How to start?

ayamourada92

How can I say that I am taking my right food? What should I focus on in my diet.. for example should I watch out carbs, fats and sugar as if I exceed the limit, it won't be healthy? or should I watch out fats and fiber.. and If I want to lose weight and feel satisified with the amount of food I have what should I eat more protein or fiber while reducing carbs?

I am sorry for asking a lot of questions but I really face some problems with being on diet for a long time because of these questions.

snowflake954

Your diet focus should be:
1: Total daily calories
2: Protein goals
3: Fiber (if it's important to you)
4: Movement

Everyone has things that are important to them--salt, sugar, fats, etc. and you can watch those too, but it's better to keep it simple.
If your daily calories are on point, you will lose. If not, check out your logging. Good luck.

ayamourada92

@snowflake954 what if I meet my calorie goal but I exceeded my sugar goal? will I also lose weight??

Lietchi

The calories are what matter for weight loss. Watching your sugar, fiber and macros is for health and satiation.

Sugar isn't 'evil' by the way (unless you have diabetes), it's just better to not consume too much added sugar since those usually come from less nutrient rich rich foods (as opposed to natural sugars in fruit, dairy,...).

snowflake954

ayamourada92 wrote: »

@snowflake954 what if I meet my calorie goal but I exceeded my sugar goal? will I also lose weight??

Yep.

JBanx256

ayamourada92 wrote: »

@snowflake954 what if I meet my calorie goal but I exceeded my sugar goal? will I also lose weight??

If you ate nothing but Skittles and were still in a deficit, you'd lose weight. Obviously not optimal for health BUT for weight loss, calories are king.

ayamourada92

Lietchi wrote: »

The calories are what matter for weight loss. Watching your sugar, fiber and macros is for health and satiation.

Sugar isn't 'evil' by the way (unless you have diabetes), it's just better to not consume too much added sugar since those usually come from less nutrient rich rich foods (as opposed to natural sugars in fruit, dairy,...).

so I shouldn't watch out how much I take in protien, carbs and sugar that much right? I leave around 300 cals because I have met the limit of carbs and sugar for example and whenever I try to take in youghurt or eggs or beans or so on I find that I exceed these amounts so I stop eating..

To cut it short, you all mean that if I still have remaining cals I should eat even if I exceed the limit of specific component?

Lietchi

ayamourada92 wrote: »

Lietchi wrote: »

The calories are what matter for weight loss. Watching your sugar, fiber and macros is for health and satiation.

Sugar isn't 'evil' by the way (unless you have diabetes), it's just better to not consume too much added sugar since those usually come from less nutrient rich rich foods (as opposed to natural sugars in fruit, dairy,...).

so I shouldn't watch out how much I take in protien, carbs and sugar that much right? I leave around 300 cals because I have met the limit of carbs and sugar for example and whenever I try to take in youghurt or eggs or beans or so on I find that I exceed these amounts so I stop eating..

To cut it short, you all mean that if I still have remaining cals I should eat even if I exceed the limit of specific component?

For weight loss, you need to watch your calorie intake. Presuming you set up your MFP profile and already selected a weight loss rate, you should aim to reach the calorie goal MFP gives you, not stay significantly under it.

As for the fiber, sugar and macro goals:
- some of them are upper limits (aim to stay under: sugar and saturated fats), others are lower limits (aim to reach or exceed: fiber, fat and protein)
- fiber intake is good for gut health and, for many people, for feeling satiated
- protein intake is important to maintain muscle mass as you lose weight and can also help with feeling satiated
- fat intake is important for health (even more so for women, for hormonal health), it's not healthy to go too low
- carbohydrates are the most flexible of the macros: I don't pay attention to them at all, I just aim for sufficient protein and let the carbs fall where they fall. Some people prefer to keep their carbs lower because they're less hungry that way, other feel satiated eating more carbs. Carbs are also important to fuel exercise for people doing intense/endurance exercise.
- look at these numbers over a longer period (for example weekly), you don't need to hit these goals exactly every day, on average is good enough

My recommendation is to focus on the calories and with time you can then tweak the foods you eat. Experiment with your macros and fiber intake to discover what helps you feel satiated.

snowflake954

ayamourada92 wrote: »

Lietchi wrote: »

The calories are what matter for weight loss. Watching your sugar, fiber and macros is for health and satiation.

Sugar isn't 'evil' by the way (unless you have diabetes), it's just better to not consume too much added sugar since those usually come from less nutrient rich rich foods (as opposed to natural sugars in fruit, dairy,...).

so I shouldn't watch out how much I take in protien, carbs and sugar that much right? I leave around 300 cals because I have met the limit of carbs and sugar for example and whenever I try to take in youghurt or eggs or beans or so on I find that I exceed these amounts so I stop eating..

To cut it short, you all mean that if I still have remaining cals I should eat even if I exceed the limit of specific component?

If you go back to my reply, I said protein was important. Mostly because it's filling. Carbs give you energy. You really need a little of everything.