Micros

jakewentglobal

What’s the best way to make sure that my meal plan consists of the full daily value of every single micro?

AnnPT77

For the micros tracked by MFP, check any food database entries the first time you use them, and make sure the micro data is correct. (The database is crowd-sourced, and some users are more accurate than others).

Then you can do one of two things:

1. Review your diary periodically (looking at Nutrition in the phone/tablet app, or Home/Reports/Charts in web MFP), and see how your micros are stacking up against the goals. If you're routinely short on something important, tweak your routine eating habits to improve that while still eating in a way you enjoy.
2. Pre-log your eating plans for the day (or longer) and plan in the micronutrient levels you want.

You can use web search to help you. For example, if you want to increase calcium, search "foods high in calcium", pick entries from mainstream sources, and find foods that you enjoy that will help you meet your goals. Include those more often in your eating, reducing things less important to you to make calorie room.

Don't feel you need to be exactly exact ever day. That's pretty much impossible. Pretty close on average over a few days should be fine, unless you've already been diagnosed with some deficiency.

For micros MFP doesn't track, what I've done is take my diary from a couple of days that are pretty routine eating, and check any specific micro that I'm concerned about. For that, I use the USDA FoodData Central Database (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/) or web searches to get the values MFP doesn't track, and add up my intake of that micro. If my typical days are reasonably in shape for that micro, I figure that's close enough. YMMV.

You can use supplements if needed to reach desired levels, but for various reasons I think it's better to get nutrients from regular food.

For myself, I've found that if I eat enough protein and healthy fats (yes, I know those are macros, not micros), and routinely eat large amounts of varied, colorful veggies and fruits daily, my micros and fiber tend to fall into line pretty nicely without having to manage at a detailed level every day. My personal goal is 800g of veggies/fruits daily (with lots of variety), minimum 400g. Usually, I'm close to or over the 800g.

Good nutrition is important, but there's no need to obsess about this. Like I said, pretty close on average ends up fine. If the goal is weight loss, that's about calorie intake, not about perfect nutritional Tetris. Nutrition absolutely is important for health, energy level, and body composition; and it can indirectly affect body weight through energy level (moving more/less) or appetite (managing appetite/cravings so being able to stick with calorie goal).

Another thing I've found helpful is the resources here: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-VitaminsMinerals/ (There are similar fact sheets for supplements and such - you can navigate to those from that page if interested.) I particularly like the "Health Professional" versions of fact sheets where available, because they're more in-depth and link to relevant research. The resources there can also help identify common deficiencies, suggest foods that are high in certain micros, offer insight about micros that can be risky if we get too much, etc.