't).

    Not impossible, no, but pointless...yes.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    habit365 wrote: »
    This isn't an MFP is setting impossible standards issues, it's that you don't want to do it (a lot of people don't).

    I didn't see the OP's question as merely about the sugar goal, but I'd say it's neither about impossible standards nor not wanting to do it, but not seeing a good nutrition-based reason to do so.
  • lyzistrata
    lyzistrata Posts: 10 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    habit365 wrote: »
    This isn't an MFP is setting impossible standards issues, it's that you don't want to do it (a lot of people don't).

    I didn't see the OP's question as merely about the sugar goal, but I'd say it's neither about impossible standards nor not wanting to do it, but not seeing a good nutrition-based reason to do so.

    ^That. Thank you. It's not that I am only eating "sweet" vegetables in a day that I drink a lot of milk, or I'm unwilling or unable to curb my sugar intake (natural or processed or otherwise). I did not say those things, and I'm disappointed that I feel like the forums were a little judgmental and a little too willing to put words in my mouth. I appreciate that at least one person heard what I was saying without making assumptions about me.
  • lyzistrata
    lyzistrata Posts: 10 Member
    As someone working on an education in nutrition, I wish that nutritional facts labels required a differentiation between different kinds of sugars, or at the least, the difference between what is naturally occurring in the food and what has been added.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    There's nothing magical about MFP's default macro ratios. You can change them to be whatever you want them to be...

    That said, fruits and veg are good...I get around 6 servings of veg daily and a couple servings of fruit...but there are other ways to get those carbs in...oatmeal, brown rice, legumes, etc, etc, etc.

    The protein goals are pretty low...you can easily hit that with a couple servings of meat or poultry every day. Also look to things like Greek yogurt, eggs, etc

    Fat is pretty easy too...avocados, nuts, nut butters, full fat dairy products, full fat anything that is supposed to be full fat, full fat salad dressings, cook with olive oil, etc.

    I personally don't worry about sugar...I'm not a diabetic, nor do I have any insulin sensitivities and my total sugar intake on average isn't outrageously high (around 80 - 100)...but if you really want to cut back on the sugar you're going to have to learn to like non-sweet veggies, limit fruit, watch your consumption of other foods with naturally occurring sugars (like milk), and rely primarily on whole foods...more grains to hit your carb goals and meat and fat.

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