Figuring Fat Percentages
#180551 - 05/21/05 11:27 PM
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momof2
Reged: 07/27/04
Posts: 68
Loc: Belgium, but soon to be Maryland
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I think this is the right board for a question like this 
I see that we are supposed to keep our fat intake to under 25 percent of our diet. My question is how do you figure out the fat percentages in food? Many years ago, I never ate anything that had more than 3 grams of fat per 100 calories. Does this formula still hold true? Or is it more like 2.5 grams per hundred calories to keep under 25 percent? As you can see, I'm really confused  I really don't want to just add up the amount of fat I eat in a day, and figure it on that. I want to keep on top of my fat intake all through the day. I'm super-sensitive to fat, but I also realize I need some to be healthy. Anyway, any help in figuring out a simple formula would be much appreciated 
Thanks
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*Karyn* IBS D
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It's not too difficult when you know the formula - I do it in my head now in the grocery store.
1g of fat = 9 calories
so you want to make sure that of all the calories in the food, less than 25% is coming from fat (though I like to keep around 15%)
sooo.... say food X has 100 calories and 3g of fat.
3g of fat x 9 calories/g = 27
27 / 100 = 27% -- so that particular food would be too high fat to eat on its own, BUT should be ok if you were eating it with a low fat meal. (That is, you're watching the fat % of the whole meal, not each food).
so lets say the whole meal is 230 calories and a total of 4g fat
4x9=36/230=15.7% -- so that would be ok
Hope that helps! 
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Wow! Thanks. It is a little complicated, but I think with paractice it will come naturally, as it has for you. I do see what you mean about the whole meal should be taken in account, not each item, for figuring fat percentage. That makes it easier
Thanks!
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*Karyn* IBS D
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That's an interesting approach, Laurel. I don't figure the fat percentage of individual foods, but I don't ever eat anything with more than 5 grams of fat per serving. I'm very sensitive to fat and this seems to work well.
Also, I'm a FitDay addict (I have the PC version, which is AWESOME) so it keeps track of my overall fat percentage, which I like to keep below 10%.
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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Oh I've been so tempted to buy it [fitday pc] since they've put it on sale 30% off... but they're still not making it for Mac! 
Elizabeth - you keep your fat below 10%? I try to get mine between 10 and 15%... I worry that when I go lower I'm not getting enough healthy fats. I take evening primrose oil, which does have EFAs in it and I don't seem to have problems with that... do you take any EFAs? Just curious.
Edited by retrograde (05/22/05 10:35 AM)
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I let fitday calculate my fat percentage. It's really interesting because fat naturally exists in the food, i.e. to digest itself. Without adding fat, I average less than 15 percent fat intake. I find that even soy is too "fatty" for my sensitivity level. Fat naturally exists to some degree even in a banana or a carrot or some spinach or applesauce--whatever--and that natural fat is more than enough, i.e. plenty, for me. So, basically I'm consuming, over the course of a whole day an average of 12g fat. Fifteen grams is a really "high" fat day for me.
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10-15%
#180663 - 05/22/05 02:09 PM
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CindyC
Reged: 09/30/04
Posts: 90
Loc: Ohio, USA
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Wow, you guys really try to keep your fat percentage low. I only had one Tbls. of peanut butter today on half banana and that added 8 grams of fat!!! I did really well calorie wise, but that fat can getcha!
Do you keep the fat % low because of your IBS or because it helps you maintain your weight? I don't have a problem digesting "normal" fats such as some olive oil in salad dressing, but I absolutely cannot eat fried foods or I pay for it big time.
So I guess my question is, is 10-15% what I should be aiming for over the course of a day? I guess the turkey/chicken/portbello mushroom sausage I bought for dinner is probably not a good idea with 6% fat in each one since I already had the ONE Tbls. of peanut butter today. 
Cindy
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Yeah peanut butter adds a lot of fat
Personally I try to keep my fat % low for IBS not for weight loss and I think the same goes for Elizabeth. You don't need to have your fats that low if you're trying to lose weight. Heather recommends, for the IBS diet, keeping your fats below 20% *at each meal* but many people on these boards find that they feel better at even lower, i.e. 10-15%.
So, if you're ok (IBS-wise) with more, that's fine - don't worry about it if you're trying to lose weight. However if you're not stable yet, please make sure you are watching your fat intake as it's a huge factor of the diet. Definitely stay below 20% but maybe try dipping a little lower if you're still having troubles. (Look for low-fat peanut butter, too. 8g is a lot at one serving, especially if you didn't have much else with it!) It varies with everyone, the balance between how much fat we can tolerate and how much we need to feel healthy and satisfied. HTH.
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Re: 10-15%
#180671 - 05/22/05 04:37 PM
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Wind
Reged: 04/02/05
Posts: 3178
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I keep my fats that low because it helps my IBS. Personally, for me, any higher would cause an attack. Nutbutter would nail me. A drop of olive, flax, hemp oil would trigger an attack of spasms and D. I'm aching for a little avocado, but the last time I had it, it really went thru me too fast and had a day and a half kick back to it. I won't touch a salad dressing and make my own VINAigrettes--they are just that, vinegar based or raw juice based. I miss the days of eating raw nutbutter with a spoon!
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fat
#180687 - 05/22/05 06:03 PM
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I have been under the impression that a diet below 15% fat isn't so good for constipation and basic lubrication.  I do 15-20%. Is this inaccurate?
