Alright, so I was wondering about how many grams of fat you try for a day? Obviously, less is good, but I think I went too high today. Even though I got to 1,878 calories which is perfect for me I was at 42 grams of fat. When I looked back I found what really got me. Those South Beach Pizzas have 12 grams of FAT!!! The past week I've been at a good 26 grams of fat per day which I think is pretty good.

Isn't it that you're not supposed to go over 32 grams? Is this going to hurt me for the rest of the week? I feel like I screwed myself over, but I know I didn't. I don't think I'll be buying those pizzas again. I just bought them for the occassion that I really want pizza and I did today. I was at the hospital with my pregnant friend ALL day so I came home and was hungry and wanted PIZZA.

So what do you shoot for?

I don't count my fat/carbs, though I am 'aware' of them. If it's just a one-time splurge, then why not splurge, ya know? Even if you went a bit over a few days a week, if your calories are on target and you're moving.. I think you will be okay. You need to make changes that you can live with, which is why I don't hold myself to numbers. Just my 2 cents!

My Monday-Friday plan (I eat the same meals and snacks every day for a week then change it) is 1500-1575 calories and typically 30% fat, which means about 50 grams of fat per day. You need fat. Eat fat. Just get it from good sources.

Unless my math-fu is off, that's about 20% fat, which is perfectly reasonable. I don't see anything wrong with 30-40% fat personally.

I personally set 40g of fat/day to be my "do not pass" limit, and usually end up with 20 - 30g on a 1500 calories/week diet. I try to keep around 20% of calories from fat.

US dietary guidelines typically frame recommendations in terms of the percent of calories that come from fat and recommend generally that 20-30% of calories come from fat.

Each gram of fat has 9 calories, so if you are eating, say, 1500 calories, that would be roughly 33-50 grams of fat per day.

They also recommend you limit your intake of SATURATED fats to less than 10% of all your calories.

thanks guys for the help! It is much appreciated. It makes since because on the days my fat percentage was lower, I was eating mostly salads and fruits and Fat Free stuff. I'm glad eating pizza that is in my calorie range won't throw me off. It was really nice to have on hand...although the sodium is pretty high so I probably wouldn't do that too often.

Most of my fats come from soy milk, oatmeal (minimal), beans and things like that, and sometimes lowfat dressings, but I usually try to use no dressing or FF dressings.

Anyways.....a LOT of help here. Good stuff to know. I guess it makes since that it would be based on your calorie intake.

Sheila, I just had to post about pizza...

We've been doing these incredibly good homemade pizzas lately. They completely fill my craving for pizza and since you can put whatever you want on them, you can control the calories and fat and all.

I buy whole wheat tortillas (the thick ones) and toast them in the oven at 350 for five minutes a side. Then we top them with pizza sauce and whatever veggies the kids want to use and some cheese and bake them for another five minutes. SO GOOD! We've tried artichoke hearts, spinach, mushrooms, and steamed broccoli on them. The kids LOAD on the vegetables and are all excited to be making their own pizzas! I used to make pizza dough but it takes so long and the tortillas are faster, easier, and I'm sure less calories.

Hope that helps!

Kara

Thanks for the pizza idea Kara! Those sound pretty delicious.
Sheila, Your sources of fat sound great if not ideal. Are you a vegetarian? You might also want to try cooking with olive oil and putting avocados in your salads.

Best,
Christine

If you haven't tried 'em yet, I'd also try FlatOut Wraps for home-made pizza. The Light versions have 9g of fiber and 9g of protein, and are roughly the size of a medium tortilla, but oblong in shape. They have several different flavors, too, and lots of recipes on their website. I like em!

Fat isn't a bad thing. Fat can be filling and can keep one from getting the munchies. Good fats are also essential for heart health.

That being said, I (normally) don't get in enough fat according to my nutritionist. I eat about 25-30g a day and 1500-1600cal. For me, she thinks I should up it. She makes all sorts of suggestions like eating peanut butter and real cheese and real pizza, ect. I am just sooo afraid that if I start in on all that I might not be able to stop!

But if you just want pizza sometimes, Sheila, you just gotta give in with no guilt. My goodness, your calories and fat grams weren't even bad on that "splurge!"