Weight Loss and Healthy Living

An excerpt from the book, Lose Fat, Not Faith (ISBN 0976907941) that discusses the role of fats in the diet, including saturated, unsaturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and more.


And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. Genesis 45:18

We are finally starting to recover from the unwarranted fat scare that rocked the past few decades. Somehow, people got confused and thought, "fat is fat, so it must cause fat." It seems to make sense at first: a gram of protein or a gram of carbohydrate is four calories, but a gram of fat is nine calories - over twice as much - so fat must be the culprit! What's more, we know that fat increases cholesterol, increases risk of stroke, and does a bunch of other evil things, right? Wrong!

Only unhealthy fat can cause problems. What people often fail to recognize is that carbohydrate, when in excess, is converted to fat. So you can get plenty fat on a low-fat diet. In fact, since the low-fat diet fad began several years back, what has happened? Americans have become more overweight!

The unfortunate truth is that there is no magic bullet. We cannot just point a finger at protein, carbs, or fat - all of these macronutrients contribute to our daily intake of nutrients, and anything in excess will cause us to get fat. Unfortunately, fat has gotten a bad reputation and unhealthy fat has been completely ignored. People were led to believe "fat is evil" and did not realize that there are healthy fats which actually help build muscle and burn calories!

i. Animal Fat

In the Bible, one passage prohibits consuming the fat of cattle, sheep, and goats. This is the "covering" fat as opposed to the fat that was marbled inside the meat (intramuscular fat). Current methods of raising cattle introduce more than five times the amount of fat into the muscle than existed in biblical times. Eating lean proteins is healthier than consuming the typical fat-laden meats that are popular today. The intramuscular fat contains healthy fats (essential fatty acids), while the covering was and is mostly saturated fat. Today, even the fat in the muscle is mostly saturated due to the poor quality of the nutrition these animals receive.

When considering meats, there are a few factors to take into account. Meats from wild or game animals will have higher quality fat content than meats from domesticated sources. This is because wild animals graze and consume a variety of nutrients. They have a diet rich with omega-3 fatty acids, and therefore the fat in their bodies will store this type of fat. Animals raised in captivity are typically fed the least expensive corn meal available. This is not a balanced nutrition approach, and it leads to poor quality fat and protein with fewer nutrients than what is available in the wild.

Some farmers allow their cattle or other game to graze freely, instead of confining them and forcing a specific type of feed. This is known as "free range." Free-range animals provide meat that is superior quality to other, competing products. Moving from wild game and free range meats, the next highest quality will be from those animals that are fed a balanced diet from a variety of sources, such as whole grains. Eggs and meats from animals that are fed this type of diet will usually be labeled to indicate the special feed that the animals are provided. This type of diet provides more balance than a strict corn diet and thus the meat is more balanced.

Animal meats, when consumed in moderation, are perfectly valid. I do agree with much of the research that a plant-based diet provides superior health benefits than a largely animal-based diet. As mentioned in earlier sections of this book, it is important to avoid adopting a "black-and-white" or "either-or" mentality. It is possible to have a plant-based diet and allow the occasional consumption of meats, including red meats. Red meats are a prime source of the B-complex vitamins, as well as heme iron, which is the most bio-available and least toxic form of iron. As with all things, enjoy your animal products - but choose wisely, and consume with moderation!

ii. Healthy Fats

The traditional view of what constitutes healthy fats is fats that are liquid at room temperature and typically of plant origin. Many people have heard about omega-3 fatty acids, and sources such as flaxseed oil and hemp oil. There is also much advice to consume cold water fish as rich sources of healthy fats.

Going against the status quo, I will also concede that saturated fats - including heavy creams, coconut oils, palm oils, and even animal fats - are healthy in moderation. Your body does require some saturated fats. A significant drop in the amount of fats in the diet can lead to lowered hormone production, fatigue, and many other unhealthy symptoms. Although a lot of focus has been placed on the distinction between saturated and unsaturated fats, more should be placed on the processing of fats. For example, many cultures have used coconut and palm oils for thousands of years with relatively little cardiovascular disease in their populations. It is with the advent of processing these fats that there is a correlated risk of various diseases.

