understanding daily goals and how to best reach them?

batgirl_273

I've been on and off MFP for years but now back on it. I have always been pretty good at staying under my daily calorie allotment, and fitting in exercise, but I'm apparently really bad at staying within my protein, fat, carb, sugar and sodium goals. I'm usually way over on sodium and struggle to meet the protein goal a couple times a week. Sugar can be way off some days too.

Any suggestions? Seems like everything I eat has a lot of sodium in it. Because I live in a crappy province where our fresh vegetables/fruit have a very short season, I use frozen a lot and apparently those are high in sodium. It's just more economical to use frozen too. Sadly I opt for convienience a lot too rather than preparing and fresh.

PAV8888

batgirl_273 wrote: »

I use frozen a lot and apparently those are high in sodium. It's just more economical to use frozen too. Sadly I opt for convienience a lot too rather than preparing and fresh.

Canned or pickled products tend to have sodium but I don't see frozen vegetables specifically as having more sodium than fresh.

Frozen VEGETABLES can be a perfectly valid choice. If you are picking up frozen entrees, or vegetables that have been prepared with butter or cheese sauce then the count might be different.

lynn_glenmont

PAV8888 wrote: »

batgirl_273 wrote: »

I use frozen a lot and apparently those are high in sodium. It's just more economical to use frozen too. Sadly I opt for convienience a lot too rather than preparing and fresh.

Canned or pickled products tend to have sodium but I don't see frozen vegetables specifically as having more sodium than fresh.

Frozen VEGETABLES can be a perfectly valid choice. If you are picking up frozen entrees, or vegetables that have been prepared with butter or cheese sauce then the count might be different.

Also, if by "frozen vegetables" the OP is thinking of ones with sauces, they almost certainly will have more sodium than plain fresh veggies. Plain frozen veggies seldom have added sodium -- but you can check the ingredient list if you want to be sure.

batgirl_273

I don't buy ones with sauce usually, but i do sometimes buy ones that are mixed with noddles or rice, etc... those tend to have more sodium than just vegetables. I will just have to be extra vigilant about reading labels. thanks

PAV8888

batgirl_273 wrote: »

I don't buy ones with sauce usually, but i do sometimes buy ones that are mixed with noddles or rice, etc... those tend to have more sodium than just vegetables. I will just have to be extra vigilant about reading labels. thanks

Even if you want rapid cooking which wouldn't be achieved by normal rice, I can assure you that on the money front you will come ahead by buying a big box of minute rice and a big bag (2kg sort of thing) of plain peas, plain corn, plain carrots, or mixed veg medley. Then you can make your own sauce and control the calories that go into it I hear that Greek Yogurt can sometimes be used as a basis for sauces and it adds protein too! (or tomato based sauces, or....)

TeaBea

batgirl_273 wrote: »

I've been on and off MFP for years but now back on it. I have always been pretty good at staying under my daily calorie allotment, and fitting in exercise, but I'm apparently really bad at staying within my protein, fat, carb, sugar and sodium goals. I'm usually way over on sodium and struggle to meet the protein goal a couple times a week. Sugar can be way off some days too.

Any suggestions? Seems like everything I eat has a lot of sodium in it. Because I live in a crappy province where our fresh vegetables/fruit have a very short season, I use frozen a lot and apparently those are high in sodium. It's just more economical to use frozen too. Sadly I opt for convienience a lot too rather than preparing and fresh.

Do you have medical reasons for managing sugar and sodium? No medical issues for me, so I track fiber instead. If your veggies have sodium added you could try rinsing them. With canned veggies, rinsing is supposed to cut sodium in half.

For macros, you don't need to be spot on. But protein is most important, so I plan meals around that. Consider protein based snacks - Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs. Fat is important for many bodily functions, and carbs are whatever is left over. Sugar is a sub-set of carbs. MFP doesn't make a distinction between natural sugar & added sugar, but if sugar is crowding out protein or fat goals, then it's too much.