What other nutrients should I be looking at? I heard sodium is a pretty important one to limit, along with sugar. But is there a specific number I should be limiting myself to?
I focus mainly on calories; my 2nd focus being on fat. I watch my fats very carefully.
Admittedly I don't pay all that much attention to sodium. At the present, I don't have any problems with blood pressure and I drink lots of water throughout the day, so sodium isn't a big concern of mine. I don't pay attention to sugar grams, either, because I rarely eat sugary foods.
As far as sodium, I think the RDA is 2200 mg's or less (someone correct me if I'm wrong). It's either 2200 or 2400, something like that. Looking over my fitday logs, some days I go over that, some days I don't even come close. I try not to eat too many processed foods, although I keep a Lean Cuisine stash on hand for days I don't feel like fixing anything or I just don't have the time. But for the most part I eat fresh veggies and whole grain breads and lean meats. So unless I'm having a "lazy" day where I want everything already cooked for me, I usually don't have a problem with taking in too much sodium. That's the main thing to watch with the sodium thing, is pre-packaged and processed foods.
I *do* pay some attention to protein, making sure I get enough, but since I eat lowfat cheeses, cottage cheese, lots of fish and plenty of lean meats (mostly chicken) I don't have a problem with not taking in enough protein.
Best thing to do is just balance the foods you eat and try and eat more "whole" foods instead of processed foods. Processed and packaged foods will definitely rack up your sodium count.
I track sodium (the RDA is 2400mg, but some doctors are trying to get it lowered), fiber, and I do watch fat and protein.
I try to keep my sodium low due to HBP running in the family. I know that studies have shown that salt is not a bad thing for everyone, but in my case I think it is. Plus, if I go much over the RDA I bloat up and I drink a lot of water too (2-3 liters per day.)
I try to keep my fiber above 30 grams per day. I've noticed that the more fiber I get in the less hungry I feel throughout the day.
Fats I try to keep under 30% and I shun any product with hydrogenated fats. Trans fats are evil in my book.
The RDA for protein is 10-15% of your daily calories. I aim for around 15-20%. If you are going to go for a higher protein level then make sure you get enough calcium, since excess protein will pull calcium out of the body.
All of these goals are my personal ones. You just need to decide what is important to you and focus on that. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming at first. It's okay to just count calories if that's what works for you.
I try for 1200-1400 calories per day.
I try for less than 30% from fat (and the fat that I do eat has to be from good sources: olives, olive oil, nuts rather than animal fat).
I try for over 35 grams of fiber.
I watch my protein (try to get it) but don't necessarily get it at every meal.
Lately, I've been getting 27-30% fat, 20-23% protein (a little low--gotta work on that) and 38-48% carbs (which may sound high, but I've been eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. None of this is from processed food.) and 43-50 grams of fiber--all that out of 1240-1300 calories.
I don't know if this will help, but I've been trying to limit my alcohol. I used to drink it and think it was okay if I kept in my calorie range, but I was finding it hard to just stop at one sometimes and then I stopped caring about how much I was eating.
I went to a nutritionist for diabetic counseling during my last pregnancy and she told me that roughly 50% of your calories should come from carbohydrates. That you need plenty of complex carbs for energy. Seems strange based on all of the low-carb diets out there. I followed her plan closely and lost about 30 lbs during my pregnancy.
I watch calories, protein (100-150g/day) and fiber (25-30g/day), and I generally shoot for 40/30/30 (c/f/p) overall. I'm doing lots of weight training, which is why I try to keep my protein so high. I get about 10% of my calories from alcohol (red wine) so my 40/30/30 thing never really works out properly and I never meet my protein goal. I think 150g of protein is practically impossible, even on a 2000-2500 calorie diet...(I'm maintaining.)
Last edited by baffled111; 07-27-2007 at 11:53 AM.
Aside from calories, fat, fiber and protein are big ones for me, also. On FitDay I've set my personal daily goals to eat no more than 40g of fat, no less than 30g of fiber, and no less than 100g of protein per day. I usually get close to those goals, if not exceeding them (in a positive way!) by quite a bit.
