Learn the Difference Between Good Fat vs. Bad Fat
Grilled chicken, red, green, yellow peppers, potato pancakes.
I’m Meral Ertunc and I’m the owner of Body Lines by Meral personal training studio in Maitland Florida. I train clients in one-on-one customized personal training sessions to reach their health, fitness and/or weight loss, weight management goals.
Question: How Much Fat is Too Much?
Today I want to talk a little about good fats vs. bad fats because people always ask me, “how much fat is too much?”
This just depends on your lifestyle, your weight, your age and most importantly the state of your health.
The Daily Fat Recommendation Intake Formula
I recommend that you keep total fat intake to between 20 and 35 percent of your calories. For an example, if you’re taking in a 2,000 calories limit, keep your Saturated Fats to less than 10 percent of your calories.
Limit your Trans Fats to one percent of your calories. The rest of it can come from good fat.
What is Bad Fat?
Saturated Fats and Trans Fats=Bad Fats
Saturated Fats and Trans Fats are known as the bad fats because they increase your risk of diseases and elevate cholesterol.
Grilled white chicken kebabs with broccoli, kale salad
Here’s a list of Saturated Fats. These are the bad fats for you:
- A high fat cut of meat, beef, lamb or pork
- Chicken with skin
- Whole fat dairy products. Butter, cheese, ice cream, and lard
These are just examples. There are many others.
What Are Trans Fats?
Trans Fats are another bad fat and they usually come in:
- Pastries
- Baked Pastries
- Cookies
- Doughnuts
- Muffins
- Cakes
- Pizza Dough
Trans Fats are also in packaged snack foods such as:
- Crackers
- Chips
- Vegetable Shortening
- Fried Food
- French Fries
- Fried Chicken
- Chicken Nuggets
- Breaded Fish
- Candy Bars
Simple Ways to Reduce Saturated Fats
Protein Pancakes with egg whites, oat bran, fat-free yogurt, chopped almonds, and strawberries.
Here are some simple ways to reduce saturated fats in your diet. You should be:
1. Eating less red meat, beef, pork or lamb
2. Eat more fish or chicken.
3. Go for lean cuts.
4. Stick to white meat which has less Saturated Fat
5. You can bake this, broil or grill instead of frying meats
6. Remove the skin from the chicken
7. Trim as much fat as possible before cooking
8. Avoid breaded meats, and breaded vegetables
9. Avoid fried foods
What Are Healthy Fats?
Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fats=Good Fats
Now I’d like to talk about healthy fats. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are like:
- Vegetable Oils
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Fish
Good Fats List
Spinach, roasted corn, red/green/orange peppers, white onions and chopped chicken breast.
These are all very good fats for you. Here are some good, healthier options of good fats:
- Olive oil
- Low-Fat
- Reduced Fat Cheese
- White Meat Chicken
- White Meat Turkey
- Low-Fat Milk
- Fat-Free Creamer
- Egg Whites
- Egg Substitute like Egg Beaters
- Frozen Yogurt
- Reduced Fat Ice Cream
- Skim or One Percent Milk
- Plain and Non-Fat Yogurt
