Hi guys,

Now I am all concerned about my fat intake. Can you all tell me how many grams of fat you allow yourself in a day? And have you lost weight on that amount, I am having trouble finding help anywhere about this because I don't want to take in too much, I am really overwieght and have about 200 pounds to lose. Thanks!
Dani

Losing weight is not a matter of how much fat you consume, but how many calories you burn vs. how many you take in. The reason many weight loss programs are low-fat is because fat is very calorie-dense: A little fat has a LOT of calories. A lot of fat is also not healthy, especially if it is saturated fat or trans fat. So, but cutting back on fat, you automatically cut back on calories (as long as you don't replace them with other things!). However, healthy fats are a necessary part of a healthy diet -- it's necessary for vitamin absorption, organ functioning, hair and skin health, and a host of other things.

Rather than counting fat grams, track your fat intake by percentage of your calories. There is a calorie calculator on this site, I think, that can recommend a level for you to lose weight safely and still support your metabolism and keep you from getting so hungry you give up. As you lose weight, your needs will drop. Then, use a site like fitday.com to track your intake. You want at least 20% of your calories to come from fat. Some people advocate going as high as 30%, but somewhere in that ball park is OK to start with. Make sure at least 20% of your calories come from protein; 25% or 30% is probably better. The rest of your calories will come from carbohydrates. By balancing your macronutrient intake in terms of percentages, you do a much better job of giving your body what it needs based on your weight, rather than looking at an absolute amount of fat.

don't forget proteins

Definitely the trick is to limit calories. All 'diets' do this. Calorie counting, well, that's obvious. Weight Watcher points are based on fat, carbs, fiber, and protein, which directly maps into calories as well. Things that do food exchanges, well, the food units are grouped around calories. And diets that omit things (like Atkins) usually have the result that you eat less calories in general than you were before.

I tend to do about 30% fat, 20% protein, and 50% carb. I started at 290, and would like to get down to 150, though that's still 'overweight' technically. I'm only 5'2". By eating about 1700-1800 calories a day average, and about 2-3 hours of exercise a week (some weeks more, some weeks less), I've lost about 1.5 pounds a week on average. But it's highly dependent on a lot of things -- your metabolism, what type of exercise, if you're estimating calories right being the big ones.

you do need 25-35g daily i remember ww saying that was the fat range on the old fat/fiber plan

30% fat (or less) per day, yes. But only 10% of that should be SATURATED.

If your whole 30% of fat calories are saturated, that's not good.

My saturated fat intake, on the average, is pretty low. 5-8%, if that.

thanks guys

That was really helpful and it gave me some good info but I have to admit, whats the difference between fat and protein, I kinda thought that was the same thing. Sorry to be such a pain but I NEED KNOWLEDGE!! Plus any tips if you have them.
Dani

One of the neatest books I've read is called The American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. I lost my old copy and got a new one for Christmas. It's over 600 information-dense pages about nutrition, but it reads well, it makes a good 'bathroom reader' too. You can read just a page or two at a time, and it's conversational, with lots of little sidebars to break things up.

The food pyramid part is outdated by now, but there's a lot more information about what fiber is doing for you, what about protein, what about fat, all the questions lots of people have.

thank you!
I will look into that. Can I ask, what is up with your avatar?
dani

My avatar is my cat, Mop. Only it's doctored up in photoshop a bit, her eyes don't really glow and her teeth don't really have fangs.

Calories come from three sources, or macronutrients: protein, fat, and carboydrate. Many foods contain some combination of all three, just in different proportions. Many high-protein foods, especially meat, also contain fat, so you might get a large hit of fat with your protein. Lean protein foods are those that don't have a lot of fat, like chicken and fish. Red meats, as well as cheeses, can have a lot of fat.

If these terms are confusing for you, I highly recommend getting the book rabidstoat recommended, or looking for another to educate yourself. Fitday.com also has a lot of good basic nutrition information, as does the USDA web site at www.nutrition.gov. As I start, I'd recommend reading this article How Food Works on the HowStuffWorks web site. It goes into chemistry a little bit; you don't have to worry about that, but it'll give you some basic info about how the macronutrients work and where they come from.

This is basic knowledge that's really important in learning how to eat healthfully; please do yourself a favor and put in some reading time to learn about it. You don't have to be a dietitian or get into complicated science, but learning how to evaluate a nutrition label and track your intake is an important life skill, in my book.

I keep my fat grams under 25 a day, eat 1500-2000 calories a day, get at least 50 grams of protein a day and at least 35 grams of fiber.

I just started using FitDay, loved it so much I purchased the PC version. This info you guys have provided here is just what I was looking for. I was thinking I was taking in far too many carbs (good carbs., mind you) but I now see that nearly half of your daily calories come from carbs. I love it when I learn new things!

What's the difference between these two versions?

I can't speak for everyone, but I bought the PC verison as well and I hated it so much I went back to the online version, lol.

It's a real pain, but that's just my personal opinion. I've heard the same from others, but then I've heard of some who absolutely love it. It's simply a matter of taste. But the thing I hated most about it is it doesn't automatically alphabetize everything like the online version does. Which makes navigating back to your customized foods very difficult. You have to literally remember where you put everything or you won't be able to find it.