Eat Fats To Lose Fat!

For about 50 years now, we have been eating low fat (some no fat) diets and the funny thing is we have gotten progressively fatter and less healthy. Surley if we take away fat from our eating habits, we will lose any unwanted body fat?
 
Wrong!! Taking away fat is making our waistlines bulge even more. We need to eat more healthy fats!
 

 

Sounds pretty counterproductive doesn’t it? If you want to decrease your body fat, why in the world would you include fat in your fat loss plan? Well, there are certain fats that are ‘healthy’ fats, and they can actually ramp up your body’s fat burning ability and not only help you burn fat…but burn it faster! By replacing refined carbohydrates and sugars with this healthy fat, you can help your body to actually tap into those stored excess body fat reserves (your problem areas) and use it as an energy source.
 
But before you nip down to your local fast food joint, consider this: not all fatty foods are created equal. The foods you choose can mean the difference between a trim body and one plagued with obesity and disease.

 
Low Fat Diets Dont Work !!


Who ever said low fat diets were healthy? And more importantly, why does eating less fat mean you'll be less fat?
 
Well, I've done some research on this and have found very little science to back up the claims that eating less fat will keep you trim. I have also found many examples that totally dismiss this idea.

For example, the French eat significantly more fat than we do while there obesity AND disease and illness rates are quite a bit lower.

Another example is the Alaskan Eskimos. They consume as much as 70% of their calories from fat (whale blubber and fish) and they have one of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world.




The Truth

If you eliminate an entire food group then you will have to compensate by eating more of the other groups. Whilst this isnt a bad thing for Protein, it becomes a problem for Fat Loss when you overeat on refined Carbohydrates which is what most people tend to do when they go on an Anti Fat mission.

These foods promote Fat storage and whilst you may think by choosing the Low Fat option you are being super healthy you are in fact doing the exact opposite and can expect to gain more Fat!

 

'Fat Is The Enemy' ...... Apparantley

Not long ago, the low-fat/no-fat diet craze swept across the food landscape. Manufacturers marketed low-fat and no-fat everything, and everyone responded by chowing down. It’s healthy, right? Wrong. All wrong.

Fat was never the problem, everyone just wanted something to blame for the rising obesity rates!

Besides stripping our bodies of a much-needed nutrient, low- and no-fat diet movements have increased obesity rates.

Why? It turns out that fat provides a big component to the foods we love: Taste! When food manufacturers removed fat from their foods, they had to load the foods with sugar and salt, which are nutrient-free, to increase flavor.

 

(Above is a typical example of a lower fat meal. Per serving contains: 450 Calories, 6g Sugar, 11g Fat, 7g of Which are Saturated and 2.2g Salt)

 

 

Unfortunatley, dietary Fat still has this stigma attached to it, and to this day, its the first thing everyone removes when they want to lose Body Fat. This is only making the process alot harder!

 Why You Need Fat!
 
Dietary fat is very slow burning in the body so when you replace the fat with faster burning carbs you tend to feel less energetic, risk burning muscle tissue, and wreak havoc on your metabolism and hormones because your energy levels (blood sugar) are like a roller coaster.

Dietary Fats supply some of the best, and most stable sources of energy. So if you want to feel good all day long, you need to make sure you are getting enough fats, and the right types. The human body needs fat just to function properly, let alone achieve optimal health.

DID YOU KNOW? The Brain is the hungriest organ in the body, craving omega-3 fatty acids & using 25% of all absorbed glucose & oxygen, cut out Fat and you will be affecting more than your appearance!
 
Certain amounts of fat are also necessary for proper hormone production. If hormone production is off so will your metabolism be. Hormones regulate many things in the body including your ability to build and maintain muscle tissue, which is responsible for a large portion of your energy expenditure.

In simple terms, muscle burns calories 24 hours a day and if you eat a low fat or no fat diet you will have a hard time building and maintaining muscle.


The Wrong Fats!

Although fat contains more calories than protein or carbohydrates, the secret is in what fats actually do when they enter your body that makes the difference. Saturated and trans fats, especially when combined with high carbs will pile on the pounds. If you are already on a fat loss plan and trying to lose fat, you should know that there is a two step process involved in fat burning:

First, cutting down on carbohydrates ( Not eliminating them all together ) will release you from the grip of the ‘fat storing’ monster. Controlling carbs allows your body to return to its natural ability to burn fat. This is the first part of the process. As long as you are controlling your carbohydrate intake the calories from fat are immediately used for energy (which means they won’t be stored).

