There are 9 calories per gram of fat, but only 4 calories per gram of carbohydrates or protein. So how many grams are we suppose to have of each? You are better off to calculate the numbers as a percentage.
Let's say you weigh 200 pounds, and you have to eat 3000 calories per day to stay at that weight because you are an average type person. According to the US standards, about 100 grams should be fat, and that calculates to 900 calories or about 30% of your daily intake. About 390 grams of carbs will come up to about 1560 calories, or a little over half your calories from sugar. Let's round it off to 50%, and make the rest protein, or 20% of your daily diet. Personally, I think there are some idiots in Washington.
They have it in simplified terms: Half fruits and veggies, and half, solid oily foods. We all know what constitutes a fruit or veggie, so let's concentrate on solid oily foods for a minute, just to get it straight. Peanuts are oily and solid. They have protein and fat. They are a legume. So are beans. Some other solid oily food are fish, pork, fowl and bear, elk, deer, squirrel and shrimp. How much fat is there in shrimp compared to peanut butter? The government wants us to eat more oil, or fat than protein. I find them foolish! Pig fat is not the same as olive oil, and we all know that, so what should we do about it? Use a little common sense is my idea. Not very unique, but it's one step up from listening to the government.
Animal fat is sticky, and you can prove this by eating fried chicken with your fingers. After washing your hands, try eating some peanuts. Check out your fingers one more time and then think about the insides of your veins and arteries. Which food is clogging your arteries? You make the call. But too much sugar will cause diabetes, so you figure out what is best for your diet. Hey, whatever happened to protein in this discussion? Oh that's right, the government made that the low priority food! The least percentage of an average daily dietary need. Bull!!!!!
I say, we change the government's standards to something that makes sense! 40% protein, 40% sugar, and 20% fat, for a total of 100% health, and forget the government and all the payoffs we all know they take. Let's think of the children. Not just the fat children of the US, but let's include the starving children of the world. In the US, we feed corn to pigs so they will grow big and fat quickly, then we eat the pigs. We don't like beans because they give us gas, and that is socially unacceptable. A shame, really. I'm looking at a can of Jack Mackerel, right now. The label says it serves 6, and that the total can has 18 grams of fat, and 78 grams of protein with no carbohydrates. That translates to 162 calories from fat, and 312 calories from protein. So let's go back to that 200 pound guy, and see what this does.
I said I think 40% of the daily requirements should be from protein. Of the 3000 calories per day, our man needs 1200 from protein. The Mackerel gives him over one quarter of what he needs. As for fat, our 200 pound man needs 600 calories per day. The Mackerel gives him about one eighth of what he is suppose to have, leaving all kinds of room for filling up on other assorted foods. I also have a jar of precooked Great Northern beans in front of me. It's a big jar. It claims to serve 12 people. The total protein in the jar is 72 grams, or 288 calories, depending on how you want to look at it. If you take a peek at the total between the Mackerel and the beans, you will see that we now have 600 calories from protein, or half of what the man needs. The beans contain no fat, so we still have a lot of room to play here. But the beans have carbohydrates, 228 to be exact. Multiply the 228 by 4 calories per gram, and you have 1112 calories from carbs, or almost all of what the man is required for a day. So now we have a new problem. The man has eaten only two foods and he can only consume 88 more calories in sugary substances, while he hasn't had hardly any fats, and only half his protein.
How about a hunk of chicken? Not just any chicken, but boneless, skinless, chicken breast. One pound of this equates to 4 grams of fat, which equals 36 calories, and 88 grams of protein, which is 352 calories. So how is our man making out now? 952 calories from protein, or about 32% of his daily diet. Less than 7% is from fat, and 37% of the daily diet comes from carbohydrates. That's a total of 76% of the calories the man needs to maintain his weight. And he has already eaten 5 pounds of food. This might be alright for a weightlifter trying to lose weight, but we started out with an ordinary man. What went wrong? Maybe the government is not as stupid as I first thought. My man hasn't had any fruits or vegetables, nor one thing to drink with calories in it. Of course a few Pepsis or Cokes would solve the problem, but he could also have a few tablespoons full of sugar to fill the bill. Whatever happened to the health part of this scenario? What about the starving children? Let's fill in the blanks.
Rice and beans and fish are fine, but there is nothing wrong with a hamburger or pizza now and then. Do everything in moderation unless you are trying to lose weight, then stick with high protein and cut the sugars and fats. That's it. There is no more. Believe that the government did a study to see what makes sense, and give a few bucks a year to send beans to starving children. Let them have the gas. Maybe they can use the methane to fuel engines that will work water pumps to irrigate the lands they live in that seem to never grow enough food. Stop being so self centered and self indulgent. Save yourself for your children and save other's children for yourself. Now that you know all about grams an calories, use this knowledge to do something helpful.