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Does fat really matter?

PearlAng
Posts: 681 Member
I've heard it doesn't, and I'd like to think that. But what about good fat vs. Bad fat?
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Replies
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Like dietary fat? The kind you eat?
Or are you talking about being fat?0 -
Good fat is for spanking.0
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Fat in foods is good for you. Your body needs fat to distribute nutrients. Your body NEEDS fat. Getting them from high quality sources from nuts, avocados, etc is preferrable of course. There's no harm in eating fat from french fries or pizza though in moderation.0
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Good fat is for spanking.0
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Does it matter for what?0
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I've read (and I'm not a certified nutritionist, so take this for what it's worth) generally no. Just like generally calories in and calories out is best for weight loss most fat is proccessed the same in your body but if you're eating tons of fryer oil a day it'll eventually come back to getcha in the form of a heart attack probably.0
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There are essential fatty acids that your body requires and cannot manufacture by itself.
Consequently yes, fat matters.0 -
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Generally, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated is good for you. Saturated is bad for you. The difference is that "good" fats are made of flexible bonds and "bad" fats are not. This is why the "bad" fats cause clogging (ie. heart attack) in our bodies.
Examples of good fats are avacados, nuts, coconut, dark chocolate, olives and olive oil. These fats are needed the way oil is needed in a car to make the system run smoothly.0 -
The only fat that you could make an argument for being "bad" is trans fat.
ETA: Forgot to mention, dietary fat is actually very important. There are many parts of the body that require fat...hormone production, etc.0 -
Generally, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated is good for you. Saturated is bad for you. The difference is that "good" fats are made of flexible bonds and "bad" fats are not. This is why the "bad" fats cause clogging (ie. heart attack) in our bodies.
Examples of good fats are avacados, nuts, coconut, dark chocolate, olives and olive oil. These fats are needed the way oil is needed in a car to make the system run smoothly.
There's more and more evidence coming out showing that even saturated fat isn't all that bad for you. I would still focus on the "good" fats mentioned as much as possible, but, as another poster mentioned, there's probably not going to be much harm from consuming a moderate amount of "bad" fats as well. (ETA: Excellent point in the post before mine. Trans fat should definitely still be avoided completely, if possible.)
You do want to hit a minimum fat target each day. I've seen that target recommended from 0.3 to 0.4 grams per pound of body weight per day (so, if you weigh 150 pounds, regardless of body fat percentage/LBM, you'd want to eat somewhere between 45 and 60 grams of fat per day). That's technically a minimum, but personally I treat my fat macro as more of a solid goal - I want to hit it, but I don't really want to go over it by very much at all - that's just me.0 -
Generally, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated is good for you. Saturated is bad for you. The difference is that "good" fats are made of flexible bonds and "bad" fats are not. This is why the "bad" fats cause clogging (ie. heart attack) in our bodies.
Examples of good fats are avacados, nuts, coconut, dark chocolate, olives and olive oil. These fats are needed the way oil is needed in a car to make the system run smoothly.
this is old school. having said that I am not jumping in and agruing ...because I really don't know who is telling the truth. :huh:0 -
It says I should get a minimum of 40 g/day, but I probably eat closer to 80 or 100 :ohwell: not good?0
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It says I should get a minimum of 40 g/day, but I probably eat closer to 80 or 100 :ohwell: not good?0
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Holy bajeezus how do you get that much fat in per day... I'm struggling to get 32 g per day in.0
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Holy bajeezus how do you get that much fat in per day... I'm struggling to get 32 g per day in.
My goal is 72g. Most days I eat an ounce of almonds as an afternoon snack and have a tablespoon of olive oil (plus vinegar) on my big big salad for lunch. That gets me halfway there, and all the bits and pieces from whatever meat, dairy, and other miscellaneous oil/butter/flax/whatever I consume easily make up the rest, or at least get me very close. It's not at all difficult to get enough fats if you're not actively avoiding them by choosing low- or non-fat foods instead of full-fat equivalents.0 -
Holy bajeezus how do you get that much fat in per day... I'm struggling to get 32 g per day in.
I add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in my morning coffee and it works the wonder.0 -
Generally, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated is good for you. Saturated is bad for you. The difference is that "good" fats are made of flexible bonds and "bad" fats are not. This is why the "bad" fats cause clogging (ie. heart attack) in our bodies.
Examples of good fats are avacados, nuts, coconut, dark chocolate, olives and olive oil. These fats are needed the way oil is needed in a car to make the system run smoothly.0 -
Holy bajeezus how do you get that much fat in per day... I'm struggling to get 32 g per day in.0
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Holy bajeezus how do you get that much fat in per day... I'm struggling to get 32 g per day in.
You should see how much fat I eat a day. I'm also doing keto, so the more fat, the better.0 -
I would agree mostly with the people who advise making sure your getting poly and monounsaturated fats, omega3 omega6 etc in your diet, saturated fats are necessary in very small amounts but even in that case not all saturated fats are the same which is why the whole coconut oil thing is such a huge deal recently but I would never tell someone it doesnt matter if its saturated or polyunsaturated you should always favor the healthier fats and trans fats are just devestating. honestly though from an athletic standpoint I really started crushing my fitness records and recieving medals when I expanded my knowledge of carbohydrates I think they are more important to observe then fats are0
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I could be totally wrong (don't trust my memory) but I thought polyunsturated fats aren't stable and easy to oxidize...how could this be good for you? someone please help clarify...0
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I could be totally wrong (don't trust my memory) but I thought polyunsturated fats aren't stable and easy to oxidize...how could this be good for you? someone please help clarify...
Oxidation makes the engine run.0
This discussion has been closed.
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