Should I worry about a plant fat heavy diet?

leebertnakao

Fatty foods are the only foods that really satiate me. I used to eat a lot of garbage, but over the past year, I've switched to mostly plant-based, unsaturated fats (nuts, peanut butter, avocados, high-quality olive oil, etc.). I eat a moderate amount of cheese and eggs (maybe every other day?) and meat when I can afford it (probably once a week). I try to make sure all significant sources of fat are also significant sources of protein, but I just started logging my meals and I learned my meals are heavily skewed towards fats (only 1/4 calories are from carbs). This is also pushing my consumed calories higher than I'd like them. Is this going to prevent weight loss? Is it fine because I'm consuming nutrient dense fats? Do I just need to find less fatty proteins? I thought I was doing a pretty good job of eating healthy while staying full and this is quite disheartening.

Adventurista

So, from logging, the graph really shows a nice illustration of our macro percentages.

From your description, it sounds like you have stumbled into a keto way of eating, which has a high fat, some protein and very low carb profile, and for me, it is the low carb part of it that extinguishes a roaring appetite... (meaning, i think it was the low carb and not the high fat that does the trick for me...)

The nice thing about the tracking is it also illustrates the cals, and i can overeat during a keto approach too.

If you reduce the fats a bit and increase lean protein a bit - this could bring down cals a bit. Do you think appetite would actually increase?
-- for ex maybe less cheese/nuts and a little increase in 'other richer in protein' foods like egg whites, plain greek yogurt (for sauce/dressings), lean meats ( buy on sale.)

Nuts/butters, oils, cheese, and meats are all terribly expensive... so if you decrease nuts/cheese/oils, could then afford the other proteins... ?

neanderthin

If your focused on certain issues then no you shouldn't have a problem, although you do need to be mindful of the calories. Although, I will mention that most "garbage food" offering have a lot of refined carbohydrates, sugars and salt and I think you'll find most of the ingredients in ultra processed foods will be plant based, although not all of course. Carbs in the 25% range is fine as well. Me for example I find protein filling and also low carb/ketogenic and my fat is around 75% and all my health markers like most people on a low carb diet have improved from getting away from "garbage food"

The main issue with plant oils is in their susceptibility to oxidize and those being ones high in polyunsaturated fats. Poly fats contain 2 or more multiple double bonds between the carbon atoms, and each double bond is a point of vulnerability where oxidation can occur and linoleic acid is the main contributor. Monounsaturated fat for example have only 1 double bond in it's structure, hence the term "mono" and less exposure to oxidation and saturated fat doesn't have any double bonds, so basically minimal exposure to oxidation. That oxidation takes place in the presents of oxygen, light or heat which when extracted from the actual plant in the form of an oil is basically the problem.

The basic problem with these oxidized poly fats is the production of oxidative stress in the form of free radicals and one being aldehydes which can modify proteins, DNA, and other molecules, potentially contributing to inflammatory processes and diseases like atherosclerosis and alzheimer's.

All of this is a byproduct of inflammation which when specifically too much linoleic acid an omega 6 from the over consumption of certain plant oils like soy or corn for example, our omega balance is thrown way out of whack displacing that balance in the pro inflammatory camp with ratio's anywhere from 12:1 to 25:1 with our omega 3 intake which is pretty much from fatty fish but you can get some from plant material in the form of ALA which is Alpha-linolenic acid which needs to be partially converted into our essential omega 3's of EPA and DHA. Anyway the proper balance of our omega's should be in a ratio of anywhere from 1:1 to 4:1.

How does all this translate for you, I bet your asking, lol. Anyway the consumption of those poly fats when in a product like nuts and seeds and consumed that way like your peanut butter for example are protected from that oxygen, light or heat mostly because the essential oils are within those nuts and seeds but from refined plant oils like grapeseed, sunflower soy or corn and if used everyday in cooking that is definitely going to be proinflammatory and the plant oils I would recommend that have very little linoleic acid in them which translates into less inflammation are from plant fruit oils and not the nuts or seed oils and those being olive oil, avocado oil and of course coconut oil and all other fats from whole foods where they are naturally protected from exposure. Hope this wasn't to confusing and if you have any questions, let me know and of course this is just my opinion and not medical advice.

VegjoyP

I found a plant heavy diet with a LOT of vegetables, legumes and whole unprocessed grains like buckwheat groats, Old fashioned oats is the only way I feel full. I eat wholefood sources of fat like avocado, tahini, etc. No added refined oils and almost no saturated fat (both are not good for CVD AND avoid added sugar, processed food, etc. I did high fat for a long time, and it did seem to work until I started eating legumes. For me it was a life changer. bottom line is calories for weight management and food choices do matter.

AnnPT77

Eating higher fat and lower carb should be fine, as long as you feel good eating that way. (Fats contain "essential nutrients" that our bodies can't manufacture out of other intake. Carbs don't.)

If you're persistently too low on protein, that's likely to be a bad plan. Protein also contains "essential nutrients", so we need to eat a reasonable minimum of that, too. (That's minimum grams, not just some percent of calories.)

You might find this thread helpful to identify calorie-efficient sources of protein that are also foods you personally enjoy:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

Since you appear to be relying a lot on plant protein, be aware that some plant protein sources may be less bioavailable and less complete in the essential amino acids (EAAs) as compared with animal sources of protein. That's not a deal-breaker, just a thing to be aware of and manage carefully. (I've been vegetarian for nearly 50 years, and I don't seem to be dead quite yet, or even malnourished. )

To some of the point of your post specifically: Calories from healthy foods are still calories, and we'd expect those calories to affect body weight in pretty much the same way as any other calories. A possible downside of fat calories is that fat requires fewer calories to digest/metabolize than protein or even most carbs. (That's about thermic effect of food, TEF.) So-called "whole foods" may also require somewhat more calories to digest than ultra-processed foods. TEF is a small factor in a typical mixed diet, but it IS a factor. That doesn't mean you shouldn't eat high fat, though.

Getting consumed calories too high is going to prevent weight loss, no matter what food the calories come from. (Obviously, it matters how far over goal you're finding yourself, and what your target weight loss rate is. You might simply be slowly loss down a tiny bit, depending on how those numbers relate to each other. We'd need more details in order to estimate that impact.)

Best wishes!

mjbnj0001

Too much fat is too much, no matter how you cut that pie. The thing is, while there are guidelines about how the macros (protein, fat, carbs) should be proportioned, in reality you're the one on the control panel. I, for instance, plan to boost my protein and fat a bit above the recommendations, and decrease the carbs within a daily caloric goal. But not to keto-diet values. I slow my probable weight loss slope by doing this, but as long as my bathrom scale moves in te right direction over time, I am content. I am 70yo and know this isn't a sprint but a marathon. The marathon of life. While I have several downfalls in my diet, chief among them are probably cheese and peanut butter. I'm in a far better place, health-wise, than I was 5 or 10 years ago, so I accept these things. One has to live, after all. And a couple of slices of my home-baked whole wheat hybrid sourdough bread smeared with a bit of natural peanut butter is a guilty pleasure. And being a legume and grain combo, good protein, if a bit carby. I count them into my daily values and soldier on.

VeryKatie

If it's pushing you over on calories, you will reduce how much weight you will lose. You're simply eating too much. You can over eat on healthy items as well. Try reducing your portion sizes. Keeping away from saturated fats is generally a good thing.

Over your calorie goal is over your calorie goal.