Question for those of you who are hitting your daily calorie target.

My target is 1200.  Each day I'm short 100-300.  I'd love to have the full 1200 but I hit my targets for Carb (50%), Fat (30%), Protein (30%)....and I'm doing my best to keep my sugar intake below 30g.  I do eat veggies but don't want to dine mainly on veggies.  I have things like a peanut butter (1/2 serving), high fiber bread and a couple of ounces of banana sandwiches.....and an ounce of almonds, protein shake, etc on my daily menu.  And of course fruits.  I'd like to have more fruits but I don't want to totally go over my targets....fruits add carbs and sugar.

How do you handle this?  When you hit the individual targets, do you keep going until you hit the calorie target or do you stop like I do?  I know that not hitting my calorie target isn't helping me loose weight but I feel like if I go beyond the other targets, I'm also working against loosing the pounds.  I feel stuck.

Have a scoop of ice cream. It makes the day end better.

I would love to....but then it pushes the individual targets out....like for Fat and Sugar.  Can I go beyond these targets and still loose weight if I hit my calorie target (and not go over)?

I hope I'm making sense.

Original Post by michellejlr:

I would love to....but then it pushes the individual targets out....like for Fat and Sugar. Can I go beyond these targets and still loose weight if I hit my calorie target (and not go over)?

I hope I'm making sense.

You most certainly can. The other targets are for good health and won't really affect weight loss. I find that when I eat the recommended servings of grains, meat, fruit, veggies, etc. my sugar intake is still over. If the sugar is coming from fruit it's not as big of a deal as it would be if you were to eat that much refined sugar. So try for your other nutrition targets, but they don't have to be exact. You should be more concerned with making sure you're eating enough calories.

Okay, I'm prolly going to come off as mean but I'm gonna tell you what I think.

Fats and sugars are not all bad.  Fruit sugar is a healthy sugar...fruits with low glycemic indices(indexes) are fine to "go over on".  Now there are good fats and bad fats...not sure where ice cream would fall.  Me personally to get yourself to your calorie target I wouldn't neccessarily go ice cream, but maybe fruit and milk, fruit and a chocolate, fruit and nuts.  I find it is difficult to aim for specific targets in macronutrients...aim for ranges.  Also, I usually always have a daily sugar intake of greater than 50 grams...most of it comes from fruits and veggies, some from cereal and milk.  My ratios are usually (give or take) 50-25-25...sometimes there's a little more fat (usually good fat) and sometimes there's more protein and sometimes there's more carbs.   Here's the crux of my argument....my caloric target is 1800, I regularly go over the recommended 50g of sugar in a day, my breakdown ranges from 50-25-25, 60-20-20, 50-30-20, 50-20-30; I exercise and have been steadily losing weight since I started in April-->  155lbs to 137lbs.  I think getting anal over your macronutrients may do more harm than good in the long run.  But that's just me...we are all different, what works for me may not work for you.  This is my opinon.

Hey, brutal honesty is fine with me.  I'm just happy that no one has recommended that I stop having my peanut butter sandwiches which I really look forward to.  I realize that not all sugar/fat are bad.  I've actually been trying to hit my fat target as well (40g which is 30%).  I'm definitely not steering away from them but I am concerned when I go over 30%.  I'm concerned about going over any of the targets.

Funny, I find hitting macronutrient targets easy but hitting the calorie target is harder because it screws up the individual targets.  I guess I'll try hitting the calorie target and see what it does for me.  Trial and error method.  I have been loosing weight but very slowly which is suppose to be good I know.  I've got 10 pounds left but loosing 1 pound seems like eternity.  Everyone says not meeting the calorie target is bad so that's why I'm asking these questions.  Part of me says it's better not to meet it (the logic in my head) but everyone says different.  

The macronutrients range is a computer analysis of your foods. It doesn't differentiate good and bad fat or good and bad sugar. Personally, if you're trying to lose, I would definitely view them as a general guideline and your calorie range more important.

I'm also a big fan of PB sandwichs : )

Unless you are a body builder or have specific medical issues, macronutrient ratios aren't the be all end all. I shoot for something similar to you (30% protein, 30% fat, 40% carb), but can never really get there on the foods I like to eat! However, I've been losing successfully and feel great even on 20-25% protein, 35-40% fat (good fats, of course), and 35-45% carbs. I don't eat much refined sugar but I am a total fruit fiend, so I will frequently go over on my sugar target as well.

