A l a b a m a A & M a n d A u b u r n U n i v e r s i t i e s www.aces.edu HE-690 Everyone is talking about fat and cholesterol low-fat hamburgers and lite mayonnaise. Some people are trying to lose weight by counting grams of fat instead of counting calories in food. Most food labels list grams of fat in food along with protein and carbohydrates.
But What is a Gram of? It s about 1/ 28 ounce, a very, very small amount. In other words, it takes 28 grams to make an ounce. It s the same idea as 25 pennies making a quarter. Most foods are sold by weight. You can buy 10 pounds of potatoes or a 3-pound roast. You buy a pound of cheese or 5 pounds of flour. The weight of food comes from protein, carbohydrates, fat, water, and in some foods, alcohol. A lot of the weight comes from water. For example, water makes up 90 percent of a cup of milk or a piece of watermelon, 75 percent of a banana, and 35 percent of a piece of bread. Even a cooked hamburger patty gets 50 percent of its weight from water. Label readers know that for most foods the amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fat are given in grams. These amounts are listed in grams because they are small amounts. It is easier to list grams than ounces in small amounts. Protein, carbohydrates, and fat are what is left over after the water is removed from a food. In addition, these three substances (plus alcohol) give calories or energy to food. Water has weight but doesn t have any calories. Alabama Cooperative Extension System What Should You Know About of? Do you feel that you don t need to think about what you eat, especially how much fat? After all, you probably know of someone who ate anything and lived to be 95. Let s face it these people are the lucky few. In addition, many of these people were more physically active than people are today, so their bodies burned more of the calories they ate. Today, most health professionals agree that Americans eat too much fat. The main problem with eating a lot of fat is simply that fat will make you gain weight faster than any other part of the food you eat. This is because a given amount of fat has more than twice as many calories as the same amount of protein or carbohydrates. (Remember, water gives a food weight but not calories.) The fatter you are, the greater your chances of getting heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some types of cancer. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to show the harmful effects of 20 or 30 pounds of extra fat. Simply stated, it s not healthy to be fat. Many Americans will be told by a doctor to watch what they eat at some time in their lives. Most will be told to limit the amount of fat they eat. How much fat should you eat? It is suggested that only 30 percent or less of your total caloric intake should come from fat. Most Americans eat more fat than 30 percent. If you want to figure out how many grams of fat you should be eating per day, here s how to do it: Step 1: Determine how many calories you need per day. The chart below gives average values for people of normal weight with a light physical activity level. You might need more or fewer calories depending on your height, weight, and exercise level. Step 2: Divide the calories you need per day by 30. For example, 1,600 calories divided by 30 equals 53 grams of fat. This is a short cut, but it gives you a good approximate number. Women (5 feet 4 inches, 120 pounds) Age Per Day of 23-50 1,600 53 51-75 1,500 50 76+ 1,300 43 Men (5 feet 10 inches, 154 pounds) 23-50,100 70 51-75 1,700 57 76+ 1,600 53
