I'm always in the red no matter how hard I try on MFP. :(

MachaDesu

I cut back everywhere I can, but I almost ALWAYS go over in protein, sugar, or salt. I haven't gone over my calories YET, but it still makes me feel really depressed. I feel like I'll never get it right! Is there ANY way to be all in the GREEN and still be full???

fishnbrah

disregard sodium and sugar intake and watch carbs/fat/protein totals

tootchute

I go over sugar a lot, sugar is in everything. Protein I go over recent which to me is okay cause I eat a lot of eggs, turkey, chicken, fish it's in everything as well. The other's I stay in the green.

TheLuSir

It takes practice. You have to work at it.

Eat more natural alternatives and if you do go over allow your body to process it. Don't get too hard on yourself. These things will happen but unless you are training competitively it will not make or break your weight loss. Watch your calories, fats, sugars, and sodium.

Hope this helps.

NikiChicken

Unless you have specific health issues (i.e. diabetes), it doesn't matter as much as you are making it. If you are healthy, as long as your calories are in check and you keep an eye on your other macros so they aren't *completely* out of whack, you are fine. Unless there are underlying issues, you definitely shouldn't be letting this depress you!

cwolfman13

manage your calories and macros, not your micros (unless medical condition warrants it). Also, you can adjust your macro settings to whatever...MFP's defaults are pretty low on the protein and high carb.

MaryPoppinsIAint

Sodium's not good to blow off, you can retain water weight if you consistently go over on sodium (I'm having that problem right now). But the other two? I don't even track sugars, and going over a bit on protein isn't a disaster. I worry about the calories first, then the protein/fat in equal importance, but if I'm still under on both calories and sodium, I consider it a won day.

michellechawner

I go over sugar a lot because of fruits, so I learned to ignore it.

I really watch my protein and my fiber (Medical reason for the fiber), you can always change it under your setting. I took sugar off completely, as that's not where my issue is.

Sodium I track just for my own sake, not that I'm into really salty foods or anything. It causes water retention though, which is weight gain.

epie2098

MFP can't distinguish between fruit sugars and added sugars. If you're over on sodium, increase the water a bit and try and look at which foods are causing you to be over. I cook almost everything from scratch, so am often way under the sodium. If you're eating more processed foods (deli meats, popcorn, salad dressings, eating out) then that's your cause, quite often, right there. Don't worry about going over on protein. Your body will metabolize it just fine.

vorgas

1: UInless you've rebalanced the default macro goals, MFP sets some pretty poor guides for people working out, particularly protein.
2: If you have rebalanced, it's a guide, not a bible. Be within +/- 25% and you're fine.
3: When you sweat, you lose sodium. It doesn't hurt to replenish it, but MFP doesn't increase sodium goals for exercise.
4: If you do go over on sodium it's mostly going to lead to water retention, which will appear as increased weight. Just account for this when you weigh in. Don't go crazy crazy crazy over (3x or more day after day after day) or it could lead to other problems.

quiltlovinlisa

mfp's sugar rating doesn't differentiate between natural and processed sugars. I go over their setting with a cup of non-fat plain greek yogurt, an apple and a red bell pepper.

I changed my settings and now I have lower carbs and higher protein the MFP recommends. I'm much happier, it more embodies how I want to eat. Sugar, I replaced with fiber, something I *do* want to monitor.

RPric1

Try focusing on getting some raw foods you might like, veggies and fruits. Also I found the flaxseed crackers really help me feel full. The fiber is great and will give more balance.

dakotababy

I only focus on Calories, Carbs, Fat and Protein and Fibre.

I have heard you only need to focus on sugar if you are diabetic or dr.s orders.

3dogsrunning

The default protein recommendation for MFP is on the low side. I set mine manually and its about double MFP's recommendation.

I don't pay attention to the sugar. I track carbs, which includes sugar and most of my sugar comes from sources that have a high nutrient value like fruit.

Sodium I keep an eye on but not too worried about going over as I don't have a medical issue. If you really want to keep it down, find the items you eat that seem to have a lot, and find alternatives.

cmeiron

The protein goals that MFP sets are notoriously low, so going over is probably in your best interest unless you've manually adjusted your settings. Aim for 1g/lb lean body mass/day. As for sodium and sugar, as others have said, there's little point in tracking either unless you have a medical condition that necessitates it.

hellraisedfire

MFP doesn't know anything about protein. if you go over, that's normal. you SHOULD be over on protein. as for sugars, a banana can put you over MFP's intake guideline. have you ever heard of someone getting fat off of apples and bananas? as for sodium,the cardiologist I see tells me that if you don't have high blood pressure, just try to stay under 3,000mg. if you do have high blood pressure, then you tweak your diet.

highandtight

I'm glad to see that people disregard the sugars. This is only day 2 for me... I like this a lot so far but it's crazy how quickly I go over in sugars...Is there really sugar in Romaine lettuce, or is there a glitch in this part of MFP's tracking?!

