food suggestions

Sherbog definitely gave a good tip.

I would try to find high protein foods that are also lower in fat. So I would maybe skip avocados or nuts. Those are great fats though, in moderation. You could have more yogurt or fish instead.

It is a balancing act though.

It's a learning process. In time you'll figure out how to put together meals that come out more balanced. I've spent a fair bit of time logging potential meals on MFP just to see how they turn out before I eat them. Over time I've gotten a pretty good feel for things and now can generally predict where I'll stand at the end of the day based on how I ate, even before logging anything.

One thing to consider is _why_ people say "too much protein" or "too little fat".

If you make the choice to follow a specific diet plan (Atkins, South Beach, Paleo, ...) they will often give you specific instructions on how much you can or cannot eat of something, or very often they will tell you that of all the calories you consume, you should have x% carbs, y% protein, and z% fat. But those are just opinions about what is "best". And none of those opinions are universally shared.

So, unless you have some specific formula that you _want_ to follow, you may consider just having MFP track your calories and forget about everything else. Well, don't really forget about it, but just kind of pay attention in a general, common-sense way.

I'm new to dieting (this is my first ever, at age 48) but I just track calories. As a result, I've learned where my calories have been coming from, and which foods were easiest for me to cut back on to meet my target. (Answer : carbs !) I've learned that unlike fats and protein, there are absolutely no carbs that your body "needs" and that refined carbs are pretty worthless and harmful. So I just stay away from carbs as much as I (comfortably) can, and then the balance of fats and protein takes care of itself.

More specifically, I've learned that fats are incredibly specialized and unique, and that your body absolutely requires a wide variety of fat molecules to function. So I try to make sure I vary my fat intake. I use full-fat yogurt and milk (all the low-fat versions replace fats with sugar, and they aren't nearly as satisfying). I make sure to keep a variety of unroasted, unsalted nuts around, and I dish them out in 1/4 cup servings rather than "grazing" from the cupboard. I try to eat grilled salmon or other fish at least once a week. I started buying flax seeds in bulk, grinding them in a coffee grinder, and sprinkling them on my food on days where I don't eat fish. (Omega-3 is really important.) And so on.

So, as far as overall health goes (as opposed to "just" weight loss), I find that the things that MFP tracks by default are not all that useful for me, and for the things that _are_ important, i just kind of play it by ear. The biggest help for losing weight is just to watch those calories like a hawk !