Question for the health nuts out there, but first some context…

I've been following a nutrition plan paired with exercise for the last 2 months that has me losing about 2 pounds/week. I always ensure I'm at a calorie deficit and my exercise routine is 80% cardio, 20% strength/resistance.

Regarding macros, I almost always hit my protein levels and am consistently under my carb limit every day, but 90% of the time I go over on my Fat. On average, I'm at 20% protein, 30% carbs, and 40% fat. My plan tells me I should be at 64g of fat daily, but I average 84.

So the question is, is consistently going over fat negatively impacting my body composition? Clearly I'm still losing weight, but how much of a disservice am I doing to myself by consistently exceeding my fat "allowance"? Thx

Are you hitting your calorie goal, or are you over? If you're over on calories, you aren't in as much of a deficit as you think you are. Eventually you will plateau (how long that takes would depend on the magnitude of the calorie deficit).

Remember, one gram of carbs is 4 calories (as is one gram of protein), but one gram of fat is 9 calories. So for every g of carbs you swap for a g of fat, you're getting 2x the calories.

If you are in a deficit and losing weight, you probably aren't building a whole lot of muscle. Muscle building is hard and takes a lot of time even when doing it intentionally. It's even more difficult to build muscle when eating in a calorie deficit.

I also don't know what you consider cardio vs resistance training, but that's probably not enough resistance training to build up a lot of muscle, if that's your goal.

If you were trying to really get lean/shredded, the difference might matter because the body retains more water when you eat carbs. But that doesn't sound like the case here.

In maintenance mode, I swap carbs and fat all the time (just staying within my calorie limit). If you're trying to lose fat, all that matters is the calorie deficit. I'm already pretty low body fat percentage, so if I want to move that needle without compromising my muscle gains, I have to be a bit stricter with my macros.

Something else that might help you is to look at your goal for the week, instead of focusing on the numbers each day. This gives you some flexibility to fluctuate on any given day, as long as you hit your target for the week.

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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So the question is, is consistently going over fat negatively impacting my body composition? Clearly I'm still losing weight, but how much of a disservice am I doing to myself by consistently exceeding my fat "allowance"? Thx

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The answer really is "it depends"

As TX noted, if your calorie intake per day is lower than your calorie expenditure, you'll lose weight, but not necessarily fat.

But if you want to preserve muscle as much as you can while losing weight (and I'm assuming you're not on TRT or any other enhancements), you must:
- Take in a certain amount of protein per day
- Stimulate your muscles enough that the body understands that you still desire to keep them, and to not break down muscle tissue for energy use

So this is where the "1 gram/pound of ideal body weight' figure comes from regarding protein intake. The range is really somewhere between 0.7g/lb and 1.2 g/lb. Which is way more than the 0.3 g/lb that is the official govt recommended amount.

So then, does higher intake of fat lead to worse body composition than lower fat amounts?
- If your calorie intake is less than expenditure, and your protein goal is achieved and you are stimulating muscle appropriately, then you should still get to the body composition goal you're looking for. But it's really hard to maintain higher fat amounts in the overall calorie budget when you get to lower weight.

Personally, I just start with my daily protein goal, and fit everything else around it. I like higher carbs because it's great fuel for workouts- particularly resistance training, because carbs actually do have a small but noticeable direct anabolic and anti-catabolic effect. In other words, carbs can very much be muscle-sparing when used appropriately

Thanks for the response

I average an intake of 1,650 calories a day and am over 6 feet, so definitely always hitting my calorie goal and am in a calorie deficit even if my fat goes over. I use an app to track my food intake religiously and overestimate my calories if anything.

Sounds like I do need to put more weight behind strength/resistance training. My cardio is a combination of peloton bike/jogging plus a daily 3 mile walk.

So sounds like going over on fat consistently isn't a huge deal, as long as I remain in the calorie deficit…

True Anomaly said:

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Ghost of Bisbee said:

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So the question is, is consistently going over fat negatively impacting my body composition? Clearly I'm still losing weight, but how much of a disservice am I doing to myself by consistently exceeding my fat "allowance"? Thx

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The answer really is "it depends"

As TX noted, if your calorie intake per day is lower than your calorie expenditure, you'll lose weight, but not necessarily fat.

