Would it be detrimental to weight loss if...

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KJackson50
KJackson50 Posts: 41 Member
in Food and Nutrition
In a case I went over say my 'protein' limit, or 'cholesterol'. We always here about how going over your calorie limit for the day will make you gain weight, but what about protein and sugars.

Since journaling here I've went over one of these off-shoots a few times, and I wonder even if I am well below my calorie intake for the day, but I go over my protein, or cholesterol, will this actually hurt my weight loss goals? Or is it just something to keep an eye on?

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  • PST0622
    PST0622 Posts: 115
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    Protein and cholesterol are just something to keep your eye on....I mainly worry about calories, fat and sodium. Cholesterol is good to watch for your health (blood pressure, heart disease, stroke)!!!
  • ImNotThatBob
    ImNotThatBob Posts: 371 Member
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    Good question... I've often wondered the same.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    More just something to keep an eye on. Weight loss boils down to the law of thermodynamics - calories in vs calories out. The carbs and proteins on MFP are general guidelines, and many people change them to fit their dietary philosophy (ie low carb dieters, etc).

    Do watch the cholesterol, though. Not that extra cholesterol will make you gain weight, but it is an important factor in heart health. High cholesterol intake has been linked to high blood cholesterol (although it's not the only issue, overall fatty acid intake and exercise as well as body weight/body fat % are all important factors too) which is linked to heart disease.
  • DizzieLittleLifter
    DizzieLittleLifter Posts: 1,020 Member
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    Protein isn't THAT big of a concern. You CAN run into problems but that is usually associated with kidney disease and or another disease. The cholesterol is the one I'd be very concerned with. You not want only to lose weight but to create habits for a long HEALTHY life. I"m worried that if you are consistently going over your cholesterol then you might not be eating proper foods. You might have heard or seen the phrase " not every calorie is created equal"; this is golden. The calories one consumes should be wholesome nutrient filled calories. Hope that answers your question without harping :laugh:
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I pay attention to calories and protein. I try and eat my body weight in protein a day (especially on days when I workout). Overall, I'm not one who watches the other stuff too closely. I'm not a low carb person (and never will be as I feel like dirt when I don't get enough carbs) as for sodium - I make sure I drink around 100oz a day, so I don't fret too much about that either. Sugar. Well, MFP's recommendations for sugar are blown out of the water for me after I've eaten breakfast. So...
  • KJackson50
    KJackson50 Posts: 41 Member
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    Hmm, I'll definately think about all your great replies guys. Just for the record if I go over to the red it's not that big a leap, like -4, -6, etc. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't hurting my weight loss.

    I'm not that worried about protein, but the cholestrol makes me think so I'll keep that one on my settings. Thanks again guys!
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    You should be paying attention not only protein, but fats and carbs which are your macronutrients. You should also pay attention to your micronutrients for overall health.

    Like I said before try to aim for 1g of protein per lb of LBM (Lean Body Mass).

    An example:

    Let's say you weigh 250 lbs and you have a bodyfat % of 35. This means that out of the 250 lbs you weigh, 162 lbs of that is muscle and the rest is fat, not counting water weight of course.

    This would mean that you should try to eat 160g of protein every day for your body composition. If you are trying to maintain as much muscle in your body as possible and burn fat. Protein doesn't actually cause you to burn fat but maintain and/or build new muscle.


    Moving forward...

    You should also try to hit .35-.75g per lb of BODYWEIGHT of dietary fat each and every day. In our 250lb example this would mean about 87g of fat in your diet every day. Please don't listen to people that tell you not to eat fat. They are so incredibly misinformed.

    Then put the rest of your remaining macronutrients into carbs.

    Make sure that you know what you're burning (what your calorie maintenance is) everyday, and eat NO MORE than 1000 calorie deficit from that MAINTENANCE while hitting your macros I mentioned above.

    It's alot easier than it sounds.
  • kwaters7
    kwaters7 Posts: 129
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    I think you should be eating as much protein as the previous comment says. Today i ate 200g of it ( i dont log my food normally, just wanted to see how much i was eating). That's fairly typical for me at the mo. I only weigh around 145 and have about 9% bodyfat and the numbers are going down.

    For me, the biggest problem is not really fat (good fat) or protein but sugar - especially anything with high fructose corn syrup in it. The healthiest diet in europe (ie lowest national bmi) is in italy where they dont eat much sugar (pasta - yes, wine- yes - meat - yes, olive oils - yes) - just low sugar.. think japan was v similar until they introduced and embraced western rubbish..

    oh and obviously the other thing we should be careful of is salt, but thats not really a secret to anyone ;)

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