Good and Bad Fats

Had another great HIIT cardio workout. Went a little long this time (40 minutes). Still did 10 intervals of 30sec (@ max RPM). Burned a total of 489 calories, with a distance of 7.96km. I also posted a new pic for today. As you can see from my last pic posted, I have made some decent progress! Still have a way to go to reach my goal.

8 Feb 07: Day 25
Got an email today asking me to explain the difference between good and bad fats.

First off there are 3 different groups of fats:
Saturated Fats- Eaten in limited amounts, since they can raise your cholesterol
Found in meat and dairy products

Trans Fatty Acids- are even worse and pose a greater threat to your cholesterol and heart health. Formed when vegetable or fish oils are hydrogenated.
Found in almost all fried foods

Monounsaturated Fats- Best kind of fats to include in your eating plan, because they support nerve and hormone function, and strengthen cell membranes
Found in nuts, avocados, vegetable oils (olive for instance)

There are also 2 Unsaturated Fats that are necessary for your survival. Since your body can't create these fatty acids, they must be obtained from the foods you eat.
Essential Fatty acids Omega-6 (linoleic acid)
Found in most vegetable oils

Essential Fatty acids Omega-3 (linolenic acid)
Found in leafy green vegetables, soy, walnuts, flax, and fish and canola oils

Some benefits of eating Good fats can be:

Decrease of free radicals in the body
Lower total cholesterol levels
Lower triglycerides
Raised levels of HDL

For a more thorough info try this link:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats.html