Fat from avocados vs. fat from steak

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knittingbee928
knittingbee928 Posts: 50 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Apologies if this has been asked a hundred times.

To piggyback on this question, if I'm watching fat intake, is the fat from an avocado the same as fat from a steak? Both are high-fat, high-calorie, but it seems to me that an avocado is healthier. Right? Or all fat treated equally?

I prefer Mediterranean-type foods: avocados, walnuts, cheese in small amounts, but I'm discouraged because I've noticed that the calorie load is pretty high, which made me wonder whether the fat is the same in terms of weight loss.

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  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
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    Fat is the same in terms of weight loss. Health-wise, unsaturated fats are usually thought to be better for you than saturated fats, although the Low Carb people will likely beg to differ on that.

    Fats also help your body absorb nutrients from other foods (particularly fat-soluble vitamins), and it's good to eat your allotted fat grams despite the higher calories. They also help you feel full. Oh, and are usually delicious.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    knittingbee928 wrote: »
    Apologies if this has been asked a hundred times.

    To piggyback on this question, if I'm watching fat intake, is the fat from an avocado the same as fat from a steak? Both are high-fat, high-calorie, but it seems to me that an avocado is healthier. Right? Or all fat treated equally?

    I prefer Mediterranean-type foods: avocados, walnuts, cheese in small amounts, but I'm discouraged because I've noticed that the calorie load is pretty high, which made me wonder whether the fat is the same in terms of weight loss.

    Dietary fat is irrelevant to weight loss. Dietary fat doesn't make you fat regardless of source.

    The difference in fat would simply be that the avocado and nuts will have more mono-unsaturated fats which probably people should eat more of. Animal fats are going to be more saturated fats. Saturated fats aren't in and of themselves unhealthy and they play a roll in proper nutrition, but there is currently an upper limit established...whether that's necessary or not is debatable.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Really depends on what steak you pick.
    146g Avacados has
    Calories 234
    Total Fat 21 g 32%
    Saturated fat 3.1 g 15%
    Polyunsaturated fat 2.7 g
    Monounsaturated fat 14 g


    100g of top sirloin steak has
    Calories 213
    Total Fat 11 g 16%
    Saturated fat 3.7 g 18%
    Polyunsaturated fat 0.5 g
    Monounsaturated fat 5 g
    Trans fat 0.6 g

    Edit: Ugh early enter. You only need to worry about fats if you are having a medical reason to do so (like high or low cholesterol), otherwise you really just want to pay more attention to the calories you are eating than anything else, fatty foods do tend to weigh in with more calories. Those are delicious calories usually.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
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    Depends why you are watching fat. If it's just for weight loss - they're exactly the same. If it's for fulness and hunger management - that depends on the person, I might find avocados more satisfying, you might find beef fat keeps you going better. If it's for health reasons then there may be differences but which differences are going to matter will depend on the specific health issue.
  • knittingbee928
    knittingbee928 Posts: 50 Member
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    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    Depends why you are watching fat. If it's just for weight loss - they're exactly the same. If it's for fullness and hunger management - that depends on the person, I might find avocados more satisfying, you might find beef fat keeps you going better. If it's for health reasons then there may be differences but which differences are going to matter will depend on the specific health issue.


    Good point. It's not for health reasons - just for weight loss. I tend to gravitate toward vegetarian, higher fat foods (cheese! walnuts! avocados! more cheese!) and following the Mediterranean-type diet is kind of a challenge because of the high fat/high calorie factor. My go-to has been to turn things into salads, with 90% of the salad being greens. That seems to work pretty well.

    I'm trying to find a method of eating that works for me. I'm having trouble staying at 1200 and not starving or getting "hangry." Also complicating things is that I was gluten free for 8 years, and recently discovered that eating fermented foods solves my problems. Which is awesome, but then I gained almost 10 pounds eating All Of The Bread.

    So, I'm still... working things out I guess.
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
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    1200 calories leaves little room for anything but essentials. If you want to eat more, you can either exercise (and log it and eat those calories) or lower your rate of loss (1 lb/week rather than 2 lb/week).

    But yes, salads are great. Steak salad is also fantastic. ;) And yay for fermented foods! I'm always brewing/pickling something on my counter.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Perhaps 1200 is too low for you. It really is for most people. What are your stats?

    Sex
    Age
    Height
    Weight
    Activity level
    Exercise routine
    weight loss goal
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Now I want an avocado and steak sandwich...

    Panera has a steak and arugula sandwich that you can add avocado onto. Just saying.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
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    knittingbee928 wrote: »
    Good point. It's not for health reasons - just for weight loss. I tend to gravitate toward vegetarian, higher fat foods (cheese! walnuts! avocados! more cheese!) and following the Mediterranean-type diet is kind of a challenge because of the high fat/high calorie factor. My go-to has been to turn things into salads, with 90% of the salad being greens. That seems to work pretty well.

    I'm trying to find a method of eating that works for me. I'm having trouble staying at 1200 and not starving or getting "hangry." Also complicating things is that I was gluten free for 8 years, and recently discovered that eating fermented foods solves my problems. Which is awesome, but then I gained almost 10 pounds eating All Of The Bread.

    So, I'm still... working things out I guess.

    Make changes that are sustainable for you. If a Mediterranean 'diet' is too much, eat similarly, but with your own twist. Finding out what works for you is a process, and you may find as time goes on that how you want to eat changes. Remember that you want to make lifestyle changes that will become your regular diet (not a diet as in these 5 things I eat to lose weight for a month), things that you can continue to do from here on out. If you like eating things, eat the things. Weigh your food and log accurately, and LOOK at your log and figure out what things are working, what things you need to keep an eye out for, and what things maybe you want to incorporate going forward.
  • knittingbee928
    knittingbee928 Posts: 50 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Sex - Female
    Age - 36
    Height - 5'0
    Weight - Between 108 and 110.
    Activity level - Sedentary. In physical therapy and slowly working my activity level up. Desk job.
    Exercise routine - Used to be 4-5 days a week, and I'd eat all my calories back.
    Weight loss goal - 101-102. I was 95 pounds in high school all through college, 105 through my twenties and early 30s, had surgery last year when I was 35 and gained weight, so I was at 113. I know things change as you age, but I'd be super happy if I could get back in shape. 102 feels about right for me.

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