Browse Past Q&A:

[ First ]

[ Previous ]

[ Next ]

[ Last ]

[ Random ]

Q&A for: 21-May-06

Search Past Q&A:

Ask Mike Your Fitness Question:

1573. Q: Hi mike when people lose fat sometimes they lose some muscle mass right ? so if someone is losing weight very fast it might not be fat am i right ?

A: That's exactly correct. The slower your weight loss is, the more likely the lost weight is actual fat. Losing weight too quickly can result in lost muscle which in turns greatly increases chances of the fat coming back (because your muscle is a fat-burner so the less muscle you have, the less fat you can burn).

1574. Q: Hi mike im seriously overweight but you said that losing fat too fast is no good but if i were to lose fat or weight like 1pound per week i would be taking 2 years just to have a BMI of 25 . im 23 this year and i weigh 147kg and my height is 1.80cm so i think i need to lose more instead of the regular 1 pound but i read if you lose more than the 1 pound your body will also lose some muscle mass so if i were to go to the gym everyday and lose weight at the same time will i be preserving my muscles ? is that a good way ?

A: You're correct -- in your case you can definitely lose more than 1 pound/week. That advice is meant for people who have less than 50 pounds or so to lose. In your case you can afford to lose 2-3 pounds/week without a problem. As you lose more and more weight you'll want to throttle your weight loss down closer to the usual 1 pound/week (perhaps when you're around 100kg). Best of luck with your weight loss program!

1575. Q: Mike, can you please tell me what a good monounsaturated to polyunsaturated fat ratio is? ratio

A: I don't have a strict ratio, but the main bulk of your fat intake should be in monounsaturated fats. You will almost always get some saturated fats, especially if you eat animal products, and that's fine too. For polyunsaturated fats, try to get more of omega-3 polyunsaturated because almost any diet will already include sufficient amounts of omega-6 polyunsaturated.

So if I had to put numbers on it, I'd say 40-50% monounsaturated, 10-15% omega-3 polyunsaturated, and the rest a mix of saturated and omega-6 polyunsaturated. But I wouldn't worry about exact numbers, but rather about general trends.

Good sources of monounsaturated fats are extra virgin olive oil, avocados, and almonds. Many other foods have monounsaturated fats in smaller amounts. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are a little harder to come by -- fatty fish like salmon and flax seed are among the few foods that have it.