Curious of which pieces of Nutrients should stay low and which should be met

marjikaparji

I know some of my items tell me "you've met your fiber goal for the day!" and others say things such as "Watch your sodium" or "Watch your fats".

My question is specifically, which nutrients do we want to stay under and which do we want to meet out of: Carbs, fiber, sodium, sugars, and protein.

My assumption is to stay under on carbs, sodium, sugars.

Then I believe we would want to meet Fiber and Protein.

I want to make sure this is correct before applying it to my way of tracking and meal planning though.

yarwell

To hit your calorie goal you need to hit some combination of fat, protein and carbs that gives the right answer, so if you hit protein and carbs are low then fat will need to be over to match.

jgnatca

I treat salt (sodium) as a maximum and protein as a minimum. Calories are a target (get as close as I can, more or less). I let carbs and fats fall where they may.

G33K_G1RL

Depends on specific goals, but as a general rule:

At least reach your protein, especially if you have workouts.
Sodium may be an issue for some people with high blood pressure, but if your renal function is healthy don't worry about it unless you go double over it, or go over every single day. Ask your doctor for that one.

Carbs and fat are where the balancing act happens. Some people deal better with low-fat, some with low-carb, and its a personal thing. Generally moderate-lower carb works better for dealing with hunger, but it depends on a lot of factors.

Sugar is one I try to keep low, with the occasional treat

Calories as close to target as possible.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/insulin-sensitivity-and-fat-loss.html

AJ_G

General rules of thumb:

Protein and fat goals are minimums

Carb goal is a maximum

If you're losing weight, calorie goal is a maximum but try to get as close as you can

If you're gaining weight, calorie goal is a minimum but try to get as close as you can

You don't really need to worry about sodium unless you have high blood pressure, or high blood pressure is a genetic issue for your family.

Fiber goal should be a minimum

Vitamins and minerals are minimums

marjikaparji

Awesome, thank you so much everyone for the advice!!