Welcome to the D Times 2 podcast, hosted by Sisters Denise and Debra. We are all about finding balance in the various parts of life. Using the Wheel of Life as our guide, we explore how to keep each spoke rolling smoothly. We discuss health and wellness, education and spirituality, as well as mental and emotional growth. Join us for real conversations, practical tips, and a few laughs as we share stories, insights, and strategies to help you create a life that feels balanced, purposeful, and designed by you. Good morning, Debra. Good morning, Denise. How are you? I'm doing well. Doing well. How about yourself? I'm good. Things going well for you? Yeah. Things have been good. I went over this weekend to a very beautiful concert with mom and dad and Tom. It was we went to see Nathan Pacheco. Oh my gosh. He's so good. I know I thought about you while we were there, but I didn't invite you. That's okay. We had a beautiful Italian dinner, and then we went to listen to him, and like his voice is just beautiful. He's amazing. And the messages in the songs are just beautiful. I sat there with this little smile on my face the whole time. That I he's he really is fun to listen to. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. Nice. What's funny is I think this is the third time I've seen him. The first time I saw him, Tom had gotten me tickets for my birthday to go see when we lived in California. And we were on the front row. Oh my gosh. And we have progressively worked ourselves back. So last time when we went, we were like middle of the orchestra, you know, level of seating. And this time was our my first time ever in the balcony. Oh. And it's my fault because it was very last minute when I realized he was coming to town and we could get tickets. So I just got the best seats we could, but it was still fantastic. There's not a bad seat in the house.

Speaker 2:11

No. That balcony view is actually a pretty good view. Yeah, it was good.

Debra 2:15

Nice.

Speaker 2:15

So we had such a nice time. I'm glad you did. He really, I almost thought the tickets to go see him again, but it's like, I don't know. We went to a concert last week. We went to see Jenny Oak Baker. Oh, she's so good. It was amazing. She's cool because she invites local choirs and performers and stuff to perform with her. What a sweet opportunity that is. So for them. Yeah.

Debra 2:40

Yeah.

Speaker 2:41

So that's what we did. But Nathan Pacheco. His voice is just like it's beautiful.

Debra 2:48

Yeah. So you mentioned Jenny Oakes Baker. Years and years and years ago, mom and dad were going to Washington, D.C. for something. And they were going to be there over their anniversary. I can't remember. Something like that. And I was like, I'm going to see if I can get them tickets to something while they're out there. And she was playing with the National Symphony Orchestra. My gosh. And I got them front row center seats. And the most feedback I got was the conductor was working so hard, his sweat kept landing on it. And I kept saying, But did you enjoy the concert? Yeah, that's kidding. So sometimes not always great, but she's always great. And Nathan Botecka is always great.

Speaker 3:34

She was amazing. Yeah. But I think it's cool after her concert, she goes in the lobby and talks to people who want to come talk to her. Like not all performers do that. No. I think that's awesome.

Art As Soul Food

Debra 3:43

Yeah. Good. We both had good concerts. We did. So I part of the reason I was thinking about that was I think it's good for our souls to expose ourselves to really good art. And music is an art form, right? Yeah. I felt like my soul was filled. Yeah, I agree with that. That's very true.

Speaker 4:04

It does fill our souls. That's why the arts are super important to keep alive.

Main Topic: Fats Matter

Debra 4:08

Yes. So what are we talking about today, Debra? We're gonna talk about fat.

unknown 4:13

Fat.

Debra 4:15

Or more specifically, fats. Alrighty. Because we talked about carbohydrates and protein. And we talked about protein. And the third out of the three macronutrients is fats. Alrighty. Okay. So why do you think it's important for us to include fats in our diet? Or should we not?

Speaker 4:38

Oh, we for sure should. Okay, good girl. Yeah. I know for a long time they're like, fat is bad, but I don't know who came up with that. But fat is necessary in your body. It helps with hormones, it helps with nerve conduction, it keeps your brain going well, it helps with your immune system. Like your body needs fats. It does.

