Friday, August 29, 2008

“Fat” Friday

Hello all!  Let me explain what the title means… and no it doesn’t mean that today is the day we can eat all the fat we want because it’s Friday

This post is all about fat… how much we should eat, what percentage and so forth.  Amy asked if we could find some information on how many grams of fat per day we should eat along with the actual percentage of fat we should be eating. 

Well Amy, you are right, the information was confusing and altogether misleading.  However, after searching various health sites and seeing what information I could come up with - this is what we narrowed it down to.  First, let me show you what the FDA says we should eat:

The FDA has set up very specific food labeling requirements that food processors must abide by. On the nutrition panel they must declare the serving size and the nutritional content for that serving. On nutrition labels of food intended for consumption by adults, the fat is displayed as total fat—the amount of fat in gram weight contained in that one serving—and the percentage of your daily fat intake that should be. This is based on an average diet of 2000 calories.

One gram of fat has nine calories. The FDA states that an adult should have 65 grams or less of fat per day, or in other words 9 calories X 65 grams. This equals 585 calories from fat per day. This is equal to 30 percent of your daily calorie intake. (585 fat calories divided by 2000 calories = 30 percent.

Sounds good right?  Um, no.  Reread the line that says this is based on an average diet of 2,000 calories.  If you are trying to lose weight then 2,000 calories is simply a bit too much, unless you are exercising and burning off about 200 to 500 calories per day.  The average diet for weight loss should be between 1,500 and 1,800 calories per day.  This is based on regular, everyday, moderate exercise.  You know, like walking everyday for 30 minutes on a treadmill where the average person burns about 200 calories depending on the speed. 

Also, let me take the time to say this - percentages of fat and how many fat calories you should be eating vary largely depending on your size now, your age, your activity level and so forth.  I’m averaging this out for most of us since we are almost all women (with the exception of a select few great men that I know read this blog). 

Doing the math and seeing all the great information out there - the average woman trying to lose weight should be eating approximately 45 grams of fat per day, or 405 calories from fat per day, or 22% based on an 1800 calorie a day diet. 

Alright, so we got the numbers, now what?  It doesn’t mean that if you eat salad all day you can pig out on ice cream.  There are very specific fats you should be eating every day.  These are the GOOD fats - and yes, there are good fats.  The good fats are the Monounsaturated Fats and the Polyunsaturated Fats.  Monounsaturated fats lower the total cholesterol in your body as well as the LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol).  They also increase the HDL or good cholesterol.  Here are the monounsaturated fats you should be eating:

Nuts including peanuts, walnuts, almonds and pistachios
Avocado
Canola Oil
Olive Oil

Polyunsaturated fats also lower the total cholesterol and the LDL cholesterol.  Anything with Omega 3 fatty acids belong to this group.  Foods you should eat:

Seafood such as salmon and fish oil
Corn, soy, safflower and sunflower oils.

The fats that we should avoid are the Saturated Fats that raise our total cholesterol and the LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) These fats can be found mainly in animal products such as:
Meat
Dairy
Eggs
Seafood
Coconut, palm, and palm kernel oil

I know Queenie, you’ve been telling us this all along

Then of course you need to avoid trans fats at all costs.  These are the hydrogenated liquid oils that are found in many commercially packaged foods, fried foods and most fast food along with packaged snacks such as microwaved popcorn.  Vegetable shortening and hard stick margarine are huge culprits as well.  If you are going to eat these foods (I mean, who doesn’t love popcorn?) make sure it says Trans Fat Free to help avoid these fats.  If you are going to eat meats and dairy, try to go as lean as you can.  This means 96% lean beef - NEVER NEVER NEVER get anything less than 93%, it is a heart attack waiting to happen.  Also, stick with skim milk or 1%, low fat cheeses and so forth.  Full fat dairy and meats means lots of saturated fats. 

Well, Amy and everyone else, I hope this cleared up some misconceptions about how much fat you need in your diet

Also, don’t forget to weigh-in!!!  It’s still Friday after all!

* Related Resources

Usually phentermine does not help once you have achieved the desired weight loss. You could try other diet pills though, like adipex.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Misunderstood, Frustrated & Smart

I spent a week recently with my mom and my sister. My diet always is an issue when the family gets together now that I don’t eat meat. Not a bad issue, just one that seems to always come up. I think this is due to my family being one of those families that constantly feeds each other. That is just what we do when we all get together. Everyone has to eat. There have been times that I know my mom has been on the verge of a meltdown because we are all out someplace, the kids scream that they need food and we will stop and grab a fruit bowl, a pretzel or god forbid, an itallian ice. I am telling you - it makes my mom INSANE. She is from the time when you ate your meals at a table and they needed to be square. Main dish, side, a veggie if you can manage it and a beverage. In today’s world, we are on the go non stop. My kids are as laid back as I am. We will grab a snack and be perfectly content to continue playing and adventuring.

