Havent eaten dinner yet and im already at my protein goal for the day. What do i do? Or eat now?

thalialezano
thalialezano Posts: 1 Member
edited November 16 in Food and Nutrition
All i ate for protein thus far was breakfast 2 poached eggs with 2 sliced of rye n tomatoes and lunch 1 canned tuna with 1.5 tsp of mayo for a tuna Sandwich with 1 whole red pepper ?! And it says I've hit my goal for protein already? How am i suppose to eat dinner?? I'm on a calorie intake of about 1500 and i think ill still be hungry.

Replies

  • WandaVaughn
    WandaVaughn Posts: 420 Member
    I was going to ask something similar because according to my counts, I only have 8% of my Carbs left, 3% of my fat and I'm over my protein by 11%. Yet, I've only eaten 444 calories, exercised 760 calories, and have a -316 net calories. MFP says I have over 1700 calories left to eat. Sheesh! If I do that, I'll bomb those macros right out of the park!

    I have an open diary, if anybody cares to look.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    Going over your protein (or fat, or carbs) will not cause weight gain as long as you calorie number is at your goal. Where macros (Protein, Fat, Carbs) can help is 1) Higher protein helping to maintain the muscle you have. 2) In terms of satiety--keeping you feeling full longer. What matters for losing fat is your calorie goal so starting out that is what you need to focus on.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    If you're using MFP's macros then protein is a minimum so I wouldn't worry about going over.
  • WandaVaughn
    WandaVaughn Posts: 420 Member
    I was born a rule follower. LOL I saw the numbers as a stop sign. I won't stress over them anymore and keep on doing what I'm doing. I've lost almost 14 pounds since I've started logging this year, but 26 pounds since January 1st! Woohoooo!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    WandaVaughn wrote: »
    I was going to ask something similar because according to my counts, I only have 8% of my Carbs left, 3% of my fat and I'm over my protein by 11%. Yet, I've only eaten 444 calories, exercised 760 calories, and have a -316 net calories. MFP says I have over 1700 calories left to eat. Sheesh! If I do that, I'll bomb those macros right out of the park!

    I have an open diary, if anybody cares to look.

    Something isn't right with the food in your diary, those numbers make no sense.
  • Staceygram
    Staceygram Posts: 147 Member
    thalialezano wrote: »
    All i ate for protein thus far was breakfast 2 poached eggs with 2 sliced of rye n tomatoes and lunch 1 canned tuna with 1.5 tsp of mayo for a tuna Sandwich with 1 whole red pepper ?! And it says I've hit my goal for protein already? How am i suppose to eat dinner?? I'm on a calorie intake of about 1500 and i think ill still be hungry.

    Are you comparing percentages instead of grams? Every meal you eat will have a percentage of those calories that go to each macro....and each macro will change with every food logged. If you still have plenty of calories to eat for the day then eat them and then look at your percentages. Through the day it's better to look at your grams of protein consumed to know if you are getting enough rather than a percentage which is just based off the foods you've already consumed.
  • dunlol
    dunlol Posts: 57 Member
    Unless you are eating 1-2 g of protein per lb of body weight already (I think this is ridiculous and excessive), I would say not to worry about taking calories from carbs and fats and allocating some extra to protein if you find yourself in a situation like this.
  • WandaVaughn
    WandaVaughn Posts: 420 Member
    I was going by the info on my phone app. It's in a pie shape with those numbers.Carb goal is 55%, Fat goal is 30%, and Protein goal is 15%. Daily calorie goal is 1'420.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    WandaVaughn wrote: »
    I was going by the info on my phone app. It's in a pie shape with those numbers.Carb goal is 55%, Fat goal is 30%, and Protein goal is 15%. Daily calorie goal is 1'420.

    You need to look at the grams not percentages, as this person said:
    Staceygram wrote: »
    thalialezano wrote: »
    All i ate for protein thus far was breakfast 2 poached eggs with 2 sliced of rye n tomatoes and lunch 1 canned tuna with 1.5 tsp of mayo for a tuna Sandwich with 1 whole red pepper ?! And it says I've hit my goal for protein already? How am i suppose to eat dinner?? I'm on a calorie intake of about 1500 and i think ill still be hungry.

