yet another diet question - olive oil?

[circusgirl]

I like putting olive oil on my salads, and now kidney beans (thanks for that suggestion folks!). Aa fat though it's high in calories. In other places I have read that olive oil doesn't convert to body fat because it's an essential fat (in moderation, I'm not talking a cup a day!). Is this BS? Is it ok for me to add a tablespoon of olive oil to 3-4 of my meals every day?

My cal needs per day calculated using various websites seems to be around 2300 cals per day. I guess I'm eating a bit more than that if you include all the olive oil cals and the extra carbs (brown rice) on tkd days. Question is, I'm worried that by counting the olive oil in my cals I am possibly not eating enough. Should I count the full cals of the olive oil in my meals?

circusgirl

 

[wilson6]

Fat is fat with regard to calories. 1 tablespoon of olive oil = 15 g = 135 calories, thus 3 - 4 tablespoons = 405 - 540 calories.

Add in the calories to your meals, it all counts.

W6

 

[makedah]

What wilson said.

That info about olive oil sounds like B.S. The main essential fatty acid that Americans get in their diets is Omega-6 (meat, seeds/nuts, vegetable oils) and CLEARLY that is converting to body fat.

 

[MS]

All fat can convert to body fat. The only advantage to consuming EFAs is that your body has more control over what it does with the fats. Saturated and hydrogenated fats can't be used in many essential metabolic processes whereas a good balance of EFAs can be used for anything! They are more flexible calories.