XENICAL.com -- Dietary Fats


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How much fat should I have?

It depends on your calorie needs -- a 500 to 1000 calorie reduction from usual daily intake is generally recommended to achieve weight loss in overweight and considerably overweight people. In addition to watching your calories, you will also need to watch the number of fat grams you consume. It doesn't take much to achieve the total number of fat grams you will need daily. For example, you will get up to half that total number if you pick the leanest choices from each food group and add no fat to your foods in preparation or at the table. The challenge comes in deciding how to use the additional fat in your daily diet. You may want to have foods from the major food groups that are higher in fat - such as whole milk. Or you may want to use the fat in cooking or at the table in the form of spreads, dressings or toppings.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that we limit fat in our diets to about 30% of our daily calories. This amounts to 40 grams of fat in a 1200-calorie diet, 47 grams in a 1400-calorie diet, 53 grams of fat in a 1600-calorie diet, 60 grams of fat in a 1800-calorie diet, and 67 grams of fat in a 2000-calorie diet. Calculate daily calories from fat in your own diet with our Calorie Calculator.

In general, foods that come from animals - milk and meat groups - are naturally higher in fat than foods that come from plants. But there are many low-fat dairy and lean meat choices available, and high-fat foods can be prepared in many lower-fat ways, such as broiling or steaming.

Fruits, vegetables and grain products are naturally low in fat. But many popular items, such as French fries and croissants, are prepared with fat, making them higher-fat choices.

Are some fats worse than others?

Yes. Too much saturated fat raises blood cholesterol levels in many people, increasing their risk for heart disease. The Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting saturated fat to less than 10% of calories, or about one-third of total fat intake.

All fats in foods are mixtures of three types of fatty acids:

Saturated fats are found in largest amounts in fats from meats and dairy products, and in some vegetable fats, such as those found in coconut, palm and palm kernel oils.
Monounsaturated fats are found mainly in olive, peanut and canola oils.
Polyunsaturated fats are found mainly in safflower, sunflower, corn, soybean and cottonseed oils, and in some fish.

Choose fat from a variety of sources, but mostly from those foods that are higher in monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat.

How can I check my diet for fat?

If you want to be sure you have a low-fat diet, you can count the grams of fat in your daily food choices and compare them to the number of grams of fat suggested for your calorie level.

The following tables list commonly used foods for each food group and the amount of fat in each. Only a few of the thousands of foods we eat are listed. However, the tables will give you an idea of the foods from each food group that are higher and lower in fat.

A green circle that appears next to the food item means that food item is one of the lowest-fat choices you can make in that food group.

You can use our Enhanced Calorie Calculator to find the calorie and fat gram counts in many other common foods.

Vegetable, Fruit, and Milk and Yogurt Groups

How can I reduce dietary fat?

Here are 10 tips to help you begin reducing the fat in your diet to around 30%.

Read nutrition and ingredient labels on all foods that you buy. Check the kinds and amounts of fat they contain, making sure to use unsaturated vegetable oils and margarine that list a liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient on the label.
Choose foods from the lower-fat food groups most often. Avoid prepackaged, processed and fast foods, which are usually high in fat - especially saturated fats.
Include more grains, fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Choose lean meat, poultry without skin, fish, and dry beans and peas.
Limit your portions.
Cook with less fat by using vegetable oil spray instead of butter or margarine.
Prepare meats in low-fat ways:
- Trim away all the fat you can see.
- Broil, roast or boil instead of frying.
Limit intake of butter, margarine, gravy, high-fat salad dressings and baked goods.
When dining out, ask how foods are prepared and request that they be prepared with little or no added fat.
Replace whole-milk dairy products with nonfat or reduced-fat items, such as 1% milk, nonfat yogurt, and low-fat ice cream and cheese.

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