Should I meet all my daily goals orjust calories?

chphotography

Like on MFP food log. It reads I should have 45g fat 1350 calories 169 carbs (before any exercise) I know I need to eat my calories plus my exercise calories but what about fats? can I be under in the fats for the day? Carbs? Or should I try to get everything as close as possible? Im getting frustrated and find myself eating really bad things to meet my calorie goal when i'm not hungry!

qballjr13

I am having the same problem and posted a very similar question the other day but I havent gotten a response. I will certainly be following your post. Sorry my response didnt answer your question...just sharing my thoughts.

714rah714

Why would eat if your not hungry?:

fishiewishes

Personally I try to limit my fats to good fats only (such as nuts, fish etc) and try not to go over. I don't keep a full tally of what I eat (I log it but don't check the fat, carb etc values until the end of the day). Just keep an eye on your calories, try to stick to good snacks if you need to build up your cals - perhaps just have a smoothie or a glass of milk if you need it. Personally I keep a little pot of mixed fruits and nuts around to nibble on to boost up my calories should the need arise. As long as you are getting some good fats in the day I can't see a problem with not hitting your daily goal.

britexmom

i usually am closer to my protien and fat goals than i am my carbs or total calories. some days actuallt my fat/prot is over but from reading the boards here i see the limits set by MFP are on the low side for those so i am ok with going over once in a while. with my fat i go over mostly with avacado and nuts....but they are *good* fats so i dont stress about it.

heberlonghurst

I am over on sugars 100% of the time (. Don't know if I should be worried.

MissNations

I've just been worrying about my calories and I've been making my 1 lb/week goal. If I see I'm WAY over in some other category I look at which foods put me there and then try to eat less of them.

mrsepiphany

I wouldn't worry if the sugar is coming from fruit....

I am over on sugars 100% of the time (. Don't know if I should be worried.

UponThisRock

Calories is what matters, everything else is just a general guideline.

And the guidelines are wrong for many people, IMO, especially on protein.

radicalreader

I track calories, fat, sodium, calcium, protein, and fiber.

I see Calories, Fat, and Sodium as MAXIMUM limits that I don't want to exceed.
My Calcium, Protein, and Fiber are MINIMUM targets that I try to exceed.

It works for me.
(I don't track sugar or carbohydrates because I eat tons of fruits, veggies, and whole grains and almost no refined sugars or refined carbs.)

laurarpa

I changed it to meet what I think works best for my body and I try to meet it but don't sweat it if I am under one day/over another on any particular macro. I focus mostly on trying to hit my protein and fiber and the other things usually fall into place. I don't do well at all with 60% carbs, though I'm often closer to 50% than 40%..

here's mine which is based on 40/30/30 and cal. calculations on my age/sex/weight/height/body fat%

cal carb fat prot (fiber)
1,325 133 44 99 (25)

Airbear3

i've always just worried about my calories.....but now that i am getting closer to goal i am finding it necessary to get as close as possible to them all! i try to eat clean most of the time and have been doing well with hitting my targets! i think you will find in time what your body is asking for to get you to where you want to be.

mrsepiphany

I am always over on sugar because of the natural sugars in all the fruit i eat. But everything is always under or totaled out. I make sure i watch the fat/carbs and sodium intake.

Ballybabe1

I've just been worrying about my calories and I've been making my 1 lb/week goal. If I see I'm WAY over in some other category I look at which foods put me there and then try to eat less of them.

I agree with this quote and its what I have been doing and I am meeting my 1lb per week most weeks. I think watching the cals is enough and cast an eye on the other things if they are way off the mark, obviously if your on 1200 cals a day theres no point in only eating 12 bars of chocolate at 100 cals each per day, it just wouldnt be good for your health.

ArroganceInStep

I personally find the MFP macronutrient goals to be off.

The first and most important thing is to eat at or below your target calories (either as determined by MFP or by one of the standard calculations out there, then adjusted as necessary to suit you more accurately) for maintenance minus the deficit needed for you to achieve your weight loss goals (in general, slower is better: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/setting-the-deficit-small-moderate-or-large.html).

Second you need to get adequate macronutrient needs for your lifestyle:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-fundamentals-of-fat-loss-diets-part-1.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-fundamentals-of-fat-loss-diets-part-2.html
Part 2 is where he talks about setting protein and fat targets, and to be clear, I'm basically regurgitating what he's stated in that post.

Third you need to try, when possible, to eat nutrient dense foods. It'll help with overall health and well being, but doesn't mean you have to go organic, rainbow fed, vega-natural hard core or anything. Just try to eat 'smarter'.

Fourth, assuming you want to retain muscle mass (hint: you probably do, and if you don't you probably should) incorporate some kind of resistance training. It's not necessary for weight loss, but it can sure make you look a lot better.

Fifth, a little cardio never hurts. Again not necessary but I think it's got health benefits beyond just weight loss and is a solid addition to any kind of fitness goal.

Sixth, relax about the rest. Adjust as necessary and try to go with small, sustainable changes over big, monstrous ones that'll burn you out.

kgfpowell

my healthy lifestyle instructor told us to keep within your calorie goal, eat in all food groups (use myPlate.com) and just eat in appropriate portions. I am still learning but it is trial and error.