Question about unintentionally low fat intake

schparks

I have been eating a lot of the same foods since I restarted tracking back in June, a creature of habit I suppose. I was reviewing my food logs, and I realized that I am usually a gram or two over my recommended daily protein, sometimes slightly under my carbs, but almost always well under my daily recommended fat intake. This is not intentional, it's just a function of the choices I'm making and what I like to eat. I'm a volume eater, so I tend to choose a 100 calorie serving of popcorn or a bowl of strawberries over a tiny handful of nuts.

I know that fats play a vital role in body functions - should I work on changing this? Or can I supplement with fish oil or something and just keep doing what I'm doing? I can open my food diary if anyone wants to critique.

schparks

C'mon, where are my nutrition experts?

LoraF83

I took a look at your diary and I would suggest that you start using healthy fats when cooking. You had chicken for dinner the other night. Why not put 1T of olive oil in the pan to cook it with? The same goes for your turkey the other day. Small changes like that can help increase your fat intake.

You do need fats in your diet - they support brain and organ function.

alanlmarshall

I use olive or canola oil as a condiment on potatoes or rice. A tablespoon or two a day does the trick without too many calories. Nuts are a healthy source too, but I would tend to finish them off. I'm not tempted to swig pure oil.

ChaoticMum

I totally agree you should add in fats. People get fat scared....but the truth is we need fats. Have you heard of Marks Daily Apple? I am learning some new things there...
www.marksdailyapple.com

mabelbabel1

I find I have the same problem sometimes so I now try to add rapeseed oil when cooking, or use some butter on crispbreads or cooked vegetables----it feels like such a luxury.

I have found if I go too low on fats my skin starts to get dry and my nails break more easily.

Tilran

Your macros really depend on what you wish to acheive. I wouldent stress out too much about it unless you get getting extreamly low fat in your body. Fats do alot of good for the body, but you dont need that much to get the effect.

If you are looking to lose body fat and maintain muscle, keep up the protein levels, lower the carbs and let fat fall where it may.

BCSMama

I wouldn't stress about it, but do try to add it in where you can. A lot of essential vitamins are fat soluble meaning if there is no fat for them to break down, your body doesn't absorb them. I try to get good fats through nuts, nut butters, flax seeds (added to oatmeal, smoothies, cereal, etc.), avocados, healthy oils, and meat.

WendyTerry420

I added hemp seeds to my diet. It bumps up both protein and healthy fats - perfect ratio of Omega 3 and Omega 6.

schparks

Thanks for your replies! I love olive oil, avocados, almonds, stuff like that - but I find myself making other choices based on volume of what I eat. when i feel like using a nonstick pan to cook a piece of chicken or a turkey burger doesn't result in a sacrifice of taste, I skip the oil and save the calories for a snack. As long as I am not doing something completely detrimental to my health, I won't worry too much about reaching daily recommended fat intake.

EvgeniZyntx

What are your percents? If you are following the standard setting here I would not worry about it, one can eat a lot less fat than the recommended % and not worry. Set yours to 40% protein 30% fat/carbo and see if you are still getting too little fat.

Do you have hair or skin issues?

schparks

What are your percents? If you are following the standard setting here I would not worry about it, one can eat a lot less fat than the recommended % and not worry. Set yours to 40% protein 30% fat/carbo and see if you are still getting too little fat.

Do you have hair or skin issues?

No hair or skin issues. There are definitely days that I exceed the recommended fats (I have my macros set on whatever the default was), but I just noticed a trend with my fats being around 30-35g per day on an average day, and wanted to make sure I wasn't sabotaging myself nutritionally.

Cr01502

I took a look at your food diary. You're fat intake is fine imo although I would probably try to incorporate more of the EFA's in your diet and maybe a little less trans fat. Throw in a weekly meal of oily fish (tuna or salmon) and maybe some avocado, walnuts, etc.,.

You may already do this I only glanced through a couple of days.

schparks

I took a look at your food diary. You're fat intake is fine imo although I would probably try to incorporate more of the EFA's in your diet and maybe a little less trans fat. Throw in a weekly meal of oily fish (tuna or salmon) and maybe some avocado, walnuts, etc.,.

You may already do this I only glanced through a couple of days.

Thanks!

KipDrordy

You need fats. I miss my fat goal almost every day. I have learned to use things like real butter instead of margarine, normal sour cream and normal cheese from time to time because I need some fat in my diet. What I find impossible is getting to the recommended levels of fat, fiber, and carbs. I haven't found a way to hit all of these numbers while staying within my caloric goal. I stopped worrying about it. I also take 4 grams of prescription fish oil every day. I haven't had a blood test since starting my diet, but I have a feeling my triglycerides are going to be nice and low next doctor visit.