Fat in diet

duckworth

I've recently changed to a healthy diet after doing a fair amount of reading on this forum and other sources. I'm interested in knowing is my fat intake to high.

My last 3 days have been:


Breakfast:Bowl of Sugar-free Muesli w/ Soy Milk
Lunch: 3-Egg Omlette with Onion & Green Pepper& Cheddar Cheese (tbsp Olive Oil)
Dinner:2 Chicken Breast in homemade tomato sauce, Grilled Asparagus (tbsp Olive Oil)
Snacks: Apple, Banana, Small handful mixed Nuts

Breakfast:Bowl of Sugar-free Muesli w/ Soy Milk
Lunch: Large Salad w/ Tuna and added nuts
Dinner: 2 Chicken Breast in homemade tomato sauce, Broccoli, small amount brown rice (tbsp Olive Oil)
Snacks: Apple, Small Handful Nuts

Breakfast:Bowl of Sugar-free Muesli w/ Soy Milk
Lunch:Salad with small amount blue cheese and walnuts (about 1 tablespoon olive oil in dressing)
Dinner: 3-Egg Omlette w/peppers, 2 slices Black Pudding, Half-Tin of Sugar-free baked beans
Snacks: 2 Apples, Banana.

I am averaging 2-3 Tablespoons of Olive oil, 2 tablespoon Cheddar Cheese, and 2-3 Tablespoons nuts every day. Is all this together too much fat?

I am male, 29, 6'00" tall, and trying to lose my belly, as well as look better generally. I started at just over 13 stone, and have gone down 2 pounds in 2 weeks - I'm excersing 5 days a week.

EileenG

Short answer: No. If anything, you could be low on some fats. I'd like to see some fatty fish in there, or some red meat.

Fat has been demonised by the media, but it's an essential nutrient. Just make a point of getting good quality fats, oily fish, raw nuts, extra virgin olive oil, whole eggs, fresh meat. Avoid anything with processed fat.

corkcomp

just be careful your not taking in a lot of fats and a lot of carbs together. IMO its not a good idea but opinions vary on this.

El_Dangeroso

I'd add in some saturated fat, it's essential for men in order to produce testosterone, and believe it or not it does wonderful things to cholesterol (increased HDL, decreases the proportion of small-dense LDL - the real baddies of heart disease)

The reason most people are afraid of saturated fat is because a lot of research on it happened on rats, mice and rabbits, which have very little sat fat in their natural diet and get very sick when fed a lot of it. Not so with humans, in fact it's probably the healthiest fat you can consume due to it's ability to resist oxidisation in the blood stream.

Coconut oil, which is 100% saturated, is human rocket fuel, and in studies causes more weight loss than an equivalent diet using olive oil alone:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xBb4d4a2y98/StiU9tjzW8I/AAAAAAAAAlY/xkP-lYLkKIU/s1600-h/MCT+Oil+body+weight+reduction.jpg

Use as a cooking oil, moisturiser, antibacterial cream.. it's very versatile!

corkcomp

just to play devils advocate and give an alternative my HDL is off the scale and my testosterone level are at the high end of the scale and I dont consume much saturated fat. some yes, but not a lot.. most of my fat intake (letting aside the ocasional guilty pleasure) comes from olive oil, spreads, nuts, fish and some from meat..

El_Dangeroso

corkcomp wrote: »

just to play devils advocate and give an alternative my HDL is off the scale and my testosterone level are at the high end of the scale and I dont consume much saturated fat. some yes, but not a lot.. most of my fat intake (letting aside the ocasional guilty pleasure) comes from olive oil, spreads, nuts, fish and some from meat..

Yeah, but you're young corkcomp, young men can eat a lot of crap (not saying that you are!) and have fabulous lab values, but lab values only tell whats happening right now as opposed to what's going to happen 20 years down the line. Low saturated fat consumption correlates with low testosterone right across the board, I have study after study showing this (don't make me break out my links now ). High protein seems to lower testosterone too, so if consuming a high protein to build muscle, it's prudent to couple this with some saturated fat to balance it.

You don't need to eat gobs of the stuff, but it makes a great addition to a diet, given the spectacular health benefits it bestows.

eclectichoney

corkcomp wrote: »

just be careful your not taking in a lot of fats and a lot of carbs together. IMO its not a good idea but opinions vary on this.

This is something I think about a lot, Corkcomp, how much is *too* much in this sense?? It puts me off adding flax / nuts to my porridge, should I be concerned?

corkcomp

eclectichoney wrote: »

This is something I think about a lot, Corkcomp, how much is *too* much in this sense?? It puts me off adding flax / nuts to my porridge, should I be concerned?

not really.. I was thinking more along the lines of full fat butter on white bread.. lots of fatty meat with potatoes.. the combo you mentioned is unlikely to push your insulin levels that high, plus if you mean a sprinkling of chopped nuts / seeds your not taking in THAT much fat

El_Dangeroso

FWIW I eat a baked potato (singular) loaded and I mean loaded with sour cream and bacon quite often and I am STUFFED for hours and hours. I am always amazed by the amount of fat that potato starch can absorb. Sat fat is much more filling than other fats in my experience, ditto omega 3. Though I have restored my insulin sensitivity with a low carb diet. Your mileage may vary.

Wheat on the other hand, I can eat for hours and never feel the least bit satisfied. There is a lot in the scientific literature showing that wheat causes a hyperphagic response, as in triggers overeating, not in everyone, but in a lot of people who are overweight.

corkcomp

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

FWIW I eat a baked potato (singular) loaded and I mean loaded with sour cream and bacon quite often and I am STUFFED for hours and hours. I am always amazed by the amount of fat that potato starch can absorb. Sat fat is much more filling than other fats in my experience, ditto omega 3. Though I have restored my insulin sensitivity with a low carb diet. Your mileage may vary.

Wheat on the other hand, I can eat for hours and never feel the least bit satisfied. There is a lot in the scientific literature showing that wheat causes a hyperphagic response, as in triggers overeating, not in everyone, but in a lot of people who are overweight.

if I didnt know better id say you were trying to drag off topic( wheat is bad, low carb diets are great etc etc) . to get back O/T what are your views on eating fats and carbs together? would you be in favour of having potato and lots of fats? it seems like you are in favour but still not 100% clear.. imo its best to keep them separate to a point..

El_Dangeroso

I'm not talking about low carb diets at all. (and yes, wheat is bad for most people )

I don't think all carbs are equal (I'm sure you'll agree, but we prob have different categories) so yeah, nothing wrong with having a potato mashed with a load of butter if you're insulin sensitive, might want to reduce potato if not. If everything is working as it should you'll only eat what you need and the insulin curve will be much flatter than without the butter.

I always try to couple my carbs with a fat, so yoghurt with fruit, butter/olive oil with veggies, my blood sugar is much more stable that way.

El_Dangeroso

BTW most studies that show that high sat fat and carbs are bad are rats being fed some hydrogenated fat and high fructcose corn syrup, so basically, not food.

Scientists in rat nutrition studies tend to lump all foods together like there's no difference between eating boiled sweets and a piece of fruit, as long as macronutrient ratios are the same.

Mellor

OP, you fat looks fine, but i'd question your overall amount, portions size seams huge, you are similar sized to me and eat way more. Same goals