Nutrition

lisawilkes20

I dont understand how to work out what MFP tells me I should be eating, example, it is telling me to have 152 carbohydrates, how do I know how many, say, potatoes I can have or how much protein is 61?
Am I being daft??
Up to now I have been watching my portions of food, eating more healthily (most of the time) logging all cals, but then it will say something like your goal was.....so I know I've gone over, but I dont know how to stay within the stated figure. Any help/ advice is welcome

kommodevaran

Trial and error. Prelogging will speed up the learning process. A first, you don't have to think about anything else than calories. If you go over - eat less. If you end up under - eat more. Reduce or increase portions by logging - and eating - smaller or bigger amounts/portions, or fewer or more meals.

If you later want to watch macros (fat, protein, carbohydrate), do the same with them. Look at the different values for each food/food group. Most foods have a mix of macronutrients, but some provide a majority of their energy from one. If you need more protein, look for protein rich foods, this will be meat, fish, eggs, dairy, or beans if you are vegetarian. Carbs are usually found in grains, starchy vegetables like potatoes, other vegetables, fruit and dairy. Foods rich in fat is things like butter, oil (both pure fat), cream, avocado, nuts, fatty fish and meat.

lisawilkes20

Thankyou for the info.
I had an apple before which I did'nt weigh but put it down as a medium apple, in brackets it said 154, I looked at the nutrients just to see what it said, it said I had gone over on vitamin A, I could'nt believe it with just one apple.
Its getting abit too technical for me so I'm going to just stick to what I have been doing up to now, which is weighing my food & logging the calories. I joined at running club, so the days I go I eat abit of what I fancy knowing that my calories will allow for it.
Thankyou

zoeysasha37

Here's how I learned-
Pre log your day.
At that point you'll see what areas need improvement.
Pretend you logged your day but see that your short on protein, rearrange things so it will work out. Play around with it until everything falls into place.

Enjcg5

What was already said AND weighing ALL your food! Don't just "eyeball" it. You'd be very surprised to learn what "serving size" really means.

rg48772

Here what I do. My goal is 1200 calories, but I want to lower carbs and sugar from my daily intake due to-my doctor's request. To control my result numbers: I go to "my goals", click "edit" and change percentages of carbs, fats and sugars to what I need. Then I pre log meals for the whole day. If I see that the end result number turned red and negative by more than -3 , I go to my logged food and adjust the quantity. For example I log in 1 cup blueberries =12g sugar and my end result for sugars shows -3, I change blueberries logged in quantity to .75 cup. I also plan and log in my meals for a whole week, so when I go shopping, I know what to buy. That how I control my result numbers.

lisawilkes20

I did'nt realise that the nutrients bit can be changed, so theres another thing I've learned today. Thankyou.
I have been weighing most of my food, I would say all, but obviously eating a full apple, I did'nt bother to, I also dont weigh a banana when I eat those, maybe I should.
Thank you for the input people, its appreciated

minniemoo1972

lisawilkes20 wrote: »

I did'nt realise that the nutrients bit can be changed, so theres another thing I've learned today. Thankyou.
I have been weighing most of my food, I would say all, but obviously eating a full apple, I did'nt bother to, I also dont weigh a banana when I eat those, maybe I should.
Thank you for the input people, its appreciated

Seriously weigh fruit.....i was greatly underestimating my medium apple.

kommodevaran

lisawilkes20 wrote: »

Thankyou for the info.
I had an apple before which I did'nt weigh but put it down as a medium apple, in brackets it said 154, I looked at the nutrients just to see what it said, it said I had gone over on vitamin A, I could'nt believe it with just one apple.
Its getting abit too technical for me so I'm going to just stick to what I have been doing up to now, which is weighing my food & logging the calories. I joined at running club, so the days I go I eat abit of what I fancy knowing that my calories will allow for it.
Thankyou

Yes, I think you should leave the smaller bits and pieces until you need them. There is no way an apple could make you ingest too much of anything. Be aware that the information of the item you picked could be wrong. Yes, even (or in particular) the "verified" ones. Ideally, you would check every item against the packaging, or the USDA database if it has no nutrition label. You should also weigh everything, in grams, and just the part you eat. I subtracted the weight of the cores, pits, shells, peels, bones of everything - whenever possible, of course; oysters are difficult to weigh, and you don't bring your scale to the restaurant - when I tracked calories.

jgnatca

Bananas can shock you. Weigh one and see.

lisawilkes20

jgnatca wrote: »

Bananas can shock you. Weigh one and see.

I did, it did (shock)

lisawilkes20

kommodevaran wrote: »

lisawilkes20 wrote: »

Thankyou for the info.
I had an apple before which I did'nt weigh but put it down as a medium apple, in brackets it said 154, I looked at the nutrients just to see what it said, it said I had gone over on vitamin A, I could'nt believe it with just one apple.
Its getting abit too technical for me so I'm going to just stick to what I have been doing up to now, which is weighing my food & logging the calories. I joined at running club, so the days I go I eat abit of what I fancy knowing that my calories will allow for it.
Thankyou

Yes, I think you should leave the smaller bits and pieces until you need them. There is no way an apple could make you ingest too much of anything. Be aware that the information of the item you picked could be wrong. Yes, even (or in particular) the "verified" ones. Ideally, you would check every item against the packaging, or the USDA database if it has no nutrition label. You should also weigh everything, in grams, and just the part you eat. I subtracted the weight of the cores, pits, shells, peels, bones of everything - whenever possible, of course; oysters are difficult to weigh, and you don't bring your scale to the restaurant - when I tracked calories.

