How much fat is 'too much' fat? Newbie here!
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carissar7
Posts: 183 Member
Hello all. I've been a user of MFP for a few months now and read the forums regularly, but this is my first official posting. I started to clean up my diet this January and adopted a more Paleo lifestyle in Feb. Since the beginning of this year I've lost 12 pounds and apparently lost 3% body fat ( I say apparently because I am skeptical of the handheld devices they use in gyms). I've been doing a lot of research on Primal/Paleo and follow marksdailyapple and am currently reading Practical Paleo for some more information. Overall since I started eating this way I feel great. No more 'carb flu' and I'm enjoying the health benefits.
I apologize if this is an issue that has been widely discussed on here already but I'm having a bit of a struggle here. I try and track all of my meals in my diary (there are days I forget), and I know there are most likely some inaccuracies with measuring or the previously uploaded choices we have to choose from when tracking our foods. According to MFP, my fat intake is 'over' the daily intake of what they recommend. Should I be concerned? I know that 'fat doesn't make you fat' and we should be eating more fats + proteins in our diet to use as energy instead of carbs/sugar, but I'm trying to lose about another 5-10 pounds of body fat and was just curious if eating a surplus will hinder my progress. For example, normally for breakfast I eat 1-2 eggs with veggies or 2 almond flour pancakes with some strawberry preserves. I also eat 1 small hass avocado every day, in one of my meals. For lunch/dinner I eat some form of meat (I try my best to obtain grass-fed) with a lot of vegetables. On the days I do heavier workouts I will usually eat some sweet potato or another starchy carb. I also know to limit my fruit intake to 1-2 servings daily for fat loss. Usually I will eat either a mandarin orange or an apple and some almond butter as a snack. I do moderate strength/resistance training for about 1-2 hours a day 4 days a week. I also work in a fast-paced busy retail store and am on my feet for 37 hours a week.
Am I on the right track? Please look at my diary if you want. I am going into this with a very open mind and appreciate any and all advice. Please no snarky comments either. Like I said I am new to this lifestyle and am trying to obtain as much info as I can. I am totally alone on this in my personal life, as my entire family still eats a standard diet and I cook all of my own meals. BTW I am 20 years old and live at home still. My mother is italian and pasta is a weekly thing in my house and she just doesn't understand why I don't eat it anymore! Thanks in advance.
I apologize if this is an issue that has been widely discussed on here already but I'm having a bit of a struggle here. I try and track all of my meals in my diary (there are days I forget), and I know there are most likely some inaccuracies with measuring or the previously uploaded choices we have to choose from when tracking our foods. According to MFP, my fat intake is 'over' the daily intake of what they recommend. Should I be concerned? I know that 'fat doesn't make you fat' and we should be eating more fats + proteins in our diet to use as energy instead of carbs/sugar, but I'm trying to lose about another 5-10 pounds of body fat and was just curious if eating a surplus will hinder my progress. For example, normally for breakfast I eat 1-2 eggs with veggies or 2 almond flour pancakes with some strawberry preserves. I also eat 1 small hass avocado every day, in one of my meals. For lunch/dinner I eat some form of meat (I try my best to obtain grass-fed) with a lot of vegetables. On the days I do heavier workouts I will usually eat some sweet potato or another starchy carb. I also know to limit my fruit intake to 1-2 servings daily for fat loss. Usually I will eat either a mandarin orange or an apple and some almond butter as a snack. I do moderate strength/resistance training for about 1-2 hours a day 4 days a week. I also work in a fast-paced busy retail store and am on my feet for 37 hours a week.
Am I on the right track? Please look at my diary if you want. I am going into this with a very open mind and appreciate any and all advice. Please no snarky comments either. Like I said I am new to this lifestyle and am trying to obtain as much info as I can. I am totally alone on this in my personal life, as my entire family still eats a standard diet and I cook all of my own meals. BTW I am 20 years old and live at home still. My mother is italian and pasta is a weekly thing in my house and she just doesn't understand why I don't eat it anymore! Thanks in advance.
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Replies
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I'm no expert, but I am a 217 lb male (used to be 267!) and I have lost my weight eating primal/paleo and taking in anywhere from 60-120 grams of fat per day, probably averaging 90g. The reporting function usually shows that I am getting about 50% of my calories from fat. I have also been exercising 4 times a week and limiting calories.0
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Do you know how to adjust your percentages for macros, and for what appears on your page? I pay NO attention to what MFP recommends for carbs, fat, protein, OR calories. I set my own goals, and even then, I have to change it sometimes so that I don't have numbers showing up in RED. That drives me nuts.0
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Do you know how to adjust your percentages for macros, and for what appears on your page? I pay NO attention to what MFP recommends for carbs, fat, protein, OR calories. I set my own goals, and even then, I have to change it sometimes so that I don't have numbers showing up in RED. That drives me nuts.
I know that there is an option to choose what nutrients you want to track, but I don't know how to adjust percentages for macros. Thanks for letting me know! I too am getting frustrated at the red numbers because it makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong!0 -
I'm no expert, but I am a 217 lb male (used to be 267!) and I have lost my weight eating primal/paleo and taking in anywhere from 60-120 grams of fat per day, probably averaging 90g. The reporting function usually shows that I am getting about 50% of my calories from fat. I have also been exercising 4 times a week and limiting calories.
That's a huge loss! Good for you. I guess if I'm still getting a calorie deficit and not overeating but getting a lot of my calories from fat I will still be okay. Thanks!0 -
Click on HOME, then GOALS, CHANGE GOALS, select CUSTOM, then CONTINUE. Change your macro goals there.
In my opinion you cannot eat too much fat as long as you are meeting your protein needs.0 -
Click on HOME, then GOALS, CHANGE GOALS, select CUSTOM, then CONTINUE. Change your macro goals there.
In my opinion you cannot eat too much fat as long as you are meeting your protein needs.
^This.
If it fits your macros - protein has been met - go for it.0 -
Hi there ....
I am a 5'8" male who currently weighs 185. I started at 218. I work out for 45 minutes 6 days a week, plus lots of good primal stuff in the backyard. I have a relatively sedentary life at work, unfortunately. I help that out by doing pushups and squats in my office every 60-90 minutes.
That was background to my food goals, which are set as follows: 1620 calories a day (mostly I need this in order to set up my macros right). I set my fat/protein/carbs at 60%/30%/10% .... I have been eating like this since last June. During that time I have lost 33 lbs, about 15% body fat, taken my cholesterol from 285 to 228 (that was between june and november), increased HDL from 24 to 41, improved blood pressure from 150/90 to 110/70, resting heart rate from 80 to 58, and fasting blood glucose from 135 to 97. In other words, I went from an obese, hypertensive, type II diabetic with the beginnings of atherosclerosis and heart disease to a average weight, cardio fit middle aged man.
I say eat fat, as much as you want! ;-)0 -
MFP nutrient guidelines are irrelevant to people on Paleo. Either customize your own or just ignore those columns. Most people on Paleo don't even count calories because you're supposed to eat nutrient-dense foods to satiety and let your normal body signals do the work. Of course, that doesn't work for everyone but at the very least, don't try to adapt Paleo to meet MFP. It won't work well.0
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Most of my calories are made up of fat, and saturated fat at that. I have lost 102 pounds in 12 months, eating ultra low carb primal for around 8 months. Ignore the MFP macro's they really are not set up for us. :-)0
