HELP -OVER ON FAT

Mrsfreedom41

I've logged in my food for the day and I'm over on my fat. With my new calculations starting today, my total fat is supposed to be 40G, Carbs 150G and Protein 60G. My normal daily activity is supposed to be 1,680 cal. a day with daily goal of 1,200. If I eat up to the 1,680 cal. I will probably be over in the other catagories as well. What am I doing wrong? Any helpful information will be greatly appreciated. Please look at my diary - it is open for you to look at. I am really looking for suggestions on how to meet my normal daily activity. :sad:

SugaryLynx

I treat my fat as a minimum, so I don't really mind if I'm over, so as long as I'm hitting my other targets, I don't fret. Fat is important for hormone control/ overall health and as long as that's not the only thing you're eating, you're doing fine:flowerforyou:

ollie809

dont worry about it too much they are just guidelines 1 gram certainly doesnt matter also all the fats you have eaten today are the healthy good for you kind so as long as your total calories consumed for the day is under your goal you will lose weight. just try and remember in the future what foods are high in fats protein and carbs and day by day you will get a better hang of it.

diannethegeek

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.

Sugar and Sodium are the other two default nutrients tracked. 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.

Don't be afraid of the red and green numbers in your food diary. Red doesn't always mean bad and green doesn't necessarily mean good. They're just an indicator of whether you're over/under the goal MFP has set for you.

pinkshiningstar

Checked out your entries for today. Your fat sources seem to be pretty solid ones - PB and Eggs. Don't fret! You'll be fine! Fats are good for you if you're getting the right kinds from the right sources. It's not like you're downing Snickers bars and funnel cakes (which sounds yummy...)

Shuuma

In my humble opinion (and FOR ME), protein and fat macros are minimum and carbs and sodium macros are maxiumum.

> Fats are healthy for you (as long as you aren't consuming gallons of lard or something equally bizarre!). Fats don't make you fat all by themselves.
> MFP builds in the deficit already, so if you're exercising, eat those calories back.
> Weigh everything that goes into your mouth.
> Log everything you just weighed. Don't use generic entries, but choose USDA entries whenever possible.
> Use a HRM to more accurately show calorie burn. Most of us overestimate calories out and underestimate calories in.
> Make sure you have set your macros correctly. I set my macros to 30% fat, 30% carbs, and 40% protein (mostly because I lose better and more consistently with higher protein).

>Read http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

ETA:When you log exercise calories burned, MFP adjusts your macros to account for what you will eat back. Don't be afraid of those calories!! Also, try to net at LEAST your 1,200 for the day, but go for the whole amount. Eating more food will help you lose weight, as odd as it sounds.

SugaryLynx

Checked out your entries for today. Your fat sources seem to be pretty solid ones - PB and Eggs. Don't fret! You'll be fine! Fats are good for you if you're getting the right kinds from the right sources. It's not like you're downing Snickers bars and funnel cakes (which sounds yummy...)

....you don't like my snickers bars and funnel cakes (

Annie_01

What is peanut butter crunchy? You ate 2lbs of it??? Must have been good...maybe I will try to find me some.

Shuuma

What is peanut butter crunchy? You ate 2lbs of it??? Must have been good...maybe I will try to find me some.

I'm pretty sure it reads 2 tbs, not pounds.

:flowerforyou:

ETA: (I can't seem to get all my thoughts in one place today at the same time..haha) I absolutely LOVE crunchy peanut butter. My whole family is yakked out by it, but omg, I can eat a whole jar in one sitting, if I let myself.

Annie_01

What is peanut butter crunchy? You ate 2lbs of it??? Must have been good...maybe I will try to find me some.

I'm pretty sure it reads 2 tbs, not pounds.

:flowerforyou:

Oooops

I'm sorry OP...I think my eyes must have crossed!:blushing:

laurie04427

Your diet for today looks like you made healthy choices, actually.

Just a suggestion though if you switched your two eggs to one egg + egg white only it would probably shift the calories toward protein and way from fat slightly.

trishfit2014

You need to eat more today. I would try to increase your protein. I would switch your 2 eggs for one whole egg and two egg whites. This will increase your protein and decrease your fat. I would likely make that more egg whites as you need more calories and protein. However, I do agree with everyone to not worry too much about going over on fat especially since it is only 1g.

Akimajuktuq

MFP default for fat is ridiculously low and even more ridiculously high for carbs. Instead of cutting your fat, consider changing your macros to custom settings.

PS. Please don't follow the advice to give up a whole egg for egg white only. Fat is healthy. The best stuff in an egg is IN THE YOLK. Let the myth that "fat is bad" die already. That includes NATURAL saturated fats as well. Delicious and healthy stuff.

IsleOfThanet

It looks like you need to try different stuff.

For dinner instead of a biscuit try another mini bagel or some bread, or even some type of cracker. ... that would save on calories and fat.

I see you had two eggs ... how about getting a carton of egg whites. Use just one egg and a serving of the egg whites that would save on both calories and fat.

(on the biscuit thing I love Popeyes Fried Chicken ... it seems the biscuits there are almost as fattening as the friend chicken ... I need to ask the counter person not to put the biscuit in the box or it is too tempting.)

SugaryLynx

It looks like you need to try different stuff.

For dinner instead of a biscuit try another mini bagel or some bread, or even some type of cracker. ... that would save on calories and fat.

I see you had two eggs ... how about getting a carton of egg whites. Use just one egg and a serving of the egg whites that would save on both calories and fat.

(on the biscuit thing I love Popeyes Fried Chicken ... it seems the biscuits there are almost as fattening as the friend chicken ... I need to ask the counter person not to put the biscuit in the box or it is too tempting.)

Their biscuits are sent from heaven and should never be avoided. Always make room for love

Mrsfreedom41

Thank you all for your suggestions. Gonna try to put some of them in place. At the end of the week, will see how I've faired.:drinker:

norulesjustplay

The only thing that matters is:

* calories (calories in vs calories out = the only thing that counts for weight loss)
* protein (preserving or even building muscle, however this really isn't all that important when just trying to lose fat)
* micronutrients (just eat your veggies)
* and an overall healthy diet (so don't cut out all the fat or all the carbs).

I personally think it's better (read healthier) to eat more fats than more carbs, unless you feel like fatty foods don't give you enough satisfaction. A good example of a good diet focussing on fats is the paleo diet, where you basically eat what our ancestors would have eaten when we were still hunter-gatherers.

pinkshiningstar

Checked out your entries for today. Your fat sources seem to be pretty solid ones - PB and Eggs. Don't fret! You'll be fine! Fats are good for you if you're getting the right kinds from the right sources. It's not like you're downing Snickers bars and funnel cakes (which sounds yummy...)

....you don't like my snickers bars and funnel cakes (

I'm all for Snickers bars and funnel cakes. Sweets are my weakness! Haha

Mrsfreedom41

Checked out your entries for today. Your fat sources seem to be pretty solid ones - PB and Eggs. Don't fret! You'll be fine! Fats are good for you if you're getting the right kinds from the right sources. It's not like you're downing Snickers bars and funnel cakes (which sounds yummy...)

....you don't like my snickers bars and funnel cakes (

I'm all for Snickers bars and funnel cakes. Sweets are my weakness! Haha

That's part of my problem - I love sweets and I have sabotaged my own weight loss by thinking I could still eat them and lose weight. Well, I'm finding out that is not true. A sweet once in a while is okay but I've been eating too much of a good thing.