Obsessing about the daily nutrition summary

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Jessiebell527
Jessiebell527 Posts: 110 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Most days I am under calories, I am almost always in the red with sugar, protein etc, Not a lot but should I be hawking this so much? How do I limit protein when everything I read tells me to eat more?
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  • starkiss100
    starkiss100 Posts: 235 Member
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    I'm always in the red w/sugar too, but under or close to my calories
  • SarahSmiles2004
    SarahSmiles2004 Posts: 66 Member
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    Really I wouldn't worry too much about being over in protein, unless you're eating a lot of red meat or fatty proteins. If you're not in the 200g mark I think you're fine. I have heard everything from women needing 70g to at least 1 g per pound of body weight. So all in all I think you're fine. The things MFP gives for a basis is based more on the RDA of things that is pretty basic. I almost always go over on sodium and sugar. But then when I go visit my doctor she says I'm fine. I' m not going out of my way to eat a salt lick or down a bag of sugar in a day but some foods have more of something than others. I.E. fruit - a lot of sugar in fruit but is it bad for you? No. Try not to stress too much. Do some research and I'm sure there are people here that know even more than me, but then again you have to take everything with a grain of salt because you're body is different than anyone else's. If it really concerns you I would suggest a dietitian who can talk to you about it and figure it out, yes dietitian - I am not discounting nutritionists but dietitians are probably the most sound advice you can get due to education and experience.
  • Jessiebell527
    Jessiebell527 Posts: 110 Member
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    Thanks!!
  • jc1231
    jc1231 Posts: 67
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    I think the sugar grams are very low on MFP, so unless you are eating a ton of junk I would not focus on it so much. A few years ago I worked with a nutritionist and he gave me meal plans to follow. Every day he had me consume between 100 - 145 grams of lean protein each day. LEAN protein being the key. The reality is that protein takes longer to metabolize and keeps you full longer. I eat 5 - 6 meals a day, my 3 main meals and 2 - 3 small meals/snacks. I had the best results when I incorporated protein in with EVERY meal. I have been doing this and so far having great results since I am down 7 pounds since 1/1/13. I hope you find this helpful.
  • katiekido
    katiekido Posts: 26 Member
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    I'm always over on my sugar too. Eating fruit definitely puts you over the sugar limit. I only count sugar that is "added sugar" and don't worry about the natural sugars found in fruit, etc.
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
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    I intend to obsess about the calories (sort of). The others I plan to treat as FYI...hmm, I may want to watch how much (or little) of this or that I am consuming.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    As long as your sugar is coming from whole food (fruits, for example), don't stress about it. But if you're getting a lot of sugar from processed food, stop.

    And don't worry about protein at all. You are probably not eating enough if you're even close to what MFP suggests. I regularly eat (yes, eat ... no shakes here) anywhere from 180 to 230 g protein a day, which is way more than 1 g per pound of bodyweight or lean body mass. Protein is necessary if you want to look good and be healthy. It is basically impossible to eat too much.

    Also, red meat is good for you unless you are getting it from a drive-thru window or deep frying it and eating it 5 times per day. A nice piece of steak never gave anyone a heart attack.
  • Linli_Anne
    Linli_Anne Posts: 1,360 Member
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    Hitting your macros is important...but don't stress on everything all at once.

    Start with focusing on one area for a while, really nailing it down - for me that is my protein - I know that I need more, and so for the last week I have been making it a priority to incorporate it with every meal.snack. I have gotten significantly better in this area.

    Sometimes, putting your focus on just the one macro will help the other ones fall in line too.

    I personally don't track my sugars because I don't eat a lot with added sugars, my sugar values will come from the foods I'm eating, and I can't really decrease how much sugar is in an orange.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    manually adjust your macro goals...MFP's defaults are wacky...high carb, low protein, low fat. You should be getting 10-30% of your calories from protein. My Macros are set at 40/30/30 (carb/protein/healthy fat)...maybe try 50/25/25 for yourself and see how that goes. One reason protein is important when you're eating at a deficit is to help preserve lean mass while you burn the fat. In the absence of protein and resistance training, your body will burn both.
  • Jessiebell527
    Jessiebell527 Posts: 110 Member
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    Thanks so much! I appreciate all the good info!!
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    I'm the same way, under on calories, over on protein. I used to obsess over it, forcing myself to eat when I was full or not hungry. I figure since I'm eating good protein, not a lot of processed food, mostly whole foods and I'm not feeling fatigued, I haven't gone into "starvation mode", weight loss still steady, in fact I have tons of energy and my weight loss has gone from averaging a pound per week to 2lbs per week. I decided to stop obsessing, eat when I'm hungry, eat good stuff and enjoy the occassional treat.
  • ethomsen
    ethomsen Posts: 1
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    i am always always always over sugar and protein. I tend to focus on the overall calorie total and fat total. Natural sugars in fruit and greek yogurt are bound to put you in the red. If you're not eating an excessive amount of added sugars than I think it is fine
  • lacurandera1
    lacurandera1 Posts: 8,083 Member
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    Treat protein as a minimum, especially if you haven't adjusted MFP's default of 15% for that macro.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    You shouldn't limit protein
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    You can change your macro goals. MFP defaults to a pretty low setting for protein anyway.
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
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    I'm always over on fiber, protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron, Calcium, Potassium and Protein...
  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
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    Take sugar off of the tracker. Problem solved! :smile:
  • basillowe66
    basillowe66 Posts: 432 Member
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    Protein burns fat Jessie. My sister in law who wanted to lose 90 lbs work at a hospital and she went on their weight loss program. They told her to stay at or under 1200 calories and get at least 80 g of protein. She lost the 90 in about 8 or 9 months



    Basil
  • purpleroxmysocks
    purpleroxmysocks Posts: 137 Member
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    Just eat healthy and don't stress, it's hard but you'll get the hang out it ha I am still working on it myself.
  • FitBeto
    FitBeto Posts: 2,121 Member
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    i am always always always over sugar and protein. I tend to focus on the overall calorie total and fat total. Natural sugars in fruit and greek yogurt are bound to put you in the red. If you're not eating an excessive amount of added sugars than I think it is fine


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