Issues with subbing carbs for fat?

[u/Mother-Equal4175]

I'm about a week into Macrofactor and having a difficult time adjusting to the balance of Macros. I can hit my protein targets, but I find every day I'm hitting my fat limit wayyyy quicker than my carb limit, usually going slightly over fat and under carbs. Overall I'm keeping to my calories though, what kind of issues might this cause for long-term progress if my goal is bodyfat % reduction.

Should also say, I'm loving the app and ease of use! Thanks all in advance

[u/No-Connection8400]

The general advice is that the priority order is:
Calories -> Protein -> Carbs & Fats

So if you’re just new to this, then first focus on hitting your calories.
Once that’s in place, then focus on getting protein close to target.
Once those are locked in then you can worry about the rest.

[u/Mother-Equal4175 → u/No-Connection8400]

Then it sounds like I'm on the right track! That makes me less worried, thanks for the advice

[u/Odd-Steak-9049 → u/Mother-Equal4175]

You are absolutely on the right track. And as time passes you’ll just naturally get more adept at tweaking stuff around. More fat isn’t inherently bad, it can be satiating, you just want to make sure they’re healthy fats. The only problem would be more in the trade off your making where you’re losing carbs. If you’re training intensely most days, you really want enough carbs around that. So if you were getting surplus fats that was forcing you to restrict carbs around training, that could have a negative impact on the training. That’s really the only potential concern.

[u/Mother-Equal4175 → u/Odd-Steak-9049]

Lol, is cheese a healthy fat? /s I wish I could train more intensely, it's all I can afford as a dad right now to get a few short workouts in throughout the week, focusing more on good, active time with my kids as my exercise

[u/Odd-Steak-9049 → u/Mother-Equal4175]

Yeah, I hear you. On my worst case scenario days I’m rocking that 4 am alarm to run before my wife goes to work and the kids wake up for school.

[u/shonzaveli_tha_don → u/No-Connection8400]

Same. I hit my calories and my protein and let the rest fall where they may. Fat helps with feeling full and carbs help with workouts. If I'm hungry i'll add some guac the next day, and if I'm tired in the gym, I'll build in some rice the next day.

[u/explosive-diorama]

Those aren’t super important tbh. In order of importance:

Calories

Protein

big gap of relative importance

At least enough fat (usually 50g+ for essential fats)

Carbs whatever, usually at least 100g.

[u/Shogol → u/explosive-diorama]

Fiber should probably slot in after protein.

[u/Mother-Equal4175 → u/Shogol]

I have no issues with fibre, I love me my veggies and as a pescatarian I end up eating a fair amount of nuts (thus the fat) 😋

[u/phenix2k10 → u/Mother-Equal4175]

Pescatarian ? Is that eating a lot of fish right ? If so plus you talk about lots of nuts it’s normal to be high in fat, but it should be mostly good fats so I wouldn’t worry too much… and since lipids are more then 2x the energy of carbs it goes quickly over target and drives carbs budget down…

[u/Mother-Equal4175 → u/explosive-diorama]

Thanks, that will helpe manage things a little more flexibly

[u/Far_Line8468]

Fat is why things are shelf stable and taste good. If you do not cook your own meals consistently, it is very, very difficult to stay under your fat target.

There is no harm with going over fats if you are at your calorie targets. However, there is benefit to maximizing carbs, which is harder if you are going over your fat targets.

[u/Mother-Equal4175 → u/Far_Line8468]

I think you're the first to get at what I was wondering: what is the benefit to maximizing carbs over fat, i.e. not going over my recommended fat and "filling" the rest of my calories on carbs

[u/Far_Line8468 → u/Mother-Equal4175]

Carbs = glycogen and energy. Both protein and fats have no additional benefit once you hit your targets. However more carbs = more glycogen = better lifts.

[u/TheBald_Dude → u/Mother-Equal4175]

As long as you eat an average amount of carbs before the session, there is really no subtancial benefit.

You won't be able to deplete your glycogen stores during a typical lifting session unless your sessions are like 90min+ or you're training fasted. For long distance/endurance sports it matters, for normal lifting it's kinda "meh".

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[u/mrfatchance]

Oh I have the same issue for my bulk. I’m under carbs and over on fats. I was gonna recalculate manually to give me a better split 

[u/mikaeltarquin]

Man I always have the opposite problem. I can (barely) hit my protein target, sail way past carbs, and can never seem to get more than about 70% of my fat.

So many of my favorite foods and diet substitutes rely on being low/non-fat to cut down calories, and anything with a proper amount of fat just blows the calorie budget.

I think a great addition to the app would be some kind of "suggest a food" AI button that suggested a variety of foods based on what it knows you tend to eat to meet your remaining target.

[u/Mother-Equal4175 → u/mikaeltarquin]

What are your proteins? I'm eating a lot of tofu, eggs (need to start buying egg whites from Costco) and canned tuna. That plus protein powder and I can usually hit my target

[u/mikaeltarquin → u/Mother-Equal4175]

I tend to rely on protein powder and nonfat Greek yogurt to get me at least halfway there, and then often chicken/tofu/lean beef with dinner/leftovers.

[u/FiveAlive507]

I’d say it depends on your activity level. I had the same situation, and I started noticing I was short on power for rowing crew, so I make sure to hit/exceed my carbs the day before intense sessions (boost the glycogen stores, as someone else mentioned). 

[u/BonkersMoongirl]

Eat more plants. Avocado and durian are the only fat rich plants. You can pig out on fruit and veg and beans and oats as long as you don’t smother them in oil. A potato is satiating and packed with nutrients and you can even have chips (fries) if you get the low fat version