cals, carbs, protein, fiber. am i harming my body?

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bmorebatman
bmorebatman Posts: 50 Member
in Food and Nutrition
i like how mfp tracks these specifics for us, but how are those daily goals determined? i am consistently over in the fiber category, and often in protein too. how does this affect my body?
most of my exercise comes from running, and i cross train with yoga and body weight strength training...
i've heard runners need more carbs, but i haven't yet gotten that focused on my training to include micro nutrition. i'll get there, but one thing at a time.

((i also cycle through different other variables, right now i'm watching iron. i also check out my sodium and calcium from time to time. my diary is open))

Replies

  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
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    It sounds like your doing okay. Fiber from natural sources (fruit, veggies) is okay even if you go over. Carbs--your body needs carbs. If you go on a low carb diet you end up doing damage to your kidneys! The thing to look out for is if you're too high in sodium (that happens when you eat a lot of processed foods). If your fiber and protein are from natural whole foods I don't think it's anything to worry about. Just try to stick to the calories you have for each day on MFP, those are there for a reason--you don't want to go too under or too over.
  • ebkins7
    ebkins7 Posts: 427 Member
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    Extra fiber and protein is not that bad....

    Protein helps rebuild the muscles... so being over by a few isn't going to hurt...

    Fiber helps you to feel fuller longer (so does protein) and help to keep you regular... So that's not going to hurt either...

    I don't worry too much about going over anything except fat and sodium... MFP gets these numbers from a recommended percentage... usually something like 50/30/20 (carbs/protein/fat). You can adjust these to fit your personal preference. I know a lot of bodybuilders perfer more protein than carbs so they will make adjustments!

    Hope this helps!
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    I think MFP's protein requirements are a bit low. I customized mine to be 30% of my calories. That works out to be about 1g protein per pound of lean body weight.

    Fiber is ok to go over on too...I eat a lot of whole foods, natural, and they include more fiber than processed ones do. This is a good thing!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    MFP's default fiber allowance is too low. You should be getting 25-30 grams of fiber each day. I changed mine on the very first day.
  • shawnateerow
    shawnateerow Posts: 12
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    Since you're a runner, it is good that you are over in the protein category because you need to feed your muscles. If your carbs are on just average, as long as you feel physically fine, then that will be fine. When your body burns through its carbs, then its glycogen reserves, it then goes for fat which will benefit you in your weight loss. Being athletic, protein is the worst macronutrient to be deficient in because it is the building block for not only your muscles (which, the more muscle you have the more calories you burn doing nothing) but it is also the building block for every other cell in your body.

    Hope this helps!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    It sounds like your doing okay. Fiber from natural sources (fruit, veggies) is okay even if you go over. Carbs--your body needs carbs. If you go on a low carb diet you end up doing damage to your kidneys! The thing to look out for is if you're too high in sodium (that happens when you eat a lot of processed foods). If your fiber and protein are from natural whole foods I don't think it's anything to worry about. Just try to stick to the calories you have for each day on MFP, those are there for a reason--you don't want to go too under or too over.

    This isn't entirely correct.

    Your brain runs exclusively on carbs and your body uses them for energy. You do need them, but if you get more than your body needs for energy at that specific time the excess will be stored in your fat cells. The same is true for fat, which is also used for heart function. Eating a low percentage of carbs is not in itself hard on your kidneys. What makes low carb diets hard on your kidneys is that most people replace carbs with protein. Your kidneys have a hard time processing high amounts of protein. You can cut back on carbs and still keep your body healthy. That said, I generally get close to twice MFP's recommended amount of protein and I try to be under on my carbs, and I wasn't seeing any negative effects from that.

    You should be be trying to meet your calorie goal, while being at least slightly under your carb, fat and sodium limits.
  • deathtaco
    deathtaco Posts: 237
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    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981
  • jazgal
    jazgal Posts: 122
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    I customized mine to 50% carbs, 30% protein and 20% fat .. and 25 g of fiber .... I keep sugar as low as possible since I carry my weight in the middle ... I do not tract sodium .. do not use much and watch labels .. I wish we could track more items .. Be curious to know what others are doing that works for them
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    I changed my percentages too. I like to hit 100g of protein a day and 25 fiber.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
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    It sounds like your doing okay. Fiber from natural sources (fruit, veggies) is okay even if you go over. Carbs--your body needs carbs. If you go on a low carb diet you end up doing damage to your kidneys! The thing to look out for is if you're too high in sodium (that happens when you eat a lot of processed foods). If your fiber and protein are from natural whole foods I don't think it's anything to worry about. Just try to stick to the calories you have for each day on MFP, those are there for a reason--you don't want to go too under or too over.

    respectfully: your low carb = kidney damage remark is nonsense.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
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    It sounds like your doing okay. Fiber from natural sources (fruit, veggies) is okay even if you go over. Carbs--your body needs carbs. If you go on a low carb diet you end up doing damage to your kidneys! The thing to look out for is if you're too high in sodium (that happens when you eat a lot of processed foods). If your fiber and protein are from natural whole foods I don't think it's anything to worry about. Just try to stick to the calories you have for each day on MFP, those are there for a reason--you don't want to go too under or too over.

    This isn't entirely correct.

    Your brain runs exclusively on carbs and your body uses them for energy. You do need them, but if you get more than your body needs for energy at that specific time the excess will be stored in your fat cells. The same is true for fat, which is also used for heart function. Eating a low percentage of carbs is not in itself hard on your kidneys. What makes low carb diets hard on your kidneys is that most people replace carbs with protein. Your kidneys have a hard time processing high amounts of protein. You can cut back on carbs and still keep your body healthy. That said, I generally get close to twice MFP's recommended amount of protein and I try to be under on my carbs, and I wasn't seeing any negative effects from that.

    You should be be trying to meet your calorie goal, while being at least slightly under your carb, fat and sodium limits.

    and your remark about high protein = kidney damage is not correct either.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    Options
    It sounds like your doing okay. Fiber from natural sources (fruit, veggies) is okay even if you go over. Carbs--your body needs carbs. If you go on a low carb diet you end up doing damage to your kidneys! The thing to look out for is if you're too high in sodium (that happens when you eat a lot of processed foods). If your fiber and protein are from natural whole foods I don't think it's anything to worry about. Just try to stick to the calories you have for each day on MFP, those are there for a reason--you don't want to go too under or too over.

    This isn't entirely correct.

    Your brain runs exclusively on carbs and your body uses them for energy. You do need them, but if you get more than your body needs for energy at that specific time the excess will be stored in your fat cells. The same is true for fat, which is also used for heart function. Eating a low percentage of carbs is not in itself hard on your kidneys. What makes low carb diets hard on your kidneys is that most people replace carbs with protein. Your kidneys have a hard time processing high amounts of protein. You can cut back on carbs and still keep your body healthy. That said, I generally get close to twice MFP's recommended amount of protein and I try to be under on my carbs, and I wasn't seeing any negative effects from that.

    You should be be trying to meet your calorie goal, while being at least slightly under your carb, fat and sodium limits.

    and your remark about high protein = kidney damage is not correct either.

    Then what is?

    Don't just say someone is wrong without offering a better explanation.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    and your remark about high protein = kidney damage is not correct either.

    Actually protein poisoning is a well known fact. Our liver and kidneys cannot process over 200-300 grams of protein per day. Most people aren't going to have this problem, it usually happens to those who are forced to live off nothing but lean meats (it's also called "rabbit starvation" for this reason) but to say that "you can't have too much protein" is a lie. And I've seen that statement made on these boards several times.

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