Are Heart Healthy Fats Slowing Your Weight Loss?

Do you use olive oil on your salad? Sautee your veggies in olive oil? In restaurants, do you dip your “crust of bread” in olive oil? Snack on nuts? Add avocado to your salad?  If you’ve answered yes to several of these questions and feel that your overall diet is healthy diet AND you’re having difficulty losing weight, it’s possible that your intake of heart healthy fats is slowing your weight loss!

Foods rich in monounsaturated fats such as nuts, olive oil, nut butters and avocado are known for their heart health benefits. While I would much rather see you get your fat intake from these healthy fats as compared to trans or saturated fats, what we tend to forget is that our fat cells really don’t know the difference between a good fat and a bad fat.

Real life case study: Mrs. X  was a 63 year old female who came to me for guidance in losing 30 pounds. She couldn’t understand why her weight wasn’t losing weight. She was following a Mediterranean type diet. She wasn’t consuming an excessive amount of carbohydrates, drank nonfat milk and rarely ate desserts, red meat or cheese. Upon first glance, her diet didn’t seem to be excessive in calories. But upon further questioning, Mrs. X admitted to being rather liberal with her intake of olive oil. She used it to sauté her chicken, fish and veggies. She admitted to having a rather heavy hand with adding it to salads. In addition, she had 1/2 an avocado in her salad every night. It turned out she was consuming 850 calories a day in the form of heart healthy fats. I had recommended that she follow a 1400 calorie diet to lose 1 1/2  pounds a week. Mrs X was shocked as she felt olive oil was a healthy fat and never really thought about the effect it may be having on her weight.

Bottom line, while certain fats are much healthier than others, keep in mind that all calories count!

Tips to control your caloric intake from heart healthy fats
1. Be aware of the calorie content of these heart healthy fats:
  – 1 oz nuts (25 almonds, 14 walnut halves, 18 cashews, 24 peanuts) = 160 calories
  – 1 T. olive oil (or any oil) = 115 calories
  – ¼ avocado = 90 calories
  – 1 T. nut butter = 100 calories.
  – 2 T. vinagrette type dressing: 100-150 calories
  – Restaurant grilled chicken or fish:  ~ 1 tsp of oil for each 2 oz of protein. For example, a 7 oz piece of grilled fish or chicken may contain an additional 3.5 tsp fat (157 calories in addition to the calories in the fish/chicken)
  – Restaurant sautéed veggies: ~ 1 tsp of  oil for each cup of veggies. For example, 2 cups of sauted spinach could contain an additional 2 tsp fat (90 calories)

2. Measure the amount of oil you use at home.

3. Get a spritzer for your olive oil. This will cut down on the amount that you use.

4. Use olive oil Pam cooking spray instead of oil

5. Count out your nuts – don’t just grab a handful. If you have trouble controlling your intake of nuts, try the 100 calorie packs. (check out Blue Diamond or Emerald brands)