Debra 4:59

I am actually convinced that back in, I'm gonna say, I think it was the early 80s when the low-fat craze started. I believe it was a marketing ploy from the grain industry to better sell carbohydrate food because people get addicted to carbohydrate food. What we saw happen from there on out was a significant increase in Alzheimer's and dementia, significant increase in heart disease, significant increase in type 2 diabetes because we need fat. It does, it literally does stuff in the body.

Speaker 5:38

Yeah, it does. And I agree, like the trends from the early mid-80s, the health has decreased. The negative effects of that kind of diet have increased significantly.

Low‑Fat Myths And Health Trends

Debra 5:53

So I'll never forget when Tom and I got married. We're coming up on our 16th anniversary this week, right? Yay, for us, it's nothing compared to you, I know, but um, when we got married, he was doing what he thought was healthy. And for like breakfast, he would have a low fat Yo Play yogurt because he thought it was healthy. And they said, please don't. Yeah, let's at least have the full fat. And he would use country croc instead of butter because he had been marketed to and it had worked. Yeah. And we shifted it, and now he talks about how I fixed him because it fixed some health problems in his body when he made switches back to whole to real food. Um, but it also changed his palate. So food tastes better to him now. For sure. Well, he's a big nod, didn't he?

Speaker 6:54

Well, when you clean up artificial stuff, food does taste different. Yes. Like if you cut out bad things in your diet, your food starts to taste different. And like you can taste vegetables more, you can taste meat more, you can taste a steak cooked in butter, tastes way better than like a greasy hamburger from McDonald's. Yeah. Like that stuff starts to taste gross to them.

Debra 7:20

Because those fake foods, like the man-made foods, they literally have stuff in them that blow out your taste buds. So you can't taste the real stuff anymore. But they reset, they replace. Yes. So I shared with you my list that I would like to go through of the top 10 main reasons. It made me like I was thinking of David Latterman way back in the day. The top 10, blah, blah, blah. So these are the top 10 reasons we need to include healthy fats, not just fats, but healthy fats in the diet. Will you start us off with number one? Let's talk about colostrum. It is a hot topic in the world these days. We're going to talk about Equip Foods Core Colostrum. Each scoop contains three grams of grass-fed, pasture-raised, antibiotic-free colostrum, where most on the market only contain one gram. Colostrum is a nutritional powerhouse that has been shown and proven to enhance immune function, gut health, and recovery with vital nutrients. So, what exactly is it?

Speaker 8:30

Colostrum, also known as first milk, is produced immediately following a newborn birth. It is vital nutrition, providing all the nutrients and fluid a newborn needs in their early days. It also applies to all people. We all need that nutrition. Equip foods core colostrum is a type A1 and A2 milk, which is the highest tier milk you can get. Also, while chloricolostrum is a dairy product, it does not contain milk or lactose. So most people with lactose intolerance usually find colostrum very digestible and beneficial to gut health.

Debra 9:05

Now I know you're wondering how you use it. It's so easy. You just need one scoop per day, and you can add it into tea or coffee, you can add it to a protein shake or to yogurt, or you can even add it into your favorite baked goods.

Real Food Swaps That Change Health

Speaker 9:20

It's also cost effective. So it's core colostrum is about 51 cents per serving compared to 91 cents per serving or more on for competitors. So if you go to equipfoods.com and use the promo code D times2 or DX2, you'll get a great discount. Okay, number one top 10 reason. Heart and vessel protection. Unsaturated fats and omega-3 fats lower LDL or quote bad unquote cholesterol. It can raise HDL cholesterol and reduce plaque buildup in the arteries. And the HDL is the good cholesterol. Yes. Yeah. This helps lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. So can I just say something about the cholesterol is the good and the bad? It's not just it's not that LDL is bad and HDL is good. It's the ratios and the size of the particles. And so if we have good fats in our diet, those ratios normalize. Yes. They self-regulate.

Debra 10:32

It's like our body knows what it's supposed to do. Yes. Yeah.

Speaker 10:35

So it does protect your heart and it does help your cholesterol levels, which people seem to be really worried about.