If you are short at the end of the day, think of some snacks that will give you a good range of nutrients that shouldn't throw your totals off too badly. For example, a pb sandwich with a glass of milk should take care of carbs, fat, and protein all at once.

Keep in mind also that having more of something for just one day will not make a difference, while if you had it every day it could.  Given that, its hard to balance the macronutrients exactly so try eating a few more carbs one day, something with more fat the next, and more protein after that, to get the amount of calories you need.  It you focus more on having the right balance of nutrients on a weekly basis instead of a daily one it should make things much easier and you will still be in wonderful health for it.

Your sugar target of 30 g is *very* low - unless you're excluding natural sugars.  There's no reason your sugar intake can't go over 30 g if most of it is coming from healthy sources (fruit, dairy, etc.) rather than refined sugar.  My sugar consumption is three times yours and I'm still losing weight.  A breakfast of oatmeal, blueberries and skim milk will put you over 30 g but none of that sugar is the kind you should be concerned about.

Similarly, if most of your fats are from good sources (vegetable oils, fish, nuts, avocados, etc.), there's no need for concern if your fat consumption goes a bit over 40 g.

I think that the analysis tool is best used on a weekly or monthly range, rather than daily, and that macronutrient percentages are not that important compared to total nutrition (fiber, vitamins, minerals).  Some days I am at 20% fat, some days I am at 40%, the average works out to be about 25% most months.

Especially at 1200 calories per day (the lower limit for getting adequate nutrition) the OP should not short her calories, but instead of adding a serving of ice cream at the end of the day I think would be better served by adding a slightly higher calorie count to each meal/snack with the same foods that she already eats/enjoys.  Add a few more grams of PB to the sandwich, drink a few more ounces of milk, have a large banana rather than a small one, put some olive oil on the salad, etc.

I do as someone above suggested – I aim for a range. The planning it would require to hit every macronutrient exactly, in conjunction with the overall calorie target, would border on obsessive-compulsive, I think.  My targets are 25 fat/30 protein/45 carb.  For any particulary day, I’m aiming for a range of 25-30 fat, 25-35 protein, and 40-50 carb.  As long as you’re logging as you eat, it’s not difficult to hit within a range, provided you have a general idea about the macronutrients of various foods and try to include some of each with every meal so that you aren’t too far out of balance at any point.  And then as you get to 75% of your daily calories, you need to eat whatever you are low in, and avoid anything you are high in.  I try to make my overall averages for a week hit closer to my ideal 25/25/50 target, because I don’t want to end up consistently high or low.  But to day, I have a 5-10% range, and that works well for me.  (When I stick to it, that is.)

Aside from the sugar limit, I think the problem here is mathematical. Percentages can't go above 100. It's just not possible. If one goes up, the other goes down. Eat more of all three food groups, in the same proportions as before, and the percentages won't move. Similarly, you could hit the right percentages on 100 calories a day, but that doesn't make it healthy.

Since you like them, how about adding another pb sandwich? It adds fat, protein and carbs in roughly the proportions you're going for. Or if the fat's a bit higher than you were going for, have a slice of toast and a poached egg.

I am telling you from experience that you can lose weight even if your percentages are off. I lost 25 lbs in the last year ONLY counting calories which no concern over %s.  It seems that if you are constantly hitting 100 to 300 below your reccomended of 1200, the reason you may NOT be losing as fast as you want is you are STARVING. ALSO, those last 10 lbs are gonna be the hardest....

Thank you ALL for your responses.  I'm so happy that I asked.  I was miserable watching my spouse have his morning oatmeal with a load of fruit and my bowl with only a serving of oatmeal.  And not having that low fat ice cream when I wanted it so badly.  I AM going to enjoy eating my full 1200 calories.  I have been working out but knowing that I'll have another 200 calorie allowance for the workout will make it more enjoyable.  Heck, I'm going to buy some dark, high % cocoa chocolate today.....eating small portions of course....and within my calorie allowance, lol.

Personally, I save 100 cals each day to enjoy a serving of amazing low fat frozen yogurt! Keeps me sane... And really, you have to do this in a way that you can sustain it after you've lost the weight. You can obsess over macronutrients, but how long before you say SCREW THIS! And dive head first into that tub of Rocky road? LOL  I saw one guy on here that said that even though he would love to believe that he would eat like a rabbit for the rest of his life, the honest truth of it was that he is a convenience food kinda guy. He can eat all the salads he wants for a few months, but he knows that when he's lost all his weight, he is going to go back to the frozen lasagnas and prepackaged foods. So his weight loss plan included portion control of those foods to fall into his calorie needs and a few fruits and veggies along the way. He had lost 25lbs by that point... Really made me think about the fact that at that point I had not had a slice of bread in like 5 weeks and was CRAVING toast! Toast of all things! I'm not going to go the rest of my life never eating toast again.