But if you want to preserve muscle as much as you can while losing weight (and I'm assuming you're not on TRT or any other enhancements), you must:
- Take in a certain amount of protein per day
- Stimulate your muscles enough that the body understands that you still desire to keep them, and to not break down muscle tissue for energy use

So this is where the "1 gram/pound of ideal body weight' figure comes from regarding protein intake. The range is really somewhere between 0.7g/lb and 1.2 g/lb. Which is way more than the 0.3 g/lb that is the official govt recommended amount.

So then, does higher intake of fat lead to worse body composition than lower fat amounts?
- If your calorie intake is less than expenditure, and your protein goal is achieved and you are stimulating muscle appropriately, then you should still get to the body composition goal you're looking for. But it's really hard to maintain higher fat amounts in the overall calorie budget when you get to lower weight.

Personally, I just start with my daily protein goal, and fit everything else around it. I like higher carbs because it's great fuel for workouts- particularly resistance training, because carbs actually do have a small but noticeable direct anabolic and anti-catabolic effect. In other words, carbs can very much be muscle-sparing when used appropriately

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My plan has my daily protein minimum at 99g, closer to .5g/lb. Should that be a concern? Not looking to be a body builder, but to get toned and get my weight back down

True Anomaly said:

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Personally, I just start with my daily protein goal, and fit everything else around it.

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This is what I started doing and it has made everything so much easier. Depending on my workouts, I aim for .8-1g of protein for pound of body weight I am currently at or goal weight (whether trying to gain or lose weight, adjusted accordingly).

Agree with TX- I also tend to favor more leaner sources of protein. I do like a nice fatty steak though, and I am a HUGE fan of chicken thighs despite their slightly increased fat compared to chicken breast. Worth the trade off to me!

Let's crunch some numbers:
Take your protein intake for the day- we'll approximate it to 100 grams. If you're at 0.5 g/lb, then that's assuming you're currently 200# in weight? I would be willing to bet that you're probably not very lean at 200#, which would make your actual protein intake higher than 0.5 g/lb currently. Maybe you're actually closer to 0.7 g/lb, which would put your lean body weight at 140# (I'm defining leanness as something like 10-15% body fat).

But let's say you still want to increase your protein intake- so you decide that you need an additional 20-30 grams of protein per day. That equates to around 80-120 additional calories per day. If you want to maintain your rate of weight loss at your current intake of 1650 per day, you'll need to subtract fats or carbs or a combination of the two to factor in the added protein in order to maintain your 2 lb/week of weight loss.

But I will tell you that once you start to get pretty lean, it's VERY HARD to still lose at 2 lb/week and maintain your sanity. That's why professional bodybuilders really rely on drugs to help make it easier for them to lose crazy amounts of weight, stay lean and still perform in the gym.

Which is why slowing down the rate of weight loss for the vast majority of us "regular folks" is more helpful and easier to maintain. Even if you lose 0.5-1 pound per week- that's still fat loss!!

Bottom line, to answer your question- if you feel good, can perform well with your physical activity, and are happy with how you look- then the protein number crunching probably isn't gonna get you any huge additional benefit

CC09LawAg said:

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True Anomaly said:

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Personally, I just start with my daily protein goal, and fit everything else around it.

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This is what I started doing and it has made everything so much easier. Depending on my workouts, I aim for .8-1g of protein for pound of body weight I am currently at or goal weight (whether trying to gain or lose weight, adjusted accordingly).

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Love it! It's made things so much easier for me too, and I'm well over two years into it

1650 and 6"+ is probably a pretty big calorie deficit for the long term. I can eat that much and maintain or even lose some weight. If I'm trying to lose weight, I still maintain about the same protein goal, but cut back on fats and/or carbs.

If you lose some fat and maintain and start building muscle (through resistance training), you will get some calories back (muscle requires more calories to maintain). This is where high protein comes in - focusing on that and watching your total caloric intake helps you maintain even when you are not actively/strictly tracking macros (and even calories).

Now that I've been doing this a while, I know what 150-160 g of protein every day looks like. I shared in another thread that I have not been strict about tracking for much of this year. I have indulged/overindulged more times than I intended. But I did consistently try to hit my protein goal every day (I just ate/drank more calories total).

