Why Fat Is an Essential Part of Your Eating Plan

Fats

Why fat is an essential part of your eating plan:

J  Fat soluble vitamins A, D and E. Vitamins A and E are powerful antioxidants and vitamin D is needed for calcium absorption

J  Hormone production

J  Skin health

J  Protection of vital organs and insulation

J  Omega 3 fatty acids are beneficial for heart health and osteoarthritis and has antiinflammatory properties

J  Maintaining an efficient immune system

Tips for a healthy fat intake:

J  Limit saturated fats – butter, cream, full-fat dairy products, fat processed meats, cakes, pastries and fried foods

J  Choose lean meats and trim visible fat before cooking

J  Select low fat dairy products

J  Be aware of hidden fats in processed foods

J  Choose liquid fats over solid fats e.g. olive/canola oil over butter

The fats you should be looking to include:

J  Small amounts of mono and poly unsaturated fats i.e. nuts and avocado (~6 almonds, ½ a small or ¼ of a large avocado). These are also rich in Vitamin E

J  Omega 3 rich fatty acids from oily fish i.e. salmon, tuna, sardines, at least three meals a week for all the family

J  Small amounts of olive oil used for cooking and salad dressings

By sticking to a simple eating plan based on fresh produce and home made meal bases and sauces etc., you will reduce the risk of consuming too many hidden fats. Fats in processed foods are hydrogenised which means the very nature of the fat has been changed, i.e. a liquid fat has been changed to a solid fat, in this case read hydrogenised as ‘carcinogenic’.

Protein

Why protein is an essential part of your eating plan:

J  Muscle repair and maintenance, hair and skin

J  Blood cells (haemoglobin)

J  Antibodies

J  Enzymes (trigger chemical reactions in normal body functions)

J  Hormones

Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) for protein:

Adults: minimum 0.8g per kilogram body weight/day

maximum 2.0g per kilogram body weight/day

Ideally you should be consuming approximately 1-1.2g/kg/bw/day based on your current body weight. To ensure you giving your iron levels a regular boost be sure to have at least 3 meals per week of lean red meat.

Protein Rich Foods

Foods containing 10g of protein (no food is purely protein or purely carbohydrate)

40g of lean beef

40g of chicken fillet

1 medium slice of ham

50g cooked fish

1 large egg

1 cup milk

30g cheese

Keep the cooking process as simple as possible, add flavour with marinades or tasty low fat sauces. Keep to the “unprocessed as possible” rule which should restrict sausages, salamis, etc. and pre-packaged rissoles and hamburgers. Processed foods are a also very high in sodium, so stick to the “unprocessed as possible” rule of thumb.

Fruit and Vegetables

Follow the 2 fruit and 5 veg rule as closely as possible, although you can eat more if you are up for it. Winter is a great time for soups and casseroles so it is easy to consume several cups of veggies each day. Seasonal produce is best (and cheapest) as it is fresh and retains a lot of nutrients. Don’t be afraid of canned or frozen fruit and veg, they are an excellent backup and preferable to foods that have been in cold storage. Once again, stick to the unprocessed rule of thumb and make your own stock for soups and bases for casseroles.

A serve of fruit is a medium banana or apple, or 2 small plums. A serve of veggies is ~ ½ cup of carrot etc. Double up on the leafy greens i.e. cabbage, spinach, broccoli as these are full of folate (as are peanuts, egg yolk, oranges and wholemeal bread).

Carbohydrates (CHO)

Why CHO is an essential part of your eating plan:

J  It is the most important fuel for your body

J  It is the only source of fuel for your brain

If you don’t eat enough CHO you may experience:

J  Low blood sugar levels resulting in fatigue

J  Inadequate intake of vitamins and minerals

J  Low fibre intake, which may affect bowel health

J  Headaches and bad breath

J  Metabolic anomalies

CHO should make up at least 50% of our daily food intake. CHO is rarely stored as body fat, in fact, you would have to eat 32 slices of bread before a single gram of CHO ends up on your bum!

CHO is stored in muscles and liver as glycogen, it keeps your metabolism ticking over and provides the energy for instant activity. Glycogen stores can be considered as gas in a hot water tank, a full tank will keep the pilot light burning continuously so when hot water is needed the tap is turned on, the pilot light ignites the burners and lots of energy is burned to fuel the hot water flowing from the tap. If there is no gas in the tank there is no pilot light so when the hot water tap is turned on no energy is burned so no hot water is available.

Similarly, a full tank of glycogen will keep your metabolism burning continuously so when physical activity is needed the glycogen stores ignite the fat stores and lots of energy (Calories) is burned to fuel the exercise. If there is no glycogen in the muscles or liver there is no metabolism so when you exercise very little energy is consumed. To preserve vital organs your body will conserve as much of the food you consume as possible to ensure its survival.

