Fats, Fake Diets, In Shape,

This morning when I was preparing my breakfast I realized that I bought full milk Greek yogurt instead of 0%.    The first thing I did was check the nutritional information and found out that 1 cup (8 oz or about 225 grams) contains 225 calories of which 160 are fat and this one cup  (I had about 1/2  of a cup) is 28% of your fat calories and 54% of your saturated fat for the day.  

Now I am cheap so I will eat the yogurt and adjust but it made me think about how much I am cognizant of what fats I am eating in my diet.   Outside of some cheese,  ice cream rarely and olive oil,  I pretty much do not eat any fats that are not from vegetable products like nuts and avocados.    While I do not gram count my fat intake,  I turn down lots of things  and eat smaller portions of ice cream or the rare cake that I eat because I really am afraid of putting too much fat into my diet.    This considered thought of about almost all that I eat has done me a great service and in the long run is much more healthy than crash diets,  special mixes etc.

A couple of weeks ago,  a co-worker of mine, who while not obese is overweight and probably has a high body fat %, told me that I was too thin.     I beg to differ,  and while there is no doubt that I am slim,  my body is toned,  I barely have a gut and there is no double chin.   My weight according to my doctor is right where it should be for my height.  I have a slimmer, less muscled body of what I was when I was 35 and lifting weights all the time  (I am maybe 8 pound lighter from then and 15 pounds lighter from my high weight)  but I feel better.   While I have less muscles,  I am more flexible,  I feel strong though out my body and I generally feel good.  The reason for this is many fold,  a lot of yoga which has really toned me,   heavy core work which has given me stomach definition for the first time in 15 years,   my veggie diet that has eliminate animal fats and calories,  and a conscious thought about all the food that I eat and an awareness of  what I am eating.     It was hard work and will continue to be hard work.

A former co-worker of mine is a sales representative for a product called Body by ??.    The product sells powders and drink mixes to replace meals in a persons diet.  It is also supposed to be part of an active lifestyle.  I give my friend credit, she lost some weight that she recently put on (she was generally always active and in good shape),  but the product ingredient list has 50 items that cannot be spelled.        Why eat that crap when you can eat a salad with broccoli,  carrots,  beans,   spinach,  cukes and tomatoes with some carbs like whole wheat couscous.   It takes maybe 10 minutes to make it,  it is a hell of a lot less money and except for the couscous,  you are eating vegetables.  You are not drinking a high protein chemical shake.    Sure,  you may be slimmer but is your health improved while doing so.

Another rant I guess.    You have to work hard,  watch what you eat.  If you eat meat, keep it to a minimum and really try not to eat bacon.    That is secret to long term health and a toned body.   Not some chemical that 90% of  people will fail using.