Are Fat goals a maximum, or a target?

wjgo

I would like to have some clarification on the necessity of fat in a diet. I have a particular diet I am trying to follow of 40/30/30 (carb %, fat %, protein %) givin to me by a dietician for a particular goal (but I will not see her again for a while)

I find that am always meeting or exceeding my protein goals, and usually at my carb goals as a %. But most days I am simply lacking or have very little fat, sometimes 5-10%.

How can I best correct this? I already have made changes to my diet because I was under protein and over carbs. Right now, I have been taking the easy way out - a couple servings of peanut butter, and that puts me on target or close to my target. Is that OK? The problem is, I don't want to make peanut butter a part of my diet, but it always seems to be a good "fix."

JeromeBarry1

Choose to eat more peanut butter, avocados, olive oil, nuts. Diddle with the portions to get your macro ratios on target with your calorie goal.

Old_Cat_Lady

Salmon, eggs, greek yogurt, chia or flax seeds. Even a bit of dark chocolate after dinner!

sarahjacqulin1212

Oils that you lay in pans count as fat too:) if you use coconut oil or butter it counts towards your fat!

earlnabby

wjgo wrote: »

I would like to have some clarification on the necessity of fat in a diet. I have a particular diet I am trying to follow of 40/30/30 (carb %, fat %, protein %) givin to me by a dietician for a particular goal (but I will not see her again for a while)

I find that am always meeting or exceeding my protein goals, and usually at my carb goals as a %. But most days I am simply lacking or have very little fat, sometimes 5-10%.

Mine are neither. Fat is what is left over after I make sure I hit my protein macro and stay under my carb macro (T2Dm).

If you need to up your fat, nuts are an excellent way to have a nice protein snack and get healthy fat in. So are eggs. Also, if you butter something, use twice as much. Pour a little more oil in the pan to cook something. Add extra salad dressing.

heybales

Examine what you eat.

Is any of it labeled low or no fat?

Get the full-fat version.
Even 2% milk better than Skim if that was a prior mindset to save calories, many did.

jdlobb

depends on if you're trying to minimize fat or carbs, depending on your personal preference.

Protein is a target, full stop.

I personally treat carbs as a limit and use fat to absorb the rest. If I'm under on carbs I don't care if I'm over on fat, as long as my calories balance. But others do the exact opposite.

AnnPT77

You need fats for health, on the order of at least 0.35-0.45g daily per pound of healthy goal weight. You need fats in order to utilize the fat-soluble vitamins in your fruits/veggies, and your body uses them in hormone balance, among other things.

I don't know whether 5-10% of your calories in fat is meeting that minimum, or not - you'll have to do the arithmetic, as I know neither your calorie goal nor your healthy goal weight.

jgnatca

Back in the day when Weight Watchers was ultra low fat, they promoted a multivitamin and a minimum tablespoon of fat a day.

If you are feeling good and losing weight I'd say a range of 10-30% a day is working for you.

If you are really worried about it, finish your day with a few cashews.

heybales

The side effects of not getting enough fat in diet (listed nicely above) can take awhile to show up - it's not instant by any means - just like most vitamin or mineral deficiencies take awhile.

Then it's a bear to get out of the problem state.

Take a week and look at what the fat grams is made up of too - since several are healthy types, some not needed if you are pressed for calories.

Really shouldn't be hard to increase.

jgnatca

If you want Vitamin packed fats consider whole eggs, whole milk, and fatty fish like Salmon.

ahoy_m8

Fat goal, defined as 0.35g per pound GW, is a minimum. If your 5-10% of daily calories is less than that goal number, try some of the good suggestions here to find ways to get enough. My meals tend to be low fat, so I have to consciously make room for high fat snacks like almonds& cheese or delicious fat bombs.

HeidiCooksSupper

I have the opposite problem -- I'm usually higher in fat and eating more saturated fat than I should. Dairy is my nemesis. Cheese. Full-fat Greek yogurt. Eggs. More cheese. Of course, I also eat beneficial fats like olive oil and nuts. But CHEESE!!

ellen_dever

I have the same issue! I need to up my protein and bring down my fat but it's hard!