IIFYM Folks - Do you approach your fat and protein goals as minimums?

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_lyndseybrooke_
_lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've heard of people doing it both ways - either looking at fat and protein as minimums and not sweating going over as long as they're at or under their carb and/or calorie goal or looking at carbs, fat, and protein the same and just as numbers you want to meet but not go over or under by more than a few grams?

I'm usually 1-10 grams over in fat, quite a few grams over in protein (don't care about that), and a few grams under carbs. My macro goals are 170 g carb, 55 g fat, 125 g protein while cutting. I watch some fitness youtubers and a lot of the girls seem to have really low fat goals that they try hard not to surpass.

I'm just interested in seeing how other people approach their macro goals. Meeting them exactly day to day would be crazy difficult. I know for weight loss purposes it's calories in vs. calories out - I'm specifically talking about people to track macros.

Replies

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    Yes. They are minimums. Carbs make up the rest of my calories, therefore if I want to eat 10 extra grams of fat today that means my carbs consist of 10 fewer grams.

    Also my fat goal while cutting is 65g. I cannot happily go below 55g. I can easily eat 80g or more lol.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    ana3067 wrote: »
    Yes. They are minimums. Carbs make up the rest of my calories, therefore if I want to eat 10 extra grams of fat today that means my carbs consist of 10 fewer grams.

    Also my fat goal while cutting is 65g. I cannot happily go below 55g. I can easily eat 80g or more lol.

    Same here - fat is gooood. I love me some carbs, too, but I feel more guilty consistently going over in carbs for some reason. Peanut butter really knocks out those fat grams, and I refuse to go without peanut butter. :smile:
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Yes, minimums for me too.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I'm always over on fat. When I was briefly bulking I tried to keep fat lower so I could have more carbs for the more intense workouts, but my natural inclination is to eat all teh fats.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    They're minimums for me too, but I also don't worry too much if I'm 10g or so under occasionally as long as I'm in the general ballpark.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »
    I'm always over on fat. When I was briefly bulking I tried to keep fat lower so I could have more carbs for the more intense workouts, but my natural inclination is to eat all teh fats.

    d2fa70a9f7690810c001247d867ae94e.jpg
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    ana3067 wrote: »
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »
    I'm always over on fat. When I was briefly bulking I tried to keep fat lower so I could have more carbs for the more intense workouts, but my natural inclination is to eat all teh fats.

    d2fa70a9f7690810c001247d867ae94e.jpg

    :laugh:
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    AliceDark wrote: »
    They're minimums for me too, but I also don't worry too much if I'm 10g or so under occasionally as long as I'm in the general ballpark.

    Also this, mostly since I'll look at my weekly average. If I had a protein-heavy day and the next day all I want is fat and carbs, I see whether my protein will balance out if I'm low that day.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
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    They are minimums for me as well. And I am usually quite a bit over that fat goal :blush:

    Yesterday I was at:
    Carbs: 330
    Fat: 121
    Protein: 159

    I'm trying to not go quite as far over on fat to make more room for carbs to fuel my running.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Definitely minimums, but if I don't quite reach them some days, I don't really care.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Protein - minimum. Fat - maximum.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
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    Minimums.
  • landfish
    landfish Posts: 255 Member
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    Guidelines. Based on experience, I run best on a diet that is about 50% carbohydrates, 20% protein and 30% fat. Things get skewed, but that's the mix I shoot for.
  • navyrigger46
    navyrigger46 Posts: 1,301 Member
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    yes, they are minimums, however, that being said, on lifting days I treat my carb goal as a minimum. I always have more carbs on lifting days, and fewer on rest days.

    Rigger

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