MACROS: Good Fat / Bad Fat or Just Fat

pontious11349
pontious11349 Posts: 105 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Some foods I perceive to be healthy like salmon or avocado are really high in fat. Do you differentiate 'good fats' vs 'bad fats'??? I.e. salmon vs greasy burgers?

I keep hearing 'ah don't worry about it it's good for you', when counting fish fats, but if I'm busting my fat budget surely it's not going to help me hit my goals?

For example tonight my family had sesame salmon and I made sesame chicken because I would completely bust my fat budget for today if I went with the salmon.

Advice would be much appreciated :).... Although please don't worry about telling me I should just have eaten the salmon and moved on and live a little blah blah, I don't live and die by my macros, I am just asking in general terms

Thanks

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    What, specifically, are you worried about with the fat?

    I only limit fat if it is threatening to crowd out other things that I need. And I don't distinguish between "good" and "bad" fat (except for trans fats added to items, which I do try to avoid).

    I
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    If you're over your fat macro but still hit your calorie goal, you won't gain weight. Fat doesn't make you fat.
  • pontious11349
    pontious11349 Posts: 105 Member
    Im not worried at all... Just curious.

    To put it in perspective I'm currently working to 45% Carbs : 35% Protein: 25% Fat as I'm trying to recomposition... I am allowed 50g fat per day but if I wanted a salmon and avocado salad (healthy) I'd hit about 35g fat... IN A SALAD
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    If you're concerned about gaining weight don't worry about the fat, just make sure you don't go over calories. That said, because of the fat, salmon is going to be higher in calories than the same size piece of chicken. but "good fat" vs "bad fat" doesn't have anything to do with it.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    pontious11349 wrote: »
    Im not worried at all... Just curious.

    To put it in perspective I'm currently working to 45% Carbs : 35% Protein: 25% Fat as I'm trying to recomposition... I am allowed 50g fat per day but if I wanted a salmon and avocado salad (healthy) I'd hit about 35g fat... IN A SALAD

    So swap some of your protein for a bit more fat?
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    pontious11349 wrote: »
    Im not worried at all... Just curious.

    To put it in perspective I'm currently working to 45% Carbs : 35% Protein: 25% Fat as I'm trying to recomposition... I am allowed 50g fat per day but if I wanted a salmon and avocado salad (healthy) I'd hit about 35g fat... IN A SALAD

    If you were to go over your fat, then lower one of your other macro amounts to accommodate it.

    As long as you are getting enough protein and enough fat for your hormones, the exact macro percentage isn't going to matter much.

    As long as you are getting enough calories for your goals, that should be plenty good.
  • sbubenchik
    sbubenchik Posts: 75 Member
    Eat the fat dude, it's good for you! Just stay away from processed garbage. Other than that, fat won't make you fat. 60% of my diet is fat and not only am I fit, but my blood tests all come back fantastic.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Most fat is fine. I would avoid artificial transfats and limit vegetable oils, but beyond that, fat is quite healthy.
  • zbobbsemple
    zbobbsemple Posts: 38 Member
    I have to watch fats closely, but I do opt for good fats the majority of the time and leave room to splurge when I crave chocolate, ice cream etc. These cravings don't occur everyday. Are you planning your meals ahead of time in order to not bust your budget. Ahead of time to mean the night before, that morning before eating anything or at most a few days ahead. Don't eat then try to make the macros fit, you need to eat based on what fits your macros.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    As long as you getting it the rest of what you need (and on average is fine, it doesn't have to be every day) more fat is fine. A good estimate for protein needs is .8 g/lb, which is going to be quite a bit less than 35% at maintenance for most (even if you want to be extra conservative, you wouldn't need more than 1 g/lb).

    I do distinguish between healthy and non healthy fats -- not strictly and I usually don't bother logging sat fat, but I avoid trans, limit sat just by keeping an eye on food choices, and seek out omega 3 and healthy sources of fat in general -- I'd include fatty fish, avocado, olives, olive oil, nuts and seeds, in particular -- largely fish and vegetable sources, and I do tend to prefer whole food sources.

    I tend to eat half an avocado at a time due to calories, not fat, but I imagine you have more calories than I do.

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