High protein = High fat

I often find myself in the same boat, even with a reasonably high fat goal (my macros are based on weight/LBM, but they work out to approximately 40% fat, 30% protein and 30% carbs). I am by no means afraid of fat, saturated or not. I think that my problem comes in that I tend to make a point to eat a decent amount of "good" fats (olive oil, almonds, avocado, etc), so that even a moderate amount of fat associated with animal protein sources sends me over.

I've found it worthwhile to actually go for reduced-fat products in certain applications, primarily dairy. I don't eat a lot of dairy, but when I do, it's low-fat or fat-free. I also try to focus on leaner meats when possible - lean cuts of beef, pork, chicken. I feel like that way I get a better protein to fat ratio on my animal protein sources, and it allows me enough room to enjoy my fats from vegetable sources.

Edited to add: I try to keep my fat macro in line not because I think I should eat less fat, I just want to be able to eat more carbs!! Lol.

If you're trying to hit a 25% or higher protein macro, you'll learn real quick that legumes (other than soybeans) and nuts/nut butters are carb and fat sources, respectively.

Hi,

I'm blessed to have a personal trainer as a close friend and she has given me tips on losing weight. She said I need to get protein at every meal to keep my energy up all day. Here's my conundrum: When I get my protein, my fat goes over. So far today I have logged good natural sources of protein: sardines, almond butter, eggs and veggies. I still need 33 protein but have gone over fat by 6 already.

Do I just ignore the fat for the most part so long as I'm getting these natural sources of protein? Are MFPs settings off? It makes me wonder if they're set to comply to a person eating "diet foods" and I try to eat mainly "clean" and always run into problems with the fat and sugar in my log due to this.

Thanks!

For one thing, dietary fat doesn't make you fat and is an essential macro...20-30% of your diet at minimum should be coming from dietary fat.

Secondly, your protein sources above are really better sources of healthy dietary fat than protein (not necessarily a bad thing)...and while these things do have protein, you really want to look to lean meats and poultry, greek yogurt, whey, cottage cheese, etc as better protein sources with minimal fat.

There is nothing wrong with fat, as long as it's the healthy kind (unsaturated).

Actually saturated fat is a very healthy source of energy. It is the building block of your cell walls and hormones. I eat tons of saturated fat and my triglycerides were 57 and HDL 82, basically an ideal lipid profile.

It is really easy to get a normal amount of protein without all the fat, if one looks at those cultures that still eat mostly whole foods.
Since I live in Mexico I get a lot of my protein from beans and rice, chick peas, full fat dairy as an addition to those food( as in a sprinkling of cheese on top of enchiladas, or one spoon of cream thinned with a bit of water over sopes, plain yogurt instead of cream ) , fish ( often in the form of canned tuna or sardines ), whole eggs, tofu and tofu products and the occasional chicken. I eat no beef and pork only a very few times ( maybe twice ) a month. I eat avocados moderately and eat no nuts whatsoever, because they use up too many calories for the 1200 calories ( due to age and height...) and because they are not part of the daily diet and for the price of a pound of nuts ( over 20 dollars ) I can get better for me foods.
It is also not necessary that one needs to eat super high amounts of protein as a high performance athletes would, because most of us are not. Your friend is right that it is a good idea to eat protein with each meal, but it does not have to be a lot.
Because of my age and because I only exercise moderately ( on average a 40 minute walk each day ) I eat the WHO recommended amount of protein which is a base amount of 46 grs per day for women between 20-70, but often eat a bit more and get to anywhere from 45- 60grs. The rule is .5 gr minimum per pound of Lean Body Mass .
I avoid all non-beneficial fats, have exchanged baking for frying ( poach eggs instead of frying them in any kind of fat ) and seem to have no problem keeping my fat intake at a normal level and frequently under my planned amount. If I am over, I don't worry, because I am usually over from beneficial fats .
I think the trick is to eat all foods that have protein and not just meat and dairy .
What saves me when I need extra protein are those pouches with tuna. They are usually 70grs/2.5oz of tuna, have less than 60 calories and 11 grs of protein and 0.30 grs ( that is one third gram...almost nothing ) of fat. I mix them with a cup of mixed frozen veggies ( 26 calories , no fat to speak of ) some lemon/lime juice and have a protein boost for way less than 100 calories. Even with two pouches of tuna and 22 grs of protein I still come in under 150 grams.

ETA: I also often make a salad with black beans, onion, tomato, cilantro/parsley and tuna, which gives a double whammy of protein because of the tuna and the beans with almost no fat to speak of.

low fat cottage cheese, low fat Greek yogurt, lean meats (ham, turkey, etc), Egg whites, Low MF% milk products, etc.

Try different protien.. chicken breast has almost no fat..