Do I have to track EVERYTHING?????

_journeyofavirgo
_journeyofavirgo Posts: 16 Member
in Introduce Yourself
So if you remain within your calorie limit but say....exceed your sodium intake or sugar intake will that cause you not to lose your pound for that week??? (my goal is one pound a week. slow and steady wins the race right?) My weigh in day is Saturday/Sunday and I got on the scale this morning (shame on me) to find that it had gone up 4 whole pounds!!!!! Now I'm worried. I looked over my last five days of food tracking and noticed that although I never went over my calories there were some days I significantly went over in sodium and sugar. If I'm staying within my calories shouldn't I be losing? :sad: :sad:

Replies

  • bryionak
    bryionak Posts: 110 Member
    Primarily it is calories but other things can affect it. I would consider if you are tracking your calories and exercise and TDEE accurately. Also you are not an android (ok, I am assuming). I notice you have a join date of April, if that is when you started your body will take several weeks to adjust to the changes. I think for me I was losing a little at the start but after about 3 - 5 weeks it starting picking up some.
  • M______
    M______ Posts: 288 Member
    Too much sodium can make you retain water. But you do need a certain amount of sodium in your diet for other reasons. With sugar, sugar is very easily turned in to fat. Too much sugar can make it more difficult to lose weight. Its the same when you compare good carbs to bad carbs. Generally having a healthier more natural diet will help you to lose weight compared to hitting your calorie count whilst making bad choices for food.
  • Capt_Inzane
    Capt_Inzane Posts: 733 Member
    As for sugar though most people seem to not count the natural sugars you find in fruit.
    I doubt you want to overdo it but just remember than natural sugars are healthy for you.

    Gaining weight takes time, losing weight takes time. Just stay motivated/determined and it'll happen.

    It helps thought to monitor everything since I've started trying to monitor my sodium I can tell when something has a lot in it for example canned goods typically have a high amount of sodium and other processed foods.
  • tryinghard71
    tryinghard71 Posts: 593
    For me personally I don't look at any macros except Protein. Eat twice what MFP suggests in protein. As long as I am within my calorie goal nothing else matters.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
    I had a little look at your diary back to Saturday and the sodium is quite high? Maybe you can look over your diary also and find ways to reduce the sodium choices?

    The 4lbs you put on can be many things, so don`t sweat it to much, ok?

    I jump on the scale everyday, lots of people says to weigh only once a week/every month/don`t bother about the scale...but it is all about what works for you.

    Back to the scale, it will go up and down for me during the week, my `official` weigh in day is Saturday, so I go with that weight.

    You can have hormone fluctuations that will change things also.

    My advice, looking at the date you have on your profile is to keep on doing what your are doing....look at the entries you make in your diary and keep on working to change things.

    It will work x
  • jlfoster0427
    jlfoster0427 Posts: 86
    If you are intaking alot of sodium then you are probably retaining water which is making it seem like you have gained alot of weight which may just be water weight. Keep in your calories and try to cut back on the sodium intake. Also do track everything because once you tell yourself it is ok to not track one thing you will start to tell yourself its ok to not track anything and you will be right back where you started.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    People have different reasons for tracking different macro and micro nutrients. As a general rule, manage your macros. The only micro I really watch is sodium because I am hypertensive. The sugar recommendation is based on the American Heart Associations recommendation for added/refined sugars. Someone with diabetes for example would want to track that...and so on and so forth.
  • Alissakae
    Alissakae Posts: 317 Member
    I have only tracked calories, and have lost every week since I started at the end of July. However, if I weigh every day I will notice fluctuations of a few pounds during the week sometimes. I only count my "official" Sunday morning weigh in. Counting calories works, keep it simple.
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
    Honestly your body fluctuates so much, I thinks its best to just recognize the weigh in at the end of the month.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    look out for sodium! its the only macro I really do make a big deal about being over on because it means I probably ate processed junk
  • spirytwynd
    spirytwynd Posts: 141 Member
    Yes, track everything. To the best of your ability. The numbers won't tell you the truth if you don't give it all the info. Think of it this way, the numbers aren't for anyone else. The numbers are for YOU. If you go over, you need to know. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or says. That little number is for you, and you alone.

