Too much protein, too little fat?

Sweeterescape

Hi all! I'm new to this and while it's easy to get the calorie counting bit, I'm a little confused about the fat/protein/carb targets.

My mother has always been very health conscious and I grew up eating a low fat/high protein diet. Because I've always eaten that way, most of the foods that I like are low fat/high protein and I've found that planning my days for this week I'm going well above the protein target and well under the fat target on here.

I've tried adding in some things like a handful of almonds or a tablespoon of peanut butter, but that also adds more protein! I don't want to limit my protein, which keeps me fuller longer, and add high fat foods just for the sake of it.

Is it okay to go under my fat/over my protein as long as I'm sticking to the right calories and getting enough healthy fats?

Thanks!

melie_gr

The fitness pal goals are just recommendation and you can customize them to better suit your needs from the goals tab.

Following a more traditional high protein/low carbs eating style like the one my trainer suggested would mean that the recommended amount of protein is very low. My guess would be that a 40/40/20 carbs/protein/fat ratio would be closer to that style. On the other hand, a more high carb approach like the one my endurance running friends are more or less following would be more 65/15/15 ratio.

Personally, I do something ln between, because I am a totally confused heavy lifting runner ;-) Plus, I am vegetarian and I find it very difficult to reach a 40% protein amount. Regardless, the most important is to get as much as whole relatively unprocessed foods as possible. Do let me know what you have decided after all! Best of luck!!

AZKristi

Click the My Home Tab, then click goals and then use the customize option to manually set goals. You can adjust the percentage of your calories from fat, carbs and protein. You can also adjust the goals for fiber, which MFP sets quite low.

When I set my goals, I based mine off heart-healthy guidelines from the Cleveland Clinic. Here's what they have to say about fat:

Total Fat
According to the latest national cholesterol guidelines, your total daily fat intake should range from 20 to 35 percent of your total daily calories. How much fat you should eat depends upon your individual cardiovascular disease risk and lipid levels. Ask your physician or dietitian for more information.

Your total daily fat should come from these sources each day:

Fat Source Recommendation
Monounsaturated Fat 10 to 20% of daily calories
Polyunsaturated Fat 10% or less of daily calories
Saturated plus Trans Fat 7% or less of daily calories
By choosing unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats whenever possible, you'll be able to meet these guidelines.

You can read more here:

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/nutrition/strategies.aspx

Fat is important and it absolutely has a role in nutrition and health. Again, it is all about choosing the right sources of fat in your diet.

Sweeterescape

Thanks so much for the help!! Updated to 40/40/20 and that looks much better, plus I upped the fibre and changed around the fat content as suggested.

AZKristi, that's a great website, thanks very much! I'm really doing this to be healthy more than to lose weight so I found it really helpful.