Ways To Cut Out Of Your Diet 1. The first step is easy. Eat less fried food at home and when eating out. 2. The second step isn t hard either. Go easy on adding extra fats to foods. Skip the margarine or butter on your toast or biscuit and use only jam. Use less mayonnaise on your sandwich even if it is low-fat, no-cholesterol mayonnaise. s are easy to locate they leave grease on your fingers. 3. The third step takes more time. Remove the visible fats from foods. Trim meats and skin chicken. Skim the fat from soups, gravies, and vegetables. 4. The fourth step can be tricky. Learn to read food labels. During the 1990s, labels on food packages changed. The goal was to make them easier to use, yet some changes may be confusing. If you count fat grams, however, you shouldn t have too much trouble. grams are listed on most food labels. 5. The fifth step is the hardest. Eat in moderation. In other words, stop after one small brownie. 3
s In Foods The following chart lists calories, fat grams, and percentage of calories from fat in a wide variety of foods. Foods within a category have similar categories and fat content. Look for general trends within groups of food. A difference of 10 calories or 1 gram of fat is not enough to worry about, unless you always choose the higher-fat foods. s & Oils Use small amounts. One serving has about 10 to 11 grams of fat and at least 100 calories. Because serving sizes vary, the best rule of thumb is to eat in moderation. Food Amount Saturated s: Bacon 2 slices 100 10 90 Butter 1 tbsp. 100 11 100 Chocolate, plain 1 oz. 145 9 62 Cream cheese 2 tbsp. 100 10 90 Sour cream 4 tbsp. 100 12 100 Whipping cream 2 tbsp. 100 12 100 Unsaturated s: Margarine Hard 1 tbsp. 100 11 100 Soft 1 tbsp. 75 9 100 Mayonnaise 1 tbsp. 100 11 100 Nuts Almonds 12 whole 100 10 90 Pecans 2 whole 100 10 90 Walnuts 2 whole 100 10 90 Peanuts 15 whole 100 10 90 Oil: Corn, cottonseed, safflower, soybean, sunflower, olive, peanut 1 tbsp. 125 14 100 Salad dressings 1 tbsp. 60-90 6-9 100 Breads, Cereals, Crackers, Pasta Include breads and grains in your diet eat a variety of cereals and breads. Typical servings are ½ cup of cereal, grain, or pasta or 1 ounce of a bread product. One serving has a trace of fat and about 80 calories. Some exceptions are listed below. These grain products have lots of fat. Food Amount Biscuit 2½ 100 5 45 Chow mein ½ cup 110 6 49 noodles Cornbread 1 wedge 145 12 74 Cracker, Round Butter type 4 60 4 60 Croissant 4 235 12 46 Granola ½ cup 298 17 51 Muffin, bran 2½ 125 6 43 Stuffing ½ cup 250 16 58 Taco shell 1 65 2 30 Waffle 7 245 13 48 4 Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Dairy & Egg Products Wean yourself from whole milk to 2% and then to 1% or skim. Look for low-fat chocolate milk. Frozen Desserts Substitute frozen yogurt and sherbet for high-fat ice cream. Food Amount Fruit popsicle 1 bar 65 0 0 Fruit ice 1 bar 247 trace trace Fudgesicle 1 bar 91 trace trace Frozen yogurt, Fruit-flavored 1 cup 216 2 1 Sherbet, orange 1 cup 270 4 13 Pudding pops 1 bar 94 3 29 Ice milk, vanilla Soft serve 1 cup 223 5 20 Ice milk, vanilla Hard 1 cup 184 6 29 Ice cream, vanilla 1 cup 269 14 47 Ice cream, French vanilla, soft 1 cup 377 23 55 Ice cream, vanilla, rich (16% fat) 1 cup 349 24 62 Food Amount Milk: Skim 8 oz. 86 trace trace Buttermilk 8 oz. 99 2 18 Low-fat, 1% fat 8 oz. 102 3 26 Low-fat, 2% fat 8 oz. 121 5 37 Whole, 3.3% fat 8 oz. 150 8 48 Yogurt: Plain 4 oz. 70 4 46 Plain, low-fat 4 oz. 63 trace trace Eggs: Whole 1 79 6 68 White only 1 16 0 0 Yolk only 1 63 6 86 Cheese Most cheese has 8 grams of fat and 100 calories per serving. If you love cheese, look for those with 5 or 6 grams of fat per ounce. Part-skim mozzarella is one good choice. One serving of cheese equals 1 ounce or a 1-inch cube. Food Amount Brie 1 oz. 95 8 99 Cheddar 1 oz. 114 9 71 Colby 1 oz. 112 9 72 Cream 1 oz. 99 10 91 Gouda 1 oz. 101 8 71 Monterey Jack 1 oz. 106 9 51 Muenster 1 oz. 104 8 69 Swiss 1 oz. 107 8 69 5
