I'm new, and I'm confused!

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wilcoxf
wilcoxf Posts: 2 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello!

I just started using this app, and I already have questions. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and when I track my intake, I'm noticing that my vitamin scores go very negative. Does this mean I'm supposed to cut back on the vegetables and/or fruits that I'm eating? Today I had a cup of bokchoy for lunch and my vitamin A was listed at 89% DV. By the time I ate my other vegetables and fruit, I was at 126% DV. I didn't even eat that much more. Was it bad to eat bokchoy?

I know that vitamins can interact with certain drugs, and that certain health conditions require close monitoring of certain vitamins, but if you have issues with these concerns, wouldn't you already know not to eat certain foods? Why wouldn't the monitor just tell you when you're at your DV instead of making it look like you've done something bad? I am totally confused! If someone could explain why this is listed this way I would appreciate it. Other than my sugar intake, I've always thought I was eating well. Now I'm not sure if I am!

Also, one more comment. This app really needs to separate natural sugar and added sugar. I manually subtract out my natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables so that I can get to the root of my problem, but it's a pain in the butt. It would be nice if it calculated it for you.

Thank you!

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited April 2018
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    Your food log is just a simple calculator. It's not capable of making judgements. It sets up your goals, and when you go over it turns red, when you are under it is green, whether that's good, bad, or indifferent.

    I'm not a doctor, but I don't believe there's anything wrong with going over your vitamins, assuming no medical condition. I know you probably want to avoid megadoses, but unless you're taking supplements or eating your weight in one specific veggie I doubt you have to worry about that.

    As far as sugar, all MFP does is reflect the info on the nutrition label. As US labels don't separate natural and added sugar, neither does MFP. And even if US labels eventually do, that's not going to change the thousands of entries already in the database. I personally don't pay attention to sugar, I figure as long as I'm getting enough protein, fat, and fiber while staying at my calorie goal, sugar is not an issue.

    Welcome and good luck! :drinker: Have a look at the sticky posts at the top of each of the boards when you get a chance, lots of good info there as well.
  • wilcoxf
    wilcoxf Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you for the information. I really appreciate it. The reason that I started doing this was because I had high cholesterol, partially caused from a pretty severe sugar addiction. I’m bringing my numbers down now, but I need to watch my sugar intake. I try not to eat added sugars when possible. I know the processed food nutrition labels seldom categorize sugars, but that isn’t as important to me. I don’t eat a lot of processed foods. It would just be nice if this app separated raw natural fruits and vegetables into a separate category. It’s not a necessity, just a wish.

    Thanks again. It’s nice to get some help! I’ll check out the sticky notes too!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    It would be even more confusing, I think, because sugar is sugar. If you don't eat a lot of processed food, the sugar you get will be from fresh fruit, vegs and dairy.
  • sjhodges2013
    sjhodges2013 Posts: 1 Member
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    How do I do the tracking of Food?
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,072 Member
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    sjhodges2013 wrote: »
    How do I do the tracking of Food?

    Use your food diary. Information on how to do it accurately in the Most Helpful posts on the Getting Started board.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
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    It's not negative. It means you've gone beyond your goal. MFP is set up with your goal first, and everything you enter goes toward meeting that goal, then it shows how much more you need in the rest of the day. If you get "too much" it shows up as a negative, but it just means you reached the count-down to zero and gone beyond that. That's not usually going to be a problem with vitamins.
  • fatorphat
    fatorphat Posts: 16 Member
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    Hi and welcome! Im not new and I'm still confused every time I try to track food on phone it never lets me actually add anything. Maybe because I have the free membership.. Well anyways keep up the good work!
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,072 Member
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    fatorphat wrote: »
    Hi and welcome! Im not new and I'm still confused every time I try to track food on phone it never lets me actually add anything. Maybe because I have the free membership.. Well anyways keep up the good work!

    @fatorphat It's othing to do with it being free membership, most of us use it with the free membership rather than premium. If it won't allow you to track food, try re-installing it and if you still have problems, go on the web version to the Help section and log a ticket with the technical team.
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
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    fatorphat wrote: »
    Hi and welcome! Im not new and I'm still confused every time I try to track food on phone it never lets me actually add anything. Maybe because I have the free membership.. Well anyways keep up the good work!

    The Recent list is a query of the items that are already logged in your Diary. You can pick from that list to log them to a new day or meal. When you need to add a new item on the app, type the name of the brand and item, then tap the search icon (magnifying glass) to search the public Food Database; or after typing the text, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the items still displayed on the Recent list and there will be a link that specifically says "Search all of MyFitnessPal foods for:."

    In addition, there are instruction articles on the MFP Help/FAQ pages...

    https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/topics/455840-food-diary-and-food-database/articles

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