Eating healthy vs eating my goal - can't seem to do both

Owlfan88

i can't seem to eat all the calories I'm allotted while still eating healthy. I frequently seem to bump up against my limit on sugar and fat and occasionally carbs, while not eating all my calories much less my extra calories from exercising. This hasn't bothered me too much so far as it means I have been loosing weight steadily, but now I'm near my goal and want to transition into maintenance mode. I know I should be eating more, but I want to try to make good food choices for the long term. Also I'm struggling with getting enough protein. Big chunks of meat just aren't very appealing. Any suggestions?

Oh, for reference, I'm 49 yo female, 5'7", goal wt 145-148, current wt 149.2

Merkavar

Owlfan88 wrote: »

i

Maybe treat fats and protein as minimums not maximums.

For protein I think lentils, green leafy veggies, Brussel sprouts, nuts and nut butters and Greek yoghurt are good sources of protein.

But if meat isn't out of the question I like a fillet of blue grenadier, or chicken kebab sticks.

I think you answered your own question. You aren't reaching your calorie goal and not getting enough protein.

How are you getting sugar? From fruits or from lollies?

Sued0nim

Fats and proteins are minimums to reach
It doesn't matter how many carbs you eat once those minimums are reached
Unless you are diabetic your sugar does not matter once your fat and protein macros and micro targets are reached

Sued0nim

Merkavar wrote: »

Owlfan88 wrote: »

i

Maybe treat fats and protein as minimums not maximums.

For protein I think lentils, green leafy veggies, Brussel sprouts, nuts and nut butters and Greek yoghurt are good sources of protein.

But if meat isn't out of the question I like a fillet of blue grenadier, or chicken kebab sticks.

I think you answered your own question. You aren't reaching your calorie goal and not getting enough protein.

How are you getting sugar? From fruits or from lollies?

Irrelevant really providing you have a wide spread of vitamins, minerals etc already

Oh and OP swap out your sugar tracking for something useful...like fibre

Merkavar

rabbitjb wrote: »

Merkavar wrote: »

Owlfan88 wrote: »

i

Maybe treat fats and protein as minimums not maximums.

For protein I think lentils, green leafy veggies, Brussel sprouts, nuts and nut butters and Greek yoghurt are good sources of protein.

But if meat isn't out of the question I like a fillet of blue grenadier, or chicken kebab sticks.

I think you answered your own question. You aren't reaching your calorie goal and not getting enough protein.

How are you getting sugar? From fruits or from lollies?

Irrelevant really providing you have a wide spread of vitamins, minerals etc already

Oh and OP swap out your sugar tracking for something useful...like fibre

Well the op seems concerned about sugar for some reason. If they said they got sugar from fruits I was going to say forget about it since fruits as far as I am aware have plenty of other things in them like vitamins, fiber etc

But if they were getting the sugar from jelly babies etc I would have suggested cutting back since most lollies I have seen have sugar and a whole lot of calories and not much else.

TavistockToad

so you're saying that your goals aren't healthy?

Owlfan88

I'm pretty new to this tracking. I didn't realize I could set MPF to track something like fiber instead of sugar. I am concerned about the sugars as my doctor told me I am pre-diabetic. But most of my sugars are coming from fruits or dairy, which seems relatively healthy. It's just all too easy to go over. Really disheartening to see that a cookie has less sugar than fruit!

Sued0nim

Owlfan88 wrote: »

I'm pretty new to this tracking. I didn't realize I could set MPF to track something like fiber instead of sugar. I am concerned about the sugars as my doctor told me I am pre-diabetic. But most of my sugars are coming from fruits or dairy, which seems relatively healthy. It's just all too easy to go over. Really disheartening to see that a cookie has less sugar than fruit!

Yes you can swap out categories in settings

So has doctor told you to lose weight or has s/he given you a specific diet to follow?

jgnatca

I think you will find as you increase your protein the other numbers will fall by proportion. Cut up your protein sources in new recipes to make them interesting. I have a Mediterranean tuna hummus salad that is very satisfying. I have made it with cod. How about chicken on a stick with roasted vegetables?

lemonsnowdrop

Merkavar wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

Merkavar wrote: »

Owlfan88 wrote: »

i

Maybe treat fats and protein as minimums not maximums.

For protein I think lentils, green leafy veggies, Brussel sprouts, nuts and nut butters and Greek yoghurt are good sources of protein.

But if meat isn't out of the question I like a fillet of blue grenadier, or chicken kebab sticks.

I think you answered your own question. You aren't reaching your calorie goal and not getting enough protein.

How are you getting sugar? From fruits or from lollies?

