MFP bullying my diary. Take yellow warning serious?

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chriscruz83
chriscruz83 Posts: 23 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've cut soda, fast and fried food, been working out like 4-5 days a week.

Still early in my relationship with MFP, but every so often, by end of day I'm getting "your goal is to stay under x grams of fat/sodium/sugar/cholesterol" etc.
Do you get leeway if your active and under calorie goal? Or should I succumb to the whole eggs and craisins shaming to really hit what MFP suggests.

Side note: typically I'm under the carb target and little over the protein target. Thoughts?

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Replies

  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    I find them really annoying. It's like a nag, esp. on the app on the phone. LOL. I just ignore them as long as I am under calorie goal. Being over protein is usually good, as some of those settings are minimals, not maximums. :) I try not to go too far astray but I usually ignore them, esp. sugar and carbs.

    If I eat two eggs for breakfast, I'm already over my cholesterol for the day. Seriously? LOL
  • rand486
    rand486 Posts: 270 Member
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    Macros are secondary.

    Here's how I view it (and I've been at maintenance for 2 years now). In the following order, you want to:
    1. Hit/Stay under your calorie goal (depending on bulk/cut respectively)
    2. Hit your protein goal
    3. Stay within your carb/fat ratios

    But honestly, the carb/fat ratio is seriously overthinking - it tends to average out over time.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    I turned that warning off.

    yes, you're fine if you're over your protein and fat targets. Consider those a minimum goal, and fill the rest of your calories with carbs.
  • aam117
    aam117 Posts: 284 Member
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    i generally try to stay under MFP recommendations for those (usually means i've eaten something i probably shouldn't anyway), but don't beat myself up over it if it happens and i'm still under my total calories. as for being over the protein and under the carb, i figure if i'm going to be over on something it's probably best if it's the protein. :)
  • gamesandgains
    gamesandgains Posts: 640 Member
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    Stay within your caloric limits, get your micros and macros on point (if you're going for body comp) and don't worry about the rest. Calories are king for weight loss.
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,465 Member
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    I eat eggs everyday, so I turned those off. I've lost like 130lbs, so MFP can bite me.
  • xotaaay
    xotaaay Posts: 30
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    I don't even think twice about what MFP says. I track my food, exercise & I'm losing weight my way. It's working for me. Do what works for you. It's a lifestyle change. If you're happy with what you're eating & you're feeling good, don't listen to a website/app warning. Congrats on cutting out the junk & going to the gym consistently! You should be proud of yourself. Xo good luck!
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
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    Don't worry about your macros being "off" from the ideal or from this site's suggested ones unless you're physically active and running into performance issues. And if you are, please disregard the site-provided macros and do whatever your body tells you to.
  • mgtownsend71
    mgtownsend71 Posts: 49 Member
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    nicsflyingcircus wrote: »
    I eat eggs everyday, so I turned those off. I've lost like 130lbs, so MFP can bite me.

    what else did you do to lose that weight? That is awesome by the way !!!!
  • mgtownsend71
    mgtownsend71 Posts: 49 Member
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    xotaaay wrote: »
    I don't even think twice about what MFP says. I track my food, exercise & I'm losing weight my way. It's working for me. Do what works for you. It's a lifestyle change. If you're happy with what you're eating & you're feeling good, don't listen to a website/app warning. Congrats on cutting out the junk & going to the gym consistently! You should be proud of yourself. Xo good luck!

    Well said!!!
  • chriscruz83
    chriscruz83 Posts: 23 Member
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    Wonderful feedback glad I'm not only one!!

    All taken into consideration thank you everybody!!
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    I DIDN'T KNOW I COULD TURN THEM OFF!!! *happy dance* - I found it so irritating if at the end of the day I added a 235g sweet potato so I can get my potassium and have the thing say "Your goal is to stay under x amount of carbohydrates...." I can almost hear it saying "Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

    It could have been encouraging instead, like maybe saying "Hey great job choosing this nutritionally dense food that's rich in fiber, minerals, and nutrients, instead of eating a row of Oreos!"
  • chriscruz83
    chriscruz83 Posts: 23 Member
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    wizzybeth wrote: »
    I find them really annoying. It's like a nag, esp. on the app on the phone. LOL. I just ignore them as long as I am under calorie goal. Being over protein is usually good, as some of those settings are minimals, not maximums. :) I try not to go too far astray but I usually ignore them, esp. sugar and carbs.

    If I eat two eggs for breakfast, I'm already over my cholesterol for the day. Seriously? LOL

    LOL indeed!!

    A couple of you mentioned macros and micros; while I understand the definition of these, I will be googling to grasp how it applies to diet, exercise, and basically what we are all trying to accomplish.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    Turn off the little hints thingy in your settings. It's obnoxious!
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
    edited February 2015
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    MFP allows you to track certain nutrients. It pre-fills in with the RDA for you & is based on your weight, sex, age, etc. On the PC you can only see 5 choices at a time - I choose to have it display protein, iron, potassium, fat, and calcium, as they are the ones I am most concerned with meeting.

    On the mobile app, when you look under "Nutrition" you see everything at a glance (why it can't be like that on the PC is beyond me) I see carbs, sugar, fats, protein, iron, vitamin a, vitamin c, potassium, calcium, sodium, cholesterol, etc. I can keep track of how much I've consumed so far and use that chart to make my choices during the day to best meet the goals.

    This is why I love MFP over Weight Watchers, which was also easy to use (but I felt it was nutritionally incomplete IMHO, and not to mention, expensive, while MFP is free and gives me ALL the info I need to make sure I'm eating a nutritionally balanced diet.)

    I don't worry if I go over on fats, carbs, or sugars. As long as I stay within my calorie goal and meet my other nutritional goals that is.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I enjoy them... mostly because when I have pizza it likes to tell me it's high in protein- because of the cheese.
    -
    And then I'm amused.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    chriscruz83 wrote: »
    Thoughts?
    Life's too short to worry about such things. Also I think maybe you misunderstand what bullying really is
  • rand486
    rand486 Posts: 270 Member
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    JoRocka wrote: »
    I enjoy them... mostly because when I have pizza it likes to tell me it's high in protein- because of the cheese.
    -
    And then I'm amused.

    Pizza is actually awfully close to a 40/30/30 split. I've seen people be very successful with Pizza Bulks, and while I mourn their insides, that is a delicious way to get swole!

    Moral of the story: Pizza is delicious. MFP should be lauding us! ;)
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    I like those little notes especially when it says a food item is high in protein or fiber. When it tells me I've gone over my sodium or sugar, etc. I don't really pay attention. I don't watch those things in my diet so I'm just like whatever.
  • MindySaysWhaaat
    MindySaysWhaaat Posts: 401 Member
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    Mine tends to yell at me about how my sugar intake is a tad bit too high. I'm just like "w/e....don't care...." I have been focusing more on just meeting calorie goals.

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