I dont completely understand how to calculate good fats into my diet. I eat a serving of peanuts for a snack at lunch some days and that really ups my fat % for the day. A serving has 14 grams fat, 2 saturated. Does this mean that 12 grams are good fat and don't really count towards my total? If a serving of peanuts ups my total fat % over my goal of 25%, should I alter my eating to compensate for the peanuts?

I was just looking this up for myself. I have the opposite problem though. I need more fat in my diet. All of the grams of fat do count towards your total. I am not sure what your calorie intake is, but I am guessing that at 25% your allotment should be around 30 grams (assuming you are taking in at leat 1300 calories). So a serving of peanuts should be about half of that. I do not know what the rest of the day looks likes, but that is not too bad.

all calories count, why wouldnt they?
20-25% of your diet should be fats, good and bad

However, for good heart health, no more than 10% of your calories should come from saturated fat. So if you eat 2000 calories per day, 25% from all fat would be 500 calories, or about 55g total fat, and 10% from sat fat would be 200 calories, or about 22g, leaving the other 300 calories (33g) to come from mono- and polyunsaturated fats.

If you ate it, it counts :)

25% from fats is very good if most of it comes from good fats. What you really want to do is replace bad fats with good ones.

Make sure that if the fat section does not list trans fats separately (sometimes they only list total fats and saturated) then you don't see partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (or vegetable shortenings) on the ingredient list.

So to summarize: count all fats into your calories, make sure to eat unsaturated fats rather than trans and saturated ones and don't worry if you go a little above 25% while eating healty fats.

However, for good heart health, no more than 10% of your calories should come from saturated fat. So if you eat 2000 calories per day, 25% from all fat would be 500 calories, or about 55g total fat, and 10% from sat fat would be 200 calories, or about 22g, leaving the other 300 calories (33g) to come from mono- and polyunsaturated fats.


I'm a newbie to nutrition and fitness, but I think your math is off a little. In the above quote you are measuring the 10% sat fat out off of the original 2000 calories. The sat fat should be measured out of the 25% total fat, right? So, out of the 500 calories of fat, no more than 10% of those should be sat fat (50 calories or 5.5 grams). That leaves 450 calories or 49.5 grams of fat to come from mono- and polyunsaturated fats.

Correct me if I'm wrong! ;)

I'm a newbie to nutrition and fitness, but I think your math is off a little. In the above quote you are measuring the 10% sat fat out off of the original 2000 calories. The sat fat should be measured out of the 25% total fat, right? So, out of the 500 calories of fat, no more than 10% of those should be sat fat (50 calories or 5.5 grams). That leaves 450 calories or 49.5 grams of fat to come from mono- and polyunsaturated fats.

Correct me if I'm wrong! ;)

Yeah, you're a little wrong. It's 10% of total calories. Though it does read no more than 10%. I think it's a bit much. I read somewhere a 1:2:1 ratio of sat/mono/poly fats is just about ideal. In the case of a diet with 20% fat, then that'd be 5% saturated, 10% monounsaturated, and 5% polyunsaturated.

But who actually breaks down their fat like this anyway? And would it be worth it? The main idea is just to not have too much saturated fat. After that everything else'll fall into place.

Yeah, you're a little wrong. It's 10% of total calories. Though it does read no more than 10%. I think it's a bit much. I read somewhere a 1:2:1 ratio of sat/mono/poly fats is just about ideal. In the case of a diet with 20% fat, then that'd be 5% saturated, 10% monounsaturated, and 5% polyunsaturated.

But who actually breaks down their fat like this anyway? And would it be worth it? The main idea is just to not have too much saturated fat. After that everything else'll fall into place.

10% is the current maximum recommended sat fat intake (by the American Heart Association, I think). Actually, the recommendation is no more than 7% for those with a previous history of heart problems. Personally, I limit myself to 3-4% which right now is about 10-14g out of 3200 calories (with a total fat intake of 25-30%).

I dont completely understand how to calculate good fats into my diet. I eat a serving of peanuts for a snack at lunch some days and that really ups my fat % for the day. A serving has 14 grams fat, 2 saturated. Does this mean that 12 grams are good fat and don't really count towards my total? If a serving of peanuts ups my total fat % over my goal of 25%, should I alter my eating to compensate for the peanuts?

Count them all, but if you go over every now and then it's fine. On any given day I can consume between 20%-30% of my calories from fats depending on if it's a Salmon dinner night or not.

lol, I love those crazy nuts, eat them all the time. I guess since the jar is empty I should fill it up with vegetables....mmmm. :rolleyes:

Okay, so up to 10% of TOTAL daily calories can be from saturated fat, but they count towards the total fat intake for teh day, along with mono- and polyunsaturated fats, right?

Okay, so up to 10% of TOTAL daily calories can be from saturated fat, but they count towards the total fat intake for teh day, along with mono- and polyunsaturated fats, right?

Yes.

i highly recomend switching from peanuts to almonds.

utilize EFA's from flax oil, fish oils, almonds, etc.

when restricting your calorie intake, getting the proper amount of OMEGA's to help protect your body can be difficult, thats why ALL fats i consume are extremely high in EFA's. insted of using olive oil (rich in mono fats- good) i supplement with flax oil, insted of peanuts or other nuts, i use almonds (very high in omegas).

ALL fats in your diet should be included, sat, mono, trans, poly, etc. they all play different roles in the body. beleive it or not, but there is even a role for saturated fats in a diet.

Ok, Thanks. After this jar I will be switching to almonds. i highly recomend switching from peanuts to almonds.

utilize EFA's from flax oil, fish oils, almonds, etc.

when restricting your calorie intake, getting the proper amount of OMEGA's to help protect your body can be difficult, thats why ALL fats i consume are extremely high in EFA's. insted of using olive oil (rich in mono fats- good) i supplement with flax oil, insted of peanuts or other nuts, i use almonds (very high in omegas).

ALL fats in your diet should be included, sat, mono, trans, poly, etc. they all play different roles in the body. beleive it or not, but there is even a role for saturated fats in a diet.

ALL fats in your diet should be included, sat, mono, trans, poly, etc. they all play different roles in the body. beleive it or not, but there is even a role for saturated fats in a diet.

Not trans. :d_eek:

Not trans. :d_eek:

To me, the only BAD fat is Trans fats. Besides The trans fats, the bad thing about fats are they have 9 calories to a gram compared to 4 for protein and carbs. Below is an interesting look at Junk Science on fats:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,46240,00.html

http://www.junkscience.com/foxnews/fn012601.htm

http://www.junkscience.com/news/prma.html

RTE

my bad.. what i ment to say is all fat calories should be included.. all the fat types, regardless of what type of fat, etc.

trans fat is bad! yes its bad! stay away :P

I agree..... saturated fat is not the evil demon it's been made out to be over the years.

I'm currently including heavy cream, coconut oil, and bacon in my diet, but I'm avoiding refined sugar and flour.

I'm not cutting out all carbohydrates, because I'm also eating old-fashioned oats, vegetables, raspberries, and blueberries each day.

Yes.

Thanks, Justin. I understand now! :tu: