Always over on sugar and protein

Medge1111

Hi, I'm Mary and I am having trouble staying within my sugar and protein goal. I don't eat a lot of sweets (or I didn't think I did) but I am always over on my sugar. A medium banana has 14 grams of sugar!! I always thought fruit was a good thing but when I put my fruit in MFP I'm always over. I love fruit but don't want to be over on sugar, do I cut out fruit? And also, I'm usually over on protein. Is that bad? I always thought protein was good. Im always under my calorie goal and I try to eat my calories but I always end up going over on sugar. I have lost weight over the past couple of months but now I seem to have plateau. Please help!! Confused...

Runningcircuits

I know there are long-timers on here who could answer this in more detail than me, but I'll offer my two cents. If the sugar you are getting is from fruits and not processed sweets, then it may be OK to ignore it. Ditto for protein if it is mostly lean. I know I have raised my macros for protein and fat, lowered my carbs and ignore the sugar because it works for my goals. I eat mostly lean proteins and healthy fats like olive oil and almonds. So far, it's working for me.
For the plateau, a huge lesson I learned after getting frustrated when I first joined MFP was that if I don't use my kitchen scale and measuring spoons, I don't lose. My idea of a medium apple or a tsp of olive oil or whatever is far different from reality! No deficit = no loss.

Again, I am still fairly new here, but I saw your question with no answers and thought that even though there are more knowledgeable folks on here than me, I'd throw my opinion based on my experience out there.

Good luck!

MysteriousMerlin

I wouldn't worry about the protein; unless you have compromised kidneys, it's fine to go over a bit.

As for sugars...I just count carbs. Maybe go for fruits with a bit less sugar? You have to think of the nutritional value too. A cucumber is going to be low in sugar, but you're not getting much nutritionally out of it.

Danny_Boy13

A large consensus on here just tracks the cals, proteins, carbs and fats. If you are hitting your macros while just tracking those items usually everything else works itself out.

SueInAz

Sugar from fruit is fine but you don't want to go overboard on it. There IS such a thing as too much. Your body processes sugar as sugar, no matter the source. I don't even track my sugar. I've moved up Calcium to replace it because I care more about meeting that goal.

IMHO, the protein goal on MFP is far too low. Eating so many carbs and so little protein I'd be starving all of the time. So I adjusted my goals for carbs, fat and protein to meet my personal needs. You can adjust yours, too, if you like. You'll find the settings in the Goals area.

wpwarrior88

Hello Mary, I will agree with the other posts provided you sugar is mainly from fruits don't worry about it. I eat mostly fruits and veggies so my sugar count is shot with breakfast! What I did was change what I can view from sugar to iron.

As for the protein, as long as you don't have any health issues that can be aggravated by it don't worry - protein helps build muscle!

Might a suggest - since you said you have plateaued - increase your food intake to your calorie goal; your body could think it needs to be in "starvation mode." Increasing your intake for a week will either trigger your loss or you will continue to plateau and have to look at moving more.

geebusuk

MFP sets the standard protein levels very low.
I would go way higher than the standard in most circumstances.

Sugar depends on a lot of things.
The distinction between various carbs is arbritary and I generally don't worry about it too much.
However, if you're not so healthy, it seems it can make a difference.

The most important thing is probably; are you happy with the results?
If so, all good. If you feel you should be getting more, it might be worth trying to look for some more complex carbs.

phyllisbobbitt

:flowerforyou: hi my mfp friend! i don't get too worried over my protien going over because that keeps you from getting hungry! i do watch my sugars because these are in just about every processed food you can think of! i would suggest to stay away from processed foods & make your meals from scratch using lean meats, vegetable, nuts & some fruits!

Dewymorning

I have my protein target set to 30%, but don't usually hit it.

I did what someone else here said, and switched my sugar to iron.


From the research I have done the problem is not 'sugar' or 'fat', but processed foods which are high in either one (or both) and are easy to consume in large quantities, but low in real nutrition.

Really the trick is to watch your portion sizes (which is the reason for counting calories), exercise regularly, eat a wide variety of food and enjoy life.