Opinion on MFP Saturated Fat setting

kikih64

So, first I want to be totally honest and admit that if you look at my diary you may see the occasional hot dogs, ice cream and my dark chocolate fix, things like that. That's my disclaimer before I ask my question!

I manually set my daily calories to 1540, and macros to 25C/25P/50F. MFP gives me a goal of 17g of saturated fat per day and I go over that everyday. For the most part I'm not concerned - mostly comes from eggs, avocados, coconut milk, nuts, and I do eat meat (bacon!) and not the leanest cuts. The red number serves as a reminder for me to stop with the junky fat.

I'm just curious if there is any information on an appropriate number while eating paleo/primal? Thoughts or resources anyone?

Thanks!

Akimajuktuq

The more healthy saturated fats, the better. It will be hard to determine how much comes from healthy sources and how much comes from less healthy sources if you eat both. However, if you only eat occasional less healthy fat choices I wouldn't worry about it. In fact, I don't understand why people track saturated fat at all especially since those red numbers indicate that we have done something wrong! It's the good stuff for people who are Primal/Paleo.

17 grams is low, and the red numbers could all be from healthy fats! I'm sure I eat loads more saturated fat than 20 grams. Saturated fats are actually not at all a cause of disease imo. Correlation does not equal causation. Even saturated fat in less healthy meats are a step well above garbage like soy and canola.

Akimajuktuq

Today's Nerd Fitness article relates:

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2014/05/22/is-cholesterol-killing-us-a-beginners-guide-to-cholesterol/

It's about cholesterol but saturated fat is discussed too. I didn't check the sources by I find Nerd Fitness pretty reliable and balanced.

Akimajuktuq

Based on a little experiment I just did by changing my diary back to MFP defaults I would highly suggest NOT tracking saturated fat or manually changing the entry. I'm "allowed" 20 grams of saturated fat, but while eating the best for my health situation and personal needs I am eating 40-80 grams of saturated fat per day. Don't let those red numbers deter you!

I'm celebrating my saturated fat intake; I'm so proud of myself! (yes I know how strange that sounds.) :drinker:

Most disturbing of all is that I am recommended to eat 220 grams of carbohydrates! :noway:

TriLifter

Based on a little experiment I just did by changing my diary back to MFP defaults I would highly suggest NOT tracking saturated fat or manually changing the entry. I'm "allowed" 20 grams of saturated fat, but while eating the best for my health situation and personal needs I am eating 40-80 grams of saturated fat per day. Don't let those red numbers deter you!

I'm celebrating my saturated fat intake; I'm so proud of myself! (yes I know how strange that sounds.) :drinker:

Most disturbing of all is that I am recommended to eat 220 grams of carbohydrates! :noway:

I just checked mine for the month of May--my range is 28-68g/day...but I'm usually in the mid 40s to mid 50s. I've never been concerned with it. I've never had a gram of trans fat--THAT's something to celebrate!

kikih64

Thanks for all the feedback! I'll check out Nerd this weekend. He's one of my favorites anyway! I'll have to take a look at my averages too. I know some days I go way over, that's why I was wondering what people thought was a realistic goal. I know MFP is not designed to support Paleo/Primal without some tweaking! Thanks for sharing your numbers.

Akimajuktuq

Based on a little experiment I just did by changing my diary back to MFP defaults I would highly suggest NOT tracking saturated fat or manually changing the entry. I'm "allowed" 20 grams of saturated fat, but while eating the best for my health situation and personal needs I am eating 40-80 grams of saturated fat per day. Don't let those red numbers deter you!

I'm celebrating my saturated fat intake; I'm so proud of myself! (yes I know how strange that sounds.) :drinker:

Most disturbing of all is that I am recommended to eat 220 grams of carbohydrates! :noway:

I just checked mine for the month of May--my range is 28-68g/day...but I'm usually in the mid 40s to mid 50s. I've never been concerned with it. I've never had a gram of trans fat--THAT's something to celebrate!

Yeah, I have the same "normal" range as you. 40s-50s. I didn't check the trans fat! But I don't know where I'd get any from…

I tweak my macros on every level. It makes me giggle when so many people in the general forum whine about how to stay under on sugar (when they are allowed 60 grams or more!) and everyone tells them "don't worry about sugar, just the calories". I think that gets my vote for "worst dietary advice of all time". Second only to "fat is bad".

TriLifter

Based on a little experiment I just did by changing my diary back to MFP defaults I would highly suggest NOT tracking saturated fat or manually changing the entry. I'm "allowed" 20 grams of saturated fat, but while eating the best for my health situation and personal needs I am eating 40-80 grams of saturated fat per day. Don't let those red numbers deter you!