Sponsor: Core Colostrum Overview

Debra 10:42

And it's crazy to me because they talk about like back to the country cock that Tom used and margarine for a heart-healthy diet. And it's absolutely 180% the opposite. It's a lie. It's straight up a lie. I don't know how the FDA proved that, but that's a lie. Money, money, money. They were bought off. We're not going to go there though. No. Let's go to number two. Yeah. So number two is the better blood lipids, which you just talked about, but also inflammation. So healthy fats improve lipid profiles, but also decrease chronic inflammation markers, which help to support long-term cardiovascular but also metabolic health. So omega-3s, specifically from fatty fish, are linked with reduced cardiovascular events in high-risk individuals. So high-risk individuals are people like dad, who's already had a stroke and a heart attack. He needs to eat lots of good fatty fish. It will help him. And the other things that have omega-3 fatty acids in it will help him. And we'll get to that list later. Awesome. But one of the things that really matters with that one is the inflammation because a lot of people have underlying chronic systemic inflammation. And that causes havoc in the body that can't really be pinpointed to a specific thing. But you reduce inflammation, you reduce all of the symptoms.

Speaker 12:14

So Dr. Will Cole, he talks about that a lot. Actually, the the inflammation is a huge underlying issue of so many health issues of people. And he talks a lot about how to get that under control. And one of the ways is to eat healthy fats.

Debra 12:32

So that's honestly in my business where I meet with people one-on-one. That's one of the main reasons I give so many people the product or the supplement called acute from Optimal Health Systems, because that acute specifically lowers inflammation. So if you take a low dose just kind of routinely, it helps with the same thing. Partner it together with those good healthy fats, and you make great progress.

Speaker 12:59

Awesome.

unknown 13:00

Yeah.

Top Ten Benefits: Heart And Inflammation

Speaker 13:00

Acute so really good. I like acute for a lot of things, but that's a good one. Okay, number three. Brain function and mood. The brain is made up of about 60% fat, and omega-3 fatty acids are critical for cognition, memory, and mental performance. Adequate intake of healthy fats is associated with a better mood regulation. Who doesn't need better mood regulation? And reduced fatigue. Both things a lot of people actually need help with. Fatigue is a big deal. And regulating our moods. Mood swings are a big deal for a lot of people.

Debra 13:40

Yeah, mood swings, but also I'm gonna say kind of just how the brain works, because like moods can also be associated with like anxiety and depression and that kind of thing. Like this is all talking about the brain function. Yeah. There is more anxiety and more of that kind of thing that's driven when you're on just a more of a low-fat or high carb diet. The brain really is nourished by the good fats. Yeah, it needs to be lubed. Yeah, fat. It does. Really, really does. So number four is to go, it is about hormone and gene regulation. So did you know that healthy hormones are made from healthy fats? Well, I did. I don't know how many other people do, but I did. I say it all the time. All the time. But fats are required to synthesize reproductive and steroid hormones that are made in the body. So that includes sex hormones, it includes cortisol, which is kind of our stress hormone. Um, it also helps regulate the genes that are involved in growth, metabolism, and then basic cellular function.

Speaker 14:55

You know, that last one right there, since I have daughters in this area, it reminds me of the need for mothers who are women who are pregnant, forming babies, eat good fat. Yep. You want your body, your baby's nervous system, genetic makeup, all of these things to be good. You really do need good fats. You're making another human who needs them.

Debra 15:22

And we want their brain to be good. We do at 60% fat. Yeah.

Speaker 15:26

It matters so much. That's a lot of fat. It's really important for babies. And also for the moms. Well, it's important for all of us, but if we want a healthy next generation, we need m moms to have really good health. And dads. Dads contribute.

Debra 15:43

But mom's growing the baby in there per the whole time. So it matters all during that time more for her.

Speaker 15:49

And it does, and it matters for the next generation, not just the baby she's carrying. If the baby is female, that female baby comes born with all of her eggs already for her whole life. So eat good for yourself, for your baby, and for the next generation, because it all counts. Yes. On to number five.

Debra 16:12

Is that hard when I give you the numbers? We can count. We can even clear up to five. That's so funny. Okay.