I was really feeling down on myself because the scale was up a few lbs, but when I did a scan, my muscle mass had increased. I also gained some fat, but the focus on protein combined with my consistent resistance training kept it ALL from being fat. I sort of did a mini "bulk" without even really trying. I'm now trying to get rid of a little fat without losing muscle (and it's much harder/slower going this time around because I'm so close to my goal).

It really is a lifestyle change, but it makes long-term success much more attainable.

True Anomaly said:

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Agree with TX- I also tend to favor more leaner sources of protein. I do like a nice fatty steak though, and I am a HUGE fan of chicken thighs despite their slightly increased fat compared to chicken breast. Worth the trade off to me!

Let's crunch some numbers:
Take your protein intake for the day- we'll approximate it to 100 grams. If you're at 0.5 g/lb, then that's assuming you're currently 200# in weight? I would be willing to bet that you're probably not very lean at 200#, which would make your actual protein intake higher than 0.5 g/lb currently. Maybe you're actually closer to 0.7 g/lb, which would put your lean body weight at 140# (I'm defining leanness as something like 10-15% body fat).

But let's say you still want to increase your protein intake- so you decide that you need an additional 20-30 grams of protein per day. That equates to around 80-120 additional calories per day. If you want to maintain your rate of weight loss at your current intake of 1650 per day, you'll need to subtract fats or carbs or a combination of the two to factor in the added protein in order to maintain your 2 lb/week of weight loss.

But I will tell you that once you start to get pretty lean, it's VERY HARD to still lose at 2 lb/week and maintain your sanity. That's why professional bodybuilders really rely on drugs to help make it easier for them to lose crazy amounts of weight, stay lean and still perform in the gym.

Which is why slowing down the rate of weight loss for the vast majority of us "regular folks" is more helpful and easier to maintain. Even if you lose 0.5-1 pound per week- that's still fat loss!!

Bottom line, to answer your question- if you feel good, can perform well with your physical activity, and are happy with how you look- then the protein number crunching probably isn't gonna get you any huge additional benefit

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My lean body mass currently is between 68-73%, 145-155 lbs (body fat % between 32-27%) and that's after losing 18 pounds over the last 2 months lol, so I definitely still have weight to shred.
So the ideal body fat % is between 10-15%?

What I want to to do is shred the fat and then slowly add more protein to my diet.

Can't remember who asked about where a lot of my fat intake is coming from, but it's legumes/chocolate covered almonds. They are my vice!

I need to cook more chicken/fish and drink more protein shakes if I want to boost protein beyond my 99g daily intake. Just seems I don't really need to do that until I get closer to 10-15% body fat. No?

I used to think the same way and I was always frustrated with yo-yo weight and inconsistent results.

What changed everything for me was lifting weights with a focus on progressive overload and protein intake. I weigh around 220-230 and by the time I eat 200g of protein every day, I'm not too hungry for much, other than some carbs for energy.

May not be one size fits all, but I really believe you have to abandon the idea of the number on the scale and embrace the idea of a mindset shift and a lifestyle change.

I've only lost 20 pounds but my physique is a complete 180 in a year and a half.

ETA: Was trying to type fast. TLDR; don't "wait" to adjust your protein and your diet and overcomplicate it. Do it now. The sooner you figure out a way to make it work for you and your lifestyle, the better! It takes some trial and error to find what meals/snacks are easy for you to fit into your routine and are sustainable.

Agree with this completely. If you want to commit to high protein, do it sooner rather than later.

I haven't completely abandoned the number on the scale, but I look at it differently now. Being my lightest weight doesn't mean being my healthiest or strongest weight.

Jan will be 3 years for me, and while a few things about my diet have stayed the same, I have adjusted/adapted a lot in that time (and probably will continue to tweak). I also find that my level of commitment to my current eating plan translates to my level of commitment to my workouts. It's good to make that connection.

There's no better time than the present, but just know it will probably always be a work in progress. As it should be, so that you don't lose motivation or get bored.

Same thoughts apply to workouts. I still meet with a trainer once a week because she pushes me in ways that I wouldn't push myself. I like routine, and while consistency is key, you do have to keep pushing your upper limits, and that's what she helps me with.

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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True Anomaly said:

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Agree with TX- I also tend to favor more leaner sources of protein. I do like a nice fatty steak though, and I am a HUGE fan of chicken thighs despite their slightly increased fat compared to chicken breast. Worth the trade off to me!

