Fat is often maligned because of its high calorie count. While too much of certain types of fat can increase your risk of heart disease, fat is an essential macronutrient that you need to support many body functions. When planning a 2,400-calorie diet, eat the optimal amount of fat to keep you healthy while not eating too much, which may cause weight gain, nutritional imbalances and health issues.
Recommendations
The Institute of Medicine recommends that you consume between 20 and 35 percent of your daily calories from fat. For a 2,400-calorie diet, this is between 480 and 840 calories daily. Since a gram of fat contains 9 calories, eat between 53 and 93 g of fat daily.
Importance
Eating fat helps you absorb vitamins A, D, E and K. Fat pads the internal organs and contributes to healthy-looking hair and skin. Fat is a source of stored energy. Proper fat intake also causes your body to produce essential hormones. Fat makes food taste good, and it digests slowly, helping to create feelings of fullness and satisfaction to help prevent overeating.
Considerations
While you do need some fat for optimal health, certain types of fat are better than others. Saturated and trans fats contribute to higher cholesterol levels and should be avoided. Saturated fats are found in animal products and solid shortenings, while trans fats are a man-made product contained in many commercially fried foods and some snacks. Choose unsaturated fats instead for most of your daily fat grams. Foods such as olive oil, salmon, walnuts, almonds, peanut butter and avocados are sources of these healthier fats.
Sample Meal Plan
A 2,400-calorie diet with 82 g of fat, or 30 percent of calories, begins with ½ cup dry oatmeal cooked in 1 cup of 1 percent milk. Have with a banana and about 18 almonds, or ¾ oz. For a mid-morning snack, have 2 tbsp. of commercially made hummus with 10 woven wheat crackers and a small apple. At lunch, make a sandwich with 3 oz. of deli turkey and ½ of an avocado on whole-wheat bread. Have with 1 cup of chicken noodle soup and a fruit-flavored, low-fat yogurt. Mid-afternoon, snack on 1 cup of whole-grain cereal with 1 cup skim milk and 1 cup sliced strawberries. For dinner, broil 4 oz. of salmon and have with a baked medium sweet potato and cauliflower and broccoli tossed with 1 tbsp. of olive oil and roasted until brown and tender.
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