The CalorieKing Fat Guide

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Figuring fat into your diet

It’s all very well to understand the dos and don’ts of fat consumption, but when it comes to actually implementing good “fat” practices in your diet, the numbers and percentages and grams can get kind of confusing. But it doesn’t have to be difficult – just follow these steps:

• The first rule is “moderate, don’t eliminate.” Some fat is essential to your diet, so don’t cut it out completely.
  
  
• Work out exactly how much fat you should be getting by using the table above. For example, if your daily calorie intake is 1800 calories, 360-540 of those calories (20-30 percent) should be from fat. This equates to 40-60 grams of fat.
  
  
• Before you eat something, read the nutritional label, or consult your Pocket Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate Counter to see how many grams of fat are in that food. Deduct those grams from your recommended daily intake. For example, if you are on 1800 calories a day and you eat a tub of strawberry yoghurt (6g fat) then you can eat another 34-54 grams of fat during the rest of the day.
  
  
• One food can contain a variety of fats, so watching your fat intake means being aware of both the amount and the types of fat in what you eat. Get to know which foods have which fats, and make an effort to include more sources of omega-3 and less sources of saturated fat in your diet. Although trans fats may not yet be listed on all food labels, be aware that they are contained in most baked goods and fried foods.
  
  
• Don’t forget to account for portion size when counting calories and fat grams!

Remember that 20-30 percent of calories from fat doesn’t equate to 20-30 percent in each individual food that you eat, but rather to your overall diet. Our normal diet is made up of foods that are either well above or below 30 percent.

Also remember that food doesn’t have to look or taste greasy to contain a lot of fat. It can be difficult to detect fat in some foods because the taste of fat is often hidden by other flavours and textures. For example, ice cream, mayonnaise, cheese, muesli bars, chocolate, and cake all have a high fat content, but the taste and feel of that fat is not as detectable as in a greasy burger or chips. Thus, a large amount of fat from these foods can be unwittingly consumed - and with it, excessive calories.

Related articles :

• 6 Slimming Tips For A Healthy Heart
• Big Fat Hints for Low-Fat Eating
• Good Fats, Bad Fats: Get with the (blood) flow

Last updated: March 7th, 2007