Balancing Calories and Nutrition

jpeoples1177

Hi everyone! I am new to MFP and noticed how difficult it seems to balance dietary values and calories in my meals. I ate one 6oz cup of yogurt and a small orange, and that put me over my daily Sugar by 3! Is there an app or website I can use to plan meals using all of the nutritional goals MFP has established for me on a 1500 calorie diet? Thanks and happy eating!

aalhasan

I wouldn't worry too much about sugar.
MFP sets a very low limit for sugar.
Since you're eating natural sugar coming from fruits, you're good if you cross your recommended intake even by 50%.

jpeoples1177

Yeah, I agree it's set on the low end. I guess I'm basically looking for an app or site with information on how to balance my diet, maybe where I can plug in my goal nutritional values (sugars, carbs, vitamins, sodium, fats) and get some suggested meals or recipes.

aalhasan

I don't know any site that does that.
you can still go on the recipes sections of the message boards here and you'll see plenty of recipes that you might like.

Lovdiamnd

I don't know of any site like that. It has taught me to look at labels and plan ahead. If I know I am running low on carbs/sugar or I haven't eaten enough protein then I just think ahead and adjust the next meal accordingly. If I have had all my carbs for the day then I might be having chicken and veggies for dinner or egg whites and cottage cheese (something with a lot of protein and low carbs). For me it's better to go over on protein that carbs and sugar.

TX_Aggie_Dad

I tend to think about things like a pyramid in order of "importance" for me. For me, that would be the following order:

1. Calories - get this within +\- 100 calories of my daily goal.
2. Macros - get my protein, carbs, and fat grams as close as I can to my goals for each. I've set my profile to a 30/40/30 split respectively.
3. Micros - get all of my other numbers, vitamins, cholesterol, etc. to a positive number.

I do not do all of this perfectly. Really, ever. I just tend to look for trends so if I see that I'm continually failing to hit my protein number or continually going over on my carbs, then I look to focus a bit more.

You have to realize that once you start adding in real life, going to restaurants, wanting to change up your menu, etc. that nailing your numbers exactly every day just isn't reasonable.

jpeoples1177

Thanks everyone. I'm sure I'll find a good blend of foods over time, just figured I wouldn't start out trying to re-invent the wheel if there were resources available already. I like your approach TX_Aggie_Dad.

cwolfman13

Manage your calories and macro nutrients. There is no reason to micro manage your micro nutrients unless you have some underlying medical reason to do so.

Also, the recommendation for sugar is based on the AHA's recommendation for ADDED/REFINED sugar. I just keep those to a minimum and I don't do high fructose corn syrup. I eat plenty of fruit though.

astronomicals

automatic meal planner

http://www.eatthismuch.com/

once you configure the filters it should do a decent job of giving you a good idea of what your meals will look like

ETA: I had forgotten the site and all i did was search "diet meal maker" and it was at the top of google... why do i gotta spoon feed someone who is trying to eat less (haaaaaaaaa)

jpeoples1177

... why do i gotta spoon feed someone who is trying to eat less (haaaaaaaaa)

HA! Good point! Thanks for finding the site for me!