Having some idea what our daily calorie needs are is a starting point. The discussion of calories in Step #3 is just a start there are many ways to determine calorie goals. The method we are using will suite our purpose.The pie graph we used in Step #3 represents only 3 of the nutrients we will be determining gram values for. In addition to our PCF ratio as shown in the pie graph to the right, we will be setting goals for a total balance.



There are a minimum of 9 nutrient values we need to be concerned with. These 9 nutrient values include:

1. TOTAL FAT 2. SATURATED FAT 3. TRANSFATS 4. CHOLESTEROL 5. TOTAL CARBOHYDRATES.

6. DIETARY FIBER 7. SUGARS 8. PROTEIN 9. SODIUM

These basic nutrient values will be used at each meal to achieve a good balanced meal. There are other values we need to be concerned with, but these nine are the ones we will use for meal planning purposes. Additionally, we should pay attention to potassium, iron, vitamins, omega 3, omega 6, omega 9, anti oxidants and several other nutrients. The software we recommend tracks 88 different nutrition values and makes it easier to gain full control over what we eat.

Each of these nine elements is required in a good nutrition plan every day and in well balanced amounts. Prior to the advent of  personal computers, hand held computing devices, and appropriate software, getting it right was a daunting almost impossible task. Not getting it right has major medical consequences.

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Our goal is to achieve a proper balance that promotes optimal health. The USDA has guidelines to help us achieve this goal. The food pyramid is a visualization to help us see what we need to do. The foods on the pyramid are chosen in proportion to their placement on the pyramid, the ones we should consume the least of are in the small space at the top. As we go down the chart, the importance of the foods increase. The ones that we should concume the most of are appropriately in the largest space at the bottom or base of the pyramid. At the top are meats and other foods with fats. At the bottom are the low glycemic carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, whole grain pastas, whole grain breads etc.The USDA pyramid is a better guide than most of us follow but still has some problems for an optimal diet. The Carbohydrate levels are higher than desirable, it allows for too much of the unhealthy fats, some essential nutrients such as omega 3 are not emphasized, and it allows for highly processed foods that are not optimal choices.

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TOTAL FAT The total calories from fat in each meal should be about 30% of the calories for that meal. Having 30% fat isn't the whole answer. 30% saturated and transfats would be a total disaster.
There are good fats and bad fats. We want to eliminate as much of the bad fat as possible and increase the good fats.

If you eat an extra 100 calories of fat that your body doesn’t need, it takes only about 3 calories to digest and metabolize the fat. You will find 97 of these fat calories stored in your fat cell.
100 calories-3 calories = 97 calories of fat to ready to metabolize for storage
If you eat an extra 100 calories of carbohydrates or protein than your body doesn’t need, it takes at least 25 calories to digest and convert them to fat. 1 gram of fat provides 9 calories 1 gram of carbohydrate provides 4 calories 1 gram of protein provides 4 calories30 per cent fat diet Is low enough to reduce your risk of disease and receive some weight control benefit.

To calculate calories and grams of fat per serving.

You already know that each gram of fat provides your body with 9 calories, so you first multiply the grams of fat by 9, then divide by the total calories per serving too get the percentage of calories from fat.

Grams of fat x 9 calories/gram = % calories from fat Total calories per serving Example. If the food has Calories per serving:150 Grams of fat 6 grams of fat x 9 calories/gram = 54 fat caloriesPretty much ignore the claims from food manufacturers. They are often very misleading and are based on marketing ploys and not healthy nutrition.

Most of the ‘reduced fat’ foods are made by taking the original food and adding water to it. Water contains no calories, so it just dilutes the fat and calories.

Example. Foods that claim ‘95% fat free’ Food companies evaluate the fat content based on weight, not based on calories. Remember your body doesn’t care how much a food weights, it cares how many calories it will get from the food.

Here is an imaginary food, most foods contain some fat, carbohydrates protein and water. This food has:1 gram of fat that provides 9 calories1 gram of carbohydrates that provides 4 calories 1 gram of protein that provides 4 calories1 gram of water that provides 0 calories,  4  grams total1 7 calories total. A food company would find it advantageous to evaluate the fat content of this food based on weight.

There are 4 grams total and 1 gram from fat, so the food is 25 per cent fat by weight. The 30 per cent recommendation is for percentage of fat by calories, not percentage of fat by weight.

