Let’s skip through all the fuss and get right to the point. Today, we will calculate your daily ideal fat intake based on your goals and we will factor that into your diet plan. However, to calculate your ideal fat intake, you must first have the following:
- Daily caloric requirements. And don’t forget to adjust that to your goal(s) (caloric surplus – caloric deficit).
- Ideal protein intake.
- Ideal carb intake. This is calculated based on how much protein and fat you will eat, though. Thus, it’s okay if you don’t have this calculated yet. In fact, you shouldn’t!
So, what’s your ideal fat intake?
This depends on many factors, but as a rule of thumb:
Daily ideal fat intake = 30% of total calories consumed.
Thus, if your daily caloric requirements based on your goal(s) are 3000 calories, you would consume 1000 calories from dietary fat.
The reason why 30% should work well for most people is that it will support an optimal level of hormonal output (testosterone, DHT…etc.) and will provide a good enough amount of dietary fat to optimize bodily functions. However, feel free to eat more dietary fat (good fat) on the expense of carbohydrates. Your results could be better.
But, how can we calculate that?
1 gram of fat = 9 calories.
In the previous articles, I mentioned that dietary fat is the most calorie dense macronutrient. By know you should know that 1 gram of protein = 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories.
This all changes when it comes to dietary fat. So, keep in mind that each gram supplies your body with 9 calories.
So, how do you factor that into your diet plan?
Example:
Adam has calculated his daily caloric requirements and will eat at a surplus of 250 calories per day. This adds up to 3500 calories per day.
Adam has calculated his ideal protein intake, and will be consuming 200 grams of protein per day. Thus, 200 * 4 = 800 calories out of his caloric intake will come from protein.
Thus, Adam’s daily ideal fat intake = 0.30 * 3500 = 1050 calories. So, Adam should eat 1050 calories solely from dietary fat. Since each gram of fat supplies 9 calories, Adam would need to eat 1050 / 9 = 116.66 ~ 117 grams of dietary fat.
In addition, since Adam’s remainder of caloric requirements should come from carbohydrates, he will have 3500 – (1050 + 800) = 3500 – 1850 = 1650 calories left in his diet plan and he will consume those calories from carbohydrates.
Voila! Adam has successfully calculated all aspects of his perfect diet plan!
As I have said before, everyone is different and there isn’t one universal diet that will be perfect for everyone. But this guide will help you put together an almost perfect diet plan to improve your health and achieve your body composition goals. You should always read a bit more and see different opinions. Try new things. See what your body responds best to. You may do very well on a high-carb diet, but others won’t.
And vice versa. Play around with the ratios until you hit that sweet spot. Don’t be afraid of trying new things. After all, this is your body and everyone is unique.
Next step
Congratulations! You have put together a diet plan that is customized to you and your own needs/goals. You are 95% done with your diet plan. All that is left to do is to bust a few myths, learn some special diet strategies and learn about meal frequency and nutrient timing. We will also learn about peri workout nutrition (pre, intra and post workout meals). So, let’s proceed.
