You've Got Questions? I Might Have Answers!

Since I've started to tell people that I'm going back to school to study nutrition I've gotten some questions from friends and family members regarding what they should be eating to be healthier, lose weight, have more energy, etc. I'm still in the very early stages of my education, but I'm always happy to take a stab at questions and will gladly post them here if I can come up with an answer. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section or send me an e-mail - if I end up posting your question you can remain anonymous if you'd like. Here is one recent question...

Question:
I've had the impression recently that people are getting/staying beyond their ideal weight because of eating too many carbohydrates, which convert to fat when they are not burned.  And eating too little fat (everything has to be "nonfat"), so they are not getting that full/satisfied feeling...that maybe eating some fat provides.  If they then are still hungry again/always, they will keep eating more and more carbs, and not losing weight.  I think this may be part of my experience.
- 61-year old male, very physically active

Answer:
As a runner I don't think that you should be too concerned with eating too many carbs because they're so necessary for working out. There should definitely be some fat in a healthy diet, but with the emphasis on healthy fats like those that come from avocados, nuts, and fish (rather than those that come from beef, whole milk, or butter for example). I think that if someone is hungry they should make sure that they're getting enough whole grains, lean protein, and fiber in their diet.

Because carbs are present in so many food groups (veggies, fruits, grains, dairy) it's hard to say that people are beyond their ideal weight because of them. Too many grains, potentially, especially if they're eating refined grains rather than whole grains. Did you know that half of your 6 servings of grains per day should be whole grains? Oh, also this might be helpful for you to know: per day your nutrient breakdown should look something like this

Carbohydrates: 45-65%
Protein: 10-35%
Fat: 20-35%

Besides water those are the essential macronutrients that you get from food. It might be helpful for you to go to mypyramid.gov and type in all of your info to see how much of each food group they recommend that you get per day, especially since that is not broken down by carbs, protein, fat, but rather by grain, dairy, veggie, etc with recommendations for the best types of those things that you should be getting. For a healthy diet make sure what you're eating is balanced with lots of different nutrients, you're getting the right number of calories, there is moderation, and there is variety.