Nutrition tip - Why fats are your friends

RagingBrainer
RagingBrainer Posts: 3
edited September 29 in Food and Nutrition
In much of my dieting history I was told to stay away from fats. The reasons ranged from the seemingly sensible to the silly. It was common to hear "that's going straight to your gut" when I ate a large serving of food. One of my favorites for greasy food was "it's going to grease your insides and get stuck there". Looking back now I have a little chuckle at these quotes. I only hope I can help start or continue positive quotes that land a little closer to how our bodies rely work :)

Let's start with the types of fats out there in the world. These 4 dietary fats are monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated and trans fats. The first 2 are "good" and the others are are like that old boyfriend / girlfriend you keep going back to (so much fun but you wind up with baggage). These fats are mixed into our food in different proportions that are almost not worth tracking. But our bodies like them for a good reason and keep kicking off the pleasure responses in our brains when we eat them.

So how can fats be our friends? Well fats leave us with that feeling of being full like almost nothing else can. A good shot of fat and 30 minutes later that sharp edge of hunger should be dull to gone. You can even be in a calorie deficit and still have the feeling of being full. It's been a big player in my weight loss progress to date. I make sure to try and get a 1/3 portion of my daily fats in each meal to keep that full feeling throughout the day. An avocado here, egg there and olive oil drizzled on some brown rice and it's magical. I have only eaten 2/3 of my daily calories and I'm not gnawing my own leg off in hunger!

Keep up the great work everyone. I'll keep posting and you please keep calling me out when I let my friends talk me into eating bad foods :D

Replies

  • cartern1
    cartern1 Posts: 270 Member
    Thanks for the tip.

    Even before MFP I was never one for adding butter / olive oil to my food (i wouldn't even take it in a sandwich)

    I will make an effort on adding a little.

    nik
  • superhippiechik
    superhippiechik Posts: 1,044 Member
    Thanks,you rock!
  • ShoeDeahva
    ShoeDeahva Posts: 82 Member
    BUMP!
  • KaulGirl
    KaulGirl Posts: 7
    I really wish the government would get wise to the fats. You are sooo correct. They are our friend. Thanks for keeping us on track!
  • rachmaree
    rachmaree Posts: 782 Member
    Love my almonds and olive oil! And avocado, when I can find it
  • candistyx
    candistyx Posts: 547 Member
    Yeah, I am actually trying to get most of my calories from fat because I think (perhaps foolishly) that my body will get wise to the idea that it has access to fat in abundance and doesn't need to store it :P
    If I stay under calories and get enough protein I see nothing wrong with this. The hard part is finding out how to get that much fat into my diet while keeping it tasty. Fat makes stuff taste good but generally not so much on its own... loads of the fat I am logging is getting wasted by sticking to pots and pans and plates and spoons.
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
    I have been considering whether to nudge my fat goal up 5%. I think I will try it out. Thanks for posting :)
  • smex14
    smex14 Posts: 48
    atm I am not losing overall weight but I am losing body fat, this morning my resting heart rate and blood pressure were excellent and I LOVE FATS! Nuts, avocado, olive oil - my skin, hair and nails are all strong, shiny, healthy. It took me a long time to let go of the idea that fat is bad but fat is definitely my friend now :)
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