Good Fat And Bad Fats In A Fat Loss Program
As a rule, the foods we eat should come from 5 main food groups.
These are;
Grain
Fruit and Veg
Dairy
Meat and protein
Fats and sugars
Sugar
As this blog is all about fat loss, by whatever means works for you, we’re going to have a bit of a look at fats.
A gram of fat contains 9 calories, but a gram of fat is not just a gram of fat. There are good fats and bad fats. These different fats have different health qualities and perform different functions.
Saturated Fats
These are the fats that we don’t really need. They come mainly from animal products such as meat (suet, tallow lard and the visible white fat,) dairy products, especially cheese and cream, eggs and seafood. Coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil are examples of plant based saturated fats.
Eating too much saturated fat can have some serious health consequences. When eaten over a prolonged period, too much saturated fat can lead to high cholesterol in the blood, which in turn leads to an increased risk of heart disease, heart attacks, angina and strokes and cardiovascular disease. Known also as CVD, cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death here in the United Kingdom and was the cause of death to 1 in 3 people who died prematurely.
These fats simply do not have any good role in our bodies. The simplest thing our bodies can do with them is take it straight to the fat cells and leave it there. Until we eat some more, which ends up in the same place. The fat cells take it in readily, getting bigger and bigger, followed quickly by us getting bigger and bigger!
Trans Fats
Trans fats, or trans fatty acids are also completely unnecessary to our good health, yet are found falling out of cakey cupboards up and down the country. Most commonly found in processed food items such as commercially produced cakes and biscuits etc, it is also found in fast food outlets the world over. It is made by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils and this makes them more solid and helps to give a nice taste and texture to food fried in it. This manmade creation helps improve the shelf life of good made with it, and enables fast food outlets to change their frying oil less often. Nice!
Although it is an unsaturated fat, it will raise the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and lower the levels of good cholesterol (HDL.) Diabetes is an added downside of prolonged eating of trans fatty acids as well as all the others mention above.
Polyunsaturated Fats
Polyunsaturated fats on the other hand, do have a vital role to play in our health; that of decreasing the levels of LDL cholesterol (bad.)
Polyunsaturated fats are split into 2 groups. These are omega 3 essential fatty acids and omega 6 essential fatty acids. The ‘essential’ tag comes from the fact that our bodies are unable to produce them ourselves and the effects are essential to our functioning.
Omega 6 essential fatty acids are found mainly in sunflower, pumpkin, hemp, safflower, sesame and corn oil. Around half the oils found in these seeds come from Omega 6 essential fatty acids.
They have an important role to play. They help prevent blood clots, help lower blood pressure and maintain the water balance in the body as well as help stabilize blood sugar levels.
Omega 3 essential fatty acids are found mainly in fish oils as well as pumpkin seeds and flax seeds. Sardines, herring, trout, salmon, pilchards and mackerel are all good sources and should ideally be eaten about three times a week. It is now widely believed that omega 3 essential fatty acids can help lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels as well as help prevent the furring up of the arteries, also known as Atherosclerosis. They also make the platelets in the blood less sticky which reduces the risk of them clogging together and helps prevent heart attacks and arterial blockage.
Both of these essential fatty acids also help our bodies to metabolize protein, carbohydrate and fat. So although as a fat, they still come in at 9 calories a gram, you do at least get some benefits for it!
Monounsaturated Fats
Monounsaturated fats have earned themselves the reputation of being a healthy fat. The high olive oil content in the much researched ‘Mediterranean diet’, is said to help lower cholesterol levels and prevent heart disease. Even so, like the omega 6 and omega 3, the calories per gram are the same, so it’s important to keep a bit of a count on the amount consumed, healthy or not.
So, whilst in order to do well with any fat loss program it’s vital to reduce the fat we eat, there are certain fats that we do need in order for our bodies to function properly.
BMI Calculator for Weight Loss
The term BMI is short for Body Mass Index, and is a method of body weight assessment in terms of obesity.
It’s very easy to see from the outside that we are all different shapes and sizes, but if you think back to science lessons, we are all generally built upon the same design of skeleton. It might also be easy to think that these skeletons are all the same size, with a bit of variety between men and women and height.
However, there are many variations, and this makes it difficult to determine whether a person’s weight is an accurate reflection of their frame and build. For example, a body builder could weigh in at 20st, but have a very low fat content.
He may also be the same height as someone weighing 15st, but who had a much higher body fat percentage. Despite the heavier weight, body fat percentage wise, the bodybuilder is in much better shape.
A BMI calculator is often used to work out this weight to height ration. Feel free to try it out below by clicking on the blue link.
BMI Calculator
Alternatively, I have provided a do-it-yourself method.
There are 3 steps.
1. Multiply your height in metres by itself. Eg. 1.75m x 1.75m=3.06.
2. Measure your weight in kilos. Eg. 78kgs.
3. Divide the weight by the height squared. 78 / 3.06=25.49
Therefore BMI is 25.49
What is BMI?
A BMI measurement is used by health professionals to determine if a person is overweight, and if so, to what degree.
There are numerous conditions associated with obesity. Doctors waiting rooms are full of overweight people suffering with diabetes, heart disease, aching joints, strokes and different types of cancer. That’s not to say that you will only get them if you’re over weight, but the chances increase as the numbers on the scale go upwards!
Let’s not forget also, that being overweight, to any degree exposes us all to the possibility of depression and low self esteem.
Body composition according to BMI calculation generally falls into weight ranges, as opposed to the exact amount of kilos, or stones and pounds. Some people find using the BMI measurement very useful when tracking their weight loss journey.
Recommended BMI Chart
Underweight BMI less than 18.5
Ideal BMI 18.5-25
Overweight BMI 25-30
Obese - should lose weight BMI 30-40
Very obese - lose weight now BMI greater than 40
The downside of only using a BMI calculation is that it doesn’t cater for the variation in body fat content, and body fat is a significant indicator of future health problems.