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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I was figuring percentages a couple days ago and DH was so amazed that I actually knew the formula to use. He uses formulas at work all day and was amazed when I said fat has 9 cals per gram. LOL.  You can do a quick guesstimate if you just multiply by 10. So 3 grams in 100 cals would be about 30% in guesstimate terms. 5 grams in 300 cals would be around 15%. This is just the quick and not so accurate method.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Fitday PC is AWESOME. I would pay $100 for it - I use it that much.
I keep my fat that low for IBS reasons. I am super sensitive to fat in any form and keeping it super low works for me. I do take Omega 3:6:9 by NOW, twice a day to give me the much-needed omega fatty acids. This helps me to "go" also.
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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Dear Cindy,
Like the others, I am really sensitive to fat too--ESPECIALLY in the form of oils. If I have one drop more than whatever I eat can absorb completely, I am ruined for the rest of the day.
I am a vegan and scrounging for calories and protein, so I pretty much have to use nuts in some form; I rely on peanut butter more than I would like, but I still keep my TOTAL fat around 20% or slightly under. The trick that I have learned for using the nuts and/or nut butters is to have them in no more than 1 tbsp. or 1/2 oz. servings and have them with my largest meals--breakfast, lunch, and dinner--so as to keep the calorie/fat proportions better. I started following Heather's general recommendation to eat a good bit of my SF first--say, oatmeal or rice--and then work in the nut fat a bite or so at a time, followed by veggies or whatever (since fat takes a lot longer to digest, so eating things in a certain order can help). That helps to keep it from setting me off.
I think going too low on fat is definitely not a good idea. The nutritionist I was seeing for a while always gave me a hard time if my fat dropped too low, and there definitely seems to be POSITIVE affects from the right fats in your system--if you tend to have C, which I do sometimes (IBS-A here).
Be well.
-Justin
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180 cals and 4.5 grams of fat is 22.5% fat. I wish they had not raised the fat on those things! Cranberry flavor is still 3 grams I think but is so sour! I don't know how Shell can stand them.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Yeah there are some that are higher... which sucks :P I don't seem to have a problem with the ones that around around 3g though, even though they're higher than I usually eat.
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Re: fat
#180750 - 05/23/05 09:01 AM
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I'm not entirely sure about that... With the exception of Elizabeth, I *think* that everyone commenting here is D, so maybe C's need more fat??? I think it's really individual though, the amount of fat people can tolerate. I know Casey keeps it around 15% too (and she's A).
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Yes, fats are definitely important for health. You can't safely (or really, possibly) go on a no-fat diet, and I think anything much below 10% is getting a little low... I don't know. I was mentioning to Elizabeth that I take EFAs (essential fatty acids in capsule form - Omega 3's and 6's) to make sure I'm getting the important nutrients (or whatever it is in the fats) that I may be missing my eating low fat. I have been eating more nuts and such lately too.
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The toasted nuts n' cranberry ones are 4g of fat now. I wish they had not added another gram of fat! But I can still tolerate those pretty well - it's the ones with 5g of fat that I don't do as well with.
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Elizabeth
all those years it wasn't IBS - it was celiac!
send me an email: liz@dopple.net
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--------------------
IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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I entered all my foods today in Fitday (very cool). The total number of fat grams was 17, but my fat percentage for the day was 15%. So should I try to keep the total of fat grams under a certain number for the day even though the overall percentage worked out to 15%?
Sorry but this seems so confusing to me. Hopefully now with FitDay I can really keep track of everything. I like the report on nutrients too. I decided to start taking a multiple vitamin.
Cindy
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Can someone enlighten a dumb aussie as to what are these Luna bars that seem to be a main food group for lots of you? Are they some sort of muesli bar thing?
Ta
Ralph
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Dont worry Ralph, as a Brit I too did knot know what the wonders of Luna bars were that was until Heather7476 sent me 10 in the post and OH MY GOD I am hooked!! I havent had any for ages...sinead brought me some back from her trip and nelly and Brittany have sent me some too.....trust me theyre worth it! I think the nutritional value has changed on them recently but they did used to contain the recommended daily allowance for vitamins and minerals so theyre really good for u plus theyre ibs safe. Theres loads of different flavours from dulche de leche, nutz over chocolate....theyr all gorgeous and if u have a sweet tooth then they are a saviour! Plus theyre filling too. Mmmmmm you're making me want one!!
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 Natalie
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15% is good. I think it is easiest to figure about how many cals you eat on average then decide on a comfortable fat gram amount and just add that up each day. So when I started the diet my cals were pretty high and so I tried to keep myself to about 30 grams of fat per day to be safe. I think I eat less now (I am more used to how to eat now). But I found it easy to do it that way. Hope this helps!
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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They are a nutrition bar for women. Kind of like a granola bar and/or a Power bar. They have soy puffs as a base and are filling and have some nutrients packed in. (by the way, men can eat them too; DH likes them.)
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Yup 15% is a good number; that's what I aim for each day.
Just remember that you should be having a similar fat % to that at EVERY meal - not just the whole day. Think about it this way: you could have one meal that is almost fat-free and another one that is 50% and throughout the day it could average out to 15% - but that wouldn't exactly be IBS-safe! lol
Basically you're just keeping every meal and snack low-fat (in the 10-20% range usually).
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Thanks for the help. I think I've got it now. I'm reading labels on everything I eat these days and cutting WAY back on peanut butter!! LOL, I'd rather spend the fat grams on something good like more chicken.
Cindy
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A glowing report Nat, i will have to see if they sell them in health food shops over here to see what the fuss is all about!
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