Butters and creams have been used as traditional fare for quite some time, as well. Despite a drop in the consumption of butters, creams, and lards, there has been a significant rise in the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Why the apparent discrepancy? Again, it is my belief that the advent of processing and hydrogenating fats is what has caused this problem. I believe that fats - including creams and lards - are fine in the diet as long as total calories are kept in check. In other words, if you are maintaining a lean physique or dropping weight, then adding cream to your eggs (and eating those eggs with their yolks) should not be a major concern unless you have an existing health condition, such as abnormally high cholesterol. I have advised my clients to incorporate between 20% and 30% fats (by calories) in their diets for years, and the majority of feedback has been lowered cholesterol levels correlated to dropping fat and gaining muscle. A few rare exceptions are those who are cholesterol-sensitive. For this reason, it is important to have your cholesterol checked frequently to determine if you are unusually sensitive to changes in blood cholesterol due to your dietary choices.

iii. Trans-Fatty Acids

Trans-fatty acids have been studied for some time now. These are molecules that "look" like healthy fats, but that, through processing or heating, have "twisted" so that they are not usable as healthy fats. The body will start a process, thinking it has the right "fuel" available. When the process needs a fatty acid, it will grab the trans-fatty acid. Because these molecules are twisted, the process will fail, which may lead to deficiencies, and possibly cancer, over time.

Anything that is partially hydrogenated is probably rich with trans-fatty acids. The FDA will require food manufacturers to include information on "trans fat" content on their nutrition labels by 2006. This includes most margarines and butter substitutes. Any unsaturated fats may deform into unhealthy fats when heated. Several fast food chains that cooked their fries in beef tallow (oil) converted to partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and had to add quite a bit of artificial flavoring to make the fries taste the same. Although this was considered a healthy step (moving from saturated fats to unsaturated fats) it in fact was worse. Saturated fats can tolerate the heat from cooking, so the only problem with the old fries was excessive calories. The new fries are loaded with trans-fatty acids, which are nothing we would want in our bodies.

One popular myth is that heating vegetable oils creates trans-fatty acids. This is not entirely true. Although heating can create unhealthy fats, these fats are a different type of fatty acid than trans-fatty acids. Trans-fatty acids are created under very specific conditions. The rise in trans-fatty acids in the food supply is not due to the practice of heating vegetable oils, but the practice of cooking with partially hydrogenated oils.

Here are some tips:

• Avoid products that contain partially hydrogenated oils of any kind
• Avoid products that contain vegetable oils or other unsaturated fats that were exposed to prolonged heat
• Avoid cooking foods in oils - use a dab of butter when possible. If you are using oil for flavor, add it after the food is cooked.
• When you must cook with oil, use olive oil, which can tolerate the heat better than most other healthy oils. Add some onions and/or garlic, as this will also help "buffer" the oil from conversion to undesired trans-fatty acids.

iv. Smoke Points

A smoke point is the point at which heated fat begins to generate smoke and an acrid odor. This not only produces an unpleasant flavor, but also is indicative of a chemical change that may be rendering the fat unhealthy. The following chart should be used as a guideline for cooking with various fats to avoid their smoke points (note: refined oils are oils that go through various processes to have certain chemicals and ingredients removed):

Below 212 Degrees Fahrenheit
These fats cannot tolerate high heat, and therefore must only be boiled, steamed, scalded, stewed, simmered, or parboiled:
Unrefined canola oil, unrefined flaxseed oil, unrefined safflower oil, and unrefined sunflower oil.

Below 320 Degrees Fahrenheit
These fats may be baked at low heat, lightly sautéed, and pressure cooked:
Unrefined corn oil, unrefined peanut oil, semi-refined sunflower oil, unrefined soy oil, unrefined high-oleic sunflower oil, unrefined walnut oil.

Below 370 Degrees Fahrenheit
These fats may be baked, sautéed, and stir-fried (cooked in a wok):
Semi-refined canola oil, refined canola oil, refined corn oil, unrefined olive oil, refined peanut oil, refined safflower oil, unrefined sesame oil, semi-refined sesame oil, semi-refined soy oil, refined soy oil, semi-refined sunflower oil, refined high-oleic sunflower oil, semi-refined walnut oil.