If we calculate the percentage of fat by calories, look what happens: 1 gram x 9 calories/gram = 9/17 total calories 53% of the calories from fat so to make this food a ‘lite’ or ‘reduced fat’ version, a manufacturer need only add water.

Water adds weight to the food but doesn’t add calories because water contains no calories.1 gram of fat that provides 9 calories 1 gram of carbohydrates that provides 4 calorie 1 gram of protein that provides 4 calories 17 grams of water that provides 0 calories 20 grams total1 7 calories total

The fat by weight has gone way down, but the fat by calories has stayed the same. There are now 20 grams total with 1 gram of fat, so the percentage of fat by weight is only 5 per cent. The claim on this food could be ‘95% fat free’. A true statement by weight, but not by calories. It still derives 53 per cent of its calories from fat.

Don’t believe anything that you read on a food package, figure it out yourself. For a well-balanced meal we are looking for 30% calories from fat, but they have to be good fats. Good fats are monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, Omega 3, omega 6, and omega 9. Bad fats are saturated fats, transfats, and cholesterol.
 

Further Fat Facts A woman has over 30 billion fat cells in her body right now that are capable of storing ten stones of fat. A fat cell’s sole purpose is to store calories when you do not need them and to release calories when you do need them. There are names for the storage and release of fat Lipogenesis: = the storage of fat ‘lipo’ means fat/’genesis’ means formation lipolysis: + the release of fat ‘lipo’ means fat/’lysis’ means breakdown. A fat cell does not function alone, it requires help from a complex enzyme system. Enzymes facilitate the transport of fat in and out of the fat cell. The enzymes that help store fat are called the lipogenic enzymes, and the enzymes that help release fat are the lipolytic enzymes. Men and women have roughly the same number of fat cells but the difference is the enzyme systems and the size of the fat cells. Women have more lipogenic enzymes for the storage of fat, and the more you can store, the bigger the fat cell. Men have more lipolytic enzymes for the release of fat, and therefore have smaller fat cells. Estrogen, the female sex hormone, activates and multiplies the lipogenic enzymes and directs where the fat is store The other difference between men and women is the muscle cell. Men have more muscle cells, about 40 per cent more. Muscle contains special calorie burning structures called ‘mitochondria’ that convert calories to heat and water. So when it comes to the decision on where calories go in the body’ the more muscle cells you have, the more calories are directed to the muscle cells to be burned and the less to the fat cells to be stored. Aerobicising your fat cells Reducing your fat intake and eating healthily will encourage your cells to store less fat, however to release the fat that is already there, aerobic exercise is essential. Aerobic exercise includes walking, running, skipping, dancing, etc. Start with 30 minutes exercise per week, then after two weeks increase to 30 minutes twice per week, ideally spaced out. The aim is to build your exercise up to three times per week for 45 minutes each.

Saturated Fat

 Saturated fat isn't good for our bodies. It tends to increase cholesterol and leave deposits in our arteries. Too much saturated fat becomes a health risk effecting our heart. The American Heart Association, CDC and other reputable sources suggest we should have no more than 10% of our total fat as saturated fat. This may be difficult to achieve at first until new eating and food preparation habits are established. Eventually you can learn how to reduce the saturated fats to even less than the 10% recommendation.

Transfats

There are no health benefits in transfats. Transfats are created when fats or heated to high temperatures or are hydrogenated. When fats are heated to high temperatures or when they undergo a process used by food manufacturers called hydrogenation they are converted chemically into transfats. Transfats have what are known as free-radicals. Free radicals are extremely bad for the human body. Free-radicals cause damage that requires anti-oxidants to repair. anti-oxidants are a good thing found in many fruits and vegetables. If the anti-oxidants are being used to fight the damage we are doing by consuming transfats, (free-radicals) their ability to provide the health benefits is greatly reduced. We have no need for trandfats in out nutrients, eliminate them as much as possible.
Do not be fooled by nutrition labels that do not list transfats, the manufactures are not required by federal law to list them. Do a little detective work. Read the ingredients.(they are required by law to list all ingredients) If you see hydrogenated vegetable oil or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, that is a transfat, according to most sources I can find. This leads to a bit of confusion that I have not yet found an answer to. Some labels say 0 transfats but there are hydrogenated vegetable oil and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in the ingredients. Cholesterol

The American Heart Association, The Center for Disease Control, The American Dieticians Association and other credible sources recommend limiting cholesterol consumption to 200 - 300 milligrams per day. There is no daily requirement for cholesterol in our nutrient intake. Our bodies produce all the cholesterol we need. I have found that with a little practice, I have been able to limit the cholesterol I consume to under 80 milligrams per day.

