Not all Fitness and Nutrition Information is Good Information

alancorey1979

I was once told that if I wanted to lose weight, I need to stay away from fatty foods. I suppose from a general point of view this makes sense so I used to think fat = bad. Turns out I was wrong and so was this nutritionist that told me to abstain from fat. While most nutritionists know their stuff, there are some out there that give maybe not so great advice.

Been on this app since 2018-ish and in the beginning I purged my diet of anything that had high amounts of fat. I was a chunky dude. So adding fat to a diet seemed counter intuitive. I lost something like 60-lbs and then got my wife pregnant at 40 years old like a rock star. After the third and final kid came along, some lesser cool life events happened and I lost my daily streak on this app and gained a bunch of weight back. One of the lesser cool events made me think of my own mortality so I decided to do what needed to be done… I went and got my colonoscopy and EGD. The results of those tests are good but per the doctor's orders, lay off the red meat and start eating way more fiber. Coupled with my annual blood work results which raised the alarm for cholesterol and an elevated risk for gout from the protein I have been eating, I am back on a serious reset of my previously held goals of healthy eating and weightloss.

The red meat thing I know about. Its generally not healthy for us…at all. I do like a ribeye, but I digress. I don't have a problem getting protein from chicken, pork, fish, and dairy. But for the fiber, options are more limited. I could take fiber supplements like metamucil or colonbroom but those have 5g of fiber per serving. Those are rookie numbers. MyFitnessPal says I need 38g per day and I'm not drinking 7 servings of metamucil throughout the day. So I have opted for avocados and a boat load of berries. The avocados are one of those foods I was told to stay away from because of the fat content so I was hesitant to add them. But now that I have… I can say I am seriously digging this high fiber diet.

I usually eat a whole avocado for lunch mixed with greek yogurt, onions, celery, and either chicken or fish… the chicken is much more pleasing in texture and flavor but has less protein and more calories than fish. I have raspberries and blackberries for a side dish and pistachios for dessert. I am way over my goal for poly and monounsaturated fats and almost at my fiber goal… and I have been losing about 2 lbs per week. I am down 20lbs since July 1st… somewhere around there. I am literally pooping out my body weight and cholesterol with this high fiber diet. And hopefully my risk for getting gout has decreased because I am not eating nearly as much red meat these days.

Turns out fat isn't bad, bad advice is. Avocados for life!

tulips_and_tea

Agree! I errantly believed the "no-fat" diet advice in my younger years. Gummy bears, fat free! Cookies that taste like cardboard, but are fat free! Ugh, foolish.

Took me a while, but I finally found that I feel my best when I eat high protein, moderate fat, and low carb. Healthy oils, full fat Greek yogurt, full fat cheese (anything less is an abomination!) I now fully enjoy. In proper proportions, of course, but with higher fat intake I need fewer calories overall.

Good for you for making healthy lifestyle changes and not giving up!