Sensible eating and exercise go hand in hand when it comes to shaping our bodies.

Needless to say, whilst exercise forms a crucial part of shaping up and becoming and staying healthy, your eating habits cannot be ignored.

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The aim of this article is to encourage you to eat a low fat diet as a means of assisting the “shaping up process”, as well as to provide you with some practical tips as to dietary choices you should make.

Dietary fat comes in many forms, some of which are healthy, others less healthy as indicated later.

However, from a “shaping up” perspective, whether fat comes from a plant or an animal source, it is high in calories i.e. there are 9 calories in every gram (compare this to 4 calories in 1g of carbohydrate or protein). Therefore, whilst from a health perspective, it is important to choose healthier fats, from a weight loss point of view, one should aim to minimise fat intake overall.

Not only is fat “calorie-dense” – it is also very economically digested and easily stored in fat cells. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, require much more energy to be digested and stored.

Basically, the three categories of fat are:

1. Unsaturated fats
2. Saturated fats
3. Cholesterol

1) Unsaturated fats may be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.

Monounsaturated fats

• Effect on cholesterol
  Contain properties which help lower cholesterol
• Found in…
  nuts, peanut oil, olives, avocados, olive oil, canola oil

Polyunsaturated fats

• Effect on cholesterol
  Have a neutral effect on cholesterol, use in moderation
• Found in…
  sunflower oil, soft margarines, cod-liver oil, evening primrose oil, oily fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel)

2) Saturated fats

• Effect on cholesterol
  Increase blood cholesterol
• Found in…
  animal products: meat, cheese, butter, full cream/low fat dairy products, coconut oil, palm kernel oil

3) Cholesterol
Cholesterol is present in many tissues in our body and performs many essential roles. In fact, the body is able to produce its own cholesterol. Dietary intake often results in excess blood cholesterol.

A commonly held belief is that all cholesterol is bad! This is not the case. LDL-cholesterol is the “bad one”, since it clogs up arteries and can potentially lead to a heart attack or stroke. HDL-cholesterol, on the other hand, is the “good cholesterol” (it is cardio-protective and actually protects one’s heart). It takes the cholesterol from the arteries to the liver, where it is broken down. One must therefore strive to increase HDL by exercising regularly and selecting unsaturated rather than saturated fats.

Thus in summary, it’s a good idea to choose unsaturated fats (mono-and polyunsaturated) over saturated fats. But when considering weight or fat loss, your total fat intake needs to be minimised.

Stick to your exercise programme and you will be delighted to see the centimetres melting away, your health and fitness improving and the development of a more positive you. - Kathleen Mc Quaide, exercise physiologist and educationalist: Health Promotions Manager at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA) and OptiFit Walk and Run Health Programme Director.
 

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