What if I go over on Sugar or Fat but stay within my deficit?

Summer16354

Just getting started here. Never realized how hard it is to keep the sugar down> Its in everything from my breakfast smoothie to the peas I ate for dinner. Anyway, I aim to keep the fat intake around the goal number, but sugar will be hard. What if I am consistently going over- will I still lose weight? Are the goals for each thing being tracked for optimal weight loss? Such as protein - I didn't get nearly enough of that today. How will that affect my weight loss goals?

diannethegeek

Calories are what matter for weight loss. As long as your calories are within the right range you should lose weight.

Macros (carbs, fat, protein) help with different things. For instance, fat helps with vitamin absorption, hormonal balance, and keeps your skin and nails healthy. Protein helps to keep you fuller longer and helps your body retain that lean muscle mass. And carbs help give you energy. How you set your macros are your choice and MFP has suggested one possible set of goals for you. You're welcome to adjust them as you see fit, but many of us think that MFP sets their protein and fat goals too low.

Sugar is a form of carbohydrate. Some people have medical reasons or choose to keep their sugar lower. But, for what it's worth, MFP's limit is based on the recommended limit for added sugars, but the site doesn't differentiate between added and natural sugars. Personally, I don't worry about my sugar at all. I'm usually over the number by breakfast. But you can do your research and decide whether or not it's important to you.

auddii

I don't even track sugar; it's a carb, there's no reason to track carbs twice. I replaced the sugar with something more useful; for me it was fiber. You can change that under your diary settings.

Christine_72

Keep an eye on your calories instead of your macros.
Excess calories will stop you losing, not sugar.
I am always over on my sugar by lunch time because of all the fruit I eat. Now, I track fibre instead

loulamb7

diannethegeek wrote: »

Calories are what matter for weight loss. ....

....Some people have medical reasons or choose to keep their sugar lower. .... I don't worry about my sugar at all. I'm usually over the number by breakfast. But you can do your research and decide whether or not it's important to you.

Yes! Don't worry about it unless it's for a medical issue. Focus initially on getting your calories in line.

DeWoSa

If you maintain a calorie deficit, you will continue to lose weight regardless of the source of those calories.

To help your body perform optimally, you need to spread your calories over carbs, protein, and fat (these are called macros). MFP lets you choose which percentage you want to assign to each macro. 40 / 30 / 30 or 35 / 35/ 30 or whatever you want.

You can either go with MFP's defaults or set your own. You'll have to talk to people more knowledgable than me to find out what the best percentages are for your situation (height, weight loss goal, activity level, etc.)

You should hit near or at your macros daily, but if you are over or under it's no big deal as long as you are at or under your calories. Going over your calories once in a while is no big deal as long as you are consistently at your calories over a significant amount of time -- a week, say.

Sugar is just a carbohydrate so if you are over sugar but not over carbs then you are doing fine.

Good luck!

emmoen

there are also good sugar that comes from natural foods and good fats. Don't worry to much. I focus on Calories, Protein and Carbs.

ksy1969

Great Job!!!

/end thread

jnv7594

I wondered this a while back and asked a similar question. I don't really track sugar, but I was going over on fat even while not quite hitting my calorie goal. I was told by a couple people to see my fat macro number as a minimum...like a goal. I had a hard time believing I could go over fat, even with healthy fat items like nuts...my brain was still trained with the "high fat is bad' idea. So I did an experiment. I started looking at my fat as a minimum, and let myself go over it but stayed within my calories. Some days I have eaten as much as 80 to 90 grams when my goal is set at 58. Hasn't changed a thing. I'm still losing steadily. I had a major epiphany with that little experiment. It's not the fat that makes you fat. It's exceeding calories. I've heard that time and time again on here, but had a hard time believing it myself until I tried my little experiment. Some may disagree with me, but this is just my experience. It was rather freeing when I realized it was true.

DeWoSa

jnv7594 wrote: »

So I did an experiment. I started looking at my fat as a minimum, and let myself go over it but stayed within my calories. Some days I have eaten as much as 80 to 90 grams when my goal is set at 58. Hasn't changed a thing. I'm still losing steadily. I had a major epiphany with that little experiment.

It was rather freeing when I realized it was true.

Isn't it wonderful?! I love calorie counting.

NoelFigart1

I utterly ignore macros as numbers and just worry about calories. At my stage in the game, as long as I'm eating plenty of fresh produce (yes, that tends to mean salads) and getting enough protein and fat to keep me feeling full, I don't really care.

If I need to worry more about it in the future due to healthy, energy or athletic performance, I will.

(Admittedly, I tend to eat more carbs in the form of whole grains as I'm ramping up my training than I did when I was starting)

besee_2000

There is more to just calories in vs calories out. You should be concerned of sugar. Eating 500 cal of sugar vs 500 cal of complex carbs and fiber are not the same for your gut. Sugar increases insulin production. Insulin places the excess calories to fat storage. Those that go on low carb diets can eat a lot of calories without storing anything to fat. "Good" sugar vs "bad" sugar is also controversial. I would suggest "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It changes your mind about fats and carbs.

eric_sg61

besee_2000 wrote: »

There is more to just calories in vs calories out. You should be concerned of sugar. Eating 500 cal of sugar vs 500 cal of complex carbs and fiber are not the same for your gut. Sugar increases insulin production. Insulin places the excess calories to fat storage. Those that go on low carb diets can eat a lot of calories without storing anything to fat. "Good" sugar vs "bad" sugar is also controversial. I would suggest "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It changes your mind about fats and carbs.

