Saturated Fats

[karenvictoria]

Yes the bad fats. I was reading this article about the fact that only 10% of your total fat for the day should come from saturated fat. Today I figured out that 11% of my fat today was from sat. fat and yesterday it was 15% So I went back to find the stinking article to see if what I read was correct and to read more about it, but now I can't find the thing. So does anyone know if the 10% figure is correct. Thanks Karen

 

[40something]

KarenV...I can't help you with numbers but I can suggest that instead of worrying about the amount of sat. fat you are consuming, instead stop eating foods that contain alot of it. Anything that has partially hydrog. oil is BAD for you. Basically any food that is processed in a factory is going to contain p-h-o. Read the label on a can of Betty Crocker Cake Frosting and you'll see that stuff is a p-h-o bomb.

Replace factory processed foods with foods bought in their natural states...or as close to that as possible. Canned fruit is as wild as I get with my grocery shopping. Everything I cook and eat is whole foods from the produce section, the dairy section, the meat dept. and whole grain breads plus french bread.

My cholesterol numbers are great, I have never been overweight with the exception of four pregnancies. I don't need to count calories or worry about how much bad fat I'm eating because I know I'm eating a healthy, well-balanced diet and you can't go wrong with that plan.

 

[Bobbi]

It's an aim for number. Twenty-five percent of your total calories from fat and about than 10% from sat fat as a general rule. Like calories you can average that out. If you eat more one day, you can eat less the next.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.

-Ann Landers

 

[kathryn]

Actually, partially hydrogenated oils are "transfats," not "saturated fats." Saturated fats are solid at room temperaturs: mainly animal fats, but also cocoanut oil and a few other plant oils.

Karen: Sat fats are bad (and 10% is the upper limit of what you should healthfully consume in a day), but transfats are worse (many health authorities say the ideal amount of transfats in your diet is 0%).

 

[Bobbi]

You are absolutely right, Kathryn, although I disagree about saturated fats being bad when used carefully. Trans fats are now being listed in nutrition facts, I am delighted to see. I avoid trans fats like the plague but allow saturated fat in small amounts. If you do not eat a plant based diet and consume milk and yogurt I recommend non or lowfat but I use butter, sour cream and cheese and I won't waste my money on reduced fat version because they lack flavor. Non-fat cheese is an oxymoron to me. Cheeses that are naturally lower in fat are a different story and I favor them. The way saturated fats affect the body are very different than trans fats and used moderately, they are not harmful and they add flavor and texture to foods. If you eat a large amount every now and again, it will have no ill effects if you otherwise eat cleanly. When faced with higher fat foods, I tend to eat smaller portions but there are times when I eat them, out to dinner or at the in-laws, because my diet is clean and strict most of the time. And I would hate to be responsible for my MIL's head exploding if I fussed!
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.

-Ann Landers

 

[karenvictoria]

Looking over my diet today the sat. fat has come form my low fat yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, 1.oz of string cheese and my peanut butter(only 1 tablespoon) The only true thing I can see leading up to my 11% total was the protein bar that I ate which had 7g of sat fat. I do lift heavy weights and need the protein. Do the protein drinks have less sat fat then the bars because to tell you the truth I never really looked. I know that trans fats are the worst and do avoid them but the sat. fat in some of the foods that I mentioned above add up especially when i am trying to eat more calories due to my workouts. I don't want ot eat fruit which has no sat. fat after my workouts. I need to eat protein. any suggestions. karen

 

[Bobbi]

I know "they" say three servings of dairy are great in a day but you could decrease that and eat fish, chicken, beans, tofu, eggs or egg whites to replace one or even two servings. I eat yogurt occasionally but I don't consume dairy products daily. I love soy milk in coffee and on cereal.

Edited to say I eat nuts daily. Why only one tablespoon of peanut butter particulaly if you want to add weight? Protein is an important component but total calories count too. What's your daily caloric intake and what are your percentages of protein, carbs and fats?
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.

-Ann Landers

 

[benvonwojo]

Have a protein shake they contain less saturated fats than the bars. I think the saturated fats is what holds the whole thing together. I dont know for sure but it seems that way. Also, shakes are better since the protein is digested easier and ready to be taken up the muscle faster.

 

[karenvictoria]

Yesterday I ate 1614 calories. 25% fat 11% sat. fat. 49% carbs and 26 % protein. Now what I am tring to do is increase the protein and decrease the carbs to about 40 to 45 % without increasing sat. fat. Make sense. Now my carbs usually run around 40 to 43% but i was on a fruit freenzy yesterday. Just had went to the grocery store!! I still want to increse my protein. You think nuts will due the trick as opposed to the extra dairy. I want my protein at no less then 30% but can't get it there. I also want to increse my calorie to about 1800 a day. karen

 

[Bobbi]

Compared to dairy nuts are lower in carbohydrates. Dairy, particularly yogurt, can be high in carbs and they are simple carbs. I eat quite a bit differently with 60% of my calories from carbs, 15 protein and 25 fat. I eat carbs that have at least 5 grams of fiber. My favorite pasta of 9 grams of protein but it also has 40 grams of carbohydrate. Fish and chicken are almost pure protein, the lean ones have little fat and no carbs. Do you like eggs or egg whites? Meat has twice the protein of nuts and legumes. You might want to start a new thread and ask specifically for advice to increase your protein intake while reducing your carbs. How do you keep track of your intake?
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.

-Ann Landers

 

[karenvictoria]

At this point I am using fitday.com just to guage myself. Usually I don't really keep track of anything but I am really trying to tighten down on my diet to define my muscles more while losing about only 3 to 5 pounds. Karen

 

[Bobbi]

Fitday is great and accurate. I just posted a rotation I used to do which might be beneficial to you. I am a hard gainer with a pooch and we had a discussion about being skinny fat. My advice went like this: "The best luck I ever had was switching back and forth between intense cardio/moderate to light weights (to burn fat) and moderate cardio/heavy weight (to build muscle) while eating less in the cardio phase and more in the strength phase. I put on more muscle than I ever had and managed to burn fat too. You need a calorie deficit to lose fat and conversely, a calorie surplus to lay down muscle. Eat more and strength train heavily then do more cardio with with a lower (but adequate) calorie intake and you should see results."

Do post about your protein goals. There are Catheites who eat the way you want and I know they could help.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.

-Ann Landers