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I am just curious if someone could clarify what exactly “high fat” means? Are we talking about it from a percentage of calories standpoint or is it a number of grams per day thing?
I am just curious because not having a diet too high in fat does seem to be the one consistent “limit” I see with regard to the metabolic approach.
And while we are at it, what does “too much protein” mean?
I was wondering the same thing – I think I saw here once that 10% fat is good. That would be super low if that was percent calories so I’m thinking maybe that is by weight. Not sure about protein – that may be more individual but also on the low side?
It’s more about the percentage.
I would not be trying to follow some ideal set by others if I were you. Your optimal ratio will be different than someone else’s.
For someone more sedentary, it seems a higher percentage of fat in the diet is fine and may even be optimal. For those exerting themselves a lot, the opposite. Myself, I find 40% fat, 20% protein and 40% carbs to be best. I sit on my ass playing video games all day, though. I don’t strictly try to maintain this ratio either – it’s just how it falls when I listen to my body’s intuition and eat what I feel like most.
But is it the percentage of fat grams (weight) or fat calories (energy)? They are different.
I looked at my container of Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food. Per serving it has 290 calories: 126 calories or 43.45% from fat, 148 calories or 51.03% from carbs and 16 or 5.52% from protein. It has 55 grams of these macronutrients. 14 grams or 25.45% fat, 37 grams or 67.27% from carbs and 4 grams or 7.27% from protein. So by weight (not counting water weight) a serving of Phish Food has a fat percentage of about 25%, and from calories the percentage is 43% fat
So if we are supposed to shoot for whatever fat percentage, is that percent fat calories or percent fat grams? I think most sources mean percent of calories but don’t always state that.
you should not be eating any Ben & Jerry’s products. This is not going to get you anywhere. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of eating ice cream for improving metabolism. However, Ben & Jerry’s adds guar gum, xanthan gum, carageenan which are not digestible in the human body. Stick to Haagan Dazs. They don’t add all that crap to their products. Watch out for these ingredients in all dairy products including yogurts, cheeses like cream cheese, etc. AVOID THESE GUMS LIKE THE PLAGUE.
That’s unfortunate because Phish Food is one of the most sublime things I have ever eaten from a grocery store – I am probably weird but other ice cream including Haagan Dazs just doesn’t taste all that great to me.
MyFitnessPal tells me that I should aim for about 27% of my caloric intake from fat… but when I Eat for Heat, I’m normally closer to 40%. :)
As for all the “indigestible” additives… insoluble fiber (i.e. cellulose) doesn’t digest either… but the colon likes some of that stuff, anyway.
Listen to your body – if it doesn’t like the GUMS, don’t eat ’em!
My body’s not that particular… at least it doesn’t scream about the additives. I’m still learning how to listen to it’s more subtle cues…Hey Everyone,
Thanks for your input. Similar to TinaT I naturally tend towards a certain amount, right about 35%. Some days higher, some days lower.
I had to ask the question about fat because mainstream ideas about fat consumption would view this amount as high, while alternative ideas (Paleo/WAPF) would view it as average or low. Yes, I get that we must listen to our body and trust what it is saying on any given day. But it is also helpful to have a general idea of a range.
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