Eat Fat to Lose Weight!

For those people thinking that fats are something to eliminate from the diet, consider this…Fat is a major source of energy and aids your body in absorbing vitamins. It's important for proper growth, development and keeping you healthy. Fat provides taste to foods and helps you feel full so you eat less! Fats are an especially important source of calories and nutrients for infants and toddlers. Dietary fat also plays a major role in your cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is important in manufacturing chemicals and hormones in the body and especially the brain.

Somewhere along the way it was decided that eating fat was a bad thing. Why fat was singled out, I can only guess, is because it has more than double the calories as carbohydrate and protein (9 calories per gram vs. 4 calories for carbs and protein). It is true fat is more calorie dense, but it is also naturally occurring in smaller amounts in nature. For example, fruits are often larger and nuts and seeds smaller. So we still eat fats, just not as much.

There are fats we need and fats we should definitely avoid.

Here are the GOOD FATS THAT CAN HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT…

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) and Omega 3 Fatty acids – These fats are not manufactured by the body, so we need to include those in our diet. They are needed for basic functions in the brain, and eating them can actually help you lose weight.
Omega 3 Fatty acids come from plants and fish that eat plants. I like chia seeds the best, which is a complete protein and has many other health benefits. Omega 3 fats help your body create a hormone called Leptin, which is responsible for telling your body when to stop eating. It also helps the body covert fat to fuel. Omega 3 fats help you to feel full longer, balance the blood sugar, reduce inflammation in the body and help the hair, skin and nails stay strong and supple. Omega 6 and 9 Fatty acids are also good, but the 3’s are the ones we get the least of and need more than the rest!
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) – This potent nutrient is called conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, and the best possible sources of CLA are grass-fed beef and raw (unpasteurized) dairy products that come from grass-fed cattle.

Medium Chain Triglycerides (MTC) – coconut oil, palm kernel oil (non hydrogenated)
These fats increase the metabolism, help the body use fat for energy instead of storage (body fat) and curb the appetite. Medium chain triglycerides are a form of fat that the body prefers to burn immediately, rather than store. Unrefined coconut oil is a very large source of MCTs, on average about 66% of it is MCT oil. This oil is great for cooking because it has a high smoking point, and can be used in all forms of baking and cooking where oil is needed. In addition to helping with weight loss, coconut oil has been used to prevent heart disease, cancer and diabetes as well as strengthen the immune system and improve skin and hair.

Some of the foods you might want to include over the holidays include those with Omega 3 Fatty Acids: Chia seeds, sardines, salmon, flax seeds and walnuts are excellent food sources of omega-3 fatty acids. For the CLA sources include grass fed beef in your recipes as well as cheese plates made with raw cheese and maybe some raw milk or creamer in your coffee. The last one is easy, MTC is best in pure coconut oil. This you can get my just replacing any oil you normally bake with.
Learn more about healthy weight loss by taking the Six Week Slim Down!

Nicole Carter is a Holistic Health Educator with 15 years of teaching and public speaking experience in wellness.  To book her for a presentation or learn about online learning opportunities please visit www.mywellnessexperience.org