Quick question about fat intake??

mgall86

I just wanted to get a little advice about my macros. I am set at the standard 40, 30, 30 for carbs, fat, and protein. I aim to get at least 100grams of protein a day and almost always reach that plus more. I heard once before, that the most important thing is to make sure you reach your protein goals for the day, and the fat and carbs will fall into place and don't make a huge difference if you go over them by a little bit. But I have days when my fat intake is almost 40%! My protein is where it needs to be but maybe some days my carb intake is only around 25%.

I'm just unsure if I should be focusing more on getting my fat intake closer to the recommended 30% daily? Or is it not that big of a deal as long as I am meeting and exceeding my protein goals for the day.

Any help is appreciated! I have been gaining and losing the same 1.5 pounds for 3 weeks now and even though I know the scale is not what I should be focusing on, I feel like I should be losing more consistently by now. I have seen changes in my body otherwise, because I lift 4x a week

P.S- If it makes a difference, I have been doing EM2WL for about 6 weeks now Thanks!

gjriddle

I've asked my trainer about this a couple of times and here's what she tells me: focus on getting in your protein and eating a balanced diet of real, whole foods and everything else will fall into place on its own. At first I was hyper-worried about getting EXACTLY 40/30/30 which is a) nearly impossible unless you eat the same meals every day, and b) unnecessary.

Some of the biggest things that hold people back, my trainer AND nutritionist tell me is added sugars and processed foods. If the fats you're consuming are largely trans fats or hydrogenated oils, then yes.. that's bad. But if they're coming from raw nuts, olive oil and things like avocados then that's great! Good fat is exactly that: good! Same thing for sugar.. which I personally struggle with.. I used to be so worried about getting 50, 60 or even 80+ grams of sugar a day.. until my trainer assured me that sugars from fruits & veggies won't hurt (unless you seriously overdo it). It's the ADDED and REFINED sugars that are bad.

Some of the big things my nutritionist has taken out of my diet are any nut butters that have more than 1 ingredient (nuts.), anything with high fructose corn syrup, and she's told me to avoid canola, vegetable, palm and cane oil as much as possible. These are the hidden killer ingredients in nearly everything in the middle section of the grocery store where the processed foods live. Over the past few weeks I've become a mostly "perimeter" shopper, focusing on lean proteins, fresh/frozen produce and lots of natural grains for the bulk of my diet. I still indulge in processed things from time to time, but I can honestly say that even though I consume "a lot" of fat and carbs every day, I'm getting smaller (losing serious inches) and feeling better every day!

I hope this helps, and good luck!! Feel free to friend me if you wanna check out my food diary :-)

** Edited to add -- my nutritionist and trainer have told me to eat no less than 2000 cals per day, but up to 2200, and to get at least 150g protein EVERY DAY.

stfriend

I thought canola oil was a good fat??? Thats what my nutristionist told me. Its usually the cheaper option to olive.

jenniekw

Stfriend that is the same thing I heard about canola. That is why I switched to it. Dr. Oz even says its a better choice next to oil olive that is.

gjriddle

I thought canola oil was a good fat??? Thats what my nutristionist told me. Its usually the cheaper option to olive.

Sorry for the confusion -- hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated canola is bad news. Natural canola is fine. But most processed foods use the bad hydrogenated cousin! But what you buy in a bottle, so long as you read the label closely and make sure it's in its natural form then you're fine on that front. But it's also important to understand that nearly all canola oils are GMOs, which some people don't mind but it's something to keep in mind.

mgall86

I've asked my trainer about this a couple of times and here's what she tells me: focus on getting in your protein and eating a balanced diet of real, whole foods and everything else will fall into place on its own. At first I was hyper-worried about getting EXACTLY 40/30/30 which is a) nearly impossible unless you eat the same meals every day, and b) unnecessary.

Some of the biggest things that hold people back, my trainer AND nutritionist tell me is added sugars and processed foods. If the fats you're consuming are largely trans fats or hydrogenated oils, then yes.. that's bad. But if they're coming from raw nuts, olive oil and things like avocados then that's great! Good fat is exactly that: good! Same thing for sugar.. which I personally struggle with.. I used to be so worried about getting 50, 60 or even 80+ grams of sugar a day.. until my trainer assured me that sugars from fruits & veggies won't hurt (unless you seriously overdo it). It's the ADDED and REFINED sugars that are bad.

Some of the big things my nutritionist has taken out of my diet are any nut butters that have more than 1 ingredient (nuts.), anything with high fructose corn syrup, and she's told me to avoid canola, vegetable, palm and cane oil as much as possible. These are the hidden killer ingredients in nearly everything in the middle section of the grocery store where the processed foods live. Over the past few weeks I've become a mostly "perimeter" shopper, focusing on lean proteins, fresh/frozen produce and lots of natural grains for the bulk of my diet. I still indulge in processed things from time to time, but I can honestly say that even though I consume "a lot" of fat and carbs every day, I'm getting smaller (losing serious inches) and feeling better every day!

I hope this helps, and good luck!! Feel free to friend me if you wanna check out my food diary :-)

** Edited to add -- my nutritionist and trainer have told me to eat no less than 2000 cals per day, but up to 2200, and to get at least 150g protein EVERY DAY.

Thanks so much for the input! I usually get around 135-150 grams of protein a day so at least I am doing good in that respect. I probably just need to cut back on the processed foods, as I know some days I go way overboard. Thanks again for the advice and I did friend request you!

zukkiz

I stressed about that before too. Then when I saw where my fat was coming from I decided to let it be. The same with my sugars. I am stronger and fitter each and every day, so I am not going to let it worry me.