Speaker 16:22

So fat is important for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Yes. So fat-soluble means they need fat in order to be absorbed and used in your body. So we have vitamins A, D, E, and K. They all require dietary fat for proper absorption in the gut.

Debra 16:44

Guess what? What? Those vitamins are in so many veggies. So if you cook your veggies in some good grass-fed butter or drizzle them with olive oil or put it with good fat, then you'll actually get those vitamins from the veggies that you're eating. Yeah, because the veggies don't have fat in them. Right. The majority of them.

Speaker 17:06

So vegetables always taste better with butter.

Debra 17:09

I I regularly tell my clients, cook, well, you can have them raw too, but some some prefer to be cooked. Eat your veggies and serve them with fat. And they're like, really? And I say, yes, really. And then they see everything improve.

Speaker 2 17:23

Yeah.

Debra 17:24

Easy way.

Brain, Mood, And Hormone Support

Speaker 17:24

Like magic. It is. Without enough fat, deficiency risk increases, even if you take these vitamins adequately. So even if you're taking a multivitamin, if you don't have fat, your body's not going to absorb them. So make sure you have some fat in your bed.

Debra 17:43

Did you know that on average people gain 15 pounds between Halloween and New Year? Oh my gosh. Yeah, it's true. That's why headed into the season, I really recommend that people use the fat reduction package from Optimal Health. It breaks free from the cycles of cravings, stalled progress, and it uses science-backed approaches to weight loss. It targets nutrients that work together to help you feel your best while achieving your goals. Sounds good to me. It also helps control your hunger. It has fermented fiber that supports appetite regulation and makes healthy eating easier, which we need during the holidays. It does, but it also blocks fat storage. So it supplements the body to prevent you from storing fat and helping you shed unwanted pounds naturally.

Speaker 18:37

Nice. It also helps you boost your metabolism. Lipase, patented chromium, and herbs like berberine. Berberine is all the rage, right? Yep. Helps metabolize fat and sugar for sustained energy.

Debra 18:50

So it's a complete balance of pure protein, essential fats, and carbs that simplifies balanced nutrition while supporting weight management. You can get your fat reduction pack at optimalhealthsystems.com and use the code D times2, that's DX2, to get a great discount. So number six is one of my favorite things, one of my favorite reasons. And I think it's because I notice a lot from this. So number six is that good healthy fats affect your energy and your metabolic flexibility. So fat provides about nine calories per gram. So it offers a really dense, sustained, long burning energy source that doesn't ever spike your blood sugar. Yeah. So it just it's like I think of when you start a fire, you use little things like kindling. That's like carbs. But the logs on the fire that burn hot and for a long time is the fat. Good analogy. Thank you. What is metabolic flexibility? Oh, good for those that don't know. Yeah, good question. And I really want to do a whole episode about that. But metabolic flexibility is kind of like muscular flexibility. The more you can adapt and roll with different dietary intake and your metabolism can just handle it, the better you are. So you keep it flexible. Sometimes you're more protein fat, sometimes you're more protein carb, you're always protein. But sometimes you have some higher calorie days, like at the holidays, or sometimes you have lower calorie days, and your body can just adapt to it and not get stuck and rigid.

Speaker 20:39

It doesn't freak out thinking there's not going to be enough food, so it doesn't keep all your food up. Yeah.

Vitamins A D E K And Absorption

Debra 20:43

It just happily burns whatever you give it and uses it appropriately, knowing that there's always more coming, and some days there'll be a lot, some days there will be a little, or some days there's the same. Like just it can handle whatever comes its way. Perfect. Thank you for explaining that. But when that fat is paired with protein and fiber, the healthy fats help to stabilize the blood sugar, the glucose, and insulin response, including in people that have the type 2 diabetes. So I think this is why this is probably my favorite one. I'm not type 2 diabetic. I have been diagnosed many years ago as pre-diabetic and before that insulin resistant, but I have reversed it by include by doing this, by keeping that metabolic flexibility and making sure I pair protein with good fats and good fiber. The fiber is usually coming from veggies, but sometimes it's coming from black beans or like kidney beans and chili. Like it's coming from good whole food sources. All right, number seven.