Now, the next part involves the fat you are consuming. Trans fat, found in pre-packaged foods and baked goods, and anything deep fried should be avoided like the plague. Anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is a pound packer.


What Fats Burn Fat?
Most of the fat that you eat—especially if you want to lose fat—should come from unsaturated sources. These good-for-you foods (like fish, seeds, nuts, leafy vegetables, olive oil, and, of course, avocadoes) pack tons of nutrients. Besides removing cholesterol from arteries and promoting a healthier heart, unsaturated fats can help you burn fat big time without cutting calories.

A 2009 study in the British Journal of Nutrition, found that participants who consumed the most unsaturated fatty acids have lower body mass indexes and less abdominal fat than those who consumed the least. Why? The unsaturated folks ate higher-quality foods.



More Reasons You Should Eat Good Fats

1. Fat Burns Calories

A gram of fat packs more than twice the energy of a gram of Protein / Carbs .When you don’t have any fat in your diet its like you don’t have fuel to burn calories.

The body requires energy to keep its metabolism properly functioning, research has proven consuming fatty acids can boost metabolic health.

What’s more, “old” fat stored in the body’s peripheral tissues—around the belly, thighs, or bum, can’t be burned efficiently without “new” fat to help the process. Dietary fat helps break down existing fat by activating fat burning pathways through the liver.


2. Fat Keeps You Full

Fat isn’t the easiest nutrient to digest, so it sticks around in the digestive system for more time than many other nutrients. Fatty acids may also help stabilize blood sugar levels. That means you feel full longer, and you won’t feel the stomach-growling urge to raid the fridge after mealtime.

In fact, diets with high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, a type of Fatty Acid that the body can only acquire through food, create a greater sense of fullness both immediately following and two hours after dinner than do meals with low levels of the fatty acids.

It’s no surprise that dieters who consume moderate levels of fat are more likely to stick with their eating plans than dieters who consume low levels of fat.

The result? More Fat lost.



3. Fat Makes You Happy


Everyone says that dieting sucks. Eating nice foods makes you happy, and it turns out low-fat versions just don’t do the trick for one surprising reason: We can taste the fat—not just the salt, sugar, and other goodies in food.


Our taste buds can detect fat in food, which helps explain why low-fat foods don’t curb our fat cravings. Fat may be an entirely different basic taste than what we’ve long considered the four mainstays: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.

On an even happier fat note, omega-3 fatty acids can boost serotonin levels in the brain, helping to improve mood, increase motivation, and keep you from devouring a large pizza like it’s your job. 3.5% of women and 2% of men have suffered from diagnosed binge-eating disorders, while millions more people are occasional emotional eaters.


4. Fat Makes Food Better For You

Many nutrients including vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning that the body can’t absorb them without fat. If your body isn’t absorbing nutrients properly, that can lead to vitamin deficiencies and bring on dry skin, blindness, brittle bones, muscle pains, and abnormal blood clotting.

These vitamins are also key to maintaining energy, focus, and muscle health, all of which contribute to a healthy weight. Vitamin E, for example is a powerful antioxidant and helps maintain your metabolism, while the body’s levels of vitamin D predicts its ability to lose fat, especially in the abdominal region.

 

So while you can pile your salad high with nutrient-rich spinach, tomatoes, and carrots, you really need to thank the olive oil for sending the salad’s vitamins your way.



There you have it, hopefully now you will have more of an understanding of why we should be eating more good Fats and how they can help your body, rather than the percieved opinion of why they should be avoided.

Include more of these in your eating and you will be well on your way to the body of your dreams.

For more daily fat loss info, recipes, workouts, motivation and facts then check out my Facebook and Twitter page.

If you have enjoyed this article then please check out my other blog posts and leave me a comment on one of the above methods.

How to stop Cravings

 

 

Cravings. We’ve all had them. They hit when you least expect them, and can completely ruin your progress if you let them. If you are dealing with cravings for foods with high fat or high sugar content late at night, you may be worried you won’t be able to lose the weight you want and gain the fitness results you are striving toward.Intellectually you know that gobbling down high-calorie food in the evening leaves you feeling frustrated, heavy and defeated. Yet, when those p.m. cravings hit, they’re often impossible to resist.  However, with a little understanding of what cravings are, how they are triggered, and what you can do to stop them, you can get back on track with your fitness routine and keep unhealthy food choices out of your body.

What are Cravings?

When you crave something, it is more than the normal hunger feeling you experience between meals. Cravings are intense yearnings for a certain type of food. While it would be nice if our body’s craved vegetables, the majority of the time these cravings are for food rich in fat and sugar, and eating anything does not usually make the craving go away. For example, if you are craving chocolate, eating carrot sticks is most likely not going to satisfy the craving.
 
