The amount of calories you can consume each day is based on a number of factors, including your age, height, weight and level of activity. The amount of fat recommended in a healthy diet is based on your daily caloric consumption. This means that the number of calories and grams of fat an individual can eat on a given day will vary greatly from person to person. However, there are guidelines that you can use to help arrive at each of these values.
Calories
Though the "Daily Values" percentages on food labels are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, your caloric consumption isn't as cut and dry. To determine the actual number of calories you can consume of a given day, you need your age in years, weight in pounds and height in inches. When plugged into the following equations based on your sex, you're able to establish your daily caloric consumption to maintain your current weight without exercise or physical exertion.
Women: [655 + (4.35 x weight) + (4.7 x height) - (4.7 x age)] x 1.2
Men: [66 + (6.23 x weight) + (12.7 x height) - (6.8 x age)] x 1.2
Weight Loss
If you're overweight, you can then make adjustments in your caloric consumption to help you lose excess pounds. Creating a deficit over a period of time of 3,500 calories, which is equivalent to 1 lb of fat, can help you lose a pound of weight. This can be done through diet, exercise or a combination of both.
Total Fat
According to the American Heart Association, the total amount of fat you consume should be limited to less than 25 to 35 percent of your total calories. And since 1 gram of fat is equivalent to 9 calories, another simple equation can help you determine how many grams of fat you can consume based on your total calories. If you eat 1,850 calories, your diet can include anywhere between 51 and 71 grams of fat. Take your total calories divided by 9 and multiply by 0.25 and then 0.35 to establish this range. But this fat isn't just any kind of fat. Stick to healthier fats, such as polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat.
Saturated Fat
Both the Mayo Clinic and the American Heart Association recommend keeping your saturated fat intake to fewer than 7 percent of your total calories. A similar equation can help you arrive at this number. Take your total calories divided by 9 and multiply it by 0.07 to arrive at this threshold. If you eat 1,850 calories, your diet shouldn't include more than 14 grams of saturated fat.
Trans Fatty Acids
More commonly referred to as trans fat, trans fatty acid shouldn't really make up any part of your diet. However, the American Heart Association advises you to keep trans fat to fewer than 1 percent of your total calories. Take your total calories divided by 9 and multiply it by 0.01 to arrive at this threshold. If you eat 1,850 calories, your diet shouldn't include more than 2 grams of trans fat.
Member Comments