Tracking micronutrients?

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xpanda70
xpanda70 Posts: 20 Member
in Food and Nutrition
As a (quasi-)vegan, I've always been a little worried I'm not eating enough protein. When I started using MFP I discovered I was only getting about 75% of what I should get in a day. So now that I've corrected that, I started using the tracking system to watch all of my micronutrients (in addition to calories and macros). Nerd alert: I even track my supplements, too!

It's really changed how I see my food ... like instead of tasty morsels of deliciousness, I see vitamins, fuel and healthfulness. I love it!

Most people here seem mostly concerned about tracking calories only ... is there anyone else who uses MFP to make sure they're getting enough potassium/calcium/iron/etc?

Also, any tips on how to actually get 4700 mg of potassium in a day without going over 1200 calories??? The best I've managed so far is 3800!

Replies

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I keep an eye on everything, and also log my supplements :lol:

    As for the potassium, if you are tracking them through MFP, then don't bother, as food manufactures are not required to add it on their nutritional labels. Most of us get ample potassium, there's even a fair bit in plain ol coffee but it's just not listed on the label.

    I get a lot of info from here, just type in your food and it'll show you the vit/min content as well as the macros.

    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search
  • xpanda70
    xpanda70 Posts: 20 Member
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    Thank you, Christine!
  • ClubSilencio
    ClubSilencio Posts: 2,983 Member
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    Hmm, are you really tracking all of your micronutrients through MFP? Last I checked there was only a few of them you could track (iron, calcium, potassium as you mentioned).

    If you've started eating a vegan diet (or quasi anyway) and your inner nerd gets giddy seeing all the numbers, I just think you should be aware you may not be getting the full picture of your newfound diet.

    Normally this wouldn't be a concern if one eats a balanced diet and over 2000 cals but in your case you should probably find out if you're getting enough selenium, zinc, omega-3, etc. on your 1200 cal vegan diet. Are you taking a B12 supplement? Don't mean to pry into your business like this. Just trying to help you avoid any pitfalls. :smiley:
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    @ClubSilencio These are the nutrients listed on the app besides sugar, sodium, cholesterol.

    Potassium

    Vitamin A

    Vitamin C

    Calcium

    Iron
  • xpanda70
    xpanda70 Posts: 20 Member
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    Thanks, Club. I have been quasi-vegan for 4 years now. I take B12, calcium, magnesium, iron and d3 daily. I'm a chronic migraineur so have bi-annual bloodwork done to check my levels. I've just discovered chronometer.com tonight so I've been rummaging around there checking things out. Pretty excited to be able to monitor this with diet and supplements on my own. Thank you!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Can I ask what a quasi vegan is?
  • xpanda70
    xpanda70 Posts: 20 Member
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    Technically I'm vegetarian, but I really am ethically opposed to dairy, so I call myself vegan. Truth be told, I have about 2-4 eggs a week.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    ah ok. No worries :)
  • hilarymcm
    hilarymcm Posts: 55 Member
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    I started MFP to track my iron. I take a supplement but it's also been eye opening to see which foods contain significant iron (like leeks, who knew?!?).

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