Irrelevant really providing you have a wide spread of vitamins, minerals etc already

Oh and OP swap out your sugar tracking for something useful...like fibre

Well the op seems concerned about sugar for some reason. If they said they got sugar from fruits I was going to say forget about it since fruits as far as I am aware have plenty of other things in them like vitamins, fiber etc

But if they were getting the sugar from jelly babies etc I would have suggested cutting back since most lollies I have seen have sugar and a whole lot of calories and not much else.

So what? If OP has gotten adequate nutrients for the day, it won't hurt to have a treat. I don't think you get bonus points for eating more protein/fats/fiber/etc than your body requires.

terbusha

I think you'd benefit from listening to this.
http://www.biolayne.com/podcasts/physique-science-radio-episode-2-flexible-dieting-vs-clean-eating/

The primary goal for the day is eating the correct amount of calories so you make progress towards your fitness goal. If that's maintaining weight, then eating so you maintain your weight is what you're shooting for, whatever that number ends up. As for macros, they are secondary to calories. Do your best on protein, and get enough fiber from fruits and veggies. If you can get in all of your nutrition for the day, and you still have calories left over, why can't you have some treat foods that you like? Just be sure that you're sticking to your calorie goal.

Allan

kshama2001

Owlfan88 wrote: »

I'm pretty new to this tracking. I didn't realize I could set MPF to track something like fiber instead of sugar. I am concerned about the sugars as my doctor told me I am pre-diabetic. But most of my sugars are coming from fruits or dairy, which seems relatively healthy. It's just all too easy to go over. Really disheartening to see that a cookie has less sugar than fruit!

I took a look at your diary since Thursday and disagree that the majority of your sugars are coming from fruits and dairy. Why don't you review your diary for the past week and do the math in a spreadsheet so you can see exactly where your sugars are coming from?

Did you know you can add more meals to your diary? Go to Settings > Diary Settings. Right now you have desserts/treats as snacks. I put desserts in with the meal. My snacks are still proportionally high in protein, just lower calorie overall than a meal. If you really are having desserts as snacks, consider limiting this type of food to occasional treats and have higher protein snacks like you have done on other days. I bake, but give most of it away so I only have a serving or two. Or I freeze it and dole it out over the month rather than having it every day until it's gone, as I did when I wasn't focused on losing weight.

You don't need to eat big chunks of meat to get more protein, but simple substitutions like eggs instead of cereal, a meal based around chicken instead of yogurt and fruit, etc.

Since you are pre-diabetic, can your doctor refer you to a dietitian? Also ask what your carbs : fat : protein ratios are supposed to be. The default on MFP may be too high for a pre-diabetic. You can change these ratios in http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals/daily_nutrition_goals

There's a Low Carb group that will have lots of useful suggestions as well: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

Owlfan88

kshama2001 wrote: »

Owlfan88 wrote: »

I'm pretty new to this tracking. I didn't realize I could set MPF to track something like fiber instead of sugar. I am concerned about the sugars as my doctor told me I am pre-diabetic. But most of my sugars are coming from fruits or dairy, which seems relatively healthy. It's just all too easy to go over. Really disheartening to see that a cookie has less sugar than fruit!

I took a look at your diary since Thursday and disagree that the majority of your sugars are coming from fruits and dairy. Why don't you review your diary for the past week and do the math in a spreadsheet so you can see exactly where your sugars are coming from?

Did you know you can add more meals to your diary? Go to Settings > Diary Settings. Right now you have desserts/treats as snacks. I put desserts in with the meal. My snacks are still proportionally high in protein, just lower calorie overall than a meal. If you really are having desserts as snacks, consider limiting this type of food to occasional treats and have higher protein snacks like you have done on other days. I bake, but give most of it away so I only have a serving or two. Or I freeze it and dole it out over the month rather than having it every day until it's gone, as I did when I wasn't focused on losing weight.

You don't need to eat big chunks of meat to get more protein, but simple substitutions like eggs instead of cereal, a meal based around chicken instead of yogurt and fruit, etc.

Since you are pre-diabetic, can your doctor refer you to a dietitian? Also ask what your carbs : fat : protein ratios are supposed to be. The default on MFP may be too high for a pre-diabetic. You can change these ratios in http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals/daily_nutrition_goals

There's a Low Carb group that will have lots of useful suggestions as well: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

Yes, since Thursday my sugars have not been so much just from fruit/dairy. It's blackberry season and I do love a good cobbler. I was trying to be very good for a while, but as I get closer to my goal weight, I'm trying to see what my numbers look like for maintenance. I know I won't stick with an incredibly strict diet long term, so I am trying to look at what reasonable days might look like.

I think I need to check with my dr about a dietitian or nutritionist. Good idea. Thanks

kshama2001

It's strawberry season for me so I can relate

I made something similar to this with strawberries; might work well with blackberries too. With blackberries, it has 30 carbs per serving. You could play around with the sugar to reduce that.

http://dinnercoop.cs.cmu.edu/dinnercoop/Recipes/karen/RaspberryBavarianCream.html