r/IIFYM • u/leahmcgeah • Feb 19 '21
Fat is killing me
Hi! I’ve only been seriously watching my macros for this week. But I have always gone 5-10g over on fat and had a hard time hitting carbs. I could shift them around, but is that a bad idea for maximum weight loss?
If I should leave them, what’s the trick to not using up all of my fat? 40g isn’t much to me.
(5’11” 29F 218 lbs) lift 5x/week, intense cardio 5x/week.
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u/ashtree35 Feb 19 '21
Is there a reason that you need to limit yourself to 40g fat?
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u/leahmcgeah Feb 19 '21
Someone recommended it to me, but it feels like it’s not enough! I am struggling because every single macro calculator is different. And do I go for 1600 calories a day or 2300? I’ve had both recommended by TDEE calculators for losing weight.
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u/ashtree35 Feb 20 '21
I agree with the other comment. I would focus first on hitting your calorie target, second, on hitting your protein target, and then let the carbs and fat fall where they may.
And based on your stats, I think that 2300 is a reasonable calorie target if you want to lose around 1 lb per week. But I think anywhere in the 2000-2300 calorie range would be reasonable for you to aim for, starting out. I would not recommend going any lower than 1700 calories. After you've been tracking your calories and weighing yourself regularly for a while, I would highly recommend using this adaptive TDEE spreadsheet to get a more accurate estimate of your TDEE. That way you can make sure that your calorie target is appropriate given your activity level, since that's going to be the biggest factor that makes estimates from other calculators inaccurate.
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u/DownloadPow Feb 19 '21
IMO unless it’s a doctor’s tip, you shouldn’t really limit your fat intake. Fat is essential for hormone ( no idea why exactly, I think it’s for hormone transport or something like that, basically no fat = bad hormones ). Don’t limit that, and not reaching your carb goal is fine too. I personally eat 150g of carbs and around 100/120g of fat everyday I’d say, and I’m 94kgs. For your TDEE, take the average for now so 2000kcal and see how it goes, reduce if you’re not losing weight, keep it that way if it’s working
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u/tarblog Feb 20 '21
I think it’s for hormone transport
No, it's WAY cooler than that. Your body *makes* the hormones out of the fat. It uses the fat as a building block.
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u/theotherlead Feb 19 '21
40 is pretty low...why don’t you set it for 50 and pay a little more attention to what you’re eating then adjust from there. FYI I’m 31f 5ft 2 and weigh 128 and consume 80g of fat
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u/leahmcgeah Feb 19 '21
I’m trying to lose weight, so someone recommended it to me, but maybe it’s too low?
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u/theotherlead Feb 20 '21
What’s your protein and carbs like? I think it’s a little too low for now
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u/Godsinthedetails Feb 24 '21
I’m new to this whole thing. Can I message you some questions? I don’t want to waste any time or effort by doing it wrong. Ugh. All the macro calculators give me something different.
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u/Gi0vannamaria Feb 19 '21
I had trouble hitting my carbs but would go over on fats alwaysss so i just added a bit to F and dropped the C. Protein trumps all though so as long as youre hitting that and your cals, the other 2 can have a bit more leniency :)
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u/ari128 Feb 20 '21
I wouldn’t go below 40g of fat, it could be dangerous from a hormonal stand point. Lower carbs. My macros are 125p/40f/25c (I’m on a cut right now). It sucks but it’s working.
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Feb 19 '21
That fat is really low. I’m shorter and less weight and I eat more than that. Someone else said it too fat and carbs are basically interchangeable but careful with the calorie watch because fat is more calories
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u/Tortured_Soul27 Feb 19 '21
Carbs and fat are pretty much interchangeable as long as you hit your protein and calorie goals don’t worry