A new way of eating for me - but I'm eating to much fat?

MiriamKalsontasks
MiriamKalsontasks Posts: 1 Member
in Getting Started
So I'm on a new way of eating. I am focusing on a protein and fiber.
Basically I have many health issues including type 1 diabetes type 2 diabetes and also, I went through a heart attack about 2 years ago.
I am focusing on lowering my cholesterol and balancing my sugar and I have all the medication to help me do that, as well, right now I'm focusing on changing the way I'm eating to assist doing this. My sugar seems to be under control for a while now, so that's not the issue.
Two months ago I started really changing how I eat.
I also suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome and that really affects the levels of my energy Since I've started changing to the way I eat I've noticed that I have a little bit more energy and I feel better. Also, I'm allergic to taking statins and I just started a new drug about 2 weeks ago, but in the past 3 months I've lowered my cholesterol by 50 points - simply by the way I eat.
I'm focusing on protein, eating 100 to 140 g of protein a day, And also trying to make sure I eat at least 30 grams of fiber a day focusing mainly on soluble fiber as much as I can. It should be about a third of your daily fiber and should be about 10 g a day.
I'm also not a meat eater., I do eat dairy but I'm finding it easier to find protein solutions in vegan recipes. Chickpeas rule!!!!
Although I've been tracking what I've been eating on a simple Excel chart for almost 2 months now, I've started tracking what I eat on my fitness pal since 12.1.2024 and I've started looking at the breakdown of the food and the calorie source and it seems like I'm eating quite a bit of fat. It's over 30% of the calorie source but I don't think there's anything I can change about my diet drastically,
I'm following several simple guidelines:
I make sure to eat 100 to 140 g of protein a day
to eat at least 30 grams of fiber aiming for 10 g of soluble fiber - mainly coming from food and not a supplements
I try to eat under 2,000 calories a day,
I refuse to stay hungry!
I've done that and I no longer am willing to put myself through that. Years of eating disorders are over for me !
5. I also know that I really have to avoid cheddar cheese. I LOVE cheddar cheese! cheddar cheese is probably not very good for my cholesterol. So that's the only thing that I avoid eating, although I did eat my first 100 g the other day, after an emotional day. but that's the first time I've eaten it in 3 months so I guess that's okay.
I cook. I love cooking. I meal prep.
I'm learning a lot about what food has in it I'm making my own recipes and adapting them to have more protein and more fiber. I do use protein powders and I make my own coffee with a little bit of protein powder also using oat milk instead of cow's milk means, that you get a little fiber with your coffee as well.
I'm not a big fruit eater but I make sure to eat an apple a day. With 4.5 to 5.5 g of fiber in one of these babies.
I'm just wondering if I'm eating too much fat.
I will point out that I have not weighed myself for a while. I don't like going on the scale. I'll probably make myself do that next week just to have a number down, but I'm definitely overweight and feeling it in my body. I've always been overweight but not morbidly obese. I think I weigh somewhere between 100 to 110 kilos right now. I am tall at 5.9 ft.
My diet is filled with vegetables and vegetarian protein sources.
Did I mention yet the chickpeas are SuperFood?
I also love lentils and as I said I don't have a problem with cooking and meal prepping, but I also don't want to be obsessed about this. I just want to feel better, lose weight and if the fat source calories are not a real problem then honestly? I don't see a point in time where I'm going to go "when I'm done losing weight", or "when I'm done with this diet" cuz I'm going to be eating like this for the rest of my life.
I'm enjoying eating, I'm enjoying cooking. I'm not hungry. I have energy and my sugar seems to be doing well.
I hope my cholesterol is going in the right direction and I have energy and that's the main thing.
(My fitness is in very bad shape. The worse it's ever been. Going back to track steps since that's always seem to be a good way for me to go. I've been tracking steps since 12.1.2024. My goal for this entire month is to walk 3,000 steps every day. and try to walk a little more each week on my weekly average. I will also be starting to work out in a program for making sure I'm ok with my heart. Just have to finish doing some tests first. So i'm ok and will get better).

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,884 Member
    30% of your calories from fat is pretty much the standard split that MFP gives people, it isn't particularly high fat.
    Even at a higher percentage of fat, if you feel good eating that way (and if the fats are mostly from healthy sources) there is no issue.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,349 Member
    Fat doesn't make you fat! It's actually really good for satiety for a lot of people (me included). 30% is fine!
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,832 Member
    Good for you!
    I just got my blood test results today. Sugars fine. Cholesterol was down 24 points. Still way too high. Triglycerides down 57 points. Now healthy. Cant take statins. I'm envious that you did so well.
    My fat goal is 33% calories from fat, and I go over nearly every day. Fat has always been a weakness.
    I set my goal for fiber for 30 grams/day. I usually hit 28-30. All from food. But I don't know about soluble vs insoluble in food. Educate me.
    I'm also 5'9". (One Dr. Office says 5'10", one 5'8", and the latest 5'9". I'm going with the average). Weigh closer to 80kg, but health comes first. Weight is one component of health.
    I really don't know how to lower cholesterol. My blood tests did show that maybe I should eat just a little more protein. That will be easy and enjoyable for me. I thought I was getting enough. I often go over goal.

    Share some more wisdom with me and maybe I can get my cholesterol lower by next blood tests.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,617 Member
    I agree, 30% of calories from fat isn't necessarily a problem, if getting adequate protein and micros/fiber alongside, within reasonable calories. It sounds like you're doing those things.

    Given that you have some health issues in the picture, types of fat might matter somewhat, though the details are somewhat controversial.

    I think pretty much every sensible source agrees that avoiding trans fats is a good plan.

    Some - quite a few - say that it shouldn't be entirely/mostly saturated fats, though some alternative health sources disagree depending on overall dietary context. If going with the "not entirely/mostly saturated fats" view, that would suggest getting a fair amount of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats is a good idea. Maybe you already do that, since things like avocados, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and that sort of thing generally have a fair amount of mono- and polyunsaturated fats.

    A final thing is Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio. These days, a lot of people are getting high amounts of O-6s, not much O-3s. Fatty cold-water fish are among the best O-3 sources, since what we really need is EPA and DHA. Nearly all plant sources are ALA, which our bodies can convert to EPA, but the conversion rate is very low. As a vegetarian myself, I'd suggest you might consider supplementing with an algae oil based supplement, though some seaweeds do contain EPA and/or DHA also. (Personally, I think most seaweed is yucky, other than small amounts wrapped around veggie maki, so I go the supplement route.)

    For me, 50+ years vegetarian, reaching a healthy weight brought my formerly high cholesterol into the normal range, but I think I don't have genetic predisposition to high cholesterol. (FWIW, I'm 5'5"/165cm, 134 pounds/61kg, started out at a BMI a little below where you are now, 183lbs/83kg.)

    I do think about the above issues with types of fats, but can't say that I micromanage. At my last test in October, my cholesterol/HDL ratio was 2.89, and HDL was 72.4, which my doctor felt was very good for my age (68 at the time). Exercise also matters for blood lipid levels, as well as blood sugar levels of course. It doesn't need to be some punitively intense thing: Even mild exercise helps.

    Best wishes!

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