New Weight Loss Mantra - Fight Fat With Fat

So after following another ‘eat this, not that plan’, counting calories, eliminating all carbs, all dairy, all fruits and vegetables, and still no result on the scale? What can you possibly eliminate from your diet now, so that you fit into your skinny jeans at your friend’s party next month?

The answer is simple. Eat fat! Take a few seconds to wipe that “huh” look off your face and consider how the human body operates. We all know someone, or we've tried it ourselves, eating a non-fat diet. This means consuming zero percent fat milk, non-fat cereal, no butters or oils, no fat on our meat etc. How did that work out? Did you experience that weight loss miracle that is promised by companies who market many of these non-fat brands?

The answer is a resounding, NO! And you never will!

Fat is a vital macronutrient, necessary for survival. Apart from making food taste delicious, it helps to promote the feeling of satiety, and also gives you the power to fight diseases. So when a food manufacturer removes the fat from your food, they have to replace with something else which will enhance the flavor. Sugars, hydrogenated fats, and refined flour are the common replacers. Now when you pick up your spoon and gorge your favorite nonfat cereal, the sugars and refined flours will trigger an overproduction of insulin, which reacts by storing excess carbohydrates as fat. The truth is, eating foods with no fat, will cause fatigue, which will lead you to crave food. This inturn will result in overeating, and then voila, weight gain! And so like hamsters on a wheel, the cycle of weight gain continues!

So the moral of the fat story is, some fats are good and some fats are bad.

The “bad” fats are trans fats such as hydrogenated oils, typically found in margarines, baked goods, sugary treats etc. Saturated fats are another “bad” fat, found in animal fat and full fat cheeses. Eating too much of either of these types of foods will increase your LDL, and make you ready for a heart attack a lot sooner than you wish.

Now enough with the “bad”, let’s jump into the “good” fats. Monounsaturated fats, such as those found in almonds, olive oil, rapeseed oil, and avocados, are wonderful for your health, and actually help to reduce your cholesterol. Essential fats, which are necessary for the healthy functioning of your cells, can be found in eggs, cold water fish, and fish oil.  Hopefully, this green light for good fat, has put a smile on your face. Just remember that, when you do eat the good stuff, sprinkle it, not coat it!