Let's crunch some numbers:
Take your protein intake for the day- we'll approximate it to 100 grams. If you're at 0.5 g/lb, then that's assuming you're currently 200# in weight? I would be willing to bet that you're probably not very lean at 200#, which would make your actual protein intake higher than 0.5 g/lb currently. Maybe you're actually closer to 0.7 g/lb, which would put your lean body weight at 140# (I'm defining leanness as something like 10-15% body fat).

But let's say you still want to increase your protein intake- so you decide that you need an additional 20-30 grams of protein per day. That equates to around 80-120 additional calories per day. If you want to maintain your rate of weight loss at your current intake of 1650 per day, you'll need to subtract fats or carbs or a combination of the two to factor in the added protein in order to maintain your 2 lb/week of weight loss.

But I will tell you that once you start to get pretty lean, it's VERY HARD to still lose at 2 lb/week and maintain your sanity. That's why professional bodybuilders really rely on drugs to help make it easier for them to lose crazy amounts of weight, stay lean and still perform in the gym.

Which is why slowing down the rate of weight loss for the vast majority of us "regular folks" is more helpful and easier to maintain. Even if you lose 0.5-1 pound per week- that's still fat loss!!

Bottom line, to answer your question- if you feel good, can perform well with your physical activity, and are happy with how you look- then the protein number crunching probably isn't gonna get you any huge additional benefit

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My lean body mass currently is between 68-73%, 145-155 lbs (body fat % between 32-27%) and that's after losing 18 pounds over the last 2 months lol, so I definitely still have weight to shred.
So the ideal body fat % is between 10-15%?

What I want to to do is shred the fat and then slowly add more protein to my diet.

Can't remember who asked about where a lot of my fat intake is coming from, but it's legumes/chocolate covered almonds. They are my vice!

I need to cook more chicken/fish and drink more protein shakes if I want to boost protein beyond my 99g daily intake. Just seems I don't really need to do that until I get closer to 10-15% body fat. No?

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I should probably clarify; 10-15% is typically seen as lean enough to be able to make proper calculations for protein requirements. 15% is probably where you have the greatest overall health and longevity benefits- it's lean enough to cause less metabolic stress on your body, but has enough fat stores to help promote overall hormonal wellness and other energy needs

I'm not saying you wont be healthy and happy unless you get to 10-15%. It's a very lean state, and is difficult to maintain for a prolonged period of time. If you get down around 25%, you'll feel a ton better and it will be noticeable. Then you can decide then if you wish to continue downward, or if you're happy at that weight. You'll know you'll hit your goal when you feel good, and you feel good about how you look. I will tell you though that the leaner you get, the more precise you have to be with your diet and fitness to stay at that level of body fat.

I would keep your protein intake high while in a calorie deficit because of what I said in an earlier post- if your protein intake is high, then your body has extra building blocks to preserve muscle mass (along with every other thing in your body). That protein intake will allow your body to continue to utilize excess fat stores for energy. You will still lose some muscle mass in a calorie deficit, but you minimize the muscle loss as much as possible by increasing your protein intake, and coupling that with resistance training.

To put it another way- if you have a low protein intake, then your body doesn't have enough building blocks to replace the muscle it has to burn to sustain overall energy expenditure.

You've lost a good amount of weight already, and that's incredible! Be proud of that too. And it's very likely your current protein intake is high enough to preserve the muscle you've developed, and will continue to develop as you do your resistance training- because yes, you CAN build a small amount of muscle in a calorie deficit because your fat stores are still high enough to use for excess energy. So keep going!

Thank you for all the advice, I appreciate it!

aznaggiegirl07 said:

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Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Thanks for the response

I average an intake of 1,650 calories a day and am over 6 feet, so definitely always hitting my calorie goal and am in a calorie deficit even if my fat goes over. I use an app to track my food intake religiously and overestimate my calories if anything.

Sounds like I do need to put more weight behind strength/resistance training. My cardio is a combination of peloton bike/jogging plus a daily 3 mile walk.

So sounds like going over on fat consistently isn't a huge deal, as long as I remain in the calorie deficit…

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That's a huge calorie deficit if you're working out too much

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I burn ~500 calories of active exercise/day on average

Let me make sure I am tracking….if I am morbidly obese I just need to focus on overall calorie deficit BUT it would be helpful to increase protein to set me up for long term results. Correct?

