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

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MachaDesu
MachaDesu Posts: 12
in Motivation and Support
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???
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  • fishnbrah
    fishnbrah Posts: 550
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    disregard sodium and sugar intake and watch carbs/fat/protein totals
  • tootchute
    tootchute Posts: 392 Member
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    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
    TheLuSir Posts: 1,674 Member
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    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
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
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    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
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    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
    MaryPoppinsIAint Posts: 157 Member
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    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
    michellechawner Posts: 892
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    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
    epie2098 Posts: 224 Member
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    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
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
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    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
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
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    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
    RPric1 Posts: 11
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    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
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    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
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    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
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
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    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
    hellraisedfire Posts: 403 Member
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    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
    highandtight Posts: 4 Member
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    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
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
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    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
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    Being "under" isn't something to strive for... being close to a good balance is more important.
  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
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    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
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    Id change it to nutrients that I would want to be red in like fiber and potassium or folic acid

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