Are Your Favorite Nuts Making You Fat?

July 5, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

Who here loves nuts?

(You gotta shell ’em first, sweetie…)

Indeed, if part of your weight loss path includes a plant based (or even just a no meat) diet, this might be exactly where you go for your protein. And why not? I mean, they’re delicious. Also, they offer that satisfying crunchy mastication factor. And, on top of all that, even though most’ve ’em are packing some fat, it’s the good (AKA unsaturated) sort that sets our cholesterol lower and gets our cardiac health high. They’re great for us, right?

They sure are… But are all nuts created equal? This’s a question I’ve often had as I purchase my monthly tub of mixed unsalted nuts from my local overpriced grocer. Obviously, I know the answer. Duh, Ashley. No, not all nuts are nutritionally equal. So why, Wegmans, does your label tell me there’s a set amount of calories and fat in one quarter cup? What if I dig my measuring instrument in, and pull out nada but almonds? Or walnuts? Pecans?

You’re saying they’re all that set amount?!

Answer me, you liars! I’m coming for you!

Seriously, though.

We all know some nuts are going to have a higher fat content than others. And while the top voted nuts to focus on when you’re attempting to shed pounds are almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, and hazelnuts, even those need to be eaten in reasonable amounts. Yes, even too much of the healthiest food can make ya fat. (And, no, balancing macros doesn’t mean just adding even more carb calories to balance out the fat and protein you overdo daily.) But that’s okay; because, with the high protein amounts they pack, you don’t need to overdo these badboys to meet your nutritional needs. And what about the nuts that’re less weight loss friendly? What should you scale back on a bit? According to weight loss studies, you don’t wanna be massacring Macadamia nuts on the daily. Everyone seems to be good n’ afeared of these innocuous Aussie kernels. And, weighing in at 200 cals and 20 grams of fat per 10 nuts, I suppose I can see why. But not if you’re capable of moderating. Should you suck a ton of these down each day? Probably not. But is a bit of them hither and thither better for you than some’ve the other options you should absolutely avoid at all costs? You bet your imminently skinny azz it is.(Mc Nut beats Mc D’s any day of the week. Even cheat day.) Keeping in mind that a 2,000 cal a day diet (which may or may not apply to you), your fat can tally anywhere from 44 to 78 grams and still let you slim down. In other words, 20 won’t break your weight loss bank – as long as you’re not overdoing the rest of your fat ingestion elsewhere through the day.

So keep on enjoying your Macadamias shamelessly, ladies ‘n gents.

Just don’t go nuts with a tub of ’em on the sofa too often if you wanna lose weight.