    Are you comparing percentages instead of grams? Every meal you eat will have a percentage of those calories that go to each macro....and each macro will change with every food logged. If you still have plenty of calories to eat for the day then eat them and then look at your percentages. Through the day it's better to look at your grams of protein consumed to know if you are getting enough rather than a percentage which is just based off the foods you've already consumed.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    WandaVaughn wrote: »
    I was going to ask something similar because according to my counts, I only have 8% of my Carbs left, 3% of my fat and I'm over my protein by 11%. Yet, I've only eaten 444 calories, exercised 760 calories, and have a -316 net calories. MFP says I have over 1700 calories left to eat. Sheesh! If I do that, I'll bomb those macros right out of the park!

    I have an open diary, if anybody cares to look.

    Something is not right...none of that makes sense...

    And, if you have only eaten 444 calories and exercised 760, you need to eat...that isn't good at all.
  • WandaVaughn
    WandaVaughn Posts: 420 Member
    Something is not right...none of that makes sense...

    And, if you have only eaten 444 calories and exercised 760, you need to eat...that isn't good at all.

    I'm not sure it makes sense to me. That was why I asked. I've eaten so little because a) ran late with my run this morning. Grabbed a container of yogurt. b) The 15 bean soup is quite filling. Didn't need anything else for lunch. I'll probably eat ab orange in a bit before I head home. Not trying to starve myself.

  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    If you have calories left then eat.
    It is fine to go over your protein goal- although that doesn't sound like a large amount of protein.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    The Protein & Fiber macros are more of a minimum to meet. And the MFP default estimate for protein is a bit low compared to what is typically recommended for someone who is active.
  • alexlr05
    alexlr05 Posts: 4 Member
    Your protein seems really low, especially if you're working out. I'm working with a PhD nutritionist, and my protein goal is 35% of my macros.... (I'm an athlete, but still, doesn't seem like yours should be that far from mine if you're active.)
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    The only number you should consider not going over is calories, and even then, it's okay to go over a little there, too, and even up to your maintenance calories, but not too often.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2017
    WandaVaughn wrote: »
    Something is not right...none of that makes sense...

    And, if you have only eaten 444 calories and exercised 760, you need to eat...that isn't good at all.

    I'm not sure it makes sense to me. That was why I asked. I've eaten so little because a) ran late with my run this morning. Grabbed a container of yogurt. b) The 15 bean soup is quite filling. Didn't need anything else for lunch. I'll probably eat ab orange in a bit before I head home. Not trying to starve myself.

    What Tavistock Toad said.

    Let me explain in a bit more detail.

    MFP gives you a goal for the overall breakdown of your day (which frankly can be ignored or done according to your own preferences). This is 50% carbs, 30% fat (I think), and 20% protein (I forget what fat and protein are, but that or 20-30 or 25-25). Based on that it gives you gram goals. For example, 1700 calories would be about 213 g carbs, 85 g protein, and 57 g fat. Those are your goals: think of trying to get around those gram numbers or at least getting to the protein number or over (the other two matter less).

    The pie chart shows what percentage of your diet is fat, carbs, and protein SO FAR -- it has nothing to do with your total goals. If you see it's way off on carbs (high) and protein (low) you may want to eat more protein, less carbs in your next meal, but really it's better to ignore it and look at the gram numbers (if you watch the macros at all).

    There is NO HARM to going over a specific macro -- macros are more about overall balance and give you ideas of what to change going forward. Falling short of calories because of fear of going over a macros is a bad idea.

    Also, it's normal for a meal to have different macros than the day as a whole.

    Also, the pie chart ALWAYS adds up to 100%, whether you've had 100 calories or 3000.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Calories should be your main concern, then hitting your macros (as others said, protein/fat as minimums). Eat!
  • WandaVaughn
    WandaVaughn Posts: 420 Member
    Had a lovely supper. 8 oz venison steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a spinach salad with grape tomatoes and raspberry vinaigrette. Plenty of calories left. Might sip some merlot later.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    Ummm eat a big bowl of pasta. Rarely can I have a just carb meal so enjoy lol
  • STC02
    STC02 Posts: 48 Member
    I usually go over the Protein recommendation about 4 days a week. I didn't think it was an issue tbh.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
    Macro goals are targets, but that doesn't mean you stop eating once you've reached your goal. It may influence subsequent food choices. For example, if you've hit for carb goal for the day, you may opt for a piece of cheese or almonds over a piece of fruit.
  • Taliafinch
    Taliafinch Posts: 60 Member
    When you tap on nutrition on your diary you are taken to a page with 3 tabs calories, nutrients and macros. it shows you calories which is a pie chart. If you click on nutrients it will show how many grams mfp suggests you eat of protein etc and how many vitamins and minerals you should aim for. I think you may have missed the tabs at the top of the page.
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