fat too high
 

im looking at my fat intake everyday. i think that is too high (30-40%) i watch me calories and read the labels but am i doing something wrong and what should be fat intake ( im 5'6 245 lbs)

Everyone has a different opinion on calorie mix and what might be right for one person may not be for another.

I tend to follow "The Zone" mix, which is 40 carbs, 30 fat and 30 protein. For weight loss purposes, a calorie is a calorie. For health, I think it makes sense to limit saturated fats to a "reasonable" level--perhaps 10 grams a day, on average. I would avoid trans fats entirely, if you can. The body needs some fat to function properly.

It sounds like you're not too far off--perhaps try to get a little more lean protein to help get the fat down a bit.

I'm sure others will offer more ideas.

Regards,
Michael

40% of how much? I don't follow % that much, but I try to have no more than 50g per day, coz it's easier for me to imagine grams rather than percentage. If you follow atkins or similar diet, it can be normal to have 40% or even more, coz your carbs will be low. And Michael is right to say that it's the number of calories in total that really matters.

why is that to much fat? for lean body mass you are supposed to be getting .7 to 1 gram of healthy fat per pound of body weight. according to your stats, you are significantly low on fat intake.

if you are on a fat loss diet, why wouldnt you increase fat and protein, and drop carbs?

I have the same problem! Just a couple of medium coffees and some avocado can make the fat % seem very high. The other problem is, how does one get enough calories without it coming from carbs or fat, if you are trying to eat low carb and lose fat? It's a puzzle. Seems easier to lose weight when one eats good fats, though... It's counter-intuitive.

are you sure that you haven't mistaken that for protein? IMO it would be impossible to get in .7-1g of HEALTHY fat per pound of body weight. She'd have to eat nuts & avocadoes and chase it with EVOO all day. I did high fat, high protein and low carb for a short time. I intentionally tried to take in fat... cheese, nuts, skin ON chicken breast, full fat ranch dressing, peanut butter, you name it. I averaged 82g/day. She would have to eat way over her calorie allowance to get in 168g/day. She may be able to do it between healthy and unhealthy fats, not eating clean but I don't see it happening while eating clean with healthy fat. But that's just my .02

I also find out that I eat too much fat too.
I checked on some website. It said with my height and weight I should have 52-60g of fat a day, Protein is 70-89g. So I got enough protein but fat was too much. Average 35-40%, 69-90g a day.
Is it bad if I eat too much fat? I am trying to go low carb, so I guess it's have to balance out with the fat and protein.
Is anyone have the same situation or idea to lower the fat and balance the pie chart better?
Thanks,
Mai

I aim for about 30% of my total calories to come from fat also, and it can be difficult to stay under that. I stick with only lean meats, eat only reduced fat dairy, egg whites, etc. I use fat free greek yogurt in place of sour cream, almond milk in my coffee instead of cream, and I don't add cheese to anything unless it's reduced fat and even then it's a splurge. I only eat small amounts of nuts, olives, and avocado at a time... a little bit goes a long way. With adjustments like that, I manage to keep my fats in check, and it especially helps keep my saturated fats low. Just beware of low or no fat options being higher in carbs. That can be the case with crackers, breads, soups, etc. The low fat options aren't always the healthiest choice, but that's why I typically only go low fat on dairy and meat. Good luck! :)

It's been quite a while since I put fat on anything without carefully considering what it means to my total calories and what it will look like, percentage-wise, in my diet at the end of the day.

Why wouldn't you drop protein and carbs and pump up the fat? For one thing, if you add a bunch of fat to your diet, you add really a lot of calories to your diet. And if you drop protein, you drop something that contributes to your maintaining muscle. Then, dropping carbs, you drop a source of fiber and plant substances that also contribute to your health, along with vitamins and minerals. So - THAT'S why taking supplements would become your hobby!

What I notice in my own diet is that fat is everywhere. It's in plants, it's in lean meat to some extent, it's in eggs (if you use whole eggs), it's in everything that is not labeled 'fat-free' and the number of basic foods labeled fat-free are a small portion of what's found in the supermarket (aside from whole natural foods like veggies and fruits).

I have been dealing with this fat-heavy lop-sided pie-chart problem for quite a while. What helps is to have some lean protein to build up the protein part of the chart somewhat early in the day (breakfast and lunch) and then, by dinner, I can relax and have some carbs. The fat that pops up in all these foods (without even adding butter to anything, using at most 1 tbsp of olive oil a day) will then not overwhelm and throw the pie chart all out of balance. It looks like so much fat on the pie chart because fat IS a lot of calories (1 gram of fat is 9 calories, more than twice what 1 gram of lean protein and a carb gram contains).

Thanks Kathy and sarkai90, mYou give me some ideas.
I will try to lower the fat. But it will be a challange because I don't like low or no fat products. I tend to think that if no fat, low fat means they add chemical in it. If that it would not good for your body.
I try to go as natural as I can.
Mai