Daily Fat Intake

cbiggs1861
cbiggs1861 Posts: 9 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Is anyone surprised by how little it truly takes to hit your fat "limit" each day? I started tracking on Monday and every day I have gone over on my fat intake. Not by much, but I do. I can try posting a screen shot of a sample daily log here but wow! I am not a huge fan of "low-fat" food options and much prefer full fat cheese, yogurt, etc. because it tastes better and is "healthier" overall (in my eyes anyway).

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,932 Member
    Yeah, there are trade-offs. I am always nearly double my fats every day. I eat fewer carbs to balance it out and I did switch to nonfat Greek yogurt and 1% milk. Still full fat cheese! Not changing that. Some things are non-negotiable. I do stay under my Saturated fats every day, but I have a couple portions of nuts and oil (like EVOO or walnut oil or a tiny bit of butter) every day.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,935 Member
    edited June 2022
    No. Fats are the nutrient I'm most likely to under-eat, if I don't pay attention.

    However, from reading here, I think that's uncommon - your pattern more common. I prefer nonfat Greek yogurt and nonfat milk (taste preference), but eat a fair amount of full-fat cheese, nuts or nut butter and seeds daily, and that sort of thing. I'm heavy on veggies/fruits, by taste and satiation preferences, get enough protein because I think it's important (and find it sating). Fats, meh. Not filling, not all that tasty . . . but I hit a targeted minimum or suffer digestive throughput problems.

    There's a fair bit of individualism in preference patterns, IMO.

    ETA: I don't think it's a "limit", though MFP likes to treat things as good/bad binaries. I think of fat and protein goals as minimums (after selecting my own tailored targets), carbs as a balancer. I think it's fine, from a nutrition standpoint, to be over minimums on fats/protein, as long as no other essential nutrient is shortchanged within appropriate calories as a result, and as long as there are no health conditions that require limiting protein/fat intake.
  • siberiantarragon
    siberiantarragon Posts: 265 Member
    edited June 2022
    Yeah I have the same problem. I have to make a conscious effort to eat lower fat and even then I'm usually over. Especially if I go out to eat anywhere. I don't think it's a huge deal though. I found some research article from 1992 claiming that eating too much fat is bad for you but I know now experts say the "fat=bad" thing of the 90s worsened the obesity epidemic so, I think that article is probably outdated.

    Also if low-fat yogurt etc. costs the same as full-fat yogurt then it makes more sense to buy the full-fat yogurt because you get more calories for the same price. And low- or non-fat dairy has much less vitamin K2 than full-fat.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
    Yes. I’ve been doing this for ages, and I’m always over on fat and saturated fat. But by keeping track, I’m less over than I would be if I didn’t track. I’m usually ok on protein, but occasionally I’m under, and I’m almost always a bottomless pit the next day, so I watch protein pretty closely, too.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    cbiggs1861 wrote: »
    Is anyone surprised by how little it truly takes to hit your fat "limit" each day? I started tracking on Monday and every day I have gone over on my fat intake. Not by much, but I do. I can try posting a screen shot of a sample daily log here but wow! I am not a huge fan of "low-fat" food options and much prefer full fat cheese, yogurt, etc. because it tastes better and is "healthier" overall (in my eyes anyway).

    There's nothing inherently wrong with going over on fat. MFP's default macros are just a default...there isn't anything magical about them. The biggest trade off with dietary fat is that dietary fat has more than double the calorie density of carbohydrates and protein per gram...so calories add up a lot faster. If fat keeps you satisfied and you find it filling, not really a big deal. If you're like me and can eat an entire block of cheese in a go and still want more, it can be an issue.

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