That's my position. Full disclosure - I've never been morbidly obese. But as far as losing weight and keeping it off, a "diet" is difficult to maintain in the long term, especially if it restricts certain foods.

If you focus on protein (and total calories), that limits how much else you can consume. It also gets you paying attention to not over-consuming fats and carbs at the same time. That's the beauty of being flexible - if you know in any given day you want to eat more carbs, you can cut back on fat (or vice versa) to stay within your calorie target.

This is a great thread with a lot of valuable information!

Thanks for the replies.

I've been tracking calories for a couple of months and I've seen good results. My diet has naturally migrated toward a higher mix % of protein. Good to validate I'm doing the right thing.

I'm starting to focus on the intensity of my workouts and traditional weight lifting.

my body finally changed after i switched over to varying intensity workouts combined with weights. I was a pretty exclusive steady state cardio person prior. And combine with really dialing in my ideal protein intake I started seeing changes.

How exactly are you dialing in your protein? Are you just using the .5 to 1 gram per pound of body weight rule?

Some additional info - I'm actually working with a nutritionist to help lose weight due a high fasting blood sugar. Started at 320, currently at 283. Right now my target has been to intake 2200 calories daily - 50% from carbs, 30% from fat and 20% from protein. Month to date the mix is 40% carbs, 20% fat and 40% protein and I stay around 2100 calories daily. I also walk or ride the Peloton daily for at least 30 min.

Like I said, I've lost weight but my body looks pretty much the same, just a littler smaller proportionally. I'm adding weight lifting in hopes of changing my body composition as I lose weight. I'm also keeping up with the 30 min of cardio daily but focusing on getting my heart up to zone 4 for 4 minutes total over the course of the cardio workout.

That 50/30/20 split seems way too low - the 40/20/40 is much better.

When you start lifting, check out the weightlifting thread. There are plenty of us that started from scratch on that thread that can give you some advice on good programs for beginners depending on what your goals are.

Congrats!! Amazing feeling when others start really taking notice and asking you for advice

Yes I am. I'm focused on building muscle
And not necessarily burning calories with cardio Blows my mind how changes can happen I was basically just burning my muscles bc I did so much cardio. Focus on .75-1gram of protein per ideal weight pound

Congrats!! Paying off. Stick with the new lifestyle

I want to add something that doesn't get talked about enough, and that's the importance of a healthy gut microbiome. There's some very recent research which suggests that a healthy gut microbiome and how efficiently you lose weight is strongly related. Makes sense why some people can eat everything and not gain a pound! So be sure to look after your gut health. You can do this by taking a high quality weight loss probiotic. (Just make sure it contains only the research-backed ingredients) - Fermented foods are good too such as kimchi, tempeh, kombucha etc. This article https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-body/news/betterme-review-this-holistic-wellness-approach-can-change-your-life/ has couple of great insights about the weight loss as well.

Have lost just over 11% of my body weight over the few months (about 2 pounds per week on average) and have been at the same weight for the last week. My body fat estimate is now 17.6% (I decided to take my neck and waist measurements this time, was previously just going off weight in the body fat calculators)

I'm at one of those weight loss plateaus clearly. How long do these last in your experience?

The nutrition plan I'm on adjusts my caloric intake in sync with my weight loss, and I am getting in at least either ~315 calories of cardio most days OR ~315 calories of cardio plus 150 calories of strength training 4-5 days of the week.

I am not overconsuming, and I don't think I'm underconsuming based on the app I'm using to help me track.

Tips/thoughts? One article I read said weight loss plateaus can last from 8-12 weeks as your body adjusts to a new setpoint.
Could also be because I've balanced more evenly towards resistance training from cardio, but only seeing minor changes in body comp since then (more for back/upper body/shoulders/triceps).

All tips/thoughts appreciated. Thank you

If you are losing 2 pounds a week consistently and went one week without losing anything, I would not stress about it. Any number of factors could be influencing that.

Now, if you stall for a month, it may be time to reassess things.

I know this doesn't answer your question and don't take this the wrong way, but why does it matter?

I used to focus on the # on the scale. Now, it's pretty insignificant to me outside of me making sure I stay within a 10 pound range. If you're lifting and making strength gains, doing cardio, and your clothes are fitting better, what purpose does the # on the scale serve?