I had already thrown the packaging away, so I just went off the weight. It seemed odd that one apple could topple you over Vitamin A as it was tbe only source of Vitamin A that morning.
I would get bored, if I had to desect everything like that. . Thans for input

mom22dogs

I wouldn't worry if you go over on vitamins and minerals. I would just watch to make sure you get enough protein, stay at/under fat, and about at carbs and sugar. + or - a few is not a big deal.

lynn_glenmont

lisawilkes20 wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

lisawilkes20 wrote: »

Thankyou for the info.
I had an apple before which I did'nt weigh but put it down as a medium apple, in brackets it said 154, I looked at the nutrients just to see what it said, it said I had gone over on vitamin A, I could'nt believe it with just one apple.
Its getting abit too technical for me so I'm going to just stick to what I have been doing up to now, which is weighing my food & logging the calories. I joined at running club, so the days I go I eat abit of what I fancy knowing that my calories will allow for it.
Thankyou

Yes, I think you should leave the smaller bits and pieces until you need them. There is no way an apple could make you ingest too much of anything. Be aware that the information of the item you picked could be wrong. Yes, even (or in particular) the "verified" ones. Ideally, you would check every item against the packaging, or the USDA database if it has no nutrition label. You should also weigh everything, in grams, and just the part you eat. I subtracted the weight of the cores, pits, shells, peels, bones of everything - whenever possible, of course; oysters are difficult to weigh, and you don't bring your scale to the restaurant - when I tracked calories.

I had already thrown the packaging away, so I just went off the weight. It seemed odd that one apple could topple you over Vitamin A as it was tbe only source of Vitamin A that morning.
I would get bored, if I had to desect everything like that. . Thans for input

It was clearly a bad database entry, because apples are not a good source of vitamin A. You'd have to eat about 50 medium (3-inch diameter) apples to hit 100% of US RDA for vitamin A.

MaiLinna

If you're going to ignore pretty much everything on the site, at least log one thing: fibre. 96% of Americans are deficient. Making sure you hit your daily rec for fibre every single day is such a deviation from the SAD (Standard American Diet) that it can really open your eyes.

lisawilkes20

Pretty much ignoring everything?
I do watch my fibre intake as I'm not much good at giving food up if you know what I mean

kommodevaran

Maybe you should take a step back and think about what you are doing and why you are doing it and what you want to achieve - this can lead you towards a set of behaviors that really works for you. There is no reason to take unnecessary steps, or following arbitrary rules, but on the other hand, you won't succeed if you fumble around in the dark. Logging and tracking isn't meant to add confusion and extra work, but to make you more aware of what you are doing and how that affects you. Just the right amount of structure will make you feel like you're in charge, not like a chore. I liked taking a closer look at my diet. But I don't use tweezers and magnifying glass anymore.

I needed to correct the things that were off with MY eating habits: I ate too much junk, tried to compensate by postponing meals and eating less food, but when I did eat, I overate food too, because I didn't "believe" in "portions". I had tried eating "healthy", but all the restrictions and superfoods I belived necessary, just lead to rebellion - I need taste, and to make my own choices.

I still plan my meals, in a spreadsheet, weigh foods that can be weighed, and log as I eat, but I don't record amounts unless for planning purposes. I eat mainly "ordinary food", food that doesn't trigger overeating, but only food I like, and I aim to make every meal tasty and delicious. I know how much I need, I serve myself that amount, I know how "full" (or "satisfied") is supposed to feel like, and I don't want to go beyond that. I weigh myself every morning, record that, and calculate the weekly average every Friday. I have stayed within a range of 55-58 kilos for 21 months now.

It takes an effort, but it doesn't feel like a lot of work. It's like clockwork, where lots of little things make the whole machine going. Compared to the stress and worry I lived under before, this is fun and liberating. (I guess it'd just feel "normal" if I had done this all the time).

lisawilkes20

Well done for maintainng that long

kommodevaran

lisawilkes20 wrote: »

Well done for maintainng that long

Thanks - but I think you are missing the point: I have managed to maintain for so long because I've found a way to make it vitually effortless. It's not a struggle, I do not find it difficult. If it were difficult, I couldn't have stuck with the behavior that makes me maintain my weight.

lisawilkes20

I knew where I was going wrong, not eating enough & not eating the correct foods. For instance missing breakfast & eat half a pack of biscuits at lunch time & a proper big meal later on. So, I dont do that now, I have breakfast, usually porridge.
I joined MFP because I joined a running club, bought an Activity tracker & whilst I was setting that up it asked me to Sync to MFP so I did.
For me it would become chore if I looked at how much protein, carbs etc I need in a day, but I dont feel its a chore logging to see how my calories add up. It has taught me that I still dont eat enough during the day (end up having to eat food at night to get to calories goal) & that I should pre log & know how much I still have to eat.
Thank you for all your comments, I appreciate them all.