Im a firm believer in a healthy and low-fat way of eating for controlling weight. Weight control is such a long-term process that any short-term diet can only be a poor and short-term solution. If youre like me and wish to develop healthy low fat eating habits then what exactly is the correct amount of fat as a percentage of total daily calories?

Macronutrient ratio
I believe in a basic 60 20 20 ratio, meaning 60% carbohydrates, 20% protein and 20% fats from total daily calorie intake. Some dieters may believe 20 percent fats is a little high and that a low fat eating should be much lower than 20%, but in fact we need a certain amount of essential fats for health. Fats also help permit the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E & K. It would also be quite difficult to stick to a diet lower than 20 percent because so many foods contain fat, or are prepared in some way using oils. Also most people may find it difficult to stick with bland, dry foods over a long-term. A 20 percent fat intake will account for the occasional junk food item that helps motivate and rejuvenate the long-term effort.

The high carbohydrate intake is to provide the body with its preferred energy source. A high storage of carbohydrates in the form of glycogen helps keep you feeling energetic and ready for physical activities which dieters should be active in when attempting to lose weight. Providing the body with plenty of carbohydrates also limits the amount of protein the body uses for energy. This is vital because if you are in a negative energy balance you want your body to spare protein so more of it can be used for muscle repair and an effective immune system. If your body uses too much protein for energy youll lose lean muscle and result in a lowered metabolism.
Protein can be increased above 20 percent but this is not always possible. Most good protein foods tend to contain just as much fat so when protein intake goes up to say 30 percent then it often causes fat intake to rise to more or less the same degree. The end result would be an overall ratio of 40 30 30 for carbohydrates, proteins and fats respectively. Whats more important is the quality of the protein sources. High quality protein foods help repair or even build extra lean tissue from the stress of any exercise undertaken on a weight loss plan. Any rise in lean muscle greatly increases the metabolic rate and enables your body to burn lots more calories even at rest. It has been estimated that a gain of just two pound of muscle which would hardly be noticeable in terms of body size could help you burn as much as 100 extra calories per day just for maintenance purposes!

Thermogenesis
Thermogenesis is the technical term for heat production. Every time we eat our body temperature rises and this increases the metabolism slightly. Each macronutrient produces a different effect on thermogenesis, therefore a macronutrient ratio which produces more thermogenesis means more of the calories you consume will be burned off as heat. There tends to be a higher rate of thermogenesis from protein and carbohydrates.

When we eat protein up to one-fifth of its energy is wasted as heat. Carbohydrate consumption also causes thermogenesis, between 10 and 15 % is used up from heat production. If you ate a meal composed of mainly protein and carbohydrates you would have a combined energy loss of around 15 percent! If you ate 100 calories from protein and carbohydrates around 15 calories would be lost through heat.

On the other hand, fat produces a very small thermic effect, as little as 3 percent of its energy is lost through heat production. If you ate 100 calories as fat only 3 calories will be burned off as heat. This is another benefit to eating low fat style when trying to lose weight.

The 60 20 20 ratio helps produce a high rate of thermogenesis if this ratio is roughly applied to every meal. The 60 20 20 ratio is also a simple and easy one to remember. It does not have to be strict and accurate as long as it is around those figures, for example if it went to 58 24 18 for carbohydrates, protein and fats respectively then this would still be fine. To help achieve this macronutrient ratio in a much more practical manner then use the following idea:

Make sure each meal contains about two-thirds as a carbohydrate source and one-third as a protein source. The fat amount will automatically fill in somewhere between 15 25 percent which will still be fine.
I always try to stick to this ratio of the three macronutrients to help control my weight over the long term. The only other thing I do is to make sure most of the carbohydrates I eat at every meal are mainly those with a low Glycemic Index. Although this is not as important as some G.I. dieters believe because if you consume high quality protein along with the carbohydrate it will create a low Glycemic Index meal. Carbohydrates should definitely come from low G.I. sources when they are eaten alone as a snack.