The U.S. Department of Agriculture utilizes the 2,000-calorie diet as one of two standard reference points when calculating how much of your daily calories, vitamins, minerals and macronutrient intake a particular food provides. Fat, in addition to protein and carbohydrates, is one of three macronutrients that you need to eat each day for good health. Learning what types and how much fat is appropriate when eating 2,000 calories a day may help you make wise choices.
General Fat Information
Every food you eat contains a distinct combination of nutrients, and the nutrient make-up determines how many calories the food or beverage contains. Fat has 9 calories per gram, while carbohydrates and proteins each contain 4 calories on a single gram. This explains why foods with large percentages of fat contain more calories per serving than foods with larger proportions of carbohydrates or proteins. Even though fat contains more calories than the other two macronutrients, a publication from the University of Illinois explains that no matter what your calorie intake is, you need to consume healthy fats for energy, nutrient absorption and healthy cells.
Total Fat Intake
The USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults consume 20 to 35 percent of their calories each day from all fats. While following a 2,000-calorie diet, you can have 400 to 700 of your total 2,000 calories from fat calories, or between 44.4 and 77.8 grams of fat each day. The nutrition label required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists the fat calories per serving next to the total calories per serving, and gives you the fat grams per serving underneath the calorie information.
Saturated and Trans Fats
Saturated fat is found mainly in foods from animals, and trans fat is present in many processed foods, including foods prepared in restaurants. These fats raise your risk of high cholesterol, contribute to clogging of your arteries and increase your risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association's recommendations for fat intake include limiting your intake of trans fats to "less than 1 percent" of your caloric intake, and limiting saturated fat to 7 percent or less. If you eat 2,000 calories, you can only have 20 calories, or 2.2 grams from trans fat, and 140 saturated fat calories, or 15.6 grams from saturated fat.
Polyunsaturated, Monounsaturated and Omega-3 Fats
Polyunsaturated, omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats should make up the vast majority of your fat intake. Although these fats have the same number of calories as the unhealthier fats, they can help reduce your blood cholesterol levels and may reduce your risk of developing heart disease. If you limit saturated fat to 7 percent of your diet and avoid trans fat completely, 93 percent of your fat intake should come from healthy fats. You can have between 372 to 651 of your total calories from healthy fats, or 41 to 72 grams. You can find these fats in fish, olive oil, canola oil, nuts, avocados and flaxseed.
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