    If you go over in sodium or sugar, take note of it. Try to modify your approach. You are right, slow and steady wins this race. MFP is all about sustainable life change. As for weighing a few pounds up today, that could be food weight from last night's dinner that hasn't worked its way out the back door yet. You could have had a couple of cups of water before you weighed in -- that is weight in, until it goes out. Don't sweat a few pounds here and there. Look for trends. It helps to weigh in at the same time and use the same scale. The one at the gym may not match the one at home. Pick one and stick with it. And above all, stick with your program. Sure, you can tweak it and make it better, but stick to it. Avoid discouragement. Drive on and make it happen!! :-)
  • TedStout
    TedStout Posts: 241
    Do not obsess on the scale in the short run. It will drive you bonkers. Just relax, eat right, exercise, and the scale will move. I had a weekend last month where I went up 9 pounds in less than 2 days. It comes off just as fast. Mostly water, too much salt. But unless you are consistently running way over, I wouldn't worry about it. Your body will adjust.
  • smorehotbeauty
    smorehotbeauty Posts: 1
    Keep going, and read every reply Don't forget also, if you have been exercising you do gain Muscle back if you haven't use them in a while so that is some pounds.
  • _journeyofavirgo
    _journeyofavirgo Posts: 16 Member
    Ok. I did weigh in at 195 lbs this morning which means I didn't lose but I didn't gain either. Now I just feel "off schedule" for weight loss and kind of behind where I should be. My sodium for the past week was a killer and I could be eating a lot cleaner. So far MFP has been easy to use so I'm going to stick with it. It would be nice to lose 3 lbs this week to help me get back on track. :happy: I switch back and fourth between turkey bacon and pork so I'm going to stick with just turkey. I also eat one or two eggs a day so I'm going to switch to two egg whites. I drink coffee everyday with cream and sugar so I'm going to TRY to cut that out to help with the sugar. Canned progesso soup and chipoltle really put me over the top in sodium so I'm going to watch that too. My bread seems to be high in sodium too. Some slices where over 200 grams; is that normal. Obviously I have never paid attention to sodium in bread. I live for the scale because I rarely workout so my body doesn't look any different. As a matter of fact I could have sworn last night that I was biggest I've seen in months!! I do plan on getting my workouts up to twice a week. THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR RESPONSES!!!!!! THEY HAVE ALL BEEN VERY HELPFUL AND ENCOURAGING!!!!
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    Where are you at I'm your cycle? If you are about to start, are on, or just finished your period it's likely just water weight from that.
  • _journeyofavirgo
    _journeyofavirgo Posts: 16 Member
    Where are you at I'm your cycle? If you are about to start, are on, or just finished your period it's likely just water weight from that.

    It doesn't start for another two weeks :smile:
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    Calorie intake above your TDEE will cause you to gain fat. Excess sodium will cause your body to retain water which will show as a gain on the scale. Excess sodium, sugar, fat, protein, carbs, etc won't turn into fat unless you are ultimately consuming too many calories as a whole.

    I personally only pay attention to calories and sodium. I am well over sugars by breakfast. I removed sugar from what I track since I am always well over the MFP amount.
  • avababy05
    avababy05 Posts: 930 Member
    You clearly like salmon which,on the whole is good for you but that's where your sodium is coming from.

    Up your water as well.
  • rebbylicious
    rebbylicious Posts: 621 Member
    Where are you at I'm your cycle? If you are about to start, are on, or just finished your period it's likely just water weight from that.

    i am hoping that is why my weight hasn't changed.
  • hollygparr
    hollygparr Posts: 243 Member
    You can retain water when you ovulate too.
  • jen81uk
    jen81uk Posts: 177 Member
    I only track calories really. I don't have a sweet tooth and rarely go over my salt. I also try and cook most meals from scratch but am not overly strict, I like healthy food but have an inner chef that likes well made things that have flavour too. Common sense with foods is key, you'll get used to when you feel stodged, even if under caloriesand know that's too much and you'll learn when you have sugar hunger. If you've just started just focus on changing a bit of your bad ways. I've been on here two years in total (with a year break) and I still can't give up diet soda. But my bad days aren't as bad as they used to be and although my loss has slowed I feel healthier, am definitely fitter and have more energy.

    Learn what works for you, lots of people on here follow strict ways, clean eating, no carb etc. I don't do that, I eat normal food and just try to not eat too much and exercise more.

    xx
  • MorgueBabe
    MorgueBabe Posts: 1,188 Member
    Are you eating a lot of prepared 'diet" "low fat" food?
    Is it close to your menstrual cycle? I won't go near a scale around that time.
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    Where are you at I'm your cycle? If you are about to start, are on, or just finished your period it's likely just water weight from that.

    It doesn't start for another two weeks :smile:

    Oh Ok.

    Excuse my typo...*I'm* should be *in*, typing on my phone :happy:
  • jettacay
    jettacay Posts: 4
    I do track every thing.... wait let me back up...... I joined some time ago but fooled around with it and didn't track, sometimes went weeks without using FP. Now I am using it and I do track everything and have access to FP through my computer at work, at home, Ipad and iphone so I don't miss anything. I don't really "track" one thing in particular, I add the food and it tells me cal, fat, protein, etc..... I find consistency is the key. BTW where is everyone getting those darling weight trackers. I would really like to have one!! Thanks and good luck
  • jettacay
    jettacay Posts: 4
    OK sorry, apparently I have one and didn't know it!! Great!!!!!

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