Protein and Fat

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Norhaiima
Norhaiima Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello. My protein goal is 101 a day and my fat is 46 per day. Is it okay if I exceed it? I consume 125 in protein and 76 in fat. Please answer huhuhu 😭

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    MFPs defaults are just that...there is no magic to MFP's macro breakdown. They're just generic defaults because you have to start with something. Calories are what matter for weight management. Macros are what make up your calories. Dietary fat = 9 calories per gram, Protein = 4 calories per gram, and Carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram.

    Ideal macro ratios will vary by individual and that's individuals personal needs in regards to health, satiety, and performance. Protein is generally considered a minimum...getting more protein while dieting is actually beneficial to preservation of muscle mass, which you are at risk for losing in a diet as you are in a catabolic state.

    I also tend to drop carbs (not necessarily low carb) when I'm cutting weight, and my fat macro is usually over what MFPs default would be because I eat a lot of heart healthy fats by way of nuts, avocados, avocado oil, fatty fish like salmon and tuna, etc as it is beneficial to my heart health, blood work, and hypertension.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,834 Member
    Yes, it's fine to go "over" on protein and fat. I also consider carbs to be the expendable macro like cwolfman said. When I was in weight-loss mode my fats were at about 40%-50%, protein 20-30% and then carbs filled in the remainder.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 37,349 Community Helper
    Totally fine. I tend to under-eat fat, if I don't pay attention, which seems to be a minority problem. I treat fat as a minimum (for me, 50g), protein as a minimum (100g), and carbs as "I don't care", using those (and occasionally alcohol, at 7 calories per gram) only to make calories land where I want them.

    Exceeding fat or protein is fine, within calorie goal, as long as you're not persistently over on one of those two in order to be over on the other one. (It's a good idea for health to get plenty of varied, colorful veggies & fruits, too, for fiber and micros, but you didn't ask about that.)

    Only calories directly affect weight management, period. Getting sub-par nutrition can lead to cravings, make it hard to stick to calorie goal; or can tank one's energy level, leading to reduced calorie expenditure/lower TDEE. Indirectly, through things like that, nutrition can affect weight loss . . . through calories consumed or burned. It's the calories that directly affect weight.

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