As much as 70% of your personal Recommended Dietary Intake is used for basic bodily functions (or Basal Metabolic Rate), almost 20% of that is used for brain function alone. However, the brain only uses glycogen as a fuel. Therefore an 80kg, 52 year old female who exercises at a light intensity (~3hrs/week) has an RDI of 2250 Cal (9400 kJ). BMR (70%) will require 1575 Cal and of this 315 Cal (or 79g CHO) is essential for normal brain function.

If you don’t include enough CHO in your diet, apart from a lowered metabolism, you could experience: Fatigue due to low blood sugar levels; Inadequate intake of vitamins and minerals found in grain foods, i.e. thiamine necessary for normal brain function (a deficiency results in mental deterioration and lack of muscular coordination); Low fibre intake, which may affect bowel health; Headaches and bad breath due to ketosis; and Metabolic abnormalities influencing nerve and heart function.

Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) for CHO:

Minimal activity 2-3g CHO per kg body weight/day

Light activity (3-5hr exercise/week) 4-5g CHO per kg body weight/day

Medium activity (10hr exercise/week) 6-7g CHO per kg body weight/day

We will use 80kg to calculate your needs as we are looking for weight loss but still need to ensure you are consuming enough energy to fuel your metabolism and your physical activity, therefore you will require about 4g CHO/kg/bw/day or ~320g CHO/day. At the very least, you must consume a minimum of 200g of good quality (limited processing) CHO per day, remember 79g of that is essential for normal brain function.

Sources of CHO

Per 100g Per cup cooked

Potato, baked with skin ~18g Pasta, regular 36.5g

Sweet potato, baked with skin ~18g Rice, brown 57.4g

Without skin ~15g white 53.2g

Per Slice (large)

Rye Bread 18.8g

Wholegrain bread 18.3g

Fruit bread 17.8g

Wholemeal bread 16.0g

White bread 13.34

Dairy

Why dairy is an essential part of your eating plan:

J  Bones, teeth

J  Muscle contraction

J  Weight loss!

Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) for dairy:

Girls over seven years of age 1000mg

Women (19-50 years of age) 800mg

Women over 50 years of age 1000mg

Men 800mg

Calcium rich foods:

100g Hi Lo milk 144mg

30g reduced fat cheese 241mg

100g low fat natural yoghurt 260mg

100g vanilla ice cream 133mg

100g pink salmon 310mg

Sample Daily Eating Plan

Time Food Amount

7:00-7:30am Kellog’s Just Right 1 cup

Hi Lo Milk ½ cup

Banana medium

10:00-10:30am Wholemeal Crispbread

Sandwich sized 2 biscuits

Coon Extra Light Cheese 2 x 20g slices

Pear medium

1:00-1:30pm Whole grain bread 2 slices

Fat Free Mayo 1 tblspn

Pink salmon

(springwater, drained) 85g can

Sliced tomato 1 small tomato

Lettuce 2 med leaves

Cucumber 4 med slices

Avocado ½ small

3:00-4:00pm Strawberries 6 medium

Natural Low Fat Yoghurt 200g

Almonds 8

6:00-7:00pm Steak, BBQ’d, fat trimmed 120g

Jacket Potato * 1 med

Broccoli, steamed 1 cup

Carrots, steamed ½ cup

Zucchini, steamed ½ cup

Corn (off the cob) ½ cup

*Add a tablespoon of low fat yoghurt or sweet chilli sauce to liven it up

These calculations are for a 72kg female with low physical activity levels (~3 hr/week) therefore it should contribute to significant weight loss without impinging upon BMR. It should give you an appreciation of how much fresh, unprocessed food you should be consuming to achieve a healthy balance. Naturally, the more processed foods you consume the higher the energy value so you can in fact eat less, but the quality of nutrients would be poor and the balance unhealthy.

What is the Glycemic Index?

The glycemic index is a ranking of carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. It compares foods gram for gram of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes. The blood glucose response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes.

What is the Significance of Glycemic Index?

• Low GI means a smaller rise in blood glucose levels after meals
• Low GI diets can help people lose weight
• Low GI diets can improve the body's sensitivity to insulin
• High GI foods help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise
• Low GI can improve diabetes control
• Low GI foods keep you fuller for longer
• Low GI can prolong physical endurance

What is Glycemic Load? (don’t worry too much about this)

• Glycemic load builds on the GI to provide a measure of total glycemic response to a food or meal
• Glycemic load = GI (%) x grams of carbohydrate per serving
• One unit of GL ~ glycemic effect of 1 gram glucose
• You can sum the GL of all the foods in a meal, for the whole day or even longer
• A typical diet has ~ 100 GL units per day (range 60 - 180)
• The GI database gives both GI & GL values

How to Switch to a Low GI Diet

• Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
• Use "grainy" breads made with whole seeds
• Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat
• Enjoy all types of fruit and vegetables (except potatoes)
• Eat plenty of salad vegetables with vinaigrette dressing