Taubes has been debunked over and over again.

besee_2000

I don't think its as simple as macros like carbs vs fats. Its types of carbs. Fibers vs refined sugars. Complex vs. simple.

Christine_72

I agree partly with tracking carbs, only because for me personally, the more I eat, the more I want

Summer16354

I don't really see how you can NOT go over the sugar. Today I had a little bit of smoothie, some raisin bran, and peas, and I was done for.. So I will instead avoid eating cake, cookies, and the like.. and just try to be mindful not to consume too much of my calories in sugar..It will be hard. I don't like many veges, and so when I try to eat healthier, I eat a lot of fruit.

GaleHawkins

eric_sg61 wrote: »

besee_2000 wrote: »

There is more to just calories in vs calories out. You should be concerned of sugar. Eating 500 cal of sugar vs 500 cal of complex carbs and fiber are not the same for your gut. Sugar increases insulin production. Insulin places the excess calories to fat storage. Those that go on low carb diets can eat a lot of calories without storing anything to fat. "Good" sugar vs "bad" sugar is also controversial. I would suggest "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It changes your mind about fats and carbs.

Taubes has been debunked over and over again.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ITwViBD0wmY

eric is this what you are talking about? The comments did not seem to support this guy so well.

eric_sg61

GaleHawkins wrote: »

eric_sg61 wrote: »

besee_2000 wrote: »

There is more to just calories in vs calories out. You should be concerned of sugar. Eating 500 cal of sugar vs 500 cal of complex carbs and fiber are not the same for your gut. Sugar increases insulin production. Insulin places the excess calories to fat storage. Those that go on low carb diets can eat a lot of calories without storing anything to fat. "Good" sugar vs "bad" sugar is also controversial. I would suggest "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It changes your mind about fats and carbs.

Taubes has been debunked over and over again.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ITwViBD0wmY

eric is this what you are talking about? The comments did not seem to support this guy so well.

Just one of many:
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.ca/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html

ViennaRoma

I try to stay in the range of 24 carbs a meal and it really helps

TheVirgoddess

eric_sg61 wrote: »

GaleHawkins wrote: »

eric_sg61 wrote: »

besee_2000 wrote: »

There is more to just calories in vs calories out. You should be concerned of sugar. Eating 500 cal of sugar vs 500 cal of complex carbs and fiber are not the same for your gut. Sugar increases insulin production. Insulin places the excess calories to fat storage. Those that go on low carb diets can eat a lot of calories without storing anything to fat. "Good" sugar vs "bad" sugar is also controversial. I would suggest "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It changes your mind about fats and carbs.

Taubes has been debunked over and over again.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ITwViBD0wmY

eric is this what you are talking about? The comments did not seem to support this guy so well.

Just one of many:
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.ca/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html

Thanks for posting this.

ketorach

besee_2000 wrote: »

There is more to just calories in vs calories out. You should be concerned of sugar. Eating 500 cal of sugar vs 500 cal of complex carbs and fiber are not the same for your gut. Sugar increases insulin production. Insulin places the excess calories to fat storage. Those that go on low carb diets can eat a lot of calories without storing anything to fat. "Good" sugar vs "bad" sugar is also controversial. I would suggest "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It changes your mind about fats and carbs.

Aaaaannnnndddd, here we go.

prattiger65

Walk before you run. Just worry about calories. As time goes on and you learn more, you can integrate macro specific elements to your diet. I believe one of the reasons people fail early is because they are overwhelmed with information the is not all that important, at least to begin with.

Unknown

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besee_2000

I agree with prattiger65 though. Start somewhere. Take note how YOUR diet is working for you. If it works, awesome keep to it. If it doesn't, look back at your tracking and experiment with the macros. There are so many varieties of foods with different body types with different hormones and dna make-up. I just know I am addicted to sugar and the smallest calcium chew sets me off to eat more sugar foods that kept me in a vicious hANGRY cycle. Your story may be different.

SLLRunner

Summer16354 wrote: »

Just getting started here. Never realized how hard it is to keep the sugar down> Its in everything from my breakfast smoothie to the peas I ate for dinner. Anyway, I aim to keep the fat intake around the goal number, but sugar will be hard. What if I am consistently going over- will I still lose weight? Are the goals for each thing being tracked for optimal weight loss? Such as protein - I didn't get nearly enough of that today. How will that affect my weight loss goals?

Doesn't matter when it comes to weight loss. Calories in/calories out is what matters.

Unknown

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jenglish712

I swear a bat-signal with a sugar packet on it lights up the night sky when someone mentions sugar and an assortment of heroes and villains show up.

Christine_72

jenglish712 wrote: »

I swear a bat-signal with a sugar packet on it lights up the night sky when someone mentions sugar and an assortment of heroes and villains show up.

lol so true @jenenglish712 . I wonder if this thread will get to 38 pages??

mscheftg

jenglish712 wrote: »

I swear a bat-signal with a sugar packet on it lights up the night sky when someone mentions sugar and an assortment of heroes and villains show up.

Hehehe

Unknown

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riffraff2112

prattiger65 wrote: »

Walk before you run. Just worry about calories. As time goes on and you learn more, you can integrate macro specific elements to your diet. I believe one of the reasons people fail early is because they are overwhelmed with information the is not all that important, at least to begin with.

I agree with this! Macros probably matter, but I have had great success and never worried about them at all.

In my humble opinion, attention to anything other than calories when you are starting out is unnecessary. When you reach your goals and really want to take things to the next level, then mess around with macros. Keep things simple and focus on eating a consistent deficit. Things will work out for ya