Speaker 21:48

So fats are important for cell structures, organs, and your gut barrier. Fatty acids are the building blocks of cell membranes, and they support normal cell growth and repair. Super important. Yep. Adequate healthy fats support organ cushion. That's the only kind of cushioning that is good. Yep. And it helps to maintain healthy intestinal barrier and microbiome. So the microbiome. More and more science is coming out about that and how important a healthy microbiome is.

Debra 22:24

And it works directly with your brain and with your immune system. Like yes. That triple access is so important. And a lot of that foundation is on those good dietary fats. Number eight, satiety and weight management. So as I say all the time, fat satiates, it makes you feel satisfied. So adding fat slows down how quickly your stomach empties, but it also increases how full you feel. So it can reduce your tendency to overeat just by making meals more satisfying. When it's used in place of refined carbohydrates, healthy fats can assist also with controlling the appetite and weight regulation. Your body just kind of uses it to stabilize and burns it off rather than storing it.

Sponsor: Fat Reduction Pack

Speaker 23:23

When I think about that, I think about MCT oil, medium chain triglyceride oil. You can get that anywhere. Everywhere. Yes. Oh, do you? And it helps me just feel a little fuller, a little longer.

Debra 23:43

So I have done that before, but I at this point usually include, I'll just like if I'm blending up a protein shake, I'll just throw in a couple of nuts or a little bit of nut butter or a quarter of an avocado. So I'm getting the fiber with the fat in the whole food rather than just the oil, just the fat. But either way is good.

Speaker 24:04

Good. Those are good suggestions. Thanks, Teb. Yep. Let's see. Number nine is blood sugar support. So we're back to that. We talked a little bit about that already. Yeah. So healthy fats don't directly raise blood glucose and they help blunt blood sugar spikes when you eat them with carbohydrates and protein. And we did talk about that a little bit. But if you have any inkling that you have insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes, this is again a good way to manage that and you can help reverse it by adding good fats to your diet.

Debra 24:41

It partnered with reducing refined carbohydrates.

Energy, Satiety, And Blood Sugar Control

Speaker 24:46

Yes, if you increase this for that. Yeah, if you increase the fat, but you don't decrease your refined carbs, it's just a double whammy. So clean up the other and add one.

Debra 24:58

And then number 10 is like the winner because it's all about food, taste, texture, and then kind of the enjoyment that you get from the food, the adherence you get from food. So because fats enhance flavor and the mouthfeel, it makes nutrient-rich or nutrient-dense foods more enjoyable to eat. If you eat a dry salad, it is less enjoyable than if it has a nice dressing on it that's made with olive oil or avocado oil or lettuce without avocado or cheese or those other things that have some fat in it. That always makes it better. For sure. I'd rather eat drizzled lettuce than dry lettuce. Yes. So enjoyable, satisfying meals are built around healthy fats, and then it that leads to long-term adherence to a nutritious eating pattern, similar to like a Mediterranean style diet. It's easy to eat a Mediterranean, Mediterranean style diet because it tastes great. And part of that reason is because of the healthy fats that are included.

Speaker 26:07

Like that. Okay, those were your top 10. Yes. The reasons. Yes. So those are the reasons. What are some of the best healthy fat sources?

Debra 26:17

Yeah. So let's go through those because now, like, but how do I do it, right? Yeah. So I always say with with some of them, it's eat the fruit or it's oil. So you can eat olives or olive oil. You can eat coconut or coconut oil. You can eat avocado or avocado oil. You understand the fruits and their oils? I do. But also the same goes for seeds and nuts. So seeds, especially flax seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, they also are made into butters. So you can eat the seed or it's butter.

Speaker 27:01

Do you know who sells a really good mixture of stuff like that? It's called nuts and seed butter. Costco. Oh, really? They have an organic nut and seed butter, and it's really good. And it has all these things in it: chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, pecans, almonds. Nice. I didn't know that. Oh, it's delicious. I like that one. But that's a great way to get all of those things in your gut.

