Posted on May 22, 2015 by Kate Halsall
As with our “how many calories” blog we posted last week, this blog aims to answer the question of ‘How much fat should I eat each day?’ As with calories, how much fat you should eat per day will vary depending on what you read. And just like our calorie blog, your fat intake will also vary based on gender, weight, age, activity levels and goals.
Weight Maintenance
If you’re looking to eat healthier and stay as you are, there is nothing wrong with using the Guidelines Daily Amounts (GDAs) that you see on food labels. These are based on an “average individual”, they state that Women should eat 70g of fat a day and Men should eat 95g of fat.
Weight Loss & Gain
This strongly depends on your daily calorie intake. We would recommend a diet which has 30-40% of your calorie intake derived from good fats.
So what do these amounts look like?
The most important thing to remember, as with calories, is you need to eat the right kinds of fats. You could eat 70g of fat by scoffing chocolate bars, cakes and crisps all day but these are the wrong types of fat…..the bad fats, saturated fats. It’s about balancing your meals and concentrating on good fats:
Lean meats
Fish
Avocados
Nuts
Healthy oils and so on.
You need to spread the fats throughout the day. Here’s a couple of menu examples which will help illustrate how to get those amounts of good fats:
70g of Fat:
2 egg omlette, 1tbsp olive oil, 100g cooked mushrooms, 28g cherry tomatoes
5 Kalamata Olives
150g water melon, 1/2 fennel bulb, 56g fat free feta
coffee & 10g coconut oil
150g roasted chicken breast, 100g steamed edamame beans, 140g steamed broccoli
75g of Fat:
115g fat free greek yoghurt, 100g red berries, 30g mixed nuts
50g cottage cheese, 1 medium carrot
100g roasted chicken breast, 1/2 avocado, 28g cherry tomatoes, 100g mix salad greens
coffee & 10g coconut oil
150g roasted sesame salmon (2tsp sesame oil, 2tbsp sesame seeds), 100g Pak Choi, chilli & ginger
85g of Fat:
4 eggs scrambled, 60ml semi skimmed milk, 1tbsp basil pesto (ideally home made!)
90g steamed asparagus & 1tbsp balsamic vinegar
100g spinach, 100g beetroot, 100g chickpeas
7 brazil nuts
200g prawn stir fry, 1tbsp coconut oil, 80g sugar snap peas
Hopefully this blog helps to answer the question of how much fat should I eat each day and gives you an idea of how to incorporate these amounts into your daily diet.
http://www.m8north.co.uk/blog/eating-healthy-fats-helps-weight-loss/