Is it alright to go over the macro goal for fat?

lc605

Hi all! First of all, please do forgive me if this is a very silly question - I've only been tracking for about a week.

I've been paying the most attention to my 'bottom line' of total calories rather than the macros particularly as I get used to the mechanism and the habit of tracking everything I eat. But looking back over the past week I've been going over the 'fat' macro fairly consistently, largely through the use of olive oil (roasting veggies, homemade salad dressing) and some dairy (milk, butter in a pasta, cheese a couple of times over the course of the week). My going-in assumption is that as long as I'm eating at a deficit it shouldn't make all that much of a difference - albeit I acknowledge that some foods are more nutrient-dense for their caloric value - but I'm also slightly worried that I'll be solving one problem (weight-loss) only to create another (consequences of a relatively high-fat diet, even at a lower calorie intake). Is this something I should be worried about?

For further context - in terms of the other macros I'm hitting roughly about what I shojuld be for protein, generally undershooting carbs and sugar (with most sugar coming from a nighttime post-dinner banana), and looking at the more in-depth macros MFP offers for cholesterol and saturated fat I'm not consistently going over the goals for those either.

Any input gratefully received! Thanks very much in advance

EDIT: Found another reporting tab for this week! Over the course of the week I've been hitting the following, if helpful:

Carbs - 39% (goal 50%)
Fat - 41% (goal 30%)
Protein - 20% (goal 20%)

claireychn074

Purely in terms of weight loss, it doesn’t matter what your calories come from as long as you’re in a deficit. You would still lose weight if you ate chocolate or burgers all day - as long as you maintain the deficit.
But you probably wouldn’t feel very good.

In terms of a high-fat diet (and I’m not sure yours counts as that) then some studies have shown an increased risk of coronary disease and some cancers. But the jury is out really (lots of revisiting the original studies and reviewing other risks such as smoking) and the studies were based on diets mostly high in saturated fats - not olive oil.

As long as you’re getting five portions of fruit or veg a day (you need those for all the vitamins, minerals and trace elements), meeting your protein goal to maintain your muscle (including your organs), then using the rest of the calories for fat or carbs is down to what you like eating and what fills you up. Unsaturated fat is generally perceived as being better than saturated diary or animal fat, but everything in moderation is fine.

ADC0809

First, congratulations on logging!

I agree with the above post.

But not to downplay it either because Fat is so good and it is easy to go over what we really need to consume in general. If it really bothers you, one way to help manage it better is along with weighing and measuring is to pre-log this way you can see ways where you can cut some of the fat if necessary.