Debra 27:25

Yeah. So one thing that I want to just point out because I can't help myself, is we're not including peanuts in there. No. They're not a nut, they're a legume. A legume is like a bean. Yeah. It tastes delicious and it has some fat, but it's not a nut. And a lot of the nuts, like walnuts and pecans specifically, are really good for the brain. So let's try to stick to the nuts, which are the tree nuts and their butters. How about oh we talked about avocados and coconuts? Yep. Oh, let's talk about fish. Yeah, let's talk about it. Let's talk about fish. Now, I'm not a huge fish lover. You're not. I'm not not really. Yeah.

Speaker 28:06

I I can do salmon if it's cooked appropriately. I'm not huge on tuna, especially after our cruise. We had tuna salad and it just tuna jello. Whoa.

Cell Health, Gut Barrier, And Taste

Debra 28:18

And oh, it's trout jello. Oh, but either way, gross. Yeah. And I don't know. It it is good for you. You have a hard time with it. I have a hard time with it. But well, I love it. So the fatty fishes that really are the fattiest and the most well-known and easy to source are number one, salmon. Number two, tuna, and then trout. River or lake trout is a fattier fish. And then others like sardines, mackerel, and herring, which I never ever eat, but a lot of people do. They just aren't on my list. They're yeah, they're not part of my repertoire. I don't do those. But you can also take, so like salmon, I almost always cook it with a pesto sauce on it, which has olive oil. Like there's so there's good stuff in there. Or you can make tuna. Do you do okay with like a tuna sandwich? Sometimes. Depends on how much it's bust up. Gotcha. So I will use avocado oil mayo to make the tuna for tuna sandwich. So I've got that good avocado oil in there with it. And the tuna isn't packed in oil or anything, it's just in water. So it's like a double benefit of those good anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats.

Speaker 29:41

Nice. I I will say that I can eat salmon and even trout if they're smoked on the smoker. Yes. And then I still got the good oils. And it's delicious. Yeah. Okay, what about egg yolks? So eggs, eggs had a bad rap for a while, but they have because high cholesterol. Yeah. Yeah. But it's it's the cholesterol of a growing animal. So you are an animal and it's and your body can use it easily. So egg yolks from pasture-raised chickens is a really good source of the body fat.

Debra 30:20

Yeah. Just let me talk about why I specifically say pasture-raised chickens there. Is because animals, whether it's us or an animal we're eating, store our toxins in our fat. So you want to make sure the fat that you're eating from an animal comes from a good, clean animal. I would not say to go out of your way to eat an egg yolk from a conventionally raised soy-fed, grain-fed chicken. But a pasture-raised chicken, pristinely perfect.

Speaker 30:56

True. It's their natural habitat. Yes. Same thing with the next one: the grass-fed butter. Yep. The butter comes from the milk fat of the cow. So if they're grass-fed and humanely raised, it'll be better for you. It's going to be clean.

Debra 31:11

Yeah. Yeah. And it'll be rich in color. Yeah, it'll be a deeper yellow.

Speaker 31:16

And it tastes a lot better.

Debra 31:18

Way better. That's one of the reasons where Tom says I fixed him. Like he is such a snob with butter. He only eats grass-fed butter.

Best Sources: Oils, Nuts, Seeds, Fish

Speaker 31:27

Some people say, like for me, like it's expensive. Grass-fed butter is more expensive than conventional butter. Yes. I saw something the other day from Dr.

Debra 31:37

Mark Hyman. He said you're going to pay for it one way or another. Are you going to pay now or are you going to pay later?

Speaker 31:42

Yeah. So you can pay a little extra for your butter, you can pay a little extra for your eggs.

