IIFYM Fat cals

longroad46
longroad46 Posts: 7 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am having trouble meeting daily fat cals. No problems with carbs and protein. Any suggestions? Is there such a thing as high fat low cal food? Thanks
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Replies

  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
    Fat is 9 calories per gram so generally no, high fat = high cal.

    Is there a reason you want an exact number of fat calories? Assuming you are getting all the essential fats (less than a gram) you don't *need* a particular amount of fat. When your body needs fat it can produce it from carbohydrate.
  • independant2406
    independant2406 Posts: 447 Member
    Cook foods with a healthy fat like olive oil. Problem solved. :)
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
    Fat is 9 calories per gram so generally no, high fat = high cal.

    Is there a reason you want an exact number of fat calories? Assuming you are getting all the essential fats (less than a gram) you don't *need* a particular amount of fat. When your body needs fat it can produce it from carbohydrate.
    Fat produced from carbs? Can you explain that? Stored body fat is not the same as dietary fat. Your body will not and cannot use stored body fat in placed of dietary fat. And dietary fat is vital for proper health.

    OP, eat meats higher in fat. Avocados. Peanut Butter. Oils. Etc. It's not really that hard.
    You need like a gram or so of omega 6 and omega 3. Everything else you can make yourself out of other parts of the diet.
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
    it doesn't need to be dietary fat, fat is fat. If you need fat for some reason, long term energy storage, hormone production, cushioning, repair of tissues etc - assuming you get the tiny amount of efa's you need you can make the rest.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    cook with coconut oil or something....
    eat some kind of nut butter
    eat whole eggs
    eat red meat
    certain fish (salmon)
    nuts (walnuts, almonds, etc..)
    avocado
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
    Where did you get the impression it doesn't? There's no magic marker on fat you ate that distinguishes it from fat produced by de novo lipogenesis. Both are going to float about in the blood stream the same and the tissues that use fat would simply have no way to distinguish between them and only use the stuff you ate...

    Why do you think so many hormones are secreted by fat cells? That's where all the raw material is.
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
    Which nutrients? The OP says that they get enough calories. Vitamin E and retinol maybe? But unless there is some indication their diet is deficient in those (my one a day fish oil contains the whole RDA so technically I could eat no fat apart from that and be fine - apart from even vegetables have some fat in them just very low amounts).
  • boredlimodriver
    boredlimodriver Posts: 264 Member
    someone here needs to cut back on the fat me thinks
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    You're only trying to hit 64 g of fat a day? That shouldn't be too difficult. More peanut butter, nuts, maybe real butter instead of the Country Crock stuff I saw in your diary would be a good start. Olives are a great one if you don't mind the sodium. I get a lot of my fat from animal fat: bacon, pork steaks, fattier cuts of beef, higher fat burger. Fatty fish is good for you as well. Cheese can also be a good source.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    OP, I also have trouble hitting my fat macro. I got for higher fat versions of foods like milk and yogurt, add oil or butter to pans, eat cheese or peanut butter, and I also eat ice cream or gelato to help boost my fat if I'm still low at the end of the day (which I usually am).

    As far as the other conversation, you absolutely need dietary fat. It aids in digestion and absorption of nutrients, and your body does not harvest your stored fat to make that happen. My life would be much easier if it did.
  • woodml1
    woodml1 Posts: 199 Member
    Add avocado to anything... yum! Or if you woefully live in a part of the world that doesn't get good avocados, you can opt for a packaged guacamole. Olive oil, nut butters, nuts, and fatty fish are other great options. If you're really struggling, get a flax oil supplement and add a tablespoon to a shake or other beverage. :)
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
    If you are hitting your protein and carbs for the day you should be close to hitting your fat macros.

    Don't worry too much about getting the exact amount that IIFYM suggests. I use IIFYM instead of what MFP suggests and only really pay attention to calories and protein and everything else works itself out.
  • ksy1969
    ksy1969 Posts: 700 Member
    If you are hitting your protein and carbs for the day you should be close to hitting your fat macros.

    Don't worry too much about getting the exact amount that IIFYM suggests. I use IIFYM instead of what MFP suggests and only really pay attention to calories and protein and everything else works itself out.

    This is what I pretty much do as well.

    However, I am in to see what comes of @candistyx comments.