Mock_Turtle

Meeting your Calorie targets is by far the most important, hitting carb/fat/sugar targets is far less important.

Going over on protein is almost never a bad thing

Warchortle

Being "under" isn't something to strive for... being close to a good balance is more important.

MayaSPapaya

The ultimate thing here is your calories, it doesn't affect your weight loss if you're in the red in anything else. The only thing is if you go too much over on sodium, you will retain water which will show a gain on the scale, but it'll just be water weight.

ldrosophila

Id change it to nutrients that I would want to be red in like fiber and potassium or folic acid

3dogsrunning

I'm glad to see that people disregard the sugars. This is only day 2 for me... I like this a lot so far but it's crazy how quickly I go over in sugars...Is there really sugar in Romaine lettuce, or is there a glitch in this part of MFP's tracking?!

Apparently so. Around 1 g per cup.

This is what I do when I am adding new foods (I have verified most of my common foods and just use that list) I go to this site -
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2475/2

You will also find this is the same data the MFP uses, i.e. not the user entries, the actual MFP data, which for some reason is not easy to find (it does not have an asterisk) I have learned that if I search by the same name, I can find it much easier, like "chicken, leg meat, skin, raw" and you will find the entry that is the same as this one
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/714/2

SarahHebert1

Protein is good for you, you should not be worried about being over here.

MFP sets sugar at an almost impossible level. I actually removed mine from being displayed so that I didn't have to look at the numbers.

I recommend doing some research, checking with a nutritionist if you know one, etc. about what a good, healthy amount of intake for all of these primary food stats are and changing your MFP settings to custom settings, to numbers you know will work for you.

I also hate seeing the red - the one nice thing about calories being red is you can always do more exercise!

Sycoholic

disregard sodium and sugar intake and watch carbs/fat/protein totals

Yeah, pretty much this. I go over my protein all the time, but how can I ingest 1g of protein per lb of lean muscle when mfp has me around 90? Crazy. As long as it's not bad stuff you're ok. Sugar can be a no-no depending on the source, as high fructose corn syrup has no place in a healthy diet. Natural sugar is bad, but keep it limited as it will impair fat loss. Sodium (salt) is one that can get you. If you're sweating a lot all day then going over is probably a good thing. The one thing we were told in Army basic training when it got really bad hot out was to put an extra salt packet on our food. It helps replenish what you lose. Aside from that, if you find you're consuming lots of it then make sure you're drinking plenty of water. That'll help flush it out a bit. Just watch what you're doing, look at your diary and see what foods pushed you over. Perhaps these are foods you can cut out later down the road as you learn what works and what doesn't.

servilia

Forget about following sugar. If you eat fruit you'll be over almost every time. Pick your battles; normally I just watch cals total and try to get enough protein. If I'm extra diligent I try to watch my carbs.
Ps you WANT to go over mfp's protein goal, it's too low!

SingingPilgrim

Are you eating pre-packaged and/or prepared food a lot? That'll make the biggest difference if you prepare foods from scratch or move towards less prepared stuff.

skinnydreams19

Ditto, but I go over calories, too I looked at your diet, however, and saw a big reason: you left it at the 1200 calories MFP originally suggests for us and that's way too low! Go in and change it to TDEE - 20%, that'll let you lose weight healthily and sustainably. And it should clear up your in-the-red problem, too!

MachaDesu

Thanks guys. And yes, I keep pre-made and processed food to a minimum. ANd my fruits always are what push me over on the sugar.

FATJAKE5

You just started. Just tweek one thing @ a time. Replace that "Propel Zero" with 4 cups of water (flavored with a lemon slice or squeeze) and your sodium would be under 1500mg/day. Replace canned veggies with fresh ones prepared without salt. Buy dried beans like chick peas, black beans, red kidney and pinto beans. Soak them over night, cook them to the firmness (without salt) you desire and freeze them in the serving size you need. There are a lot of salt-free meat roasting rubs available and we leave a bottle of it from costco on the table, use it the way we used to use salt and pepper.
It's like learning to ride a bike, it may take awhile, but it's worth it.

Here is an article on "Taming Your Salt Habit" which I found helpful: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284

MachaDesu

And the reason I drink the propel is because our pipes make our water taste like rust and we cannot afford to fix it.

MachaDesu

And buying fresh produce is hard because of money issues. My family barely gets by.