Are “fats” making you fat?
Well to answer your question, no.
You see it isn’t fats that make you fat it’s actually sugar.
Yes that’s right! Even though “fats” have a higher calorie content (9 calories per gram) it’s really your Ice Break coffee, can of coke, slice of cake and bag of lollies that you eat every day, which is making you fat and gain weight. Plus this type of eating also robs you of your energy and vitality, causes your hormones to unbalance and gives you acne.
So if you goal is to lose weight and reduce body fat, eating fats is essential for your health and diet.
Fats aren’t only important for their essential nutrients but also for success in your weight loss program.
You see…
Eating fats over simple carbohydrates, not only keeps you full for longer, but it’s also better for your health overall. So that means when you include fats in your diet your keeping your heart, joints and brain “healthy” and your mind, body, and soul happy.
They key to eating fats in your weight loss diet is knowing the difference between healthy fats and unhealthy saturated fats.
Saturated fats are bad because your body finds it really hard to break it down and as a result it stores it as a “fatty tissue” in your cells. Your body prefers to get its source of energy from carbs and protein because it can break down these foods into glucose, which is your bodies preferred source of energy. So if you eat too much saturated fat your body will store it as fat because it can’t break it down.
Therefore by choosing healthy unsaturated fats such as:
- Nuts and seeds (best healthy fat source)
- Avocado (best healthy fat source)
- Fatty fish (salmon, sardines, tuna, herrings, trout and Atlantic mackerel)
- Chia seeds and flaxseeds
- Avocado oil, Olive oil, flaxseed oil, hemp oil, and macadamia oil (best healthy fat source)
- Nut & Seed butters (tahini paste, almond, sunflower, and pumpkin seed butter)
- Tofu
Your body will be able to use and dispose of it effectively as it assists the body in breaking down glucose for energy. So by avoiding or limiting your intake of saturated fats you will succeed in losing body fat and reducing fatty tissue
Saturated fats Include:
- Fatty cuts of meat (lamb, pork chops, bacon, sausage, and beef)
- Processed food
- Fried foods
- Take-away food
- Fatty cuts of cold meats, such as salami, and processed ham
- Cheeses like cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, and soft goat cheese
- Full-cream dairy desserts like whipped cream, full-fat ice cream and milks.
- Organic Butters (healthy saturated fat alternative)
- Coconut oil (healthy saturated fat alternative)
- Peanut Butter (healthy saturated fat alternative)
As you can see I have included healthy unsaturated fat alternatives for you to choose from. Peanut butter, coconut oil and organic grass-fed butter contain healthy fats as well as unhealthy saturated fats, which is why they are a better alternative.
Conversely olive oil and even tofu contain small amounts of saturated fats, so keep this in mind when choosing your fat sources.
Depending on your fitness level, for an active women consuming a total of 62g of healthy fats per day, and 12g or less of saturated fat is optimally for weight loss.
For a less active women anywhere between 44-50g of healthy fats and less than 9g for saturated fats is best.
The best time to consume fats is small portions throughout the day, and moderate amounts at dinner and before bed. Avoiding fats pre workout and post workout is what the consensus state.
But keep in mind every body is different and everyone’s body works differently. So try and see what works for you.
For me, I consume fats anytime of day I like because my body loves fats and would rather fats over carbs for energy source. With this in mind, I consume very little to no saturated fats (except for coconut).