Debra 31:48

In the long run, it will cost you less because you won't be paying for long-term disease care. Yeah. And medication. Yep. But also they taste better. So generally you use less. That's true. So it goes a little further, even though it costs a little more. Those are the sources. And we talked about the 10 reasons why. Let's talk about how much. Okay. How much fat should you include in your diet? There's a bit of a range. Which is good. I like ranges. Yes, we like ranges. I'm gonna say there is a basement bare bones minimum. Okay. And we're going to talk in grams because that is the universal, universal metric. Okay. Universal measure. You should never, ever, ever, ever drop below 30 grams in a day of fat. That is the bare bones of what your essential normal bodily functions need to operate properly. If you want your brain to work, don't go below that. Okay. If you want your hormones to work, don't go below that. But aside from that, you want to think about 20 to 30 percent of your daily calories coming from fat. So volume-wise, like size-wise, that looks like about a thumb of fat at each meal. That's a good reference. I think it's the easiest. And there can be an argument made that thumbs are different sizes, but your thumb fits your body. So if you're little kid thumb, you have a littler body body, you need a little less fat. True. If you're a giant body, your thumb will be the right size, and that will be the right amount of fat for your body. Well, see, that makes sense. If you're 6'4 or 6'5, right?

Speaker 34:37

My husband's fingers are probably they're bigger to twice the size of mine. Yeah. Because, well, he's a bigger guy than I am, literally twice my size. So that makes sense. Yeah. Good, that's a good rule of thumb.

Debra 34:52

The thumb is the rule of thumb. Yes. But really comes to 20 to 30 percent of your diet. And there's a lot of different ways that can be like we can say half to one gram of fat per targeted kilogram of body weight. Like there's lots of measures you can do. But if you just like look at your calorie percentage, so if you're eating 1800 calories a day, you want your fat to be 40 to 60 grams of fat. Can do that. Healthy fats, healthy fat. If you're yeah, so let's give another quick range because 1800 is kind of a standard maintenance range for a woman. Men are usually going to be 2,000 to 2200, a little bit higher because they're a little bit bigger, usually, and they have more muscle, muscle, muscle density. Muscle density. They need a little bit more. Yeah. So let's say if you're having if you have 2,000 calories per day, you want to be between 44 and 78 grams of fat.

unknown 35:58

Okay.

Debra 35:59

That will always keep you in that range. Awesome. Do you have anything to add to that?

Speaker 36:03

Um, I don't measure my food. Yeah. But I do have my thumbs with me all the time. Yeah. So that's a good way to make sure I'm getting enough of what I need. I don't eat really a ton of fat with my breakfast, but I can sure make sure I get that in my lunch and dinner on a regular basis.

Debra 36:21

So it doesn't. And even as a snack.

Speaker 36:23

I I like that thumb rule.

Eggs, Grass‑Fed Butter, And Quality

Debra 36:25

Yeah. So your your hand is actually pretty handy. It is. For sure. Science for use in daily life. So we've talked about fat, which is the thumb. We've talked about protein, which if you look at your palm, that's about the size of like a steak or chicken or fish, your protein that you want in a day. If you make that hat into or hand hand, not hat, make your hand into a fist, that's a serving size of if you mushed up all your veggies and all your carb that you're having with your meal, it should fit that, be the same size as that fist. So your hand that's with you, whether it be your right hand or your left hand, I don't care, can be a good measuring stick for you without getting obsessive about counting calories or weighing out your grams or that kind of thing. That's good because I don't like to weigh my stuff up.

Speaker 37:19

But that's great. I can use my hand as a measurement.

Debra 37:23

I have weighed my food because it helped me understand more of this. But it really like your hand tells you the same story. Good. Good to know. Yeah. Thanks, Tib.

Speaker 37:34

You're welcome. I knew about the protein, but I didn't know about the fat and the carbs, so thank you. I learned something today.

