How much fat should I eat each day?

There's a big misconception in the nutrition world that eating dietary fat makes you fat. Because of this widely held belief, a lot of people try and stay away from fat in an attempt to lose weight or improve overall health.

Fats | How To's | Articles | FAQs | Free Diets | Forums | Guides | Top 5 | Tools

Types of Fats

There are three types of fats; saturated, unsaturated and trans fats. Saturated fats are found in meat products, unsaturated fats are found in vegetable products and trans fats are found in a variety of processed foods. You should limit your fat intake to 30% of your daily caloric intake (see below for example).

Saturated Fats

Saturated fats are found mainly in animal products. These are known as the bad fats. These fats raise your bad cholesterol levels which can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Sources of saturated fats include meat, dairy and eggs. It is recommended that your intake of saturated fats be about 10% of your overall daily calorie intake (see below for example).

Unsaturated Fats

Unsaturated fats are found mainly in vegetable products. These are known as the good fats and can help lower your risk for cardiovascular disease. Sources of unsaturated fats include vegetable oils (particularly olive and canola), nuts, seafood and some fruits and vegetables. It is recommended that your intake of unsaturated fats be about 20% of your overall daily calorie intake (see below for example).

Trans Fats

Trans fats are man made and were designed to improve flavor and shelf live. A trans fat is made by taking an unsaturated fat and making it act more like a saturated fat. Sources include baked goods, non-natural peanut butter, margarine and vegetable shortening. If you see hydrogenated vegetable oil listed on the nutrition label, the food contains trans fats. The process makes foods taste better and last longer however the health implications can be serious. Trans fats lower levels of good cholesterol while increasing levels of the bad ones. Trans fats increase your risk for cardiovascular disease. It is recommended that you eat trans fats very sparingly.

Example

30% of your total calories should come from fat:

• 2,000 calories * 30% = 600 calories from fat (600 calories of fat equals about 67 grams since fat contains 9 calories per gram - 600 / 9 = 66.667)

Out of those 2,000 calories, 20% should come from unsaturated fat and 10% should from from saturated sources:

• unsaturated fat: 2,000 * 20% = 400 calories of unsaturated fat or 44 grams
• saturated fat: 2,000 * 10% = 200 calories of saturated fat or 22 grams

For a personalized recommendation, get a free diet at http://shtrainer.com.

Eating Fat Doesn't Make You Fat

Excess calories combined with a lack of physical activity makes you fat. Eating too many carbs or too much protein will have the same effect that eating too much fat has. At the end of the day, if you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. It doesn't matter whether those extra calories come from carbs, proteins or fats, the result will be the same.

Losing Weight

If you are trying to lose weight, avoid simply cutting all fats out of your diet. Losing weight requires that you: 1) figure out how many calories you burn each day (calories calculator) 2) figure out how many calories you eat each day (count calories) 3) create a calorie deficit, eat less calories (by about 500 calories each day) than you burn. Calories should be cut across the board rather than just focusing on one of the macronutrients (i.e. low carb diets & low fat diets).

The End

Good fats can have positive health effects. By limiting all fats in your diet, you are missing out on some key health benefits. A more sensible weight loss plan can be created by cutting out only bad calories and increasing your physical activity level.