I can't balance my macros

Mijori

So far today I've only consumed 616 calories (& it's 9.30 pm here). I've more than doubled my recommended sugar intake and have reached my recommended protein intake. That leaves fat and carbs. All I can eat for the rest of the day are fat and carbs. Oh, and lots and lots of sodium. This happens almost every day. I overdo it with proteins, and underconsume carbs & fat. I tried to do some research about what is healthy as far as carbs & protein consumption is concerned but there is so much contradictory information out there that I don't really know what to believe.

My short-term goal is to lose the 5 kgs / 12 lbs I gained over a very sedentary summer and autumn, but my long-term goal is to maintain a healthy & balanced diet, which is why I'm logging my food. I need to get the ratios right.

My biggest problem seems to be sugar. I am a sugarholic. Sweets, not cakes. Never soft drinks. But still, pure sugar. I never really cared until I read recently that the body can only process 6 grams of sugar at a time. The rest apparently turns to fat. I have cut out my daily sweets & only indulge occasionally now. I don't really consume any refined white sugar any more, but I do consume a lot of sugar. It all comes from from fruit & dairy though. Fructose & lactose. My enemies.

Can it really be that anything over 6 grams turns to fat? That citrus salad I had the other night - 167 calories & 35 grams of sugar. 11 grams over my daily allowance in one little bowl. So my body happily ingested 6 grams, and made the rest into fat? That pink grapefruit is the cause of my budding love handles? I spent hours and hours in the forest this summer, picking my freezer full of wild blueberries, but 100 grams of those delicious little berries contain 6 grams of sugar. All my body can handle, or so "they" would have me believe. And here I thought they were a super food and I could eat as much as I like! Alas, no. Anything over 100 grams at a time went straight to my hips!

I don't know how to eat anymore! I've got 584 calories left for today to be consumed in carbs & fat. Some potato chips would cover it, but that doesn't sound very tempting. Or healthy.

One day last week I had chicken with chickpeas & spinach for lunch & lentil soup for dinner with the aforementioned citrus salad for dessert, and my chart was very red at the end of the day (except for carbs & fat, not getting enough of those it seems). The following day I had that same lentil soup for lunch, no fruit all day, a pizza for dinner, and a handful of wasabi peanuts for a late night snack, and all was green and copacetic. Am I really meant to believe the pizza day was better?

How do you guys balance your macros and how important is it really both for weight loss & healthy living? I need to get this right! I would prefer advice based on experience than potentially extremist advice from a magazine. Thank you.

PinkEarthMama

I tend to ignore the sugar - a few pieces of fruit, a bell pepper, and I'm over the limit.

In fact, I'd worry MOSTLY about getting enough protein and fiber. Eventually, it balances out.

Eating too few calories just to fit into your macros won't help you in the long run.

alaskaang

Going over on protein is not a problem, especially if you used the MFP recommended settings, it tends to be very low on protein. A reasonable goal is usually .8 to 1 gram per lb of lean body mass.

If you've cut out sweets and most of your sugar is coming from fruit, I wouldn't stress about it at this point because you've already made an improvement to your habits. See how things go and if you're not seeing the results you want, then readjust at that point.

Mokey41

If you open your diary it would be more help.

krickeyuu

Sugar is not a macro; carbohydrate is a macro. Sugar is a carbohydrate. Unless you have a medical reason to monitor sugar--just monitor your carbs in general. Personally, I monitor Fat, Protein and Carbohydrate plus fiber and soduim (due to HBP). I look at protein and fiber as minimums, so I don't care if I am in the red. FaAt and sodium I try to come as close as possible to my macro setting without going over and carbs just fit in the middle of the mix--a little over or under and I don't worry too much. My minimums: 50 grams fat, 75 grams protein, 188 grams carb, 25 gramns fiber and 1600mg sodium. I eat 1500-1600 calories per day.

Firefox7275

The protein settings on MFP are minimums not maximums, refined and added sugars should be kept low, but natural sugars in man fruits and dairy are really not a problem. Actually starchy carbs turn to blood glucose, certain white breads even faster than table sugar! 5g is not the amount of carbs your body can process, it is the amount of glucose that your blood can hold at any one time. The lower glycaemic index your ingredients and meals, the slower the carbs will be digested so your body will not be overwhelmed by sugar.

Sugar cravings can be a sign you are eating too large portions of carbs, or the type of carbs that turn to blood glucose quickly, or not combining your carbs with proteins fibre and healthy fats, even that you are deficient in micronutrients. Try eating a breakfast relatively low in sugars/ carbs and rich in protein fibre and healthy fats, this should help stabilise your blood sugar and reduce cravings. If you want to ccut back on natural sugars have less milk but more plain yoghurt, cottage cheese, hard cheeses, more non starchy vegetables and berries, fewer high sugar fruits like bananas, raisins and apples.

Grapefruit is healthy and may contain compounds which support blood sugar control/ weight management but moderate your portions - serve alongside other low sugar produce. I believe in the US a serving is half a grapefruit: according to one site that contains just 8g sugar. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1905/2

Mijori

Thank you, I like having things explained to me rather than just getting a black-and-white statement that leaves me confused.
Fortunately I eat very few starchy foods, no white bread, and plenty of protein and fibre. I should be ok if I stick to common sense and stay away from white sugar as much as possible. I should just learn to listen to my body.

mmk137

you are better to go over on protien.

if you body needs carbs, it will convert the protein to carbs if it needs to.