How much fat?

Tooloopee
Tooloopee Posts: 24
in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying very VERY hard to improve my diet - and in general, I think I'm doing pretty well.

Decided to try a new breakfast this morning and made up my own muesli yesterday. It was based loosely on the recipe I saw here: http://www.healthambition.com/homemade-healthy-muesli-better-energy/

I made it up with 400g Oats, 200g Desiccated Coconut, 200g Walnut pieces, 250g linseeds and 3 tablespoons cinnamon.
When I entered my breakfast into myfitnesspal this morning, 100g of the muesli and 100 ml of semi skimmed milk, I was a bit shocked to see the fat content - 40g in total. Should I be as concerned about this as I am? Is this a healthy breakfast? Could I make better choices?

The complete nutritional breakdown of this muesli, that I calculated, for 100g, dry is:

515 Calories
25g Carbs
38g Fat
12g Protein
13g Fiber

The "bad" ingredient in the muesli seems to be the desiccated coconut - the nutritional information on the packet I bought was limited (and I derived the rest from estimates on internet searches) but had the following per 100g:
Energy: 604 kcal
Protein: 5.6g
Carbohydrate: 6.4g
Fat: 62.0 g

Replies

  • Chadomaniac
    Chadomaniac Posts: 1,785 Member
    That's a lot of fat per serving

    But its not a problem if it fits your calories and macro nutrient goals for the day
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    That's a lot of fat per serving

    But its not a problem if it fits your calories and macro nutrient goals for the day

    this!

    it is a lot of fat, but thats not suprising given your ingredients!
  • Tooloopee
    Tooloopee Posts: 24
    Thanks - I'm not especially fussed about having this - I only chose it because I thought it was a better choice - so if I can make better choices, then I will (only thing I don't eat which I think would be good for breakfast is eggs). Would I be best looking for alternative muesli options, or are they all the same and I should look for non muesli options?

    Just been looking at the other packets - and its not just the desiccated coconut that is bad.

    The linseeds are 42g of fat per 100g
    The walnuts are 69g of fat per 100g
  • bluetuesday5
    bluetuesday5 Posts: 99 Member
    I wouldn't worry about it. The fats in linseed and walnuts are renowned for being good for you.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Thanks - I'm not especially fussed about having this - I only chose it because I thought it was a better choice - so if I can make better choices, then I will (only thing I don't eat which I think would be good for breakfast is eggs). Would I be best looking for alternative muesli options, or are they all the same and I should look for non muesli options?

    Just been looking at the other packets - and its not just the desiccated coconut that is bad.

    The linseeds are 42g of fat per 100g
    The walnuts are 69g of fat per 100g

    nuts and seeds are not 'bad'.
  • Chadomaniac
    Chadomaniac Posts: 1,785 Member
    Muesli will be packed with calories

    Its marketed as a "healthier choice" .
    yes its packed with micro nutrients and minerals doesn't mean you will start getting into shape though

    You can eat oat bran with fruits and yoghurts and hit a 1/4 of the fats u getting in the muesli with basically the same nutritional benefits .
    But like I said , its all about total calories and macro nutrients at the end of the day , u can eat 40g of fat in one shot at breakfast if that's what u prefer .
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Thanks - I'm not especially fussed about having this - I only chose it because I thought it was a better choice - so if I can make better choices, then I will (only thing I don't eat which I think would be good for breakfast is eggs). Would I be best looking for alternative muesli options, or are they all the same and I should look for non muesli options?

    Just been looking at the other packets - and its not just the desiccated coconut that is bad.

    The linseeds are 42g of fat per 100g
    The walnuts are 69g of fat per 100g

    They are not 'bad' :)

    Like someone else said, it depends what you're eating for the rest of the day.

