Calculating good fats.

jhammer52
jhammer52 Posts: 5 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying to be better about fats but when I eat good fats it still counts as fats, as far as daily totals to. Therefore, is there anyway to add only good fats. I know that sounds ridiculous but when I look at your numbers I'm always over your fats. Sure hope this makes sense.

Replies

  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited October 2017
    You could make entries for the foods you use in My Foods (without sharing with the database so that no one else could edit them) and enter the nutrition however you wish.

    Keep in mind, though, that fats have 9 calories per gram and your body counts them whether you log them or not.

    Instead of doing that, you might want to change your macro balance to something that works better for you than the MFP default. The US Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges are:

    Protein: 10-35%
    Fat: 20-35%
    Carbohydrate: 45-65%
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    If you want to lose weight, total calorie intake is your main concern.

    Fat in an essential nutrient. We need unsaturated and saturated fat. Man made trans fat is the only unhealthy fat, and it's being phased out.

    You can set your macros as you wish. If your food preferences are towards a diet higher in fat, set macros accordingly.

    Fat makes many foods taste better. Especially naturally occurring fat.

    A healthy diet is just part of a healthy lifestyle. A healthy relationship with food is also important. Do not divide foods into good/bad, healthy/unhealthy, clean/unclean. All foods can be eaten in moderation, and no foods should be eaten in excess over time. Balance and variety is important for good nutrition and to avoid boredom. One of the greatest threats to weightloss endeavours is boredom
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    jhammer52 wrote: »
    I'm trying to be better about fats but when I eat good fats it still counts as fats, as far as daily totals to. Therefore, is there anyway to add only good fats. I know that sounds ridiculous but when I look at your numbers I'm always over your fats. Sure hope this makes sense.

    When it comes to weight loss, fats are fats... there are no good vs bad. And since MFP is first and foremost a weight loss tool, fats get lumped in together. Furthermore, this how how nutritional labels are setup (at least in the US), so it would be very difficult to get MFP to function any differently.

    What you can do is change what macros/nutrients you track in your diary. You can also use the reports tool and/or the app to see further breakdowns of the foods you are eating and the nutrients you are taking in.
  • jhammer52
    jhammer52 Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks everyone. I'll go back and look at my macros.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,109 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    If you want to lose weight, total calorie intake is your main concern.

    Fat in an essential nutrient. We need unsaturated and saturated fat. Man made trans fat is the only unhealthy fat, and it's being phased out.

    You can set your macros as you wish. If your food preferences are towards a diet higher in fat, set macros accordingly.

    Fat makes many foods taste better. Especially naturally occurring fat.

    A healthy diet is just part of a healthy lifestyle. A healthy relationship with food is also important. Do not divide foods into good/bad, healthy/unhealthy, clean/unclean. All foods can be eaten in moderation, and no foods should be eaten in excess over time. Balance and variety is important for good nutrition and to avoid boredom. One of the greatest threats to weightloss endeavours is boredom

    Do we actually need saturated fat? And if we "need" them, do we need to consume them, or can our bodies construct them? The EFAs are found in polyunsaturated fats.

    I'm not saying people shouldn't eat saturated fats or that they should try to restrict them because they're "bad"; I'm just not sure we need to consume saturated fat specifically, since they're not essential nutrients. Personally, I don't worry about eating too much saturated fat, separate from total calories consumed, but I do worry if I'm eating too little EFAs, which I haven't found any easy way to track, and even tracking polyunsaturated fats, as a rough proxy, isn't that easy, since not all food labels break them out. So I end up feeling like trying to keep my saturated fats down to a third or less of my overall fats is the best proxy I can come up with for feeling like I'm probably getting my EFAs.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    The MFP goals for nutrients are just that: goals. They aren't limits, they are an estimated number to aim for. Don't worry if you go over it.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    For a summary of the latest scientific consensus of our knowledge on this topic: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/types-of-fat/
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited October 2017
    This content has been removed.
  • ugofatcat
    ugofatcat Posts: 385 Member
    You could go to https://cronometer.com/. It calculates mono and polyunsaturated fats, including omega 3 and omega 6.

    While how much fat you are eating is important for weight loss, the good fats, the poly and mono's, have been shown to help lower risk of heart disease.
    Source: http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/090313p14.shtml
This discussion has been closed.

Categories