What do I do with all this fat???

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  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    High protein, low carb, low fat has been my mantra for months...

    No, no, no.

    Protein should be used for building blocks (building/repairing muscles, etc), not fuel. Carbs and fat are fuel sources. If you go low in carbs, then you must increase your fat, and vice-versa. Otherwise, you're not feeding your body the right fuel to be healthy, and you're forcing your body to use protein for fuel from your food intake, and depriving your body of the means to absorb nutrients properly, which fat helps with.

    While going for nutrition-packed foods is definitely the way to go, keep in mind that carbs and fat are nutrients, too, and should be treated as such. Yes, even saturated fat (and cholesterol!) has its place. The only fat you should avoid is trans fat (ie - partially hydrogenated oils).

    Avocados, nuts, dairy (ideally, grass fed and not homogenized - either or, but preferably both), the fat from meats, coconut oil, olive oil, butter, full fat varieties of foods. These are all ways to get more fat in, and will have a variety of fats (fat on meat isn't just saturated, but also includes monounsaturated fats, as well). They also have a number of fat-soluable nutrients in them, some of which you can only find in a given fat source.

    Your protein should be about 1g per pound of lean body mass (if you're doing strength training, which you should be), and your fat should be at least .36 grams per pound of body weight, with the rest filled in with carbs and fat how you see fit.
  • tfleischer
    tfleischer Posts: 199 Member
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    Avocado is a very good source for healthy fat content.
    Olive oil is too.
    Nuts also have a good fat content: walnuts, almonds, etc. If you have salt issues, look for the unsalted kind.
    Salmon and tuna both have the good fats.

    This may be helpful for you:

    http://www.uccs.edu/Documents/peakfood/hlthTopics/Meal Planning.pdf
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    Drizzling a bit of olive, walnut or sesame seed oil over veggies adds great flavor and gives you lots of good fatty acids.
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
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    Many MFP users (including myself) struggle with this because high-fat foods are typically high-calorie foods! I recommend sticking with unsaturated fats when possible. I have a Flat Belly Diet Cookbook, which really opened my eyes to the benefits of these healthy fats. Make sure you're not going over your saturated fat recommendation to reach your fat macro. Feel free to check out my diary for ideas, but most of my fat comes from oils, nuts and nut butters, whole eggs, avocados, and dark chocolate.
  • hoyalawya2003
    hoyalawya2003 Posts: 631 Member
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    Olives.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    Many MFP users (including myself) struggle with this because high-fat foods are typically high-calorie foods! I recommend sticking with unsaturated fats when possible. I have a Flat Belly Diet Cookbook, which really opened my eyes to the benefits of these healthy fats. Make sure you're not going over your saturated fat recommendation to reach your fat macro. Feel free to check out my diary for ideas, but most of my fat comes from oils, nuts and nut butters, whole eggs, avocados, and dark chocolate.

    A. Saturated fat is not the devil. In fact, they're necessary for hormone function and are a great fuel source for humans (the fats in human milk are nearly 25% saturated fats). Most of the rhetoric against saturated fat comes from highly flawed studies, most of which were so focused on the link of saturated fat to heart disease (of which there is no significant link, btw), that they completely ignored the beneficial properties of the individual types of saturated fats. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/3/550.full#sec-18 http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/importance-of-saturated-fats-for-biological-functions

    B. While it is true that fat has more calories per gram than protein or carbs, that shouldn't be an issue as long as you set your macros and stick to them. If you stick to what MFP gives you, it's impossible to go over on calories, because the numbers MFP gives you are derived from a percentage of your total calories. It may seem like "less" food (ie - for the same number of calories, you can only have a tablespoon of full-fat sour cream, instead of 2 tablespoons of low-fat), but fatty foods are generally more satiating. So it ultimately takes less food to make you feel full (or at least "not hungry").
  • cfredz
    cfredz Posts: 292 Member
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    peanut butter
  • gmthisfeller
    gmthisfeller Posts: 779 Member
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    Here are some things that I eat that help me keep my fat between 25% and 30% of calories.

    1. Yes, peanut butter. I eat a tablespoon of peanut butter almost every day now, specifically to help keep my dietary fat up.
    2. Cook with olive or canola oil. (Like you, I've trained myself to use a pretty light hand, but a teaspoon here and there will add up fast). For instance, one of my favorite things is a sweet potato, cubed and tossed with 1 tsp olive oil, and then roasted. Sweet potato oven roasties! High in fiber and vitamin A, and some healthy fat. (Or the same thing with a regular potato for less vitamin A). Or toss your favorite hardy vegetable (I like brussels sprouts, but I get other people don't) with olive oil and roast.
    3. Oily fish like salmon or sardines. YUM!
    4. Whole eggs a couple of times a week.
    5. In moderation: a couple of pieces of dark chocolate once in a while.

    +1

    Especially adding peanut butter to the daily food intake, and adding a bit extra oil to salads and veggies.

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