saturated fat

i ask this question out of concern for both weight and overall health. after
searching the web, i am still confused about saturated fat: how much is 'okay'?
i eat about 1500-1600 calories a day. so i guess i'm really not supposed to
exceed 20 grams per day, based on percentage. but is 15, for example, still too
much? how about 10?

for example, one taco has about 4 grams. so am i okay with even two tacos for a
dinner? what if i've already eaten 4 grams earlier? it seems that so many foods
have saturated fat, especially cheese. i buy fat free milk but most cheese is
still regular and fatty, with about 4 grams sat. fat per serving. so i'm
assuming one should really only have one serving of cheese per day.

and how much does one need to watch the unsaturated fats? even reduced fat
peanut butter, for example, has like 12 grams of fat total per 2 tbsp. but only
2.5 saturated. does that make it 'safe' if you stay within the serving, or
should one only eat something like peanut butter once in awhile?

i personally don't believe in cutting something completely out of my diet that
i enjoy. but with some foods, even small servings are high in fat, and some in
saturated fat. i'd just like to know how much, exactly, i should be limiting
saturated fat and even unsaturated fats if i'd like to maintain good health and
my current weight.

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

30 grams of fat total and you should be using monounsaturates like olive or
canola, or things like nut oils. I don't think you should cut out tacos or
cheese either but you have to realize you can't eat them every day if you
want to be healthy.

"Sarandipidy" wrote in message
...
i ask this question out of concern for both weight and overall health.
after
searching the web, i am still confused about saturated fat: how much is
'okay'?
i eat about 1500-1600 calories a day. so i guess i'm really not supposed
to
exceed 20 grams per day, based on percentage. but is 15, for example,
still too
much? how about 10?

for example, one taco has about 4 grams. so am i okay with even two tacos
for a
dinner? what if i've already eaten 4 grams earlier? it seems that so many
foods
have saturated fat, especially cheese. i buy fat free milk but most cheese
is
still regular and fatty, with about 4 grams sat. fat per serving. so i'm
assuming one should really only have one serving of cheese per day.

and how much does one need to watch the unsaturated fats? even reduced fat
peanut butter, for example, has like 12 grams of fat total per 2 tbsp. but
only
2.5 saturated. does that make it 'safe' if you stay within the serving, or
should one only eat something like peanut butter once in awhile?

i personally don't believe in cutting something completely out of my diet
that
i enjoy. but with some foods, even small servings are high in fat, and
some in
saturated fat. i'd just like to know how much, exactly, i should be
limiting
saturated fat and even unsaturated fats if i'd like to maintain good
health and
my current weight.

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

I don't think you should cut out tacos or
cheese either but you have to realize you can't eat them every day if you
want to be healthy.


well that was just hypothetical, i haven't had a taco in quite awhile. but i do
eat cheese almost everyday. is it bad to eat cheese so frequently, even in
small servings?

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

I don't think you should cut out tacos or
cheese either but you have to realize you can't eat them every day if you
want to be healthy.


well that was just hypothetical, i haven't had a taco in quite awhile. but i do
eat cheese almost everyday. is it bad to eat cheese so frequently, even in
small servings?

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

Patricia Heil wrote:
30 grams of fat total and you should be using monounsaturates like olive or
canola, or things like nut oils. I don't think you should cut out tacos or
cheese either but you have to realize you can't eat them every day if you
want to be healthy.

Patty was top-posting to the question of how many grams of saturated fat
a woman eating 1600 calories should have in her diet.

My answer is closer to 50 grams of fat, with as little from saturated
sources as possible. For example, if I were making tacos I would drain
the meat in a colander and rinse it, too. No, actually, I've used
"Gimme Lean" soy crumble the last few times I've made tacos - a soy meat
substitute by Light Life foods.

I think people trying to live on a small calorie budget shoot themselves
in the foot when they go too low on fat. It reduces your metabolism,
ruins your skin and leaves you feeling hungry and cranky. Cut out
things like the shell on the taco, sodas, empty-calorie carbs and put
things like peanut-butter back into your diet instead.

Dally

Patricia Heil wrote:
30 grams of fat total and you should be using monounsaturates like olive or
canola, or things like nut oils. I don't think you should cut out tacos or
cheese either but you have to realize you can't eat them every day if you
want to be healthy.

Patty was top-posting to the question of how many grams of saturated fat
a woman eating 1600 calories should have in her diet.

My answer is closer to 50 grams of fat, with as little from saturated
sources as possible. For example, if I were making tacos I would drain
the meat in a colander and rinse it, too. No, actually, I've used
"Gimme Lean" soy crumble the last few times I've made tacos - a soy meat
substitute by Light Life foods.

I think people trying to live on a small calorie budget shoot themselves
in the foot when they go too low on fat. It reduces your metabolism,
ruins your skin and leaves you feeling hungry and cranky. Cut out
things like the shell on the taco, sodas, empty-calorie carbs and put
things like peanut-butter back into your diet instead.

Dally

Sarandipidy wrote:
Patty Heil wrote:
I don't think you should cut out tacos or
cheese either but you have to realize you can't eat them every day if you
want to be healthy.

well that was just hypothetical, i haven't had a taco in quite awhile. but i do
eat cheese almost everyday. is it bad to eat cheese so frequently, even in
small servings?

