A question about FAT!

Hi CC'ers,

If I consume too much fat on a consistent basis, but these are GOOD FATS (from sources like nuts, seeds, seafood), should I be concerned about excess fat being stored in the body? Would it be a better option to end the day with excess carbs compared with excess fats?

In terms of calories, I usually eat to match my burn meter or have a deficit of 100-200 calories, even though Im having lots of fats.

Thanks for the help...........

:)

The body finds it slightly easier to store oils/fats eaten as body-fat than it does to convert carbohydrates.  (And that applies whether it is saturated or unsaturated fat)  But whether you store fat at all depends on whether you're consuming too much energy (calories) in total.  So if you're burning up what you're taking in, give or take, none of it will be stored as fat.... regardless of the source.

The main risk associated with the excess consumption of fat comes from the fact that it is energy-dense.  So people with diets very high in fat tend to be overweight.  If you're not overweight, you're not in that risk bracket.  The second risk associated is that a diet high in saturated fat can lead to high blood-cholesterol levels, a contributory factor in heart disease.  If your diet isn't high in saturated fat, you're at less of a risk.  Finally, if your diet is very high in fat, it is likely to be deficient in something else.   That could apply to you.

On the whole, try to get a balanced diet with around 25-30% fat, 50-60% carbohydrates and 20 - 25% protein.   Then you'll be getting a good range of nutrition and be in good health.

Too much of anything is not good. Balance is the key. Get the recommended daily allowance or close to it of good fats and you will be fine. You must have fat. Your body will not function properly without it.

Thanks for the replies... answered my question!

Its a pity that a lot of my favorite foods are high in fats (good fats tho!)... they use up so many calories that I have to cut back on other meals :S

I guess it does boil down to balance, not overconsuming from just one food group etc.

Cheers:)

 

It does suck that food is so good

Do you have a cheat meal day? That really helps me. I still eat a normal breakfast/lunch but have a cheat dinner and eat my favorite things.

ive heard and read that certian fats are more redily abosrbed and some are more readily stored as fat.

THe different types of fatty acids are short, medium, long and very long chain fats

short chain fatty acids are always saturated, these are easy to digest and are less likly to store as fat, they are found in butter, cheese, etc. Medium chain fatty acids are simalar, they are easy to digest and go to the liver rather quickly, much like a carb. Coconut, mothers milk, whole cows milk, butter, eggs, etc. all have this.

Long chain fats would include olive oil, veggie oil, nuts, flax, etc. THese are harder to digest and are much more likely to be stored as fat.

OF course, this is coming from the weston A price foundations website. However ill take the good with the bad, your body needs a balance of long and shorter chain fats, like butter and olive oil. You cant have one or the other. also, too much fat adds too many calories, and hence weight gain.

- littleshellys - i like the sound of a cheat meal hehe. I guess for me weekends are usually cheat days because ill go out with the bf or the girls and always end up having some sort of junk food... whether its movie popcorn and candy or a rich, creamy cafe latte and bowl of hot chips to share. Thanks for the tip tho:)

- dartrinton - eek if this is all true, its very alarming that having excess "good fats" like nuts and flax is more harmful than having "bad fats" like butter!?!? 

However, if some fats are harder to digest, doesnt that imply that the body uses up more energy in digesting them, and hence helps you burn more calories? Then, the longer chain fats would be better for you....hmm thnx anyway for the info. 

gi-jane, Can you provide articles to support the idea that the body stores fats more easily than carbohydrates? I haven't heard that before.

Perannum, I am on a modified Atkins (ketogenic) diet in concurrance with medications to treat my seizure disorder, which means I eat 70-80% of my calories from fat & no more than 20g carbohydrates/day (good days are no more than 10g). The fat I eat is not stored as bodyfat & it is common for people to lose weight on a high fat carbohydrate diet (e.g. Atkins, Protein Power, South Beach, Diabeties Diet etc). It is also common for people with both Type I & II Diabeties to follow a high fat, low carbhydrate diet to manage their Blood Glucose Levels, lose weight & relieve symptoms. There are several new studies that indicate low-carb high-fat diets may be useful in treating other diseases, such as cancer and parkinsons.

Ketogenic diets are also used by body builders to diminish bodyfat: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=keto genic+bodybuilding+weight+loss 

For my body a diet of excess carbs is detrimental & a diet of high fat improves my quality of life. Everyones' body is different, but as you can see there are many bodies out there that benefit from a low carbohydrate high fat diet.

In addition to improved health, I also find I no longer have overwhelming cravings or urges to binge & have steady BGL thus feel satisfied longer.

http://www.weight-loss-help.com/articles/exce ssive-fat.htm  This article is pretty typical in explaining the process.  

"...it takes more energy (calories "burned") to convert carbohydrates and protein into body fat than it does to convert dietary fat into body fat."

This doesn't mean following a fat-free diet, of course, but simply finding a good balance ie. 25-30% from fat.   If you have a medical condition and have been advised to do something different that's a decision your doctor has taken.  If your total calories taken in each day are less than the ones you burn up then you won't gain weight, regardless of what you eat.

That statement doesn't even make sense. Carbohydrates are quickly converted into glucose, & excess glucose = stored bodyfat.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate_met abolism 

The body goes through a much longer & more complicated process to metabolize fats http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatty_acid_metab olism and proteins are a different ballgame all together.