In any case, our trip...my diet. We arrived at my sister’s house. We arranged a grocery store trip so we could all eat for the week. There was some stress about what to feed Queenie. Not from me, but from my momma. She is still trying to feed her freaky vegetarian daughter a square meal only she minuses the meat dish. Ummm NOT gonna work Momma. I managed to grab what I needed, toss it in the cart and I ate just fine during the time I was gone. I also realized quickly that not many people know what healthy food is. I would like to state to anyone reading this entry that just because a bag of food says that it’s “All natural” does not make it health food. If the label reads “Low Fat” - it doesn’t mean that it’s good for you. “Low sugar” “Low calorie” and god forbid “No Preservatives” does not give you free reign to shovel it into your mouth.

All these labels mean is that you should be extra careful and read that label before you eat it. Those words should send up red flags and warning bells in that brain of yours. READ THE LABEL!!!

Low sugar, sugar free etc just means that they are using chemicals that have been proven to cause seizures and contribute to alzheimers to sweeten that processed food you are getting ready to eat.

Fat free and low fat on a label means that they have processed that food so darn much that they worked all of that technical fat out of it before it went in the bag. PS - You can have a fat free item that is loaded with hidden sugar. It still makes you FAT even though the label says fat free.

No preservatives? Really? Unless you are buying fresh produce, I can promise there are preservatives in that food. There has to be before the FDA will let it be packaged for sale. If there is a shlef life of longer than 2 days, there are preservatives. I promise.

My rule of thumb when I look at a label is that if I can’t pronounce it, I don’t eat it. I know that vitamin C is often listed as ascorbic acid on the label. I know that sugar is the master of disguise and often will look like one of these: Corn sweetener,Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids, Dehydrated Cane Juice, Dextrin, Dextrose, Fructose, Fruit juice concentrate, Glucose, High-fructose corn syrup, Lactose, Maltodextrin, Malt syrup, Maltose, Maple syrup, Molasses, Raw sugar, Rice Syrup, Saccharose, Sucrose, Syrup, Treacle, Turbinado, or Xylose. Preservatives? Here are a few ways they hide those: Ammonium Chloride, Nitric Acid, and Phosphoric Acid.

I will always look at a label of any new food that I am trying BEFORE I put it in the shopping bag. If I don’t know whats in it, I don’t buy it. Let alone eat it. The times that I feel crappy, I can go back and realize that it’s because I have eaten food that isn’t on my new rule list. Loaded with processed grains and sugars. Sometimes, even I am weak. When I am feeling good though, it’s because I am eating a diet of pure foods.

Making this one change in my habits is what got me well on my way to my almost 50 pound weight drop by the way. If that isn’t incentive for you all to read labels, I don’t know what is. Heh. 

Monday, August 18, 2008

Are Salads Really That Healthy?

More and more restaurants and fast food joints are carrying a variety of salads.  That’s a good thing, right? In fact, I have started to eat a few of them thinking that they are healthier… It’s true that vegetables are the lowest-calorie food group; the problem is that salads aren’t just composed of vegetables anymore.

Because not all salads are made the same, it takes some work by the us to figure out which restaurant salads are healthy choices. I found some restaurant salads and calorie counts to see if they are really as healthy as wel think they are:

Taco Bell’s Fiesta Salad — 840 calories and 45 grams of fat
Macaroni Grill’s Chicken Caesar Salad — 920 calories and 69 grams of fat
Panera’s Bistro Steak Salad — 630 calories and 58 grams of fat
Applebee’s Grilled Steak Caesar Salad — 1,190 calories and 75 grams of fat

Compare the salads above to one of my personal favorites - the McDonald’s Big Mac, which has 540 calories and 29 grams of fat.  Whoa!  I can eat 2 Big Mac’s for the calories of one of those Applebee’s Salads!  True, I’m getting more artery clogging fat, but that is beside the point

Salads don’t need to get a bad reputation, though. It’s all the extras that get added to salads nowadays that pack on the calories and fat.  Here are some tips for selecting a healthier salad:

* Order salad dressing on the side. And before spearing a bite of your salad, each time dip the tines of your fork into the dressing like Gypsy has so often suggested to us! You will taste dressing with each bite but you’ll only be using a small amount.

* Try a light or low-fat salad dressing or dilute the dressing with vinegar or lemon juice. This will help to reduce the calories.

* Stay away from all things fried. Salads now come with fried meats. Ask that these be baked, grilled, or broiled.

* Keep the toppings to a minimum. Croutons, cheese, fried wontons and noodles, eggs, olives, and nuts all add up in calories. Ask that these be replaced with extra vegetables.

The Bottom line? Keep in mind that four cups of salad mix — with no added meats, croutons, sliced eggs, dressings, and so on — have only 100 calories and no fat.  So next time you order a salad stay away from all the extra stuff that you really need, and for God’s sake - stay away from anything that says Caesar