How to Calculate Your Fat Intake

by Lynn Grieger

We all know that lowering your dietary fat intake is highly desirable for good health and body weight. Your total fat consumption should be no more than 30% of your total calories. But how do you apply the numbers in real life?

Take a box of crackers with 8 grams of fat and 150 calories per serving.

Step One:
Fat contains 9 calories per gram.
8 fat grams x 9 = 72 calories from fat.

Step Two:
To find the percentage of total calories from fat,
divide fat calories by total calories.
72 / 150 = .46 x 100 = 46% calories from fat.

Although this exceeds the recommended 30%, you can still reduce your total fat intake with lower-fat foods:
Food/Amount Fat Calories Total Calories
1 serving crackers 70 150
1 raw apple 0 60
1 cup skim milk 0 80
totals: 70 290

Now do the math: 70 / 290 = .24 x 100 = 24% calories from fat. By balancing higher-fat choices with low-fat foods, you can meet your fat calorie goals.