Help with Daily Totals

runner_girl83

Hi guys,

I'm still new here and just trying to understand it all
For my daily totals I realise I seem to be under on a few things and wondering how everyone else goes with it?

For example: (I haven't added dinner to today's plan yet)
I still have 106 carbs remaining, 16 for fat, 88 cholesterol, 2,315 for sodium (The sodium part worries me a bit as it's such a huge number)

Any tips on some things I can eat which will help fill these areas? Again, I know it may seem simple to identify, though I'm new to healthy eating and just looking for some advice..

Also, are these levels really important? If I have trouble meeting them on a daily basis will it cause problems for my health later down the track? Any advice?

Stage14

Those are more daily limits than goals. It's fine to be under on them, especially sodium and cholesterol. You want to try and hit your fats and your protein every day and basically keep the rest of them under the max (except sugar, which you only need to worry about if there is a medical reason).

runner_girl83

Oh what a relief! Thank you so much for clearing that up!

Mokey41

Be aware too that if you are entering things from the database most of the information has been entered by users and may or may not be right. Some entry's only have the calories because the poster didn't fill in nutritional information so your macros might not be exactly what it says anyway.

Unless you have a reason to track a particular item then just hit your calorie budget and don't worry about the rest.

lynn_glenmont

You note that you're especially worried about the big deficit on sodium. The target number listed by MFP is from medical advice for a recommended maximum. While it is theoretically possible to consume too little sodium, it is, practically speaking, highly unlikely for someone in a Western/developed/industrialized country. Unless you are only consuming whole foods you prepare yourself (nothing packaged, nothing canned, unless it's "no-sodium," nothing prepared by a restaurant), it is extremely unlikely you are consuming too little sodium. If you are mostly eating foods you prepare yourself, do you salt them? (Sodium is a component of table salt, or sodium chloride.)

It's more likely that the database entries you're using are ones that don't include all the nutrients. Many user-created entries will only have calories, or maybe calories/fat/protein/carbs, but leave out everything else. If you're entering whole foods (veggies, meats/poultry/fish, eggs, dairy, fruit, grains, legumes, etc. -- things that you're using pretty much as they came from the animal or plant, without significant additives, as though you lived 150 years ago ), look for the entries that don't have an asterisk. Those were supposedly entered by MFP staff and should have complete nutrient data. Plus, they usually give you several different options for measuring units for the food (weight for a typical serving, weight as 100 g, volume for chopped, volume whole or sliced, by the piece if relevant, e.g., a banana of a particular length). If you can't find any entry without an asterisk, and you can't or don't want to compare the nutrition information for the entry to the nutrition information on your food package, look for entries that have the largest number of confirmations - meaning other users have looked at the nutrition information for the entry and said, "yeah, that's right."