There are some simple things we can do to  switch from eating too much of the bad fats and eat more of the good fats. 1. Quit cooking with oils or fats as much as possible. When using something to keep foods from sticking, use one of the nonstick sprays such as Pam or one of the other non-stick sprays. 2. Replace Butter and other high saturated fat, high cholesterol spreads with one of the low saturated fat, 0 cholesterols spreads such as "Move Over Butter," Fleischmann’s, or the other good choices currently available. 3. Limit the amount of  fatty meats. Limit meat to small portions only a couple of times a week. Always use the leanest meats available such as 95% lean ground beef , lean cuts of beef pork  and other meats. replace the red meats with lean poultry (breast is best) and fish. 4. When using eggs, use only the whites. Egg white is an excellent source of protein. The yolk is loaded with cholesterol. The yolk from one large egg has 211 mg of cholesterol. I typically consume less than 80 mg for the entire day. 5. Replace the BAD FATS with GOOD FATS. Simple ways to get the good fats are eat foods that contain them which can be found on other pats of this site. start using the better oils. The better oils are olive oil, canola oil, safflower oil and Enova oil. The best Brands I have found and use daily are Enova oil and LouAna Brand safflower oil.

TOTAL CARBOHYDRATES

Calories from carbohydrates should make up 50-55% of what we eat at each meal. If we are diabetic or trying to lose weight, these carbohydrates should be low glycemic carbohydrates. A list of foods low on the glycemic scale can be found at www.nutricoach.net/low_gi_foods.html  Some of the very low carbohydrate diet plans can be dangerous. When carbohydrates are drastically reduced they have to be replaced with either fats or proteins. Either isn't a good idea. Radical increase of fats will often be accompanied by  too much saturated fat, cholesterol or transfats. As we discussed above all of these are bad for you. the other choice is way too much protein. Too much protein produces a condition known as ketosis. If ketosis is sever it is ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis is a serious medical condition that can lead to sever complications, even death. Too much protein stresses the kidneys and can lead to kidney damage or possibly kidney failure. I don't know about you but I don't want to take those risks when there is a very good very powerful healthy way to achieve diabetes control, weight loss, control of cholesterol and other issues. 1 gram of carbohydrate equals 4 calories. to arrive at the proper grams of carbohydrates per day, multiply the total calorie requirement by .50-.55 this will give you the total grams of carbohydrates you should consume in a day. Portion that into your meals and snacks in a balanced manner with the other nutrients.


DIETARY FIBER

Dietary fiber is required to keep our lower colon healthy and to keep the waste products of digestion moving out of our bodies properly. 25 - 35 grams of fiber per day is recommended. getting more than that is only better. Dietary fiber is only found in carbohydrate sources. There is none in meat. The best sources of fiber are found in whole grains such as scotch oats and steel cut oats, whole grain products such as bread and pasta, nuts, legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables. Recently Oprah had a guest gastrointestinal surgeon who shocked Oprah and her audience when he told her that a healthy colon that gets the proper amount of fiber will pass gas an average of 14 times a day.

SUGARS

Sugar comes in several varieties. Anything ending in "ose" is a sugar. Sucrose is the one we normally think of. There is glucose, fructose, lactose and several other sugars. Diabetic used to be told to avoid sugar. The American Diabetes Association is now recommending to treat sugar the same as you would any other carbohydrate. with this in mind, simple sugars are high on the glycemic scale and in my mind should be avoided by diabetic and people who are wanting to lose weight. Less than 10% of daily total carbohydrate consumption I think is a good guide. I usually consume much less than that. Whether it can hurt you or not I am not sure from the research I have read. I do know I have achieved diabetic control in a very short period of time that has my doctors scratching their heads. You decide for your self.

PROTEIN

Protein is necessary, but too much can be harmful. 15 - 20% calories from protein is a good amount. Protein can be found in a variety of foods. These foods include meat, fish, poultry, egg whites, dairy products and in many fruits and vegetables. too much protein is not good for you. Too much protein stresses your kidneys and if consumed in large quantities over an extended period of time can lead to kidney damage and ultimately to kidney failure.