Below 500 Degrees Fahrenheit
Besides saturated fats (lard, butter, etc.), the most robust fat that can handle most forms of cooking, such as searing, browning, and deep-frying is refined avocado oil.

v. How Much Fat To Chew?

This question is by far the easiest to answer. I say, "Don't worry about fat;" if you make the right food choices, it will take care of itself. If you are eating whole grains and occasional egg yolks, taking flaxseed oil, or using all natural almond butter, you will be getting plenty of healthy fats. Since your flesh proteins will be all lean cuts, you will be minimizing your saturated fat intake. This is ideal for increasing your metabolism without adding fat to your midsection.

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I have always possessed the desire to be a professional writer. Peak Physiques empowered me to write through my weekly newsletters and the customized programs that I provided for my clients. However, I knew that I wanted to do more and could not decide on a project to start with. After brainstorming for awhile, I decided to do what I had been consistently good at: I would create a journal, a diary of my progress. I would design a training cycle with a matching nutrition program, and journal each and every day.

This project came to be known as "8 Weeks in Peak Physique." The title not only alluded to my business of the same name, but also stated that this was not going to be some major fat-loss transformation, or a huge bulking cycle where I would gain enormous amounts of muscle mass in a short period of time. Instead, it would be an honest, down-to-earth journal about my daily activities as I maintained my Peak Physique. I would journal not only the specifics and technicalities (sets, reps, calories, etc.) but also my mood, feelings, and actions for each day. I would also take a digitized photograph each week to show how I either maintained or progressed from week to week.

I purposefully chose a start date based upon the fact that I would be going on vacation to Jamaica in the middle of the program. I always find a way to maintain my physique when I am traveling, so I felt this would be an opportune time period to document exactly how I manage when I am on the road. What I did not expect, was that the date range I chose would correspond with one of the most momentous, albeit tragic, incidents in the history of America. My journal about maintaining health during our daily affairs would turn out to be a true testament to how willpower can overcome the emotional backlash of random events that often creep into our lives.

"8 Weeks in Peak Physique" began late in the summer. I did my workouts on my home gym, which by this time had grown character as the knurling on the bar was coated with rust and the weights were adequately chipped and cracked to be considered veterans of the iron game. I built my routine based on a simple principle of performing a few exercises with a few sets each per muscle group, remaining in a moderately low repetition range (6 - 8 reps) that was a compromise between training for muscle size (hypertrophic) and training for strength (neurological). I designed my nutrition program, as well, and based it upon a protein "ramp;" I would start with a large amount of calories, with a high percentage coming from protein, and then decrease the protein each week until I was at a level consistent with leaning down instead of bulking up.

I trained consistently for several weeks, exploring my weights and pushing ahead. Soon it came time to travel south on vacation. Doreen and I had booked a week-long getaway to a resort in Jamaica. We were looking forward to having fun in the tropics while staying in shape and enjoying the local cuisine without going overboard. However, we did indulge on our flight on the way down: the airline offered complimentary glasses of champagne which we enjoyed together as we flew to the island.

Jamaica itself was hot, humid, and loads of fun. We spent a few days taking it easy and stayed at the resort. The other days, we went on excursions. One trip took us to the top of Blue Mountain, where we learned how the popular Jamaican beans are harvested and roasted. We then rode bikes down the mountain through the tropical forest. Another excursion took us up the famous Dunn's River Falls. On other days, we made short visits to the workout room to keep pace with our training and then spent the afternoon floating on one of the many pools. Unlike our honeymoon, when we wolfed down everything in sight at the buffet, this time we enjoyed braised callaloo (a plant similar to spinach) with eggs or akee-akee.

Each day I would make sure that I wrote down my meals, my exercise, and a short journal entry. I was slowly creating my first journal, one day at a time. It was August of 2001.

This article is an excerpt from Lose Fat, Not Faith by Jeremy Likness, ISBN 0976907941.

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