question about nutrition needs

JasonL2000

I was never really concerned with the details of what nutrients I was getting and how much. I just had a general rule of thumb to have a veggie for a side dish with dinner and some sort of fruit once or twice a day. However I didn't stick with that day to day. I am now 40 years old and even before the stress test I had at the doctor's office a few weeks ago that confirmed what I already knew. I had decided to change my lifestyle to eat better and get in better shape. With that said. I have tracked what I eat for the last few weeks. And as a result I have discovered some things I had no idea about in general the stuff I eat in my attempt to eat better.

But first let me say that historically I had a lot of carbs in the food I ate. From bread products to potatoes etc in every meal every day. That very easily was 300-400g daily. And prior to discovering myfitnesspal I slowly reduced the carb foods such as potatoes. Which I figure also reduced the total calorie intake. Which resulted in a small amount of weight loss and maintained at that point. I then discovered myfitnesspal and learned the amount of protein and fat I should be eating. The good news is that I wasn't grossly under but never knew how much of either of those I was getting each day.

So here is what I have discovered from tracking what I have eaten these last few weeks as I try and figure out a plan for what to eat etc.

It seems like everything has carbs in it. Even with no potatoes, no bun on hamburgers, no bread sandwiches, no pasta, no rolls biscuits etc, I am somehow still eating 200g or more half the days I have logged. I miss the 150g minimum of protein (based on my LBM) by about 50g on half the days as well. And I can't see any relation between the two side by side compared for each day. Fat on the other hand I somehow have just happened to be much more consistent on. Based on my total body weight I should get at least 78g of fat. I went over 100g a fourth of the days and the rest were over but closer to 78g than to 100g and only two days significantly under 78g. Bottom line is I'm not clearly seeing how to consistently get the right amount of protein and also not go overboard on the carbs.

My next observation and also concerns me as I don't know who and what info to trust in regards to sodium and cholesterol. MFP auto set sodium to 2,300 and cholesterol to 300. I always thought from what I always heard just don't add salt. But the results of what I have tracked shows despite not adding salt to anything it seems like everything has sodium in it. If it isn't something I made from scratch it is even worse. Nearly every day it shows that I have gotten around twice the 2,300 sodium. And then there is the conflicting info from over the years of cholesterol is bad for you and the there is good and bad cholesterol. The good news is from blood work done almost a year ago indicated nothing to be concerned about in regard to cholesterol. About half the days I have tracked so far have been 50% or more over the 300. And four days over twice, one day triple.

Aside from that potassium, calcium, fiber, iron, vitamin A and C, all almost never are close to the goals automatically set by MFP. I know for sure on occasion my potassium gets low because blood work shows it low once or twice a year. Which probably means it goes low sometimes in between those times. The rest of those I don't know what to think. Including other nutrients like vitamin B and D etc that MFP doesn't list. I considered consulting with a nutritionist but that appears to be costly. Sorry for the really long post and hopefully it was worth writing all this.

RodaRose

Focus on getting enough protein and fat most days. Go over or under on carbs -- it will not matter unless you have specific goals.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

1) Eat the appropriate caloric (and macronutrient) intake for your goals and track intake accurately. I think eating mostly nutrient dense and whole foods while still allowing some "treats" is a reasonable starting point/guideline.
2) Exercise regularly. Do something you enjoy or at worst case choose the least objectionable activity. Ideally you should include some form of resistance based training as a part of your program.
3) Get adequate rest/sleep.
4) Establish metrics and use them appropriately.
5) Repeat.

And do NOT complicate things worrying about minutia.
The vast majority of you should be able to stick to the above and make very good progress. Will other things matter at some point? Possibly, but the above will get you very far.

Gallowmere1984

Dietary cholesterol is a non-concern, and Sodium requirements will depend much more on individual blood pressure levels, and general daily function.