    You should be eating a minimum of 0.4g fat per lb of body weight.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    Fat does not make you fat, and no food is inherently unhealthy. Sure, there are probably 'healthier' options, if by healthier you mean lower calorie and lower in fat, but it's all about your overall diet, not one meal. If you enjoy that breakfast and it fits into your macros for the day, munch away.
  • Tooloopee
    Tooloopee Posts: 24
    Ok - thanks all - put my mind at rest a bit :)

    I'll keep munching and tracking my overall daily stats and see where I stand.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Ok - thanks all - put my mind at rest a bit :)

    I'll keep munching and tracking my overall daily stats and see where I stand.

    i dont know what your calorie goal is, but i aim for 35% of my calories to come from fat, which is about 70g from 1800 cals.
  • Tooloopee
    Tooloopee Posts: 24
    You should be eating a minimum of 0.4g fat per lb of body weight.

    I'm interested in this - MFP gives me a goal of 54g of fat per day - however a minimum of 0.4g fat per lb of bodyweight gives me a minimum of 68g of fat per day. That's quite a big difference.

    I have been trying hard to reduce my fat to the absolute minimum - my last 7 days (presumably including breakfast today, but none of the other meals that I havent had yet) show a fat consumption of 223g against a MFP goal of 462g - maybe I'm overdoing it?

    I'm not overweight (I weighed in this morning at 76.3kg - I view my absolute perfect weight as 75KG) - historically I've been ultra sedentary and with a poor, presumably high fat, diet (home processed convenience foods).

    When I started the MFP journey, my protein was coming in well short of MFP goal, so I started taking Protein shakes after exercise (which I've started doing - mainly exercise bike) - however I think I'm substantially overdoing the protein now (I've also started eating more chicken) - so probably need to change this habit.

    I'm about 2 months in, and have just got a pair of calipers to measure body fat (so I dont have a starting reading) - but its not TOO bad (though could definitely be improved) - assuming my measurements are correct I'm coming in at about 25% body fat (I'm 41)
    i dont know what your calorie goal is, but i aim for 35% of my calories to come from fat, which is about 70g from 1800 cals.

    My current MFP goal is 1620 calories with 203g carbs, 54g fat and 81g protein. The MFP breakdown for me (I presume it changes for different users?) is 50% carbs, 30% fat and 20% protein - I've been aiming for something like 20% fat and 30% protein instead.
  • Tooloopee
    Tooloopee Posts: 24
    I have been trying hard to reduce my fat to the absolute minimum - my last 7 days (presumably including breakfast today, but none of the other meals that I havent had yet) show a fat consumption of 223g against a MFP goal of 462g - maybe I'm overdoing it?

    Actually, I should probably make clear that I'm also 2,348 net calories under my weekly goal.
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Fat won't make you fat if you keep it within your calorie goals - it's necessary for loads of scientific reasons I can't explain :/ - like hormones and stuff.

    I'm set at 30% (but go over a lot of the time).

    ETA: low fat diets are a common misconception. I avoid anything marketed in this way (the fat will just be replaced by sugar - so what's the point). because fat is 9 cals a gramme, you need to eat less food if you include it properly but you will be healthy!
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    If you want to lower the fat content of your museli then reduce the amount of dessicated coconut you are using. It is quite high in fat and a lot of that is saturated fat. You could try making it without the coconut and then just sprinkling some over it once it's in the bowl.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Most mueslis will be similar.

    Did you really have 100g of it as one serving?
  • Tooloopee
    Tooloopee Posts: 24
    Most mueslis will be similar.

    Did you really have 100g of it as one serving?

    Is that a lot? The recipe I linked to suggested 1 cup (240ml?) - 100g came in at under 240ml.
  • Tooloopee
    Tooloopee Posts: 24
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    Thanks - that's a lot of reading - but looks useful/important - I'll read it properly later on.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    there is no need ot eat so little fat, and there is no reason to be so far under goal - MFP gives you a deficit anyway. and there is such thing as eating too little!
  • sarahseczkowski
    sarahseczkowski Posts: 2 Member
    If you want to reduce the fat just add more oats to the ratio. They are some awesome ingredients but yes they are high in good fats.

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