Eating more fat goes against everything that the nutritionists and the government says. Carbohydrates are touted as the prime source of calories, and as such is found in greatly exaggerated amounts in typical diets around the world, especially in the US. Fats, on the other hand, are demonized as one of the primary culprits in raising the risk for heart disease and other ailments. What many people don’t know is that carbohydrates are far from being the best source of calories and are in fact detrimental to general health, while fats are actually much better since they don’t cause the same problematic chemical responses in the body as carbohydrates do.
Carbohydrates, however, are not made equal. There are good sources and bad sources. Too many people focus on the bad sources because of convenience and availability. This makes sense – grain-based products are much cheaper, and thus much easier to sell at a profit. It makes business sense to promote carbohydrates as the primary source of calories. Wheat, corn and rice products are some of the most prolific food items in supermarkets around the world. They are also among the most inexpensive. All those savings are meant to fund hospital bills later on.
What are Carbohydrates provides a short overview of this macronutrient.
The average person consumes a minimum of 200 grams of carbohydrates every day – that’s 800 calories that, if not used immediately, will be stored as fat. The maximum amount can go as high as 500 grams or more. This translates to over 2,000 calories of fast-digesting calories. Note that an hour of intense weight lifting can only burn well below 1,000 calories.
Fats are not made equal as well, but there is only one kind of fat you need to avoid – trans fats. Most of the other fats coming from nuts and animal products are of good quality with regard to a healthy diet. The only thing you really need to do is avoid processed foods such as potato and corn chips, or anything you can find in a bag. With other types of processed food you need to be more attentive to the ingredient list – anything with the word “hydrogenated” on it has trans fats, and if it says “0g of Trans Fat” you better know that manufacturers are allowed to say zero for amounts below one gram, so they just minimize the serving size to bring the amount of trans fat in it below one gram.
Eating more fat is better for fat loss since your body digests fat slower than carbohydrates – so even if you ate the same amount in calories, your body will have more time to effectively use the calories you just ate. Fat is also much more satiating compared to carbohydrates, and there is no such thing as a “fat crash” after eating a hefty serving of fatty food.
Beef with vegetables is a very good combination.
Good sources of fat include beef, chicken, fish, and other seafoods. The higher the quality the fish, chicken, beef, etc the better ratios of omega 3’s to 6’s. This means get better quality food is most important. Other Great fats are avocados coconut oil, olives, and fish oils. Adding more fat to your diet will not make you fat – on the contrary, eating fat will make you lose fat.
Personal Power Training
Scott White
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