Not Enough Fat

I'm having a serious issue with getting a healthy amount of fat into my diet each day. I either way over do it, or I don't have nearly enough (like today).
Today I'm at 7.3% fat (6 grams), 31.1% protein (59 grams), and 61.6% carbs (118 grams; nearly all of which is from fruit)

I've eaten:
Kashi Go Lean Oatmeal - 150 cal
A fruit smoothie with 1 banana 105 cal
       &nb sp;               &nb sp;            Pineapple chunks 19 cal
       &nb sp;               &nb sp;            2 tbsp Orange Juice 37 cal
Canned Tuna 150 cal
1 tbsp lemon juice 3 cal
1 banana 105 cal
10 grapes 16 cal
4 cherries 17 cal (I didn't even know I liked fresh cherries!)
1 kiwi 46 cal
1/2 cup cottage cheese 70 cal

So my questions are:
What happens if you don't get enough fat?
Should I make an effort to incorporate some olive oil or another healthier fat into my dinner?
What are some other healthy fats?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice =]

oh to have such a problem :)  try a krispy kreme :)

Seriously, you need fats to absorb some vitamins and minerals, so yes, add a little healthy fat.  Olive oil, fish oils, nuts/peanut butter are the usual recommendations.

Adding 1 TBS of olive oil to your food already add Fat and calories :)

Avocado is another fruit/food that is rich with good fat.

Fish: Tilapia and Salmon too

If you don't eat enough fat in your diet your hair will start to fall out! You need at LEAST 26grams of fat a day (according to discovery health) How about incorporating some peanut butter or an avocado?

yes i agree peanut butter, if you get the organic you get only the good fast.

Hello, this is only 718 calories.  I sure hope you're planning to eat more than that today, because otherwise fats aren't all you should worry about ... it's extremely difficult to get all essential nutrients without getting at least 1200 calories a day. 

Vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and avocados all have healthy oils and will help boost your calorie level.  Try eating some almonds for a snack or having a salad with oil and vinegar dressing.

lysistrata-That was only my breakfast and lunch. Since then I've eaten a snack and am getting ready for dinner, as I mentioned in my original post.

brokenspoons: I just think that you've just saved my problem!!!
I'm getting a good 1200 calories each day......carbs and protein well balanced but just 8 to 12 grams of fat each day....I'll try add some olive oil into my diet...(I can't have PB cause I live in Europe and we only get the skippy creamy kind of....*yuck* BUT: I can have it in 8 more days when I come to the States...yay*)
THANKS (hugs*)

i'm glad i'm not alone!! everything I eat just tends to be low fat... it just happens... lol I know I need more fat though!

God i hear ya! Though my main problem is that i have chronic pancreatitis, and recently i have been getting bad episodes of pain if my fat intake goes over 20 grams. So the last few days i have been at around the 12 gram (today being the exception with 18 grams)

I went to see m doctor, so i have 3 blood tests set up for monday. (Thyroid, Liver function, and amalyse) He also gave me tablets to reduce stomach acid, though why i don't know. Plus the meds can cause inflammation of the pancreas....i kind of feel like i am running in circles here.

Anyway...good luck with increasing your fat intake!

pois0ned-I know what you mean! I've been buying LOTS of fruits & veggies lately from a local farmers market (it's SO cheap!), so I've been eating lots of good stuff instead of processed crap like I usually did.

lol exactly spanky! I have come to be in love w/ oatmeal and fruits and veggies.  so its soo hard to get the fats in... its like depriving myself of foods i love. BUT avacado... I usually don't have that... but that has good fats so i might try that! :)

Glad to hear it, spanky.  I couldn't tell from your post whether this was it for the day or not.  :-)  Fresh foods are awesome, do you ever make stir-fries?  That's another good way to add some heathy oils in.  You can also make smoothies with some flaxseed oil.

i make stir-fries lysistrata!!!! I usually use pam though lol but I guess I could definently add in some oil instead!! i love tofu stir fry! (fell in love w/ it back in my vegan days!)

lysistrata-Yea, I had lots of fruit at lunch since mom had just gone shopping. I literally had 10 grapes, 4 cherries, a kiwi and a banana. I wanted everything!

I'm definitely going to have some Olive Oil in my dinner, I'm making citrus chicken which is marinated in citrus juices and has a citrus glaze. The chicken will up my fat a bit as well, correct?

Definitely!  That sounds like a really healthy day.  I love this time of year when there's so much fresh fruit available ... I want to have a little of everything too!

Glad I could help bdkty3! :o)

I find it really hard to get all of my fat grams too... it's hard for me to get it all without totally messing up my sodium.. I eat so much fruit and turkey that nothing really has fat! 26 is only the minimum though, which is stressful! According to the site I found (I really wish I had saved the link) the average adult should have between 26-55 grams of fat a day! Gotta keep that hair in!! :o) (and you know.. the fat soluble vitamins too... but mainly the hair!! haha)

I have the same problem too, I don't get enough healthy fat in my diet. I fill up on fiber/protein so I never make it to 1200 calories a day, I'm lucky if I break 1000. I eat more whole/lean foods, but I have hair loss and I get lightheaded so I'm trying to find more healthy fats in foods. It sucks, lol.

I know this sounds weird but its realy good. Try adding 1/2 of an avocado to a smoothie it makes it creamy and its so mild flavored that its easy to cover up the flavor.

Or add flaxseeds or flax oil to a smoothie. I do both because I do so much better with lots of fat in my diet it kills cravings and helps me stay full longer without a blood sugar crash.

good luck

ok i think i wrote it at least twice somehere on these forum, but i'll write it again, you know, it's one of those stories you can repeat endlessly, so

when i was like 18 or something i turned vegan. i wasn't really aware of nutrition back than so ii just cut out all animal products and since i was sort of weight conscious i cut out fats as well. i was actually feeling not than bad until me period stopped, i wasn't that worried but after a few mmonts i went to a doc. ugh, it was dreadful, i went through a series of tests, which was really depressing and frustrating, but finally they found out the reason was my body wasn't producing basicly ANY of the female hormones, so of course i didn't have period. the reason for that was those hormones are cholesterol based and my cholesterol level was ridiculously low, so my body cut on the 'least important things' -- like female stuff cus how a body can think about reproducing itself when it's basicly barely surviving. so that's what happened to me due to insufficient fat. of course it took a long time to get to that state -- 1,5 and it took twice as long to get out ouf it with hormonal pills and stuff. an dit really took me a long time to understand having fat or fish isn't going to kill me.

you say that some days you go over with fat, so hopefully it somehow evens out in your body. but use others advice on upping you healthy fats :) and nothnig will happen :)

Wow, I've learned a lot here. I go over on the unhealthy fats I think. I'm going to try some of the stuff I've read here. That smoothy sounds good. I do take fish oil pills, but don't eat a lot of fish. I've got to read up on flax seed oil. I've been hearing a lot about it. I've lost 40 lbs but still morbidly obese so fat is a big problem with me. I've been eating so much better though, but I'm always listening for newer, healthier ways to eat.