So, I count calories pretty carefully. In fact, there are days when I know I go WAY too low, and I try to keep an eye on that, but I've noticed from my FatSecret food diary that I eat a TON of fat, even if I'm under my calorie limit. For instance, I had a salad for lunch with just romaine and a teeny bit of cheese, so I splurged and used the whole organic Caesar dressing packet. And I enjoyed my salad. Between what's on the packet and what I estimated for the lettuce and cheese, I'm getting that my lunch only had 217 calories, but almost 20 grams of fat! There are only 3g of saturated fat in the dressing and no trans fat, so it doesn't seem to be the "bad" kind, but I'm wondering if this is at all healthy. It seems like 20g is a lot for one meal. Opinions?

That sounds like a whole lot of fat for one meal.

From what I've read, the ideal balance is between 20%-35% of calories from fat (of that, less than 10% should come from saturated fat). Based on a 1400 calories day I aim for about 25% fat which converts to 39g (or a max of 4g saturated fats)

Based on a 1400 calorie budget, fat converts as follows:
25% of 1400 = 350 fat calories
There are 9 calories in one gram of fat
350 divided by 9 = 39 grams of fat

20 g fat is pretty high. Especially if it's nearly all coming from a packet of salad and a teeny bit of cheese. You could get more nutritional value from either some lean protein added...meat type...or a larger serving of a cheese that's lower in fat. Or even a serving of some low fat or fat free yogurt if you're not a meat eater. Just a thought.

Barb

Your daily intake means more than one meal. I follow an exchange plan, and it's not unusual for me to use all of my fat exchanges in one meal, but when they're gone, they're gone.

Usually I save most of my fat exchanges for dinner or split them between lunch and dinner so that I can have regular dressing on my salads. I'm not a big fan of most low-cal salad dressings, though I have a couple low-fat dressing recipes I like, so I can have a salad even if I've already used all of my fat exchanges.

Exactly right. For me, I eat lower fat overall because of the high content though some meals are higher fat than others. It is over a week and months time frame I try to keep my eye on.

That makes sense. I do tend to eat low fat dinners if I eat a lot of fat for lunch. I just want to make sure that in keeping a calorie deficit, I still get the nutrients I need in the right proportions.

You have to find what works for you. I can not lose weight on a low fat diet. For me fat is as important if not more important than protein. I do best at about 33-35% of calories from fat. Anything under 30 I start to get the nibbles, under 25% I get uncontrollably hungry.

That being said, I wouldnt find a lunch of lettuce, a bit of cheese and salad dressing particularly satiating. I would be more concerned that 217 calories really isnt enough for a lunch.

I'm going to have to agree on the calories thing. If I keep eating that, I'll probably add in a serving of lean grilled chicken, as I definitely need more protein regardless. Thanks so much, ladies!