I'm celebrating my saturated fat intake; I'm so proud of myself! (yes I know how strange that sounds.) :drinker:

Most disturbing of all is that I am recommended to eat 220 grams of carbohydrates! :noway:

I just checked mine for the month of May--my range is 28-68g/day...but I'm usually in the mid 40s to mid 50s. I've never been concerned with it. I've never had a gram of trans fat--THAT's something to celebrate!

Yeah, I have the same "normal" range as you. 40s-50s. I didn't check the trans fat! But I don't know where I'd get any from…

I tweak my macros on every level. It makes me giggle when so many people in the general forum whine about how to stay under on sugar (when they are allowed 60 grams or more!) and everyone tells them "don't worry about sugar, just the calories". I think that gets my vote for "worst dietary advice of all time". Second only to "fat is bad".

I have one day that has over 7124 grams of trans fat (I don't pay attention to it usually, just happened to catch my eye. It was only because some moron created an entry for pork chop and had it in there. The rest of the info was pretty accurate so I just left it. Otherwise, yeah, nothing.

Dragonwolf

Saturated fats are actually not at all a cause of disease imo. Correlation does not equal causation. Even saturated fat in less healthy meats are a step well above garbage like soy and canola.

Hell, the "correlation == causation" fallacy usually requires an actual correlation. When it comes to saturated fat and any negative health marker, there isn't even that!

MFP needs a "rolling on the floor laughing" smiley, because when you think about it, the saturated fat thing really is that ROFL-worthy.

OP -- I wouldn't even bother tracking saturated fat. You'll blow the levels MFP gives you out of the water with a single serving of coconut oil, anyway. Here's what I generally do:

Avoid trans fats and seed oils (includes any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils) like the plague.
Freely eat saturated and monounsaturated fats.
Eat polyunsaturated fats in moderation, taking care to get ample Omega-3 fats in relation to Omega-6 (with a goal of 1:1 ratio between those two).

KombuchaCat

I don't worry about saturated fat at all, current research shows it is not the cause of all the problems it was previously blamed for. I feel great including lots of fat, mostly from the same sources you mentioned. I had been told when I was younger that I had high LDL cholesterol (likely from too much sugar and processed foods and generally unhealthy habits). My HDL has always been excellent. I'm going to ask if there's a way they can test for both types of LDL, I've recently learned that there's a larger, buyant LDL that is neutral in effect on your health and then the smaller, sticky LDL that is a problem. However they normally just test for all LDL. I'm not sure if they can test for both separately but I'm asking at my next physical later this month.

Dragonwolf

I don't worry about saturated fat at all, current research shows it is not the cause of all the problems it was previously blamed for. I feel great including lots of fat, mostly from the same sources you mentioned. I had been told when I was younger that I had high LDL cholesterol (likely from too much sugar and processed foods and generally unhealthy habits). My HDL has always been excellent. I'm going to ask if there's a way they can test for both types of LDL, I've recently learned that there's a larger, buyant LDL that is neutral in effect on your health and then the smaller, sticky LDL that is a problem. However they normally just test for all LDL. I'm not sure if they can test for both separately but I'm asking at my next physical later this month.

They should be able to, but don't usually, because testing it all separately costs money (never mind the fact that you're the one paying the lion's share). You will have to specifically ask for it, and be prepared to have the doctor resist with some stupid thing along the lines of "you don't really need to know that." IMO, it doesn't matter what the doctor thinks I do or don't need to know, if I want to know about something and am willing to pay for the test and supply the extra blood necessary, there's no reason not to order it. (Note - it's one thing for the doctor to say something like "the insurance won't pay for it, so you'll have to pay for it completely out of pocket" or otherwise let you know of anything non-routine about the test in question, but it's a different matter when they refuse because you don't "need" to know such information.)

tennisdude2004

So, first I want to be totally honest and admit that if you look at my diary you may see the occasional hot dogs, ice cream and my dark chocolate fix, things like that. That's my disclaimer before I ask my question!

I manually set my daily calories to 1540, and macros to 25C/25P/50F. MFP gives me a goal of 17g of saturated fat per day and I go over that everyday. For the most part I'm not concerned - mostly comes from eggs, avocados, coconut milk, nuts, and I do eat meat (bacon!) and not the leanest cuts. The red number serves as a reminder for me to stop with the junky fat.

I'm just curious if there is any information on an appropriate number while eating paleo/primal? Thoughts or resources anyone?

Thanks!

