SOME FAT IS WHERE ITS AT

SOME FAT IS WHERE IT’S AT…

It is January, a new year, you’ve started working out and the next logical step to get the most out of your body is to modify your diet. Under the mistaken theory that, if low fat is better, then no fat must be best, you may try to decrease fat levels to zero. Intake of carbohydrates and proteins are then increased, often with the aid of high-power drinks.  Not a great idea.  You also can not pick where your body will lose the fat.

A brief physiology lesson will illustrate the importance of fat in your diet. Any muscle contraction requires glucose or “ATP units,” which are derived from both carbohydrate and fat metabolism. Fats produce twice the energy per calorie that carbohydrates produce. They are stored by the body in the muscles and those energy units (ATPs) can be used quickly for the initial stages of your workout. With more than 10 seconds of prolonged exercise, however, your body must burn both carbohydrates and fats to produce ATPs and maintain activity.

A typical American diet consists of 40 percent fats, 40 percent carbohydrates, and 20 percent proteins. I recommend that my active, health-conscious clients maintain about 33 percent fats (and certainly no lower than 15 percent), plus 45 percent carbohydrates and 22 percent protein. The “theory” that zero fat is best is not correct and can limit your physical abilities. From my simple examples, you can see not only that a little fat is good, but that the importance of healthy (unsaturated) fat in the diet, i.e.; olive oil, actually increases when you are physically active.