Why does MFP limit my protein?

It is your protein goal is a minimum of x grams

My fitness coach wants me at a much higher protein level than MFP suggests. I just modified my daily goals under the goals tab.

I lost all of my weight using the default settings. I looked at protein and fat as goals (minimums) and then the carbs fall where they will.

Many say a higher protein percentage is better when losing weight, both because protein is satiating and because protein helps protect muscle while eating at a deficit.

Mfp doesn't control what you put in your mouth - it gives you recommendations, it's up to you to decide if these fit with your goals, and personal preferences etc.

If you're going over all your macros (protein, fat and carbs) but not getting close to your calorie goal, youre using incorrect entries. All food is made up of these (or alcohols), there is nothing with calories that has no macros. Vegetables are predominantly carbs.

Yeah, calories and macros should balance, if they aren't then the food you are picking from the database is entered incorrectly.

Macros: Protein = 4 calories per gram. Fat = 9 calories per gram. Carbs = 4 calories per gram. So in total, if your macros are in balance, your calories come out in balance.

I think what you are saying is that maybe you are eating too much of one (like carbs) and not enough of another (like protein) or some variation of that? That just takes time and practice and studying your food diary.

Start with protein. Make it your goal to hit your numbers or exceed them every day. The easiest way is to have a minimum of one serving with each meal. It can be beans, dairy, meat, seafood, tofu, protein powder, whole grains. Those are your best protein sources. Then have a vegetable with every meal. A small portion of fat is pretty necessary to process nutrients properly, so have some fat with every meal.

It takes time to learn.

I changed my protein % not longer after i signed up. 20% is too low for me, i bumped it up to 30% and try to keep that as the minimum.

nutty2chat2016 wrote: »

I do realize there is no penalty for going over the macros. Lol. I'm just trying to learn how to eat right. I'm assuming if MFP is suggesting I'm eating too much protein, there is a reason. It just surprised me.

For example, here's how my day panned out for remaining nutrients:
Carbs 0
Fat -10
Protein -25
Calories -48
I'm not usually over this far, but my point is for 1200 calories, I wasn't that far over on calories, but the fat and protein are pretty far over. I've been confirming the calories on most of my choices, but not the macros. Maybe I should be double checking those too.

That looks odd. If you are over by 25g protein, that's 100 calories. Over fat by 10g, that's 90 calories. So you would be over by 190 calories if you are using entries that have the correct macros entered - so you are using bad entries.

It takes time to find good entries, many of them are wrong. How are you measuring your amounts of food? Forgive me if you've already mentioned it.

Regardless, start comparing the food entries you are using to the USDA food database:

https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/

As far as going over, just worry about calories for now and learn about macros as you go.

nutty2chat2016 wrote: »

Im a nutrition dummy. I just took the defaults for everything based on my weight, activity level, and the amount of weight I want to lose. My problem is I often end up under calories and over on the macros. I guess I'm not balancing stuff well or I need to start eating more calories that don't have protein, fat, carbs, or sugar. What is that telling me? I need more vegetables, right?

Alcohol. If you want calories without protein, fat, or carbs (without "sugar" is redundant -- sugar is a carb), you need to drink distilled alcohol (gin, vodka, whisky, etc.) straight or with a no-calorie mixer (still or sparkling water, diet soda). The calories in vegetables are mainly from carbs, but also usually some protein and even fat.