How low can you go?

We are going to throw some numbers at you again which may leave you scratching your head and thinking we can't make up our minds.  We keep telling you that the quantity of food you consume is not nearly as important as the quality of the food you consume...  which is mostly true.  Obviously, if you eat many more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.  But, if you are making good quality food choices, your body will start producing hormones that will reduce your food cravings and automatically prevent you from overeating.  So why do we keep putting numbers out there or recommending tools like Mynetdiary that count calories?  We want you to use them as a temporary tool to help identify areas where you can improve your diet.  Once you have identified problem areas and made appropriate adjustments, you won't  need the tools anymore. 

So this week's numbers are going to focus on fat, and more specifically, how little fat is too little.  Most dietary guidelines suggest that healthy adults limit dietary fat to no more than 20 to 35 percent of total daily calories.  So if 20 percent is good, then 15 percent must be better when trying to lose weight, right?  Not so fast. 

Fats play a very important role in our diets and our overall health.  First, fat slows the digestive process so that you are not hungry shortly after eating a meal.  Fat also aids in the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K.  These vitamins are important in bodily functions such as growth, immunity, cell repair, and blood clotting.  If you are not consuming enough fat in your diet to bring these vitamins into your body, they will simply be excreted and you can be at risk for vitamin deficiency. 

But all fat is not created equal!  When selecting fats to include in your diet, focus on unsaturated fats; either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated.  Omega-3s are an especially good fat choice.  Not only are they unsaturated fats, but they also act as metabolic messengers and actually improve fat metabolism.  Omega-3s are found in fatty fish like salmon as well as flax seed and walnuts.  Other sources of good fats are grass-fed meat, seeds, avocados, and olive oil. 

So...  try to keep your dietary fat intake in the 20 to 35 percent range of total calories, but more importantly, once you have determined you are in that range, focus on getting the right kinds of fats.