How much fat should I eat? A good question, and I’m glad you asked, because today I want to chat about the macronutrient fat and some ways you might be *accidentally* sabotaging your fat-loss goals.
Let me start by saying that fat is not bad.
In fact, fat is essential to thriving as a human and as an athlete.
However, at 9 calories per gram, fat also happens to be calorie dense.
If you want to get significantly leaner you have to watch your overall intake and fat is often a sneaky source of excess energy. This is because fat is not only found in foods like nuts, milks, and certain types of meat, but it’s easy to over pour the oil or butter into a pan for cooking.
Okay, So How Much Fat Should I Eat?
Most women we only need about 3 to 4 servings of fat per day that comes out to (depending on the individual) 50 to 75g of fat or 20-30% of their total energy/calorie intake.
Now, this is might sound like a lot but, for a visual reference, one serving of fat is about the size of your thumb. I know. Devastating.
But fats aren’t all bad! In reference to your questions “how much fat should I eat,” you need to consume your daily recommended intake of fats to support healthy hormones, and cell function!
But moderation, as in many things, is key if you’re trying to be mindful of your intake.
That’s why we’ve created a list of the sneaky hiding places excess fats like to hang out.
Below are 8 places you might be overdoing it with the sneaky fats.
Excess oil:
You might be doing a great job of getting in your daily vegetables but often times those veggies are a vehicle for too much oil. Substitute spooning out or blindly pouring oil for using a spray bottle to grease pans or dress a salad.
Too many nuts:
An actual serving size of nuts is really really small. Like depressingly small. Like the size of your thumb. Like 8-12 almonds. Ask yourself if you’ve ever just eaten 8 to 12 almonds. To moderate the amount of nuts you’re eating, try adding to them! Push your almonds inside of a pitted date. This will fill you up faster and give you some extra carbs for a quick energy boost!
Nut butters:
Along the same lines, a serving of nut butter is incredibly depressing.
I challenge you to weigh out or measure what a tablespoon of peanut butter actually looks like before you just shovel a spoonful in your mouth. It’s so easy to go from a regular serving (about 100 cal per serving) to over eating by nearly 200 or 300 excess calories in just one bite.
Fat based condiments:
Remember when I said fats make everything taste better? Mayonnaise, guacamole, pesto, these are all delicious and nutritious but remarkably calorie dense. When you’re enjoying your condiments make sure you’re using them in moderation.
Cheese:
A serving of a Brie cheese about the size of a pair of dice is 120 cal. I don’t know about you but I definitely like to eat more than two dice-worth of cheese. This is just another example of how these calories can accumulate so quickly. Swap the brie for a type of cheese that’s lower in fat, or, budget for the cheese ahead of time!
Fatty Protein:
Often we’ll give protein dense foods a free pass. Meats, eggs, fish, beef jerky, etc. The best tasting meat-based proteins are often the fattiest. I’m not saying don’t eat them, just make sure your accounting for the fat in your protein choices when tracking your fat intake.
Pseudo health foods:
Bars, cookies, etc. will likely be high fats. If you’re in a season of being mindful of what you each, check the wrappers of processed foods first.
Super shakes:
Shakes are awesome. Especially when you load them up with nutrients. But there can be too much of a good thing. You likely don’t need that entire avocado and peanut butter in that coconut milk shake. Instead, try to limit yourself to one or two sources of fat in a shake and fill the extra space with fruits, veggies, and greens!
Are you guilty of letting too much fat in your diet?
You’re not alone! I’d love to hear about your favorite fatty foods and how you moderate them!
Want more tips on nutrition? Give these blogs a read: Protein Packed! How To Eat More Protein Daily, Well, Isn’t That Handy?! An App-Free Guide For Tracking Food, How to Track Macros Like a Pro