Foods w/ just calories?

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  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    Alcohol.

    Alcohol is a carb

    Not really, based on how it's processed, it's really the 4th macronutrient. Alcohol is 7cal/g compared to the rest of carbohydrates which are 4cal/g.

    Edit- except for fiber, which comes out to ~2cal/g.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Alcohol.

    Alcohol is a carb
    eh?
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Protein, fiber, sodium, and sugar always end up in red. Protein especially!! Sugar gets second, however I don't worry about fiber. I just want to eat foods that have calories, carbs, and fat w/o dipping in the other at the end of a day. Pretty simple. I can't ever seem to find this happiness.
    Again, if you're following MFP defaults, I wouldn't sweat that. I consider the protein goals a minimum. Same with fiber.
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
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    Don't freak out about sugar and sodium (unless you have underlying health issues that mean you should limit them).

    Protein at AT LEAST 1gm per pound of body weight and fat at .3 to .4g per pound. Make the rest up with whatever you like within your calorie limit. Don't worry about sugar and sodium, just don't let them get crazy high.

    Done.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    Your body only digests fat, carbohydrates, protein, and alcohol in to energy. Calories are a measurement of energy. There is no such thing as a food calorie with no macronutrients. However, alcohol isn't tracked by MFP, so if you fill the rest of your calories with some nice grain alcohol, at 7cal/g, it will not affect your macronutrient trackers.

    Moonshine it is :smile:
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Alcohol.

    Alcohol is a carb

    Not really, based on how it's processed, it's really the 4th macronutrient. Alcohol is 7cal/g compared to the rest of carbohydrates which are 4cal/g.

    Edit- except for fiber, which comes out to ~2cal/g.
    Yep. Alcohol is processed to aldehyde not glucose.
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
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    OP, I'm betting you need to eat fewer processed carbs and protein (deli meats, maybe? lots of sodium there) and more veggies. Only way to go over on sugar and not have enough carbs, I think. And don't eat low fat or fat free versions of things--nothing wrong with most fats--just stay away from trans fats.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    I'll pass on the deep fried butter. Yuck! So who cares what your protein numbers are? I can deal w/ that! I just can't stand when sugar and sodium go deep in the red but I want to eat all my calories they say you have to eat, even burnt ones....appears it's impossible.

    Maybe stop tracking sodium and sugar? I don't track either of those things. I track carbs, protein, fat, fiber and calcium.

    For a while, I tracked sodium because I thought it would be better to have less salt in my diet. After a few weeks, my blood pressure was constantly low and I was getting dizzy. My doctor suggested I quit watching sodium so carefully.

    And sugar... unless you have some other medical condition that necessitates watching your sugar, there is really no reason to track it either. Sugar is just a carb and carbs are also a trackable option in MFP.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    So what's everyone's highest protein?! Mine always ends up really high just so I use up my calories..

    Most days I have 170 grams of protein, but 200-220 grams in a day is pretty common for me on high calorie days.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
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    meat i look at protein as a minimum

    This. Unless you have changed yours, MFP's protein setting is a minimum amount. It is good to go over. It is ok to have reds at times.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Your sugar is part of your carbs, so I'd just track carbs and not worry about sugar. If your carbs are in line, your sugar is too.

    As for having just fat left, instead of finding foods that are most/all fat (which isn't going to be much and it probably wouldn't taste good) why not pre-log your food and tweak it to fit your macros before you eat it? That way you can change your food choices if it doesn't fit. In the beginning I only worried about calories but recently I've been working harder at macros, so if I put in all my food and I'm over on carbs, I just take something out and substitute another food that is less carb/more protein. It definitely takes some practice to get macros, it's not quite as simple as the overall calorie goal.
  • Lady_Bane
    Lady_Bane Posts: 720 Member
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    Alcohol.

    Alcohol is a carb

    Not really, based on how it's processed, it's really the 4th macronutrient. Alcohol is 7cal/g compared to the rest of carbohydrates which are 4cal/g.

    Edit- except for fiber, which comes out to ~2cal/g.
    Yep. Alcohol is processed to aldehyde not glucose.


    I didnt know that :P I always thought it was since MFP adds it to the carb section on my pie cart thingie :P
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Options
    Alcohol.

    Alcohol is a carb

    Not really, based on how it's processed, it's really the 4th macronutrient. Alcohol is 7cal/g compared to the rest of carbohydrates which are 4cal/g.

    Edit- except for fiber, which comes out to ~2cal/g.
    Yep. Alcohol is processed to aldehyde not glucose.


    I didnt know that :P I always thought it was since MFP adds it to the carb section on my pie cart thingie :P

    It shouldn't. A lot of alcoholic beverages have sugar in them- beer, wine, flavored vodkas (usually) all have carbs in them, but the actual alcohol itself shouldn't go in to the carb bucket- if it does the entry is wrong. Plain vodka doesn't have sugar in it- if you go in the database and look at the MFP 'official' entry (the one with no asterisk) "Vodka- 80 proof" You'll see that it's listed as having 69 calories, but the macros are all "0g". That's correct.

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