All about Cals?
thebrock7
Posts: 24 Member
Hey,
I'm pretty new to MFP. I have been aiming to lose a kg a week and am just a little bit ahead of this after about 6 weeks. I am virtually always on or under my cal goal. I don't eat a lot of carbs but I have noticed some days (maybe 2-3 a week) I am going over my goals for protein, fat and sugar. Is this something to worry about? It doesn't appear to be making a difference to my weight loss but I assume these goals are there for a reason too and thay I could improve my diet.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!
BB
I'm pretty new to MFP. I have been aiming to lose a kg a week and am just a little bit ahead of this after about 6 weeks. I am virtually always on or under my cal goal. I don't eat a lot of carbs but I have noticed some days (maybe 2-3 a week) I am going over my goals for protein, fat and sugar. Is this something to worry about? It doesn't appear to be making a difference to my weight loss but I assume these goals are there for a reason too and thay I could improve my diet.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!
BB
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Replies
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I don't eat many carbs either and I go over my protein and fat "goals" almost every day and even 2 pieces of fruit can max out the sugar goal. I've never had a problem eating that way as long as I keep my calorie goal. If what you're doing is working for you I wouldn't change it :bigsmile:0
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MFP sets protein too low. To set your macros, check out this link:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/911011-calculating-calorie-macronutrient-needs?page=1#posts-13821336
Also, it's hard to have too much protein.
"It has been observed that the human liver cannot safely metabolise much more than 285-365 g of protein per day (for an 80 kg person), and human kidneys are similarly limited in their capability to remove urea (a byproduct of protein catabolism) from the bloodstream. Exceeding that amount results in excess levels of amino acids, ammonia (hyperammonemia), and/or urea in the bloodstream, with potentially fatal consequences,[1] especially if the person switches to a high-protein diet without giving time for the levels of his or her hepatic enzymes to upregulate. Since protein only contains 4 kcal/gram, and a typical adult human requires in excess of 1900 kcal to maintain the energy balance, it is possible to exceed the safe intake of protein if one is subjected to a high-protein diet with little or no fat or carbohydrates. However, given the lack of scientific data on the effects of high-protein diets, and the observed ability of the liver to compensate over a few days for a shift in protein intake, the US Food and Nutrition Board does not set a Tolerable Upper Limit nor upper Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range for protein.[2] Furthermore, medical sources such as UpToDate[3] do not include listings on this topic."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation
As long as you eat enough protein (ideally 1g per pound of lean body mass but 1g per kg of body weight is acceptable) being over on fat is fine. Fats and protein should be viewed as minimum values so it's fine to go over. Carbs are unnecessary so you don't have to worry about eating enough. Some people do low carb, some people find their exercise suffers if they keep carbs too low, do what works for you.
What's important about fats is the ratio of saturated vs. monounsaturated vs. polyunsaturated fats. Saturated fat has been demonized in the past but some is necessary. Half of your cells membranes are made up of by saturated fats. Saturated fats are easy to get in your diet so try to focus on incorporating more essential fatty acids into your diet. Oily fish and flax seeds are a great source of omega 3 EFA's. You can take a fish oil or flax oil supplement if you have trouble getting it from your diet. Omega 6's are very easy to get into your diet so there's not need to supplement it. Most people eat too many omega 6's and too little omega 3's so to maintain a good ratio you shouldn't supplement your omega 6 intake.
Sugar is just a carb. As long as you're eating enough fats and protein, your carbs/sugar aren't particularly important unless you have a medical issue that requires carbs/sugar to be monitored.
However, it should be noted that fructose and sucrose can only be stored as liver glycogen and not muscle glycogen. The liver can hold 100-120g glycogen so anything more than that will be converted to triglycerides. As long as you still have a calorie deficit this will even out. Just try to make most of your carbs glucose and not sucrose or fructose. Fructose in particular has been shown to decrease exercise performance, increased likelihood of gastrointestinal distress, and increase perception of exertion.
Here are some studies:
http://www.setantacollege.com/wp-content/uploads/Journal_db/the effects of glucose....pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3592616
As long as you're under your calorie goal, you'll lose weight. Some people find that sugar (even from fruit) causes them to have more sugar/carb cravings so keep that in mind.0 -
^ Perfect advice. I couldn't say it better myself.0
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Thanks everyone, especially rando, I will have to go over all that info when I get the time.
So broadly I can take it that the cal counter is the key to weight loss, would be ideal to be under the other counts but not as important. I think I tend to go over the protein more often than carbs or sugar anyway so it's probably not a huge deal. I just can't imagine eating too much healthier than I am and making it sustainable so good to know there is a bit of room to move. Keeping the cals down seems a lot more achievable to me than having to focus too much on each different measure.
Cheers!
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