In other words, your weightlosshelp.com article is bunk.

Original Post by carleyrapp:

That statement doesn't even make sense. Carbohydrates are quickly converted into glucose, & excess glucose = stored bodyfat.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate_met abolism 

The body goes through a much longer & more complicated process to metabolize fats http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatty_acid_metab olism and proteins are a different ballgame all together.

In other words, your weightlosshelp.com article is bunk.

Not trying to be a pest, but saying that an article is bunk then citing Wikipedia isn't the best thing to do.

Heh, I totally get the irony. I cited wiki because it provides easy to read explanations of "Common knowlege." The major encyclopedia websites are full of obnoxious popups and the scholarly articles are full of biochem jargon. Though I wouldn't use wiki to validate some new idea, I take their description of common nutritional knowlege over weightlosshelp.coms claims that high fat diets increase fat storage.

If you read the beginning of that article carefully, the authors' premise is that since high fat foods are calorie dense, if ones diet is high fat then it "will contain more than twice the calories than a food containing mostly carbohydrates and/or protein. " Obviously what the author means is that it comes down to calories, not fat content.

My sleep meds aren't kicking in tonight :(

I would go insane without my cheat meal.

- carleyrapp I've heard that diets high in fats/low in carbs do achieve the objective of weight loss for many people. For example, if you entirely remove carbs from your diet, and substitute this with twice as much fats, it makes sense that the body is no longer storing the fat but is burning the fat as it has to make up for the lack of carbs. I suppose if you had high fats AND high carbs, thats when fats would probably be more likely to get stored in the body. ..... this is not scientifically verifiable.. merely an observation:)

Thanks for your input..

Thanks for posting that link to Wikipedia because it actually supports what I've been trying to explain earlier.   :-) Quote "Carbohydrates are a superior short-term fuel".... It goes on to explain how carbohydrates break down into glucose and are stored as glycogen (our short-term energy stores) before any excess goes on to be stored as fat.....  A two-stage process.

As your Wikipedia article also points out... "fatty acids, triglycerides and other lipids (in other words, edible fat) are more commonly used for long-term energy storage" i.e. body fat.


Excess calories, whether derived from fat, protein or carbohydrate will ultimately be stored as fat.    I'd respectfully suggest you actually read the articles you're quoting before dismissing what someone says as 'bunk'. 

"Carbohydrates are a superior short-term fuel for organisms because they are simpler to metabolize than fats or proteins In animals, the most important carbohydrate is glucose; so much so, that the level of glucose is used as the main control for the central metabolic hormone, insulin. "

Carbohydrates = faster & easier for the body to metabolize = faster & easier store

Carbohydrates are quickly & easily converted into glucose = increase insulin = stops use of fat as an energy source 

"Fatty acids are usually ingested as triglycerides, which cannot be absorbed by the intestine. They are broken down into free fatty acids and monoglycerides by pancreatic lipase, which forms a 1:1 complex with a protein called colipase which is necessary for its activity. The activated complex can only work at a water-fat interface: it is therefore essential that fatty acids (FA) be emulsified by bile salts for optimal activity of these enzymes. People who have had their gallbladder removed due to gall stones consequently have great difficulty digesting fats[citation needed]. Most are absorbed as free fatty acids and 2-monoglycerides, but a small fraction is absorbed as free glycerol and as diglycerides. Once across the intestinal barrier, they are reformed into triglycerides and packaged into chylomicrons or liposomes, which are released into the lymph system and then into the blood. Eventually, they bind to the membranes of hepatocytes, adipocytes or muscle fibers, where they are either stored or oxidized for energy. "

= it takes a long-a**ed time for fat to be converted into energy or stored

AKA

"If you read the beginning of that article carefully, the authors' premise is that since high fat foods are calorie dense, if ones diet is high fat then it "will contain more than twice the calories than a food containing mostly carbohydrates and/or protein. " Obviously what the author means is that it comes down to calories, not fat content"

Auggh! Interesting joust, but what was the question? What is better to eat at night, fats or carbs, I think. Personally I sleep better if I eat something fatty like a cookie or PB toast (type of fat doesn't make much difference to me) rather than something high carb like popcorn, dry toast or yogurt. But in terms of maintaining weight the effects of eating high fats (and salts) lasts for days, while the effects of eating high carbs lasts for hours. In other words the effect of night carbs on my scale weight the next morning aren't as noticeable as night fats. Over the course of a week it all balances out if I maintain that 100-200 calorie per day deficit. Hope this helps your bedtime snack selection.

Original Post by thhq:

Auggh! Interesting joust, but what was the question? What is better to eat at night, fats or carbs, I think. Personally I sleep better if I eat something fatty like a cookie or PB toast (type of fat doesn't make much difference to me) rather than something high carb like popcorn, dry toast or yogurt. But in terms of maintaining weight the effects of eating high fats (and salts) lasts for days, while the effects of eating high carbs lasts for hours. In other words the effect of night carbs on my scale weight the next morning aren't as noticeable as night fats. Over the course of a week it all balances out if I maintain that 100-200 calorie per day deficit. Hope this helps your bedtime snack selection.

That's probably because fats digest much slower than carbs. Personally, I prefer fats too.