Going over Fat, Carbs, Protein, and Sugar Goals!

cygirl88
cygirl88 Posts: 1
in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone else had this problem? Even when I eat the correct number of calories, I still almost always go over all of the separate goals like fat, carbs, protein, and sugar. Does anyone have any tips for me to cut down in any of these areas or perhaps a sample daily diet that would meet the goals?

Thank you!!

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Going over in some of these areas isn't necessarily a bad thing.

    Calories are what matter for weight loss. As long as you stick to your calorie goal and you are accurately tracking what you eat you should still lose weight. Depending on how your goals are set up, you can even eat a little more than MFP's number and still lose weight for the week, albeit a little more slowly.

    Macros (fat/protein/carbs) help with various things. Protein and fat both help keep you feeling fuller and more satisfied. Protein helps to rebuild and retain your lean muscle mass. Fat is good for you and helps with everything from hormone control, vitamin absorption, cell growth, etc. And carbs give you energy. You can be over or under on any of them and still lose weight as long as your calories are okay. Finding the right macro ratio depends on your goals, medical history, workout routine, etc. Don't be afraid to adjust MFP's defaults to better suit your routine. MFP tends to set it's protein default too low anyway and a lot of us think you should be in the red in protein every day.

    Sugar and Sodium are the other two default nutrients tracked and I honestly don't know why they picked those two. Excess sodium may cause you to retain water weight, which can cause a jump on the scale, but if you don't have any health issues neither is strictly necessary to track for weight loss. Tracking them or ignoring them will, again, depend on your personal goals.
  • tiffanybrooks530
    tiffanybrooks530 Posts: 140 Member
    I have this problem too...thanks for any tips
  • raymondo510
    raymondo510 Posts: 11
    Going over in some of these areas isn't necessarily a bad thing.

    Calories are what matter for weight loss. As long as you stick to your calorie goal and you are accurately tracking what you eat you should still lose weight. Depending on how your goals are set up, you can even eat a little more than MFP's number and still lose weight for the week, albeit a little more slowly.

    Macros (fat/protein/carbs) help with various things. Protein and fat both help keep you feeling fuller and more satisfied. Protein helps to rebuild and retain your lean muscle mass. Fat is good for you and helps with everything from hormone control, vitamin absorption, cell growth, etc. And carbs give you energy. You can be over or under on any of them and still lose weight as long as your calories are okay. Finding the right macro ratio depends on your goals, medical history, workout routine, etc. Don't be afraid to adjust MFP's defaults to better suit your routine. MFP tends to set it's protein default too low anyway and a lot of us think you should be in the red in protein every day.

    Sugar and Sodium are the other two default nutrients tracked and I honestly don't know why they picked those two. Excess sodium may cause you to retain water weight, which can cause a jump on the scale, but if you don't have any health issues neither is strictly necessary to track for weight loss. Tracking them or ignoring them will, again, depend on your personal goals.

    So for my macros MFP says to be around 1770 cal. Im 213LBS, but I lift 5x a week and do cardio 4x a week so lately I've been eating about ~2,000 calories because while I am trying to cut weight, I also don't want to be hungry through out the day. So I should be fine? I'm taking in about 200 grams of protein because im lifting heavy and often but usually my carbs are under 200, do you think thats too low?
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    Don't count calories, derps around here don't know how to calculate them properly to match the Macro nutrient amounts.

    Count Macros.
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    Unless you're doing a specific eating plan, macro overindulgence isn't necessarily bad. FOR ME, going over on carbs is a no-no because I eat low-carb. However, I make it a point to always go over on fats because that's my fuel source.
  • Charliejl82
    Charliejl82 Posts: 57
    Yep - what that chap said about macros - set macro goals, -- what good is 1600 cals a day if they all come from sugar?
  • Dewymorning
    Dewymorning Posts: 762 Member
    Sounds like you are using incorrect entries.

    Calories of an item should equal approx 4*carb + 4*protein + 9*fat, or more if it also contains alcohol.
  • raymondo510
    raymondo510 Posts: 11
    Ok because I've been going over my calories but I've figured since I've been lifting pretty hard and staying under my macros that I should be ok and well... its been working. I've cut 12lbs so far and have been feeling pretty dam good.
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
    I don't track sugar. I very rarely drink fizzy drinks (and I don't drink diet versions), or eat cakes, biscuits or add sugar to my drinks and food. My sugar was always too high because of fruit and chocolate (I promise mainly fruit though!).
  • krhn
    krhn Posts: 781 Member
    Don't count calories, derps around here don't know how to calculate them properly to match the Macro nutrient amounts.

    I do :blushing: :blushing: :blushing: :blushing:
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Has anyone else had this problem? Even when I eat the correct number of calories, I still almost always go over all of the separate goals like fat, carbs, protein, and sugar. Does anyone have any tips for me to cut down in any of these areas or perhaps a sample daily diet that would meet the goals?

    Thank you!!

    If you're going over in all macros then the calorie count must be off somewhere.

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