I don't know about "bad", but it might not be your best choice for foods
on a small calorie budget. You've got to look at foods and ask yourself
if they've got a role as food or entertainment. Cheese is calorie dense
- do you get enough bang for those calorie bucks? You might if you use
just a little and it makes your recipes work better. I won't argue with
that. But something that is calorie dense and full of saturated fat is
a good thing to examine when you're trying to live on a tight calorie
budget.

What do you think?

Dally

Sarandipidy wrote:
Patty Heil wrote:
I don't think you should cut out tacos or
cheese either but you have to realize you can't eat them every day if you
want to be healthy.

well that was just hypothetical, i haven't had a taco in quite awhile. but i do
eat cheese almost everyday. is it bad to eat cheese so frequently, even in
small servings?

I don't know about "bad", but it might not be your best choice for foods
on a small calorie budget. You've got to look at foods and ask yourself
if they've got a role as food or entertainment. Cheese is calorie dense
- do you get enough bang for those calorie bucks? You might if you use
just a little and it makes your recipes work better. I won't argue with
that. But something that is calorie dense and full of saturated fat is
a good thing to examine when you're trying to live on a tight calorie
budget.

What do you think?

Dally

Sarandipidy wrote:
i ask this question out of concern for both weight and overall health. after
searching the web, i am still confused about saturated fat: how much is 'okay'?
i eat about 1500-1600 calories a day. so i guess i'm really not supposed to
exceed 20 grams per day, based on percentage. but is 15, for example, still too
much? how about 10?

for example, one taco has about 4 grams. so am i okay with even two tacos for a
dinner? what if i've already eaten 4 grams earlier? it seems that so many foods
have saturated fat, especially cheese. i buy fat free milk but most cheese is
still regular and fatty, with about 4 grams sat. fat per serving. so i'm
assuming one should really only have one serving of cheese per day.

and how much does one need to watch the unsaturated fats? even reduced fat
peanut butter, for example, has like 12 grams of fat total per 2 tbsp. but only
2.5 saturated. does that make it 'safe' if you stay within the serving, or
should one only eat something like peanut butter once in awhile?

i personally don't believe in cutting something completely out of my diet that
i enjoy. but with some foods, even small servings are high in fat, and some in
saturated fat. i'd just like to know how much, exactly, i should be limiting
saturated fat and even unsaturated fats if i'd like to maintain good health and
my current weight.

sara

hello teacher tell me what's my lesson,
look right through me, look right through me.

You’ll get plenty of mixed opinions on the dangers or non-dangers of
saturated fats so let me offer this advice instead.

Peanuts are a source of good monounsaturated fat. Unfortunately many
people don’t want to open up a jar of peanut butter and see peanut oil
floating on the top. For this reason and extending the shelf life, most
peanut butter has partially hydrogenated vegetable oil instead. This
hydrogenation process keeps the oil solid and makes the peanut butter
remain creamy throughout. This unfortunately gives it the ~3.5g of
saturated fat. If you don’t mind stirring your peanut butter before
spreading, switch to natural peanut butter which has not hydrogenated
vegetable oils or trans-fats. Storing it upside down helps keep from
using all the oil in the first few servings

If you’re worried about the saturated fat in ground beef, substitute
ground turkey or cubed chicken in your tacos. Turkey mixed with
McCormick taco seasoning tastes very similar to ground beef. McCormick
also now makes a chicken taco seasoning. It doesn’t taste like a beef
taco, but it makes a nice chicken taco. The same holds for enchiladas,
burritos and chili. Ground turkey substitutes in very easily. Use
fresh ground turkey and not the “tube” variety. The tubes stuff (sorry
don’t know the brand) is nasty.

Turkey burgers are not on my list. If you cut enough saturated fats
from your diet elsewhere, you can treat yourself to a beef hamburger.
Turkey varieties I find bland or saturated fattened up with a slice or
two of bacon.

Hope this helps,

Rob

Dally wrote in message ...
Patricia Heil wrote:
30 grams of fat total and you should be using monounsaturates like olive or
canola, or things like nut oils. I don't think you should cut out tacos or
cheese either but you have to realize you can't eat them every day if you
want to be healthy.

Patty was top-posting to the question of how many grams of saturated fat
a woman eating 1600 calories should have in her diet.

Excellent strategy for idiot top-posters -- just don't respond to
them.

My answer is closer to 50 grams of fat, with as little from saturated
sources as possible.

50g x 9kcal/g = 450 kcal, or ~30% for a 1500kcal diet. I too consider
this just about right. Sure makes meal planning a lot more flexible!

I think people trying to live on a small calorie budget shoot themselves
in the foot when they go too low on fat. It reduces your metabolism,
ruins your skin and leaves you feeling hungry and cranky.

yup, if you cut the fat you've basically got to add carbs since
protein shouldn't go over 30%...

Cut out
things like the shell on the taco, sodas, empty-calorie carbs and put
things like peanut-butter back into your diet instead.

Worked for me. I lost 2lbs/week for 5 months not overly worrying about
fat calories that much. I avoided the bad stuff like snack foods and
ice cream, but didn't stress about eg. a bit of cheese here & there,
my 1% milk, some butter in my cooking etc.

I think going under 20% fat calories is rather unnecessary, at least
for most people. There is some evidence that 10% fat diets are more
healthy, but who wants to live like a monk?