Debra 37:39

We try. We try. What about fat and weight loss? I was tempted to talk about this, wasn't sure if we should talk about it. Okay. But we can, okay. And I'm part of the reason I was tempted was because one of the things that people regularly come to me for help with is weight loss. And if you think about food, the macronutrients, as levers, okay. Protein is the lever you never want to mess with. You always need the same amount. Carbohydrates can be levered up or levered down. Fats can be levered up or levered down. So if you want to shed a little bit of weight or a lot of weight, you would lever your carbohydrates down and lever your fats down. You can do either or, but you will feel best if you lever the carbohydrates down more than you lever the fats. Because they're not required for as many things in the body as the fats. But say we talked about that range of say 40 to 60 grams. Okay, without ever going below 30. So if you wanted to lose weight and for a day or two in a week, you wanted to just eat mostly protein and then lever your fat down from 60 grams to 40 grams or 30 grams, your body would pull more from your fat stores rather than burning the dietary fat you're feeding it. How's that? Does that make sense? Yeah. Okay.

Speaker 39:20

Yeah. And it so keeping protein the same, decreasing your carbohydrates, decreasing your fats a little bit.

Debra 39:28

Yeah. Because you can dec you can decrease your carbohydrates to nothing. I don't recommend it because I like people to at least eat some veggies. That doesn't need to add up to a whole lot of calories coming from carbohydrates. But veggies are carbohydrates. But there's so many nutrients in them, they're great. I like people to eat some CD berries and some apples. That does good things in the body. So those are carbohydrates, but they're never gonna spike you, right?

How Much Fat: Ranges And Thumb Rule

Speaker 39:57

So the hype the type of carbohydrate is important. So if you're gonna decrease your carbohydrates, and we did that whole episode on it. So if you want more information, you can go back to that carbohydrate episode. Episode, the sugar carb episode we did. So keeping your protein the same. Always, always, and decreasing your fat. And if you can decrease your fat and have zero c carbs for a day, that's not gonna hurt you. Right.

Debra 40:21

Because metabolic flexibility. Correct.

Speaker 40:23

So there are good ways, smart ways to do this and to use fat as a great lever. I like that term, the leverage lever it up, lever it down.

Debra 40:33

So the rheostat on the wall, like turn the light up, turn the light down. Yeah. But always keep it in there. The light always stays on. Yes. I like that.

unknown 40:43

Nice.

Debra 40:43

Yeah. Thanks, Deb. So the more you actually look at the metabolic flexibility and keep your metabolism guessing. So some days you're a little higher, some days you're a little lower, and you just keep that variation, the better you'll you'll burn. And then weight will normalize. And it's not just about weight. All of that does, all of that will help your brain, your muscles, your nervous system, your liver, your heart, like all of it. It will all help everything. Yep. But you asked how to do it for weight loss. I do. That's that's what I would would recommend is think of it as a lever and lever one or the other up or down, knowing you can lever carbs all the way down, but never lever fat all the way off. You need to keep at least 30 grams in there. And then don't do that for prolonged periods of time because then you'll get rigid, metabolically rigid.

unknown 41:33

Yeah.

Debra 41:33

We want to be flexible. Yeah. A day or two here and there. Yep. Move with the flow like seaweed. Yeah. Like seaweed.

Speaker 41:40

Yes. Be like seaweed. Move with the flow. Thank you. So if you guys found anything helpful in this episode, please like it, share it. Maybe somebody else needs some of the information you heard today.

Debra 41:53

Let us know what you found most helpful. And if you feel like we missed anything or you have any remaining questions, please send them to us. You can find us on all of the social media channels. Send us your questions there. We'd we're happy to answer them here on the podcast. Yeah.

Speaker 42:10

Just a reminder, we have a lot of resources in our show notes. So if you have any questions about anything we've done in the past or you want to look at any of our free resources that we have, check the show notes.

Debra 42:22

They're there all the time. And then different products, items that we've mentioned along the way, including today I talked about acute. Down in the show notes, we have discount codes for you. So you can access those there.

Speaker 42:34

Yeah, that one's through Optimal Help Systems.

Debra 42:37

So check that one out. Yep. And until next time, keep on rolling smoothly. We'll see ya. Thanks for listening to the D Times 2 podcast with Denise and Debra

Debra 42:47

. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Be sure to subscribe and share it with someone who's ready to roll toward a more balanced life. Your support means the world to us. And just a quick note we're sharing our own experiences and ideas, not professional advice. Always do your own research and talk to a qualified expert before making big decisions. Until next time, keep your wheel rolling strong.