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Shellfish Three ounces of cooked lean beef or chicken (without skin) which is about the size of a deck of cards has 6 to 7 grams of fat. Choose lean cuts. Look for beef or pork with the words round or loin in the name: sirloin, tenderloin, eye of round, round steak. Make hamburgers from ground round or ground sirloin. In packaged luncheon meats, look for those that have 1 gram of fat per 1-ounce serving. Good choices: chicken or turkey breast, lean roast beef, ham. Weights given in the chart are for cooked servings. Three ounces equal one serving. 6 Alabama Cooperative Extension System Food Amount Beef Lowest fat: Top round, eye of round, bottom round, short loin, wedgebone sirloin 3 oz. 170 7 37 Moderately fat: Pot roast (chuck), T-bone, porterhouse steak, flank, blade roast 3 oz. 200 11 48 Higher fat: Corned beef, ground beef, short ribs 3 oz. 275 15 60 Highest fat: Salami 3-4 slices 262 21 71 Bologna 3-4 slices 312 29 82 Frankfurter 2 315 29 82 Food Amount Pork Lowest fat: Fresh tender, cured ham, cured shoulder, fresh ham shank, rump 3 oz. 163 7 40 Moderately fat: Fresh loin, Boston 3 oz. 226 15 60 Highest fat: Italian sausage, bratwurst, liverwurst, sausage links, spareribs 3 oz. 370 25 71 Poultry Chicken or turkey, skinned 1 serving 170 6 30 Chicken frankfurter 2 franks 257 20 68 Turkey bologna 3 slices 199 15 69 Turkey frankfurter 2 franks 226 18 18 Food Amount Fish & Shellfish Very low-fat: Bass, cod, clams, crab, grouper, lobster, shrimp, snapper, tuna (water-packed) 3 oz. 100-135 1-2 7-19 Low-fat: Tuna (oil-packed), oysters 3 oz. 160 5 30 Moderately fat: Catfish 3 oz. 128 7 49 Salmon 3 oz. 216 11 46 Highest fat: Mackerel 3 oz. 262 18 61
Sweets & Snacks Buy low-fat cake mixes. When it comes to cookies, fig bars and graham crackers are good low-fat choices. Snack on air-popped popcorn, light popcorn, and pretzels instead of chips. Food Amount Cookies Vanilla wafers 5 94 3 32 Fig bars 4 210 4 17 Oatmeal 4 small 245 4 37 Chocolate chip 4 small 185 11 54 Cakes & Pies Angel food cake 1 / 12 125 trace trace Gingerbread 1 square 175 4 21 Pound cake 1 slice 110 5 41 Lemon meringue pie 1 / 6 355 14 36 Apple pie 1 / 6 405 18 40 Pudding Chocolate ½ cup 150 4 24 Snacks Popcorn, air-popped 1 cup 30 trace trace Popcorn, popped in oil 1 cup 55 3 49 Pretzels 10 10 trace trace Corn chips 1 oz. 155 9 52 Potato chips 1 oz. 147 10 62 7
Three Simple Rules What if your favorite foods are high in fat? Three simple rules can help you enjoy some of your favorites while still maintaining an overall healthy eating plan. Rule Number 1 Mix a low-fat food with a high-fat food. Instead of french fries, eat a plain baked potato with fried chicken. Rule Number 2 Don t eat high-fat food every day. If you eat a fatty food one day, then the next day cut back on the fats and eat more fruits, vegetables, breads, and cereals. Rule Number 3 Enjoy! (A meal high in fat is okay every now and then. Don t forget to eat moderate amounts.) CAUTION No one diet is right for everyone. The information in this publication is a general guideline. For more detailed information about your specific needs, check with your doctor, dietitian, or nutritionist. HE-690 Barbara Struempler, Extension Nutritionist, Professor, Nutrition and Food Science, Auburn University For more information, call your county Extension office. Look in your telephone directory under your county s name to find the number. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability. 7M, Revised Oct 2006, HE-690 2007 by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. All rights reserved.