Questions about calories and fat. And bananas.

These have probably come up before but forgive me, I'm new.

I know saturated fat is the bad one, so what is the position on, for instance, tinned mackerel? It seems high in fat, especially the olive oil variety, but not too high in saturated fat. Does that mean I can gorge myself on it? Food that has a high unsaturated fat content - what's the deal?

What about something that has NO fat, but a few calories, eg a large banana - 125 cals, no fat according to our database. Can I eat them till they're coming out of my ears, or do I have to watch the calories, even in fat-free food? Why?

Thanks in advance.

BJ

You need to watch the calories in all of your food. How much is the fat in the mackerel?

every single item or food has calories and calories are what matter when it comes to losing weight. you can't just eat whatever you want as long as it doesn't have fat. oh, and you need fat in your diet to keep your body healthy. it is 100% necessary.

These have probably come up before but forgive me, I'm new.

I know saturated fat is the bad one, so what is the position on, for instance, tinned mackerel? It seems high in fat, especially the olive oil variety, but not too high in saturated fat. Does that mean I can gorge myself on it? Food that has a high unsaturated fat content - what's the deal?

What about something that has NO fat, but a few calories, eg a large banana - 125 cals, no fat according to our database. Can I eat them till they're coming out of my ears, or do I have to watch the calories, even in fat-free food? Why?

Thanks in advance.

BJ

It is about balance (and discipline) with respect to food. You have to keep an eye on the calories and fat. Other than water there is nothing you can "pig out on", but I would pick bananas (fruit in general) over tinned mackerel (any high fat food) any time.

Most of the time it is about small steps / changes each week to allow you to quit the food addiction (ie to fatty / salty / sugary) foods. I found it took 3 weeks to break each of my bad eating habits.

Not an expert just going by what I have researched, if you have to eat canned fish, don't eat anything with oil, the fat content and sodium are outrageous as well as the mercury, you shouldn't eat any more than three cans a week, although I eat way more for the protein, if you are pregnant or nursing don't eat any.
You can eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables that you want, bananas may have an effect on your colon, I uasually include them in my steel cut oatmeal in the morning.
Just remember these basic rules; it takes approximately 3500 calories to burn one pound of fat, too much of anything is not good and if it wasn't around 1000 years ago don't eat it!:noway: .
Good luck!

Thanks Loathesome

No for adding the 9 calories per gram of fat, puts it in perspective a little better, sometimes the 3500 calorie per pound of fat intimidates people, I also agree with laddyboy, there is so much to read out there and sometimes people don't want to share what they have learned, especially on body building message boards, it's good to share experiences so that maybe we all will stay motivated and meet our goals, I think that is the key......Motivation in any form.

No for adding the 9 calories per gram of fat, puts it in perspective a little better, sometimes the 3500 calorie per pound of fat intimidates people, I also agree with laddyboy, there is so much to read out there and sometimes people don't want to share what they have learned, especially on body building message boards, it's good to share experiences so that maybe we all will stay motivated and meet our goals, I think that is the key......Motivation in any form.

that is what I thnk it is anyway, I will do more research. It actually calculates that way in food. That is why calorie dense foods...like meat, have higher fat contents. And no fat products are low in cals. They are really hand in hand.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/1_gram_of_fat_has_how_many_calories