|  | Diet Nutrition | Weight Control

How to Count Fat Grams

The USDA recommends 20 to 35 percent of your daily calorie intake come from fat. But to determine the number of fat grams suitable for your diet, you need to figure out your daily calorie allowance. Your daily calorie allowance is dependent upon your ideal body weight and activity level.

Things You'll Need

  • Body fat scale or skinfold caliper
  • Calculator
Show More

Instructions

  1. Determining Ideal Weight

    • 1

      Use a body fat scale or use the Skinfold Measurement Procedure and Calculator to determine your current body fat percentage.

    • 2

      Calculate how many pounds of your current weight are attributable to fat:
      Current weight * current body fat percentage (decimal equivalent) = current fat pounds

    • 3

      Figure out your lean mass weight:
      Current weight -- current fat pounds = lean mass weight

    • 4

      Set your target ideal body fat percentage.
      Normal body fat range for men: 10 to 20 percent
      Normal body fat range for women: 15 to 25 percent

    • 5

      Determine your target ideal lean mass percentage:
      100 -- ideal body fat percentage = ideal lean mass percentage

    • 6

      Lean mass weight / ideal lean mass percentage (decimal equivalent) = ideal weight

    Calculating Calorie Allowance for Ideal Weight

    • 7

      Determine your activity level:
      No regular exercise 11
      Exercise two to three times per week 13
      Exercise four to five times per week 15
      Exercise six to seven times per week 18

    • 8

      Multiply your ideal weight by the number associated with your activity level.

    • 9

      The result is your estimated ideal daily calorie allowance; make a note of it.

    Calculating Daily Allowance of Fat Grams

    • 10

      Multiply your Daily Calorie Allowance (DCA) by .2. The result indicates the minimum amount of fat calories you need to get each day. Divide your minimum amount of fat calories by 9 to determine your minimum fat gram requirement.

    • 11

      Multiply your DCA by .35. The result indicates the maximum amount of fat calories you need to get each day. Divide your maximum amount of fat calories by 9 to determine your maximum fat gram requirement.

    • 12

      Multiply your DCA by .07. The result indicates the maximum amount of saturated fat calories you need to get each day. Divide your maximum amount of saturated fat calories by 9 to determine your maximum saturated fat gram intake.

    Keeping Track of Fat Gram Intake

    • 13

      Create a table with seven columns. Label the columns: Food, Listed Serving Size, Grams of Saturated Fat, Total Grams of Fat, My Number of Servings, Saturated Fat Intake and Total Fat Intake.

    • 14

      Looking at the Nutrition Facts for the food your about to eat, fill in the information for the first four columns of your table.

    • 15

      Determine how many servings of this food your meal is going to comprise and record that number under My Number of Servings. Multiply My Number of Servings by Grams of Saturated Fat and record the result under Saturated Fat intake. Multiply My Number of Servings by Total Grams of Fat and record the result under Total Fat Intake.

    • 16

      Keep a running log throughout the day. Every time you eat a new food, repeat steps 2 and 3, then tally the numbers listed under your Saturated and Total Fat Intake to make sure the running total falls within your daily allowance of fat grams.

Weight Control - Related Articles