Unlike normal hunger, cravings can be triggered by pleasant associations, situations, and your emotions. Your mind uses cravings because it associates them as rewards. Many times, this is caused by childhood occurrences. For instance, your parents might have given you some biscuits every time you finished your homework. Now, when you eat correctly and exercise to get fit fast, your mind may try to reward you by craving those foods.

What’s more, research shows that women tend to crave high sugar foods, like chocolate, biscuits and ice cream, while men tend to crave heartier food like steak, mashed potatoes, burgers, pasta and pizza.

Numerous studies have also shown that a craving does not indicate a nutritional need or deficiency. So sadly, we can throw that excuse out the window.
 
 
If you feel as if you need to eat something late at night, choosing low calorie, healthy alternatives will help you maintain progress.

 

Here’s why we crave:

• Learned behaviors and experiences - As mentioned above, as a child, you may have been consistently rewarded with a sweet treat when you had a bad day. The learned behavior of having something sweet to lift your spirits became a habit that is very hard to break.

• Hormonal fluctuations
  Certain hormones in your body help control appetite. Ghrelin is the hormone you produce that drives you to eat, while leptin is the hormone that signals satiety. Normally, these hormones act as a checks and balances system to keep your appetite in check. However, under certain physiological conditions, such as sleep deprivation, this system is thrown off because the hormones are not produced in proper proportion to one another. Estrogen, cortisol and serotonin can also play a role in food craving frenzies, and whether due to stress, sleep deprivation, or the normal hormonal fluctuations of a woman’s menstrual cycle, these hormones can drive you to seek out nutrient- dense, fatty, sugary foods.

• Environmental factors and sensory stimulation
  Studies have found that the sight, smell, taste, or even just the thought of favorite foods can lead to intense cravings. For example intaking a small amount of sugar could lead to intense sugar cravings, leading to a full on binge.  Experiences like seeing food advertisements on TV or passing a bakery and smelling the aroma of fresh baked bread can also initiate food cravings. Certain social settings, like a party or environmental factors, such as dim lighting in a restaurant, can fuel our drive to indulge.

 

Why are cravings so irresistible at night?

Nighttime may be the first time you get to relax after a long, structured and stressful day. You’re through with work and the kids are asleep; it’s finally your time. Whether it is behavioral or hormonal, the urge to treat yourself with sweet or savory food can be an overwhelming response from the body’s need for relaxation. In addition, you may be tired or emotional from the stress of the day, which makes it that much harder to fight the impulse to indulge. Plus, all those television food commercials don’t help!

Stopping Late Night Cravings

Whether your cravings are psychological emotional, or physical, there are certain steps you can take to prevent late night cravings and bingeing.

Eat Breakfast – When you eat breakfast within an hour of waking up, your body’s metabolism kicks into high gear. This helps you burn more calories throughout the day, and really is the most important meal you can eat if you want to get fit fast. Without breakfast, your body will burn calories at a slower rate and you will be left feeling hungry.


Don’t Store Unhealthy Food – Storing unhealthy food in your home is just asking for trouble. As the old saying goes, "out of sight, out of mind"

 

Eat Regularly – Consuming four or five small meals every day can not only help you get fit fast by keeping your metabolism going and regulating your blood sugar levels, but it is also a great way to reduce hunger and cravings.

Exercise - Sitting on the sofa watching television can actually make you crave food that is unhealthy for you. Get up and exercise. Doing so will release endorphins in your brain that can help improve your mood and fight cravings.

Relieve Stress – Because emotions can trigger food cravings, it is important to find way to relieve stress. Consider taking a walk or even fitting a meditating session into your fitness routine once a week.

Pre-plan and stretch your p.m. snack - People often “crave” what they’ve planned for. Plan for something healthy and you’re likely to crave it.

Drink water - If the cravings do strike, then drink about 2 pints of water, one after the other, this should offset them.

Keep yourself busy, in and out of the house - Downtime tends to be “craving central.” If you’re watching TV at night, find ways to distract yourself during adverts, particularly food adverts.  Check your e-mail, do crunches or pushups, plan your calendar for the rest of the week. It’s also a great idea to get out of the house a few nights each week aswel.

 
So there you have it, follow these tips and late night cravings will be a thing of the past or at least, you will be able to control it to such an extent that it won’t hinder your results any longer.



For more daily fat loss info, recipes, workouts, motivation and facts then check out my Facebook and Twitter page.

If you have enjoyed this article then please check out my other blog posts and leave me a comment on one of the above methods.