I have not had much to write about the past few days, and it has been too cold for me to get outside and do some of the things I enjoy doing. Exercising is still going great and I have found one new strength machine exercise I am going to add to my routine. I believe the name is a lat pull down, I'll check to be sure. I have tried it a couple of times and it fits what I am wanting to do. I want you to know that I have really been feeling good about myself for lowering my borderline diabetes level to no longer being considered borderline. To know you have struggled with exercise, workout routines, learned healthy foods, and have committed yourself with being healthy, yes, you should feel good about yourself. And I know there are many following us who are heart patients, who want to be healthier, and are struggling with the same issues. Exercise, eating healthy, and weight control.
When reading about food and calories I kept coming up with the term "fat from calories" and wanted to know more about what it meant. Obviously, the term itself is self explanatory but what is the difference in calories from fat, and what does that mean to your health? Fat is a food substance needed by your body to generate warmth and energy. It is one of six nutrients needed by your body to stay healthy. Three of the nutrients, fat, carbohydrates, and proteins produce calories. Fat produces more than twice as many calories as the other two nutrients. Some fats raise cholesterol levels, provide higher calories and fewer nutrients than other low fat foods. Examples would be fats from bacon, sausage, potato chips being high versus lower fats from beans, lentils, skim milk, tuna fish packed in water. If you consume more fat than you burn, the remaining accumulates in fat cells. A gram of fat has 9 calories, where calories from protein or carbohydrates are about 4. Fat being a needed nutrient by your body, there is a daily recommended allowance. For a healthy adult, it is no more than 20%-35% of your total daily calorie consumption. Yours and my daily allowance percentage may be less. How do you determine how much fat you should take in based on total calories? Well, it is somewhat complicated. Here is the formula to determine daily allowance of fat from calories. If my daily calorie intake is 2,000 and I want to be at the 25% level, I multiply 2000 x .25 = 500 calories. We have established there are 9 calories in one gram of fat so divide 500 calories/ 9 = 55 fat grams. This may seem simple and easy to understand to you, to me it is too complicated. Basically a calorie is a calorie. But calories from fat could be an indication to you, that in addition to the calories, this food product could contribute to raising your cholesterol level. Your body does require an amount of fat to function and calories from fats is a measurement tool to determine your daily intake of those fats. As stated before, consuming more than you use will result in the excess accumulating in your body as fat, along with effecting your cholesterol levels, and weight control.
My practical application of this information in my daily eating habits as a heart patient is being attentive to the food labels on the products I eat that contain calories from fats and my daily allowance goals. Again, as a heart patient going over the goals could effect my overall health. I think what we have learned here is how to measure the amount of fat we should consume daily. And have a better understanding of the caloric difference of low fat food. Did you know it would be this complicated in eating healthy food and be such a mental challenge? I know butter pecan ice cream is not good for me, but I should know more about why it and other foods are not best for me.
Two fruits I eat on a absolute daily basis are strawberries and oranges. Strawberries rank 4th among the fruits that are the best source of antioxidants. Strawberries provide excellent oxidative and inflammatory protection to your heart and blood vessels, and reduce your blood sugar levels. They help your weight by being a great in between snack and satisfies your appetite. Eat more strawberries, they are great for you. We have a lot of readers from some Eastern European countries and I am curious if strawberries are available there and affordable?
More exercises and healthy food info next time.
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