Nutrition label stuffs and diets

[Pengwuino]

I HAS QUESTION! :D

I've always heard that when you're an athlete or someone who does a lot of exercising, it's important to eat foods that are high in carbohydrates. I hear that it's because the body is capable of converting carbohydrates into useable energy quicker than it can fat (is this true even?). So I got to thinking about what exactly the fat content in food is for in regards to diets. I mean, when I think of someone dieting or diet myself, it seems like calories are all you really need to keep track of (at least in terms of losing weight, I know you obviously need to have your vitamins and minerals and protein). So why do people keep track of their fat intake as well? Is it unnecessary or is there a reason that dieters want to minimize their fat intake along with their caloric intake?

 

[rhody]

Pengy has a no show thread, I don't know the answer to your question, but am more than happy to bump your thread.

Rhody...

 

[atyy]

I've always heard that when you're an athlete or someone who does a lot of exercising, it's important to eat foods that are high in carbohydrates. I hear that it's because the body is capable of converting carbohydrates into useable energy quicker than it can fat (is this true even?).

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/carbohydrate-loading/MY00223
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index
http://www.health.arizona.edu/health_topics/nutrition/general/gycemicindex.htm

So why do people keep track of their fat intake as well? Is it unnecessary or is there a reason that dieters want to minimize their fat intake along with their caloric intake?

http://www.ehow.com/how_2307097_turn-fat-muscle.html

So if you want to gain muscle, you must eat protein.

Protein however can be converted to fat.

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/630proteinmet.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11255140
http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/howto/pfandbs-2.html

 

[bobze]

So why do people keep track of their fat intake as well? Is it unnecessary or is there a reason that dieters want to minimize their fat intake along with their caloric intake?

Dyslipidemias, hyperlipidemias, metabolic syndrome

 

[Pengwuino]

Okay so it seems like controlling a medical condition or preventing one is important. What if you were just dieting to lose weight in general?

 

[phyzguy]

My personal experience has been that if you eat a certain number of calories, and in one case the food is high in carbs and in the second case the food is high in fat, the food that is high in fat is more satisfying and you eat less later on. So I've found that diets like South Beach, where you carefully control the number of carbs, really work.

As far as athletes, if you're exercising really hard, and need to eat a large number of calories (I've read that Olympic swimmers eat 12,000 calories per day), it's just easier to eat that much when it is high in carbs, and it digests faster so you don't throw up(sorry) during your next workout. Personally, I've been on long bicycle trips where I was eating ~5000 calories per day, and I just ate whatever I wanted, just more of it. High fat meals never caused me a problem.

 

[atyy]

I see Olympic swimmers are causing global warming!