What if I go over on Sugar or Fat but stay within my deficit?

prattiger65 wrote: »

Walk before you run. Just worry about calories. As time goes on and you learn more, you can integrate macro specific elements to your diet. I believe one of the reasons people fail early is because they are overwhelmed with information the is not all that important, at least to begin with.

This is so true. A member made a post right after I started that has always stayed with me: "You are not making a large change to your lifestyle, you are making a series of small changes". Start with eating more nutritious meals and staying close to your calorie goal. You can later go back and tweak the macros to find your personal sweet spot. You will not hit the same macros exactly each day unless you eat the same food each day so it helps to have something in mind as to where you have wiggle room and where you don't (which is all personal).

For me, I really make an effort to stay under my carb goal because I am diabetic and too many carbs are bad for me. Having said that, I do not count sugars because T2 diabetics are affected by all carbs, not just sugars. If I am over in protein and/or fat but under in carbs it is all good.

besee_2000 wrote: »

There is more to just calories in vs calories out. You should be concerned of sugar. Eating 500 cal of sugar vs 500 cal of complex carbs and fiber are not the same for your gut. Sugar increases insulin production. Insulin places the excess calories to fat storage. Those that go on low carb diets can eat a lot of calories without storing anything to fat. "Good" sugar vs "bad" sugar is also controversial. I would suggest "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. It changes your mind about fats and carbs.

THIS! Yes sugar should definitely be monitored (and limited!) There are more factors to be concerned about than simply calories. You can eat Twinkies up to your calorie goal and not go over and stay within your calorie limits but it's not in any way healthy. That's an extreme exaggeration but it's true. Refined and added sugar is SO bad for your health. Please research the effects it has. Knowledge is power. It's addictive, that's why it's hard to give up. It's not JUST about calories. It's about health! Best to you!

ajwall3 wrote: »

Clarification, yes, you can probably still lose weight BUT it's not necessarily the healthiest way to go about it. Our bodies do need a balance of good carbs, fats and protein in order to be it's best at functioning. Not trying to be the sugar police haha but just really concerned about overall health You can do anything you set your mind to! I don't think gaining information should intimidate anyone, it should help to empower ourselves. Good luck and you can totally do it!

Do yourself a favor. Google "the Twinkie diet." Read and learn. Being overweight is the single biggest issue for poor health, and the single biggest cause for most health issues. The foods you eat have very little effect on over all health, provided you get at least the minimum of required nutrients (which isn't an issue in developed nations.)

How much you eat is far more important a factor for health than what you eat.