Lifestyle
More Fat or More Food?
By
Aug 24, 2008 - 7:07:46 AM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - More fat or more food? This is a question I've begun to ask my clients. I personally prefer more food, and most of my clients say that they do too. Let's face it, we're not Olympic athletes, and we're certainly not Michael Phelps! Speaking about the Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, the media has grabbed our attention by giving us the scoop on his high calorie, high fat eating habits. Pizza, hamburgers, pasta, some all in one meal. But, let me say now that an Olympic athlete such as Michael Phelps needs between 8,000 and 10,000 calories a day to meet his energy needs for training. If he followed a low fat diet, the volume of food he would need to eat to reach 8,000-10,000 calories per day would be just about impossible! Fat is a calorie dense nutrient, hence he needs both fat and more food. But for us mere mortals who want lose or maintain our weight, well we just can't have both! So, more fat, or more food?

If we choose more food by making low fat food choices on a regular basis, we can reduce our calories significantly. When take in fewer fat grams hence calories, we don't necessarily have to sacrifice either volume, or taste. I suggest that we can eat more food, lose weight, and improve our health too (nice bonus, don't you think?). Now, I'm not suggesting we lose all the fat in our diet since some dietary fat is necessary for our health (remember our olive oil and omega' 3's?), and necessary for the flavor it gives our food. But we can eat more food by reducing some of the fat in our diet. Let's look at a few examples of

More Fat or More Food

6 oz. T Bone Steak 525 calories or 2 Blue Fin Tuna Steaks each 6 oz. 490 calories (12 oz. in total)
6 oz. order of French Fries 536 calories or 5 Baked Potatoes each 3 oz. 500 calories (15 oz. in total)
1/2 cup mixed nuts 438 calories or Hot Air Popped Popcorn 12 cups popped 400 calories
4 oz. Ground Beef Hamburger 300 calories or White Turkey Breast 6 oz. 267 calories
Caesar Salad average 1.5 cups 500 calories or Green Salad w/mixed lettuce & non fat prepared veggies, 2 cups 50-100 calories (made w/teaspoon vinaigrette)

The above examples illustrate the extra calories from fat that are found naturally in food (steak, nuts) or the extra calories from fat that we add during cooking (deep fried French fries) or we add as a dressing (Caesar salad dressing). While I'm not suggesting that we eat 5 baked potatoes that weigh 15 ounces in total or 12 cups of hot air popped popcorn, I am suggesting that we consider how calorically dense fat is. I know I can easily eat a 9 ounce baked potato with butter spray if I am home, or 1 pat of butter, or 1 tsp of olive oil if I am eating out, and still come away with about 300 calories (a saving of over 200 calories from fries, and healthier!). If we can save even 100 calories a day from eating less fat, we could lose 10 pounds in one year (if we did nothing else differently, that is!).

So, if we're not an Olympic athlete, or a skinny vegetarian, reducing our fat intake even a small amount can help us to lose, and/or maintain our weight. If we reduce the fat in our diet a bit more, we can actually eat more food; food that is nutrient dense and healthy, that is. Which one will we choose, more fat or more food?

Want to recommend my weekly tips to friends, relatives and anyone interested in improving their health & fitness? click here. www.junefit.com June M. Lay M.S.

This week, still posted "Grilled fruit Salad with Yogurt" recipe (*there's no hidden calories!) at www.junefit.com/tips_recipehp.htm We can add 1/2 ounce shaved dark chocolate as an added topping too. Who said fruit desserts can't taste decadent with fewer calories!

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