Fat-Always too much fat?

Kaolru

Ugh, it seems like no matter what I do MFP is yelling at me for one thing or another. Went over my fat goal. This thing has too much sodium, (even though you are still below your goal for the day, we're going to make you feel terrible about your choices anyway!)

It seriously feels like unless I'm having a protein drink or lettuce, the app is telling me I'm doing something wrong.

I know I don't always eat the most nutritious foods, but I have to make due with what I have and what I can afford. Things have been hard lately because we keep having "special" foods for birthdays and holidays. I'm still, for the most part, staying at my deficit, but it's really frustrating when every day I get a negative message about what I enter.

40g of fat is my limit. I try not to go over it, but apparently I'm not very good at that.
Carbs? Great! I stay below nearly every day.
Sugar? Great! I DO stay below every day.
Sodium? Okay. I do sometimes go over in sodium, but not on a daily basis.
Fat? Terrible. Nearly every single stinking day. I'm trying harder now, but damn if it isn't hard.

Should I be focusing on fat this much so long as I'm staying under my calorie limit? I'm not saying I should pig out on greasy junk food, but I don't like "fat-free" things, specifically dairy. Whole milk, real (Kerrygold) butter, full fat cheeses and yogurt. I eat them sparingly due to calories, but I refuse to avoid them for the fake and fat-free varieties. Am I wrong?

diannethegeek

I treat my fat goal as a number to try and go over every day rather than something to stress about staying under, personally. I also turned off those "insights" as soon as MFP gave us the option. They'd praise my food one day for lots of protein and then condemn it the next for something else. They drove me bonkers and I shut them off.

allyphoe

I turned off insights, too. FWIW, my fat goal is about 40% of calories, and I track fiber, not sugar. I lose weight just fine as long as my calories are less than maintenance.

nvmomketo

Just don't close/finish your diary. Then it never says anything.

Or raise your fat macro to reflect how you eat. Mine is set at over 100g per day.

mavisclump

Are the percentages in the macro goals for the day or for the week? If it is for the week, I will blow it every week by Tuesday.

bbell1985

So what is your problem? Eat more fat. And don't worry so much about sodium unless you have a health issue. No one is yelling at you.

diannethegeek

mavisclump wrote: »

Are the percentages in the macro goals for the day or for the week? If it is for the week, I will blow it every week by Tuesday.

I usually suggest that newer members ignore the pie chart while they get started since so many people are confused by the percentages. You should be able to be close to the percentages both daily and weekly if you want to watch your macros. But the gram goals are generally easier for people to work with.

JB035

Find foods low in fat or no fat. My goal
is 50 sometimes I'm under and sometimes I'm not.
I have noticed this; if you're going low fat you will have to clean up the ole eating plan.
Less of the good stuff.

TheCupcakeCounter

I changed my macros to 40% carbs and upped both fat and protein by %. Still losing weight and some digestive issues I got from too little dietary fat have cleared up.
Calorie is king so as long as you are under that you are good!

RelCanonical

I recently had the opposite reaction. I was like "You go girl, hittin' those protein and fat goals like a mastuh!" I like carbs, but my body likes a balance of all those macros.

JohnnyPenso

Kaolru wrote: »

I'm not saying I should pig out on greasy junk food, but I don't like "fat-free" things, specifically dairy. Whole milk, real (Kerrygold) butter, full fat cheeses and yogurt. I eat them sparingly due to calories, but I refuse to avoid them for the fake and fat-free varieties. Am I wrong?

This is it in a nutshell. Eat the healthy fats you like, don't worry about the total as long as you are satiated, maintain your calorie deficit and everything will work out. I ate them sparingly as well when I was trying to lose weight because I wanted to maintain my food volume while eating less calories, but now that I'm on maintenance or a clean bulk I typically average about 30% or more calories from fat. While losing weight it was usually 20% or less. I'd change your targets to accommodate the way you eat.

lemurcat12

I don't use the app on my phone (I'm on a computer all day anyway), so don't get the insights, but they always sound dumb so I'd turn them off if I did. If they bother you, turn them off.

Kaolru wrote: »

Should I be focusing on fat this much so long as I'm staying under my calorie limit? I'm not saying I should pig out on greasy junk food, but I don't like "fat-free" things, specifically dairy. Whole milk, real (Kerrygold) butter, full fat cheeses and yogurt. I eat them sparingly due to calories, but I refuse to avoid them for the fake and fat-free varieties. Am I wrong?

No, there's no reason to stay under a particular fat goal. Current US Dietary Guidelines have even (finally) eliminated the limit on total fat, and a lot of us (including me) do better eating slightly (or for some, way more than slightly) above the MFP limit. You can adjust macros if you want, but I always just focused on getting to or over my protein goal (which I increased) and didn't worry about how carbs and fats split up the rest (although my natural pattern was slightly lower carbs, higher fat).

I don't consider low fat cottage cheese or yogurt "fake" and personally like them fine (I'm with you on using only full fat cheese and real butter and also use olive and coconut oils, and don't personally drink milk), but all that is just personal preference. There is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing full fat, if you like it better and it fits in your calories I'd even say you should, and that MFP "criticizes" it is yet another reason I think the "one-size-fits-all" insights are dopey. Personally, I even vastly prefer my chicken skin on, bone in, and would be annoyed if I got told I should be eating only boneless, skinless. ;-)

RemoteOutpost

Keep your macros as balanced as you can without being obsessive, stay under your calories. CICO.