Saturated fat is a good fat. It is more stable than polyunsaturated fats and has been shown to help reduce triglycerides and increase LDL particle sizes in a diet low in carbs.

The only fats to avoid are man made trans fats and limit your intake of polyunsaturated fat.

Chaskavitch

Saturated fats are actually not at all a cause of disease imo. Correlation does not equal causation. Even saturated fat in less healthy meats are a step well above garbage like soy and canola.

Hell, the "correlation == causation" fallacy usually requires an actual correlation. When it comes to saturated fat and any negative health marker, there isn't even that!

MFP needs a "rolling on the floor laughing" smiley, because when you think about it, the saturated fat thing really is that ROFL-worthy.

OP -- I wouldn't even bother tracking saturated fat. You'll blow the levels MFP gives you out of the water with a single serving of coconut oil, anyway. Here's what I generally do:

Avoid trans fats and seed oils (includes any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils) like the plague.
Freely eat saturated and monounsaturated fats.
Eat polyunsaturated fats in moderation, taking care to get ample Omega-3 fats in relation to Omega-6 (with a goal of 1:1 ratio between those two).

Could...could we have a ROFLcopter? That would be awesome

Also, I agree Coconut oil and avocados and bacon are delicious. My biggest problem is that although I've read the Nerdfitness article, MDA articles, Cholesterol Conspiracy, etc, etc, I am still terrible at explaining to my family why it is ok to eat so much fat, even though I'm trying to lose body fat and lower my LDL and triglyceride numbers. Grrr. So I just eat what I want and make rice for my husband to eat when he wants.

Dragonwolf

Saturated fats are actually not at all a cause of disease imo. Correlation does not equal causation. Even saturated fat in less healthy meats are a step well above garbage like soy and canola.

Hell, the "correlation == causation" fallacy usually requires an actual correlation. When it comes to saturated fat and any negative health marker, there isn't even that!

[bold]MFP needs a "rolling on the floor laughing" smiley, because when you think about it, the saturated fat thing really is that ROFL-worthy.[/bold]

OP -- I wouldn't even bother tracking saturated fat. You'll blow the levels MFP gives you out of the water with a single serving of coconut oil, anyway. Here's what I generally do:

Avoid trans fats and seed oils (includes any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils) like the plague.
Freely eat saturated and monounsaturated fats.
Eat polyunsaturated fats in moderation, taking care to get ample Omega-3 fats in relation to Omega-6 (with a goal of 1:1 ratio between those two).

Could...could we have a ROFLcopter? That would be awesome

Also, I agree Coconut oil and avocados and bacon are delicious. My biggest problem is that although I've read the Nerdfitness article, MDA articles, Cholesterol Conspiracy, etc, etc, I am still terrible at explaining to my family why it is ok to eat so much fat, even though I'm trying to lose body fat and lower my LDL and triglyceride numbers. Grrr. So I just eat what I want and make rice for my husband to eat when he wants.

Let's see if I can not fail at posting images (I hate BBCode).



As for the explaining to family, for the most part, good luck, but here are some bullet points I like to use:

1. Fat's required for proper hormone functioning and nutrient absorption.
2. Fat doesn't cause insulin spikes, so I can keep my insulin down (only works if you or family members have insulin resistance/diabetes, though)
3. Carbohydrate intake is directly correlated with triglyceride level, and the good fat intake helps increase the size of LDL particles (a very good thing)

If they still argue...well...all you can do is keep on keepin' on and let the results speak for themselves.

Chaskavitch

Hooray, ROFLcopter!

Those are excellent points, and don't require a ton of scientific explanation. No one in my family is diabetic, or even pre-diabetic, but my mom has gone up and down in weight my whole life, a full 80 lb swing up and down, and it has left my sister and I a little paranoid about food and weight. We're trying to get over it, and so is my mom, but it's baby steps and learning what doesn't set off any binging or self-loathing. Low carb/paleo helps a lot, because carbs and sugary things just disappear in our houses, and not having a loaf of bread sitting around to eat is so helpful.

kikih64

Well, we've been somewhat validated by the TIME article!! I haven't actually read it yet, but I've read some paleo blogs. WIN!!

17JayR

You can also change your saturated fat goal on MFP. I have mine set at 50% of my fat as besides coconut oil most ever food you think about being high in saturated fat is a mix of types of fats, so it is a realistic percent of what I eat. From most everything I have read by experts on health/nutrition that aren't afraid of fat you don't need to worry about how much saturated fat is in your diet, just avoid non-naturally occurring trans fats and processed vegetable/seed oils.