I'm not saying don't make better, healthier choices, but make ones that you can live with later...

WAY TO PUT IT Makenasmom! make changes you can hold on to forever! thats the key to sustainability!

Okay, I hit my calorie target today but I feel like I may have gained a pound or two cuz I was eating all day.  Here is what I had today:

B: oatmeal/strawberries/blueberries with almond milk (194)

L: soy protein shake with blueberries, strawberries and almond milk (202)

D: grilled salmon with steamed zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and asparagus (194)

Snacks:

2 oz. of almonds (320)

half a granola bar (90)

apricot & plum (57)

half a peanut butter/banana sandwich (233)

2 egg whites - boiled (34)

Starbucks tall soy cap (80)

microwaved yam (99)

Exercise : 35 minutes on the elliptical (-300)

So, you're saying that after pigging out on ALL of this, I'm still going to lose weight because I'm under my calorie allotment?  Gosh, hard to believe.  Like I said, I feel like I gained.....my tummy is full.  I'm almost afraid to step on the scale tomorrow morning.  But I'm going to trust you guys since you've been/are going thru this.  I know you're thinking that I need more fruits and veggies but what I need to know is that I'll still lose weight eating what I want (along with the good stuff).

PS. I totally hit and went beyond all the macronutrient targets.  Kinda frightening but we'll see.  I have one of those black or white personalities.....the grey area scares me a bit.  

Original Post by michellejlr:

Okay, I hit my calorie target today but I feel like I may have gained a pound or two cuz I was eating all day.  Here is what I had today:

B: oatmeal/strawberries/blueberries with almond milk (194)

L: soy protein shake with blueberries, strawberries and almond milk (202)

D: grilled salmon with steamed zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and asparagus (194)

Snacks:

2 oz. of almonds (320)

half a granola bar (90)

apricot & plum (57)

half a peanut butter/banana sandwich (233)

2 egg whites - boiled (34)

Starbucks tall soy cap (80)

microwaved yam (99)

Exercise : 35 minutes on the elliptical (-300)

So, you're saying that after pigging out on ALL of this, I'm still going to lose weight because I'm under my calorie allotment?  

 

do you see a contradiction in that statement...i know you didn't mean it but be careful when you use terms like "pigging out" because it CAN be offensive when someone is eating much more than that and is struggling with the idea. 

to answer your question though, yes you WILL lose weight if you are under your calorie recommendations. it is a fact that if you burn more than you consume you'll lose. it might be uncomfortable at first because you're fuller since you're making good food choices but that is by no means "pigging" out, it is maximizing calories, nutrients, and eating treats in moderation. congrats on making it to your calorie goal and keep it up, the discomfort subsides. i'd try to get more whole grains though, maybe 1/2 cup brown rice with dinner or a bit of pasta!! otherwise, great choices !! :)

Sorry about that.  Before I started counting calories (started early June), I was consuming a lot less food/calories because that's how all my previous diets have been. For over 20 years, I've been yo-yo dieting.  Always thought, eat less and I'll lose the weight.  Of course I did lose but then gained it back.  This time, I want to make a life style change and eat better.  Thank goodness for CC.  Thru this site, I've learned a lot and have applied it to my new life style.  Anyway, when I said "pigging out," it was because I was practically starving myself before.  So, it seems like I'm eating a lot more now in comparison.  But you're right, I need to be more sensitive in my wording.....by no means did I mean to offend anyone.  I appreciate everyone's input.  More than you know!  Thanks again everyone!

It's been a week since I started eating my full 1200 calories while not worrying about the macronutrient targets.  I ignored the sugar level since most of it came from fruits.

I've gained 1.8 pounds.  I've stayed within 1200....is this not working for me?  I've been working out (elliptical or 30 day shred) which means I've been consuming more calories but always within 1200.  Is this gain normal as my body is having to readjust to the slightly higher calories....and hopefully temporary?  Remember that I was always between 100-300 below 1200.  I'm not sure I should continue hitting full 1200 as my gain could continue upwards.....