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Just like protein and carbohydrates, not all dietary fats are created equal. The primary types of dietary fats are triglycerides (TGs) and cholesterol. Now, don’t get these confused with blood TGs and cholesterol. These are two distinctly different things. Other dietary fats exist in small amounts, but these two make up the primary fats in your diet, so we will focus on them.

The dietary fat confusion stemmed from the whole mix-up between the fats in your blood and the fats in your food. This happened around the late 1970s and early 1980s when butter was removed from the table and egg yolks tossed in the trash. On the contrary, your body actually makes its own cholesterol in the liver—probably far more than many people eat in a given day—and your body tends to adapt how much cholesterol it makes depending on your diet.

Dietary triglycerides have a far greater effect on your blood cholesterol levels than dietary

cholesterol. More importantly, the type of dietary triglycerides you eat makes all the difference. TGs consist of three fatty acid chains bound to a glycerol molecule backbone. Chain length, degree of saturation, and chemical structure distinguish one fat from the next. When most people talk about dietary fat, they’re really talking about types of dietary TGs without even knowing it.

TGs are subdivided into four main categories:

Trans fat Saturated fat

Monounsaturated fat Polyunsaturated fat

Trans fats received a lot of bad press over the past several years, and they deserve it for the most part. Trans fats are primarily vegetable oils or man-made fats added to processed foods to given them longer shelf life. Though some trans fats exist in nature in small amounts, the real concern are the ones that come from factories. Try to avoid processed foods with known added trans fats.

Saturated fats are another story. For quite a while, these TGs have been to blame for our ever- climbing non-communicable disease rate, but counter-arguments have surfaced over recent years citing that saturated fats have no health risks. The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. Saturated fats can pose some health risks, but it’s probably more about the type and amount of saturated fats consumed, along with the amount of daily carbohydrate and caloric intake, the level of physical activity, and good old genetics that make up the brunt of these issues.

Saturated fats (found primarily in animal fat, but also coconut oil and palm kernel oil) can be divided into subcategories, each one behaving differently in the body. Some behave negatively, and others not so bad. For the most part, an individual who is lean, eats plenty of whole foods, and gets daily rigorous exercise really sees no danger in increasing saturated fat intake. For those who are overweight, inactive, stressed out, and/or eating a poor diet, saturated fats might behave differently inside of the body. Context plays a huge role here, so I can’t say whether these fats are good, bad, or neutral. It all depends.

Monounsaturated fats are pretty neutral. One of the best sources is extra virgin olive oil, which is always good to add to your diet when you want to consume more dietary fat. If you don’t like how olive oil tastes, high oleic safflower oil is a great alternative.

Polyunsaturated fats are often known as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is omega-3 (w-3), while linoleic acid (LA) is omega-6 (w-6). If you get plenty of these two fatty acids, you could live forever without touching another type of dietary TG, assuming your body is proficient at converting ALA to EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and EPA to DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Sure, some saturated fat is valuable because it’s used to manufacture cholesterol, forming the backbone of important anabolic hormones like testosterone, but saturated fat isn’t essential.

Many incredible things happen within your body due to the metabolism of ALA and LA. I will spare you the details because they’re pretty complex. One important thing to note is that the modern diet tends to have ratios leaning toward w-6 over w-3. With regard to the metabolic effects of these two fatty acids, too little w-3 combined with too much w-6 can become problematic.

As a society, we eat a far greater amount of w-6 than w-3, which can lead to health problems that are still being studied by researchers. In order to ensure you get a sufficient amount of omega-3 fatty acid in your diet, I recommend taking at least 500mg of EPA/DHA per day. If you consume a good amount of fatty fish and free-range meat each day, your diet likely is sufficient enough in these

nutrients. If not, 500mg equates to two fish oil capsules a day. Not such a bad trade-off for improved dietary balances.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates refer to a general class of compounds that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. This group includes monosaccharides (simple sugars), oligosaccharides (chains of 2-10 molecules), and polysaccharides (long chains of molecules like fiber).

The carb debate has ensued for decades, and dietary recommendations are all over the place. Just like the other macronutrients, I am not here to take sides, but simply inform. Your dietary needs are based on many factors with regard to carbs, but one thing holds true: You have absolutely no

physiological need for dietary carbohydrates.

As for essential nutrients like essential amino acids, the question is whether they can be made in the body or whether they are needed for survival. Even though your brain and other organs thrive on glucose and the tissue in your body needs glucose in small amounts, your body is able to make as much as it needs in order to carry out these functions. Surprisingly, glucose can be made from lactate and pyruvate (during glucose metabolism), glycerol (during fat metabolism), and amino acids (during protein metabolism). In other words, if you don’t consume carbohydrates, your body will create glucose on its own by converting it from fats and/or proteins.

Whether the amino acids used to create glucose come from proteins in your diet or muscle tissue depends upon whether you are eating or suffering total starvation. So long as your protein intake is high, you don’t have to worry about sacrificing muscle.

There is no practical amount of carbs you need each day because it’s determined by your own needs, how active you are, whether or not you function well with or without them, and a host of other factors. I know plenty of people who thrive on low to no carb diets. Conversely, I know plenty of people who can’t seem to function without carbohydrates.

The Strong Curves nutritional recommendations are a middle ground in terms of carbohydrate intake. Start with the plan provided, and adjust accordingly. A good way to determine if you need adjustments is your energy while on this diet. If you eat a meal with carbohydrates and immediately start yawning, you may do better on a higher fat, lower carb diet. On the other hand, if you eat on the lower end of the carbohydrate spectrum and feel fatigued all day, you may choose to increase your carb intake while lowering your fat intake.

Just like the workout programs, I can’t be there as your personal coach, so I need you to be the best advocate for your needs. Play with your diet until you find the sweet spot to help you reach your goal, but be careful how much monkeying around you do with those calories. Give yourself a good four weeks to adjust initially.

Women tend to need more time to determine whether or not a diet is working because their

hormones fluctuate so much throughout the month. If, after four weeks, you aren’t seeing any changes, make slight adjustments with your carbs and fat intake. Your protein should be pretty set from the beginning, and make sure you have sufficient energy to set personal records in the gym. If not, you won’t build Strong Curves.