You can also use www.nutritiondata.com. Search at the top right. For example: If you enter “raw avocado”, it will take you here : http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1843/2
You can change the quantity on that page, see the caloric breakdown towards the middle of the page, and note the calories from fat. The goal, is to keep that number at or below 25% of total calories eaten for the day. So, I need roughly 2600 calories daily, that would allow me 650 calories from fat per day.
Thanks Chas,
I’ll see if there is something for blackberry because I’m often not near a computer.
This will be an interesting test because fat is something I haven’t experimented with much. I just figured it had to do with how I look or my belly. not that I’m happy with either of those, but I figured acceptable, and moved on. i didn’t know fat could be related to other things in the blood. I’ll probably post here after testing for some time and see what happens.
I’m having broccoli without the olive oil, toast without the butter for breakfast to start. Kinda sucks but I’m going for more important things here. I thought fat was one of the last vices I could live with! Maybe not.
Yeah, watch out for the oil. Very easy to overdo, as we discussed before. Make sure that if you use it, to carefully measure and log it… Also, the body digests fat best when taken at once, in the evening (after meditation, preferebly not within 2-3 hours before sleep), and with vegetables… 
Daytime energy is better fueled by (whole 
) carbohydrates… But, don’t wait until you’re hungry…if you are hungry, you have already waited too long to eat, and you will be more likely to choose less nutritious foods. (hunger is a symptom)
Keep in mind, if you are reducing fat content, you are going to need to make up the calories from carbohydrates. It would be difficult to consume that much broccoli at a sitting, and get enough calories (it is bulky and calorically light, although very nutritious). You don’t want to have caloric deficiency, as it is unhealthy and will lead to strong cravings. (unless water fasting- please only attempt this with proper planning and with knowledge/guidance/supervision)…
Love
I don’t have any trouble eating a lot of broccoli, quinoa etc. I eat a whole romaine heart before breakfast and the equivalent before dinner. But I’m really not the kind of person who can measure, look up and log what I eat.
i will be doing well just to eat less fat for now and see what happens. I’ll look up some fats and see how many calories they are to get a rough idea. I looked up butter and serving size is 1 cup! Ha ha. I had to divide it down - average pat is prob 50 calories.
Thanks Chas
Chas, no offense meant on this, but you sound exactly like a number of militant vegans i know.
No, they haven’t convinced me to become a vegan. The argument that veganism is the one true diet falls short on logic.
The only reason I say this is because you seem to make a whole lot of assumptions in your arguments. And those assumptions are suspect.
Eat what your body mind and spirit tell you to and be happy!
I have been an “animal rights activist” before… You probably have heard many of these same things from your “militant” friends? Do political activists annoy you as well? If so, you’re gonna hate me! 
But, don’t worry, I’m pro-peace, pro-love, non-violent, non-judgmental, and non-militant…
There are many diets. There is also cause and effect…relativity.
The only reason I say this is because you seem to make a whole lot of assumptions in your arguments. And those assumptions are suspect. [quote]
[/quote]
Please elaborate?
I think it’s funny that I/we sometimes make the assumption that we are all the same and sometimes we assume that we are all different.
Are we all the same physiologically such that dietary changes will have the exact same effects on each one of us?
Seems to me we are of us in our own box and that box is different?
What’s more is that we all have differing sensitivities to what’s going on inside the box.
Some folks will eat a food and report amazingly vivid sensations while others none at all, like me, as I am still learning to ‘feel’ what’s going on inside there.
I think we eat what we’re supposed to eat and that’s determined by something outside the mind.
It’s what I believe, could be all wrong.
We humans have the same basic biology. Certain causes are known to have certain effects. The effects are observable at various levels. If I say that smoking causes cancer, is that an assumption? I wouldn’t consider it one because it is consistent with reality. However, not everyone who smokes gets cancer. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Heart disease is also correlated with consumption of animal products. As is cancer.
It depends on ones intention as to what is “best”. If one has the intention of getting lung cancer, smoking might be best… Asbestos inhalation would do a pretty good job. If one wants to be more healthy, a lighter, more nutritious diet might be best. Reducing fat consumption might be in order… these are consistent with known science and observable reality.
If a person stumbles upon this information without any intent of changing diet, the information can be threatening to the individual, and make it seem like one needs to change. But, no one needs to do anything. If there is not an urge coming from within, outside influence is not likely to change peoples behavior anyways, and that is just fine. Thats how we operate, generally. Thus, the difficulty that “animal rights activists” and most other groups face when soliciting uninvited information. If a person is not ready to change something, another person is not likely to talk them into it. I started the thread here for those who are interested in improving diet and “one perspective” of how to do that and which direction that is likely to go. If one is perfectly happy with their diet, they are unlikely to read books on diet, or to consider views different from their own. Its all good… I still think that people should follow their inner guidance, and do what they are inclined to do, as I have said on this thread. There is not right and wrong, but there are different effects from different causes.
And yes, by eating more light and nutritious, most people get much more sensitive. I can try to explain why, if you are really interested. There was a time when I could eat two big macs, and not feel bad, physically or otherwise. If I did that now, it would likely be very painful and make me very ill…
If one is looking for change, and would like confirmation by M.D.'s, nutritional scientists, scientific data, etc…then I would recommend one or more of the books I included on the initial message (especially “The China Study” for the scientific minded). If one is not looking to change, I suggest skipping over or disregarding this discussion, and carrying on as normal.
As you see from earlier in this thread, i disagree with Chas on finding the perfect diet for you personally, but one thing we agree on is that diet can make a huge difference in your health and well being.
There are only a handful of things in life that make that much difference.
We are all the same in one respect, that we all need protein, carbs, fat, which are mostly converted to sugars eventually. But there is a wide variation in the quantities of those things needed by the individual, and how they are delivered.
So no, I don’t think we all eat what we’re supposed to eat, and diet is one of the most common causes of disease. This is not obvious to us because the body is so good at compensating for any kind of problem that it is difficult to see the correlation between a specific food and the result it has on our body.
I think us meditators are even more sensitive than the average person to what is going on in our bodies, and it’s good to occasionally make a change and see how we feel. Personally I can feel very subtle differences that I often can’t even put into words, but I know if something is good or bad.