My rough daily breakdown is supposed to be 50% carbs, 20% fat, 30% protein (50/20/30) spread out through a lot of little snack-meals throughout the day. I try to have something every 3 hours or so, which I understand is important to keep your metabolism revved, and having protein at each snack/meal is supposed to help keep your muscles from deteriorating, along with weight training.
I also drink ~120oz of water per day because it's summer in Arizona, I often eat a LOT of salt (bad!), and I workout just about daily. Your needs may vary!
I'm still learning about how much of what as I go along, based on standard recommendations AND how it makes me feel. As of right now, I shoot for (and most always make) 1200-1600 calories per day, with an occasional oink day up to 1800-2000 but those are few and far between. I get 45-50 grams of fiber per day (thank goodness for Fiber One!), protein 20-25%, fat 25-30% (trying for the good ones, of course), and carbs 50-ish%. I eat tons and tons of veggies most days so I don't worry about carbs so much. I am trying to lead myself away from HFCS-laden stuff, as well as most funky ingredients. I'm not perfect but am getting better, thanks to gearing my eating to mostly "real" foods. I really don't worry too much about sodium myself but I reserve to change my mind on that, as well as any other, subject at any point in the future. LOL
Now who wants to get rid of that pizza in my freezer for me??
Editing to add: I also drink almost 2 gallons of water each day and I really think it plays an incredibly important part in my weight loss and health.
Great question! It's been interesting to see what people are tracking.
I aim for 1600 calories or fewer most days, plus one day a week that I keep under 2200 (averaging out to 1700 a day). I aim to keep fat under 25% of calories a day. I am to keep protein between 50 and 100 g a day. I try to get more than 35 g of fiber (I've been surprised at how much difference this has made in me feeling full!) I try to jog at least 15 miles a week. I've been averaging out at 20% fat, 20% protein, 60% carbs, and 45 g of fiber, which seems just about right to me.
Okay, so it seems like fiber and protein are big ones! I've noticed that I'm not doing so good in incorporating these into my diet, mostly because I don't know where to find them! What foods should I have in my diet to get a decent amount of fiber and protein each day? I don't eat a lot of red meat but generally do a lot of boneless, skinless chicken. What else should I aim to add?
Chicken is an awesome source of protein. 2 chicken breasts a day would bring you close to 100g, but I can't eat that much chicken! Fish is also a good source, as are pretty much all dairy products. Mix some cottage cheese or yogurt with fruit, top your morning bread/bagel with fat free cream cheese, have a sprinkle of fat free/low fat cheese on your salads, etc.
You can also find protein, a bit of fiber, and some healthy fats from nuts and nut products. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter ~8g of protein, and it's just a condiment!
I like snacking on (lean & super spicy) beef jerky between meals.
I also mix in a tablespoon (or more) of vanilla protein powder with my yogurt/cottage cheese/baked goods/cereal (yummy milk!)/etc. Once I get a blender I'm gonna add it to some tasty fruit smoothies, too. One tablespoon of my brand (Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Protein) has about 5g of protein. You can also, of course, just mix the recommended serving with water or milk and it tastes pretty good, too (27g of protein per "scoop").
As for fiber, I struggle with that a bit too. Every morning I eat two Fiber Choice +Calcium tablets, because it's 4g of fiber right off, a ton of calcium, and they taste kind of like chewy SweeTarts to me, so I'm not craving my sweet/sour candies all the time. They also don't require water to take, hurray.
FiberOne cereal is where I get most of the rest of my fiber. I mix it with another fiber/protein/healthy fats cereal in the AM with some protein powder and berries (GREAT way to start the day!), put it in yogurt/pudding, crumble it in baked goods, and basically try to have as much as I can. Realistically I should be getting a lot of fiber from fruits/veggies, but I can't always afford to have many on-hand, and they have so little compared to FiberOne!
I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but hope that helps a little.
Besides couting calories, what is important?
