Eat Fat to Lose Fat!

For decades, we have been told that “eating fat will make you fat” or that “the best way to control calories and shed fat is to cut fat from our diet”. This could not be anymore untrue, it’s a complete lie! Just because fat contains more calories per gram than protein or carbs, it does not mean you will become instantly fat by eating it.

Though totally faulty info, this low/no-fat belief was once aggressively adopted by the bodybuilding community. Bodybuilders have likely been successful on these diets because of their stronger than the standard dedication to the gym and the increased levels of cheat meals that are allowed when go with high volume weight training.

Nonetheless, lowering fat intake doesn’t associate with fat loss. A little fat could even help make your fat loss more successful! Here are some of the reasons!

#1 Eating Fat Overthrows Consuming Carbs: When you look at the macronutrient (Carbs, Protein, and Fats) percentages of your diet, everything needs to add up to 100 percent. Eating more of one macronutrient means that your intake of another macronutrient needs to decrease. Regardless of your goal, whether it’s fat loss, muscle growth, or performance, you should meet your protein needs first, then adjust your fat and carb intake accordingly.

Eating more fat means eating fewer carbs, and vice versa. From a fat-loss perspective, repositioning carbohydrates by increasing fat in your diet sets the stage for an optimal fat-loss environment. Insulin, released by your body in quantities carbohydrates you eat, is the major gatekeeper when it comes to nutrient partitioning, telling what nutrients where they can go. Lower overall insulin levels, which is achieved by reducing carbohydrates, allows your body to readily access fat stores for energy while also allowing fat to enter and fuel your muscles.

#2 Eating Fat Increases Your Body’s Ability to Burn More Fat: Low-fat diets just don’t make sense. They don’t shape your body to be adept at burning fat. Instead, they amp up the enzymatic machinery in your body so it becomes efficient at burning carbohydrates.

Lower-fat diets can also have negative effects on adipokines, which effect fat loss. Adipokines are hormones released particularly from your fat cells. Adiponectin is a true fat-burning hormone that works to boost your metabolism and increase the rate in which fats are broken down, curbing your appetite. Lower-fat diets lead to lower levels of adiponectin.

#3 Eating Fat Makes You Consume Less Food: The hormonal and metabolic benefits of eating more fat are great, but one of the best benefits might be the quenching effects of fat. Nothing is worse than eating a low-calorie diet that leaves you hungry all the time. This is usually a huge issue in diets which deny you foods with a higher fat content such as nuts, fatty fish, cheese, and avocado.

Quenching fat leaves you feeling full. When the fat you eat hits your small intestine, it sets off a cascade of signals which includes the release of hormones such as CCK and PYY. These two hormones play a major role in appetite regulation and curbing your appetite; they leave you feeling full and satisfied. The more satiated you are, the less likely that you’re going to sneak in snacks between meals or pile on a second helping.

Tip: Avoid This Mistake

I think I have established by now that fat is good for you. It is a integral macronutrient. However, fat is not a calorie free food. In spite of this rather obvious fact, many people have incorporated adding sufficient amounts of fat to their diets with rash consequences. While eating more fat, around 30-35 percent of your total calories, or more if you’re low-carb dieting, is beneficial, these calories add up quickly, so be careful.

Even if you aren’t counting your calories and macros, it’s good to have some level of measurement control. I recommend that you always measure fats and oils before using them. Dressing a salad with olive oil can rapidly increase from two teaspoons to two tablespoons, and one eyeballed spoonful of peanut butter could actually be three servings. Fats are delicious and easy to eat a lot of so, even if you are making an effort to eat more fat in your diet, make sure your efforts are calculated.

One More Tip: Focus on the healthy sources of Fat, such as Monounsaturated Fats, Polyunsaturated Fats, and Omega 3 Fatty Acids. Some good sources are Nuts, Avocados, Olive and Flaxseed/Flax Oil, Mackarel, Salmon, and Herring. Stay Away from Saturated Fats, Trans Fats, and Cholesterol.

#Fitness #Health #Nutrition #Wellness