FAT- The Science-y Stuff
Hello everyone! Gosh it's been a while since I've been on here! But I am back to follow up on this Fat Loss Series I'm doing- and today I wanted to talk about what really is fat.
Fats are made of something called triglycerides, and all triglycerides are not equal! These fatty acids determine whether something is a liquid or a solid (at room temperature). It's solidity roughly equals how good or bad it is for you.
Triglycerides have different lengths and types of bonds. A single bond makes up what we call saturated fat. 1+ double bonds are responsible for unsaturated fats. Saturated fats, in excess is bad for you, while unsaturated fats are known as the "good" fats!
However, there is more to unsaturated fats than that! Unsaturated fats are made of both "trans" fats and "cis" fats. While cis and trans fats have the same exact components or "building blocks," they are arranged differently and have very different affects on your body! Trans fat is actually terrible for you (worse than saturated fat!)- these trans fats occur when Hydrogen and Carbon are on opposite sides of the double bond. However "cis fats" are when H and C are on the same side of the double bond- these ones are the truly good fats!
To find out if foods have trans fat in them, look for the words "partially hydrogenated." This screams trans fat, so stay away from these foods as much as possible! Don't just look at the Nutrition Facts- the FDA allows companies to get away with a lot of stuff they shouldn't, so make sure to read labels thoroughly.
Fats are a macronutrient that you need in your diet- fats don't make you fat! In fact, not eating enough fats can cause your body to hold onto whatever fat it does get! Whether you choose to eat more fats and less carbs, or more carbs and less fats, it doesn't matter (as long as the total calories, including protein, are the same). So while watching how much fat you consume is important when it comes to calories, what's far more important than that is WHAT KIND of fat it is! So make sure to read labels and pick foods that are mostly unsaturated, non-trans, fat; examples of this are olive oil, avocados, salmon, nuts and nut butters, etc etc. Next time you're at the grocery store, pay attention to what kinds of fat are in the food!
Happy Weight Loss,
Hannah
Fats are made of something called triglycerides, and all triglycerides are not equal! These fatty acids determine whether something is a liquid or a solid (at room temperature). It's solidity roughly equals how good or bad it is for you.
Triglycerides have different lengths and types of bonds. A single bond makes up what we call saturated fat. 1+ double bonds are responsible for unsaturated fats. Saturated fats, in excess is bad for you, while unsaturated fats are known as the "good" fats!
However, there is more to unsaturated fats than that! Unsaturated fats are made of both "trans" fats and "cis" fats. While cis and trans fats have the same exact components or "building blocks," they are arranged differently and have very different affects on your body! Trans fat is actually terrible for you (worse than saturated fat!)- these trans fats occur when Hydrogen and Carbon are on opposite sides of the double bond. However "cis fats" are when H and C are on the same side of the double bond- these ones are the truly good fats!
To find out if foods have trans fat in them, look for the words "partially hydrogenated." This screams trans fat, so stay away from these foods as much as possible! Don't just look at the Nutrition Facts- the FDA allows companies to get away with a lot of stuff they shouldn't, so make sure to read labels thoroughly.
Fats are a macronutrient that you need in your diet- fats don't make you fat! In fact, not eating enough fats can cause your body to hold onto whatever fat it does get! Whether you choose to eat more fats and less carbs, or more carbs and less fats, it doesn't matter (as long as the total calories, including protein, are the same). So while watching how much fat you consume is important when it comes to calories, what's far more important than that is WHAT KIND of fat it is! So make sure to read labels and pick foods that are mostly unsaturated, non-trans, fat; examples of this are olive oil, avocados, salmon, nuts and nut butters, etc etc. Next time you're at the grocery store, pay attention to what kinds of fat are in the food!
Happy Weight Loss,
Hannah
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