What's worse? too few calories or the wrong calories?

otr12
otr12 Posts: 632 Member
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Is it worse to eat too few calories or to eat all my calories but, say, too much fat? Or too much sugar?

I'm having this problem everyday. I look at my remaining calories and can't figure out how to get them without going over something. I'm sure it will get easier to find a balance with time, but I'm really struggling right now. Sometimes I don't even want to exercise just because I don't know how to deal with the extra calories I have to eat.

Look at my food diary if you'd like. I'm not giving up my oatmeal and blueberries (cholesterol) and I'm not giving up my coffee. Everything else is just trying to get by. My dinner is what I serve myself but I rarely eat more than 70% of it.

Replies

  • chrish1981
    chrish1981 Posts: 156
    I've consistently gone over on my sugar and sodium almost daily and have still lost weight.

    Try to eat at least your daily goal, but pay attention to what you're eating, too. Often the problem with the "wrong calories" is that they are very high for very little food, and you still feel hungry. Try to get healthy stuff in there: fruits, veggies, low/nonfat dairy, etc.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    Flipping through a few of your diary days, you don't look way off target, and you have room to spare in both carbs & protein. In my opinion as long as you're +/- 100 calories from the goal, that's a great day. What is your protein/fat/carb ratio set to? Looks like you have your fat % pretty low, but not sure just from eyeballing it. I think most folks go with 20-30%.

    Nice STI by the way
  • skinnyjeans13
    skinnyjeans13 Posts: 179
    I basically go over my fiber, protein and sugar every day and can nearly make up my calories. It's hard! But, I go over my sugar because of fruits and veggies- not anything processed. And the way MFP calculates protein is too low anyway (15%) so don't worry if you go over that by some.

    I'm still trying to find the balance myself but knowing that I eat 'clean' and not eating anything processed makes me feel better about going over certain limits.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    There are so many different nutritional plans which focus on a specific balance of fat to protein to carbs, that you can really eat almost any combination of these and still lose weight, as long as you are staying close to your calorie goal. As another poster already stated, the goal is to be eating healthy calories and not empty ones so you aren't hungry every day and are getting your nutritional needs met.

    If you're finding that you are having difficulty meeting the exact goals that MFP has set for you, keep in mind that they are just guidelines. You can go into the settings and change them to percentages which work better for you. I've adjusted mine a few times until I was happy with it.
  • otr12
    otr12 Posts: 632 Member
    My main concern is being in starvation mode. I've managed to get myself over 240 pounds on pretty much coffee and beer (I quit drinking a few months ago). I could go for days without eating solid food. I'm not concerned about warding off hunger. I actually like the sensation of feeling hungry. Eating at all is kinda scary for me and I feel like I'm eating constantly!

    I'm never going to get out of this mess if I don't tend to my metabolism, which requires me to eat more than I want to. So I just want to do it right. I'm considering turning the views for sugar and sodium off so I don't see them anymore. Then just being mindfull of sugar and sodium. I don't have a sweet tooth and I don't put salt on anything.
  • Imthatg1rl
    Imthatg1rl Posts: 109
    Natural sugar is okay, if you are getting to much refined sugar that is a problem.
    It really just depends on where your fat intake is coming from. Some fat in your diet is important. Try to keep your saturated fat levels down. Make sure you aren't eating fried foods,a lot of sweets, or processed food.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    this is actually a WONDERFUL question. I've often thought about it, but never really expressed it on MFP before besides saying that the right kind of calories is just as important as how many.

    IMHO, there's no easy answer to this. Both situations carry their own long term consequences, and both need to be monitored. I would answer this like I would answer a question about your car.

    If you were to ask which is more important, oil or gas for your car... the answer would be both. You can't run without either one. So I would say that while having enough calories is important, having bad eating habits is just as bad to your long term health as eating to much or to little in the long run.

    I know you wanted an either or type answer, but that's just not how it is. You really need to focus on both, and do the best you can.

    -Banks
  • otr12
    otr12 Posts: 632 Member
    this is actually a WONDERFUL question. I've often thought about it, but never really expressed it on MFP before besides saying that the right kind of calories is just as important as how many.

    IMHO, there's no easy answer to this. Both situations carry their own long term consequences, and both need to be monitored. I would answer this like I would answer a question about your car.

    If you were to ask which is more important, oil or gas for your car... the answer would be both. You can't run without either one. So I would say that while having enough calories is important, having bad eating habits is just as bad to your long term health as eating to much or to little in the long run.

    I know you wanted an either or type answer, but that's just not how it is. You really need to focus on both, and do the best you can.

    -Banks

    Can I get advise on a specific example?

    Lets say I'm 200 calories under; I'm 2 over on my sugar (from fresh fruit and the calorie free stevia in my coffee), and 28 under on my carbs. I'm not hungry and I need to go to sleep for the night. The only food I have is a fat free pudding cup that has 80 calories, 20 carbs and 15gs of sugar.
    Would it better to eat the pudding? Or not eat anything?
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    neither, find something else to eat. specifically, the plan you create for yourself should always have staples for when you have moments like this.

    In an individual situation, any choice you make is not horrible, it's all about the long term. In other words, eat what you like this time, but learn from it, don't be left without options in the future. Nobody ever got fat from the bad meal in front of them, they get fat because they allow that meal become how they normally eat.
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