Which is worse to go over in?

Kimegatron
Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
edited November 21 in Health and Weight Loss
Is it worse to go over in sugar, carbs, or fat?
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Replies

  • rachelecosse
    rachelecosse Posts: 19 Member
    Is that you Regina George
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Calories.
  • techgal128
    techgal128 Posts: 719 Member
    None of the above. The correct answer is calories.
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    Calories.

    yup
  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
    Unless you have a medical condition, just stay under on calories.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    Is that you Regina George

    lol
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    Calories.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    Who is Regina George?

    I am not concerned about calories. I know to stay under. I am just asking.
  • morrprop
    morrprop Posts: 13 Member
    When you say "worse" in which way do you mean?
    for weight loss?
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    None of the items you listed are inherently bad for you. Moderation for everything.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    Just in general. Curiosity.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Kimegatron wrote: »
    Who is Regina George?

    .

    I think she's talking about the "carb" girl in the movie 'Mean Girls'

  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    Oh. I think I saw that movie once on t.v.?
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    So there isn't a general category that is more unhealthy to go over in?
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    Kimegatron wrote: »
    So there isn't a general category that is more unhealthy to go over in?

    Yes the answer is. The category is calories. Don't go over in calories.

    The rest don't matter so much unless your Dr specifically tells you you need to watch them due to a medical condition. Got diabitis? Watch your sugar and carbs. Got high blood pressure/ Watch your salt. Got too much fat on yer bones? Watch your caloric intake.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    I know to not go over in calories... For the general healthy human being, I am just wondering if it is worse if they eat too much fat, too many carbs, or too much sugar, all while staying under in calories. Say for example, they have no medical issues.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    How many times do people have to tell you it doesn't matter as long as you are within your calories?
  • mwebster01
    mwebster01 Posts: 111 Member
    fat,bc you burn off carbs doing cardio
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    mwebster11 wrote: »
    fat,bc you burn off carbs doing cardio

    Thank you! That is all that I wanted, holy Hell.

  • thesupremeforce
    thesupremeforce Posts: 1,206 Member
    Kimegatron wrote: »
    mwebster11 wrote: »
    fat,bc you burn off carbs doing cardio

    Thank you! That is all that I wanted, holy Hell.

    Except that it doesn't make sense. Your body can't store calories if you burn more than you're taking in, so it doesn't matter all all if we're talking fat or carbs here. Your body is going to burn it anyway.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    Kimegatron wrote: »
    mwebster11 wrote: »
    fat,bc you burn off carbs doing cardio

    Thank you! That is all that I wanted, holy Hell.

    Too bad that is only a half truth. There are plenty of people that go by high fat diets because the body can use dietary fat as fuel. Fat is necessary for processing some vitamins.

    Barring a medical condition, calories are the ONLY thing one has to worry about exceeding.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    If I had to choose one not to go over, it would be carbs, As the more I eat, the more I crave. That's just me though, Carbs don't affect everyone equally.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    Thank you, christinev297. It was literally just a general question, because I was generally curious. Maybe other people's experiences, but it was just a question, ha ha.
  • R1rainbows
    R1rainbows Posts: 129 Member
    Yes calories is the answer. But personally, I avoid sugar as much as possible because of my teeth, and it makes me tired and crash a bit when I consume something high in sugar, whether I'm in calories range or not. That's just my own thing though, idk if anyone else would feel the same... But calories in/calories out is the one true king here!
  • cwilso37
    cwilso37 Posts: 79 Member
    mwebster11 wrote: »
    fat,bc you burn off carbs doing cardio

    I think you mean cardio burns calories.... (meaning the person was wrong in the advice they just gave you)

    The reason everyone said calories is because there is not one of the three which innately wrong to go over. Put differently there is not one catch all percentage a person should have for carbs, protein, and fats. So to ask which one shouldn't go over makes little sense. As long as you are under your calorie goal (and get enough protein and healthy fats required daily) it doesn't matter.
  • cwilso37
    cwilso37 Posts: 79 Member
    cwilso37 wrote: »
    mwebster11 wrote: »
    fat,bc you burn off carbs doing cardio

    I think you mean cardio burns calories.... (meaning the person was wrong in the advice they just gave you)

    The reason everyone said calories is because there is not one of the three which innately wrong to go over. Put differently there is not one catch all percentage a person should have for carbs, protein, and fats. So to ask which one shouldn't go over makes little sense. As long as you are under your calorie goal (and get enough protein and healthy fats required daily) it doesn't matter.

    Edit: If pressed I would say fat *ONLY* because there are more calories in a gram of fat than carbs (9 vs 4), so it might be more likely to push you above your calorie limit. Again if you aren't near the limit it is not important.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    Kimegatron wrote: »
    Is it worse to go over in sugar, carbs, or fat?

    My vote is for sugar then carbs then fat.

    Sugar because it seems high in energy and will make it harder to stay under your calories.
    Carbs because it's so easy to find carbs, they are basically everywhere it seems.
    Fats are important and in my experience harder to get because for a lot of people the first thing they do when losing weight is cut fats, lite milk etc because fat is bad. But that's probably a mistake or overreaction.

  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    Generally speaking it doesn't matter. Realistically speaking, if you're MEETING your calorie goal (which is just as important as not exceeding it) you will be over in one and under in another because it's virtually impossible to micromanage everything to the point where you meet everything exactly. Unless you're some hardcore bodybuilder OR a diabetic, worry about calories and calories alone. Everything else, let it fall where it may and don't worry too much about it. Obsessing to that level will do you more harm than good in the long run.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    Thank you!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited July 2015
    Protein, carbs, and fat are largely personal preferences. There is simply no general rule that MFP's default percentages are the ideal ones (in fact, I think they are often too low in protein), and therefore no reason why anyone should consider it bad at all (let alone "worst") to go over in fat or carbs. I prefer eating slightly fewer carbs (40%) and slightly more fat (30%) than MFP's defaults -- so I changed my settings to reflect that -- but that doesn't mean I could tell anyone else that going over carbs is "worst" and in fact I don't care at all if I go over my carb limit on a particular day (and there might be good reason too, like extra exercise).

    Sugar is a problematic measurement here, because it kind of depends on what you eat and how high your calories are. If you go over sugar because you are at a lower calorie level and eat lots of fruit, veggies, and dairy, I think that's likely reflective of a healthier overall diet than many that would be lower in sugar. If you are going over the limit because of mostly sweet treats, that's quite possibly reflective of a less healthy diet, but just going over on one day while within calories would be no big thing.

    Similarly, I think there is a huge range of fat percentages that can be healthy (I wouldn't enjoy a really high fat diet, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it), and the current dietary advice (finally!) reflects this by eliminating the limit on fat percentage that was long recommended. That doesn't mean that all kinds of fat are the same, though, and if you were getting a high percentage of fat that was saturated fat from animal sources, that likely would be something to consider lowering (although again I think the actual evidence is more murky than sometimes claimed).

    Same with carbs--there are more and less nutrient dense sources of carbs, some that contribute fiber (which I pay more attention to than fat percentage vs. carb percentage), some that do not, etc., and I think considering this (without focusing on specific numbers) is more important than worrying about going over some arbitrary limit.

    I wouldn't really think of the fat, carbs, protein numbers as minimums, but general guidelines (and with protein and fat I think the more important numbers are the minimums in grams that you should be getting, which aren't shown on the MFP defaults).

    So this is my longwinded explanation why I don't think you can say that it's "worst" to go over any of those three.
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