    Part of me is having a challenge with her comments since plenty of PhD's/ Nutritionists recommend minimum levels of fat intake daily. If all we needed was 1gm a day of essential fats, wouldn't they say so?
  • ksy1969
    ksy1969 Posts: 700 Member
    OP, I also have trouble hitting my fat macro. I got for higher fat versions of foods like milk and yogurt, add oil or butter to pans, eat cheese or peanut butter, and I also eat ice cream or gelato to help boost my fat if I'm still low at the end of the day (which I usually am).

    As far as the other conversation, you absolutely need dietary fat. It aids in digestion and absorption of nutrients, and your body does not harvest your stored fat to make that happen. My life would be much easier if it did.

    It would be much easier. I could devote those fat calories to yummy carb goodness :laugh:
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,994 Member
    I wish @candistyx would supply some literature on this...
  • Actually_Mike
    Actually_Mike Posts: 61 Member
    My go to is some good ol fashion PB, 1 serving is like 16g of Fat, just work the carb/protein into your diet, it's only like 7g protein, so shouldn't bankrupt you.

    inb4 Candistyx debunks us all.
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
    In to follow fat needs derived from body fat discussion.
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
    Well guys, I was going to just leave it at agree to disagree but ok.

    On the internet I found this: http://www.discovergoodnutrition.com/2012/11/need-to-eat-fat/ - it's not some high faultin' scientific paper or anything because this is common knowledge, as long as the body gets all the essential fatty acids it can make the rest it needs.

    Fat doesn't help you digest other food. It has an effect on the rate of digestion (and on insulin production after a meal, specifically a meal including carbs and fat will cause more insulin release than one with just carbs, but this is at least in part to cover the fact that the rise in fatty acids in the blood post-meal will induce a small amount of temporary insulin resistance) but it won't cause digestion where none would have happened anyway.

    And in fact even if we needed fat in our guts bacteria will make some for us out of fiber :P
    The simple answer to the question, “do I need to consume fat?” is yes, you do. And here’s one of the main reasons why. The fats you eat are made up of a variety of components called fatty acids. Some of these fatty acids are considered essential – which means that they have to be provided from food, because your body can’t make them. If your body doesn’t get the essential fatty acids it needs, it could negatively affect your health.

    But here’s the catch. The amount of fat you need to eat in order to provide your body with the essential fatty acids it needs is tiny. How tiny, you ask? It’s estimated that if just 5% of the calories you eat come from fat that’s found naturally in a healthy, well balanced diet, that will do it. That’s about 75 calories’ worth on a 1500 calorie a day diet – or less than 9 grams of fat. So yes, you do need to consume fat, but the amount you need is so small, that it could be provided from a diet of whole, natural foods, even if you added no fat to your diet at all.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,994 Member
    Assuming you are getting all the essential fats (less than a gram) you don't *need* a particular amount of fat. When your body needs fat it can produce it from carbohydrate.

    Less then a gram? I don't think so. From the article you posted...

    "That said, I’m not suggesting that you should do all you can to eliminate every trace of fat from your diet. One reason (and this is a topic for another day) is that the types of fats you eat and the balance of your fatty acids matter too. Just eating 9 grams of fat a day won’t ensure that you get the right balance of fatty acids if you don’t choose your foods carefully. Suffice it to say that most of us don’t eat nearly enough of the healthy – and essential – omega-3 fatty acids that are supplied by fish, nuts and flaxseed."
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Well guys, I was going to just leave it at agree to disagree but ok.

    On the internet I found this: http://www.discovergoodnutrition.com/2012/11/need-to-eat-fat/ - it's not some high faultin' scientific paper or anything because this is common knowledge, as long as the body gets all the essential fatty acids it can make the rest it needs.

    Fat doesn't help you digest other food. It has an effect on the rate of digestion (and on insulin production after a meal, specifically a meal including carbs and fat will cause more insulin release than one with just carbs, but this is at least in part to cover the fact that the rise in fatty acids in the blood post-meal will induce a small amount of temporary insulin resistance) but it won't cause digestion where none would have happened anyway.

    And in fact even if we needed fat in our guts bacteria will make some for us out of fiber :P

    Dietary fat is necessary for absorption of certain nutrients. Here's a study showing how different levels of dietary fat impact nutrient absorption, from a high falutin' scientific paper: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/2/396.abstract

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