Fat gram needs vary for each member of the family. Ask your healthcare practitioner to help you determine your
ideal body weight and to advise on what your total grams of fat intake should be.
Replace unhealthy fats with healthy monounsaturated fats like olive, canola and peanut oils that protect
HDL levels.
STEP 1: Determine your ideal weight.
This may not necessarily be the weight
you should be. Check with your healthcare practitioner for help
in determining your "ideal" weight by referencing a Body Mass Index chart.
| |
Men |
Women |
For the first 5 feet of height |
106 lbs |
100 lbs |
For each inch over 5 feet add |
6 lbs |
5 lbs |
STEP 2: Determine calories needed daily to sustain ideal weight.
Level of activity |
Calories needed per pound per day |
No regular exercise |
11 |
Brisk walk for 20 minutes 2-3 times/week) |
13 |
Brisk walk for 20 minutes 4-5 times/week) |
15 |
Vigorous daily work-out (athlete) |
Consult with your health care professional for your calorie needs |
Multiply your ideal weight x your level of activity = ___________ calories needed daily.
For children, check with your pediatrician or child's health provider about specific fat gram and calorie needs.
STEP 3: Determine your maximum daily allowance of fat grams.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting dietary fat to 30% of total
calories, however, if you are overweight, need to lower blood cholesterol or have another
medical concern, you may need less than the recommended 30%. Ask your health care
professional what percentage of fat is right for you, then refer to the chart below to
determine the maximum number fat grams you should aim for each day. The chart below lists dietary guidelines for total
fat intake at various calorie levels.
|
Grams of Total Fat
Percentage of Total Calories
|
Total Calories per Day |
20% |
25% |
30% |
1,200 |
27 grams |
33 grams |
40 grams |
1,500 |
33 grams |
42 grams |
50 grams |
1,800 |
39 grams |
50 grams |
60 grams |
2,000 |
44 grams |
56 grams |
67 grams |
2,500 |
55 grams |
69 grams |
83 grams |
3,000 |
66 grams |
75 grams |
100 grams |
My daily allowance of fat grams is: ____________.
Note:
There are three kinds of naturally occuring fat in foods: monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and saturated fat. The role of natural dietary fat and its relation to heart disease is not clear.
It is clear, however, that it is important to avoid all sources of unnatural fat, called trans-fat and listed as "partially hydrogenated oil" in the
ingredients section, and to replace them with monounsatured fat, found in nut oil and olive oil. Monounsatured fat protects high levels of HDL, the "Healthy" cholesterol. Trans-fat has been shown to contribute to heart disease and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques even more than saturated fat.
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