Do you pay much attention to food categories

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Replies

  • youdontknowwhatyousaw
    youdontknowwhatyousaw Posts: 221 Member
    I mostly just pay attention to calories. I do make sure I get at least 60 grams of protein a day and that on most days I have around 30 grams of fiber. I watch fiber because if I have several low fiber days in a row I start to feel like crap and just want to lay around doing nothing.
  • SymphonynSonata
    SymphonynSonata Posts: 533 Member
    I've never, ever, ever been good at tracking food groups/macros/etc. I just eat what I want to eat. If I spend all of my calories in ice cream and realize I'm freakin starving, then the next day I'll eat a better assortment of foods. I feel like your cravings, generally, will involve the nutrients you really need. I get wicked cravings for cherries and when I eat them they taste great. But if I were to eat them now I'd be disgusted with the flavor - it's weird. I'm like the self-nutrient whisperer.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    What I mean is do you make a big deal of tracking protein, fiber, fat etc. I try my best to keep my calorie goal and most of the time the rest falls into place. The only one which I concern myself with sometimes is sugar. I have noticed if I eat a lot of fresh fruit (for example clementines which I love) I am always over my sugar goal for the day. I cannot fully accept that eating 5 pieces of fruit a day is bad for me.


    Do you rate conventional sugar different than fresh fruit sugar? Meaning, if your sugar from the day is mainly from fruit the overage is ignored.

    thanks

    I watch my carbs, protein and fat as I follow IIFYM, don't bother with sugar though.
  • bumblebreezy91
    bumblebreezy91 Posts: 520 Member
    If it is not expended it is stored and turned to fat!!! Basics....

    This applies to carbs, protein, fats... sugar in and of itself doesn't make you fat. Too many calories for your activity level makes you fat.

    Basics.

    ^this.

    To answer the OP's question, I only pay the most attention to calories. And then I track fat, protein, fiber, sodium, and iron. I have iron-deficiency anemia, I'm on medication that can make me constipated, I make sure I'm not too far over in sodium or fat, and make sure I get at least half of my protein goal. I used to track sugar and carbs but it just wasn't worth the anxiety of seeing a red number. I eat a lot of apples and that always put me over, even though the rest of my food was fine. I'm simply not giving up my fruit because MFP doesn't separate natural sugars from artificial/added ones and "good" carbs from "bad' ones. I still eat at a calorie deficit and that's really what matters, so I'm losing weight steadily.
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
    Sugar does make you fat!! If it is not expended it is stored and turned to fat!!! Basics....


    Um, the "basics" are: sugar is a carb. Unless you are diabetic (or have some other insulin/carb resistant malady), then the carbs are used first. As such, sugar is the least likely nutrient that is stored as fat.

    But if you want to achieve "fat loss" then it's best to reduce carb (and therefore sugar) so the body then takes fat as your source of energy, therefore burns fat first cos it doesn't have carbs/sugars to burn, hence then losing pure fat!

    Even in a state of ketosis, your body burns your food before it turns to your fat cells. In other words, even when your body is fully adapted to burning fat as its primary source of energy instead of carbohydrates, you still need to eat a caloric deficit.
  • TX_Rhon
    TX_Rhon Posts: 1,549 Member
    It just never ends.

    ^^LOL - cuz I feel your pain. :flowerforyou:

    OP - I track my protein and exchanged my sugar category for my fiber which I adjusted up a bit. Before being attacked by the "sugar makes you fat" clan, monitoring my sugar makes no difference in my progress. The key is finding what works for you.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It just never ends.

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    What you eat doesn't matter. Calories are calories. The only thing I pay attention to is protein, and I try to reach my goal for those (although I don't always)... Protein keeps me fuller and helps preventing muscle loss.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Sugar does make you fat!! If it is not expended it is stored and turned to fat!!! Basics....


    Um, the "basics" are: sugar is a carb. Unless you are diabetic (or have some other insulin/carb resistant malady), then the carbs are used first. As such, sugar is the least likely nutrient that is stored as fat.

    But if you want to achieve "fat loss" then it's best to reduce carb (and therefore sugar) so the body then takes fat as your source of energy, therefore burns fat first cos it doesn't have carbs/sugars to burn, hence then losing pure fat!

    They make these really cool Swedish nutrition bars that help you lose weight. They just burn up all your carbs.
  • _TastySnoBalls_
    _TastySnoBalls_ Posts: 1,298 Member
    Sugar does make you fat!! If it is not expended it is stored and turned to fat!!! Basics....


    Um, the "basics" are: sugar is a carb. Unless you are diabetic (or have some other insulin/carb resistant malady), then the carbs are used first. As such, sugar is the least likely nutrient that is stored as fat.

    But if you want to achieve "fat loss" then it's best to reduce carb (and therefore sugar) so the body then takes fat as your source of energy, therefore burns fat first cos it doesn't have carbs/sugars to burn, hence then losing pure fat!

    :noway: :noway: :noway: :noway:
  • MandyMason7
    MandyMason7 Posts: 185 Member
    They make these really cool Swedish nutrition bars that help you lose weight. They just burn up all your carbs.

    Lol, I love you
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    Sugar does make you fat!! If it is not expended it is stored and turned to fat!!! Basics....


    Um, the "basics" are: sugar is a carb. Unless you are diabetic (or have some other insulin/carb resistant malady), then the carbs are used first. As such, sugar is the least likely nutrient that is stored as fat.

    But if you want to achieve "fat loss" then it's best to reduce carb (and therefore sugar) so the body then takes fat as your source of energy, therefore burns fat first cos it doesn't have carbs/sugars to burn, hence then losing pure fat!

    Sweetie, it is embarrassing to claim something is basic when what you say is untrue and shows you have a basic lack of understanding of the subject.

    If you want to achieve weight loss, then you need to eat below your maintenance calories. If you want to achieve fat loss, then you need to eat the proper amount of protein and do resistence training to preserve your skeletal muscle.

    And in ketosis, where you eat very very few carbs, your body burns the dietary fat as its primary fuel, so you still need to be at a caloric deficit before your body touches its fat stores. And long term there is little difference between a ketogenic diet and a more common 40-30-30 diet.
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
    when I started out I just tracked my calories. As I refined my goals, I started watching my macros and a couple of micros (fiber and calcium). I try to get as close to my protein goal as I can, and generally fat and carbs fall into place.

    I don't specifically track sugar.
  • EuroDivas
    EuroDivas Posts: 93 Member
    Thanks for all the feedback Guys!!

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