Fat Truth – Fat Won’t Make You Fat
Why fat gets a bad rap and how it CAN and will make you fat!
There are three categories in our macros; Fat, carbohydrates and Protein.
All the foods we eat fall into one of the macros but picture all of these like you have three buckets of different sizes you can fill over the entire day but if one over fills the surplus gets stores as yes you guessed it, FAT.
Each macro has an assigned calorie and here they are; both protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories in each gram, BUT fat has 9 calories per gram….
So if your good at numbers (I was a math nerd) you will have noticed foods with higher fat content will be much higher in calories. Fats will have considerably more calories than a low fat food weighing the same amount plain and simple.
The reason why people gain weight in the first place is overeating but not to over simplify this it is much easier for anyone to over eat when foods are higher in fat.
So then some of you may just be saying ok Claudia so then, Why are fats good?
Some vitamins you need are fat soluble like vitamins A, D, E and K are found in foods that are higher in fat and are needed for our bodies systems to work correctly and efficiently. Our bones, skin, hair and eyes depend on these vitamins to stay in good working order and if not maintained you will deteriorate them quicker kind of like not changing the oil in a car (engine wont last as long).
Fatty acids like Omega 3, 6 and 9 (I call them beneficial oils here are some examples) are needed no better said REQUIRED for proper bodily function and assist in the fat burning process. Do our bodies produce these? No they do not and unless your eating about 5 pounds of certain fishes a day your missing the boat here. Secondly, for children it is CRITICAL they get their daily allowance of DHA/EPA servings because it supports their visual and cognitive development (my kids get theirs everyday).
mmm here are two that I love;
Also another awesome tip is when eating healthy fats we get a natural effect of slowing down the digestion process. What this does is keep you feeling full and reduce the chance of overeating.
What does this mean?
Well fitfam let me break this down for you. For those of us trying to lose weight obviously we need exercise but we need to be in a calorie deficit. When we achieve this our bodies become stressed as they are trying to run on less fuel than they are designed to which leads me into my next point.
It is critical when dieting that our bodies get all the minerals, vitamins, and fatty acids needed to function properly in an attempt to keep them as happy as possible. The happier our bodies the more effectively and efficiently our systems will work and this also includes the burning fat process for energy
One last point I want to touch on. Not all fats are equal so pay attention here because you can use this in your daily life to increase your weight loss.
Saturated fats and trans-fats have been linked by several research studies with higher risk of heart disease and are known as ‘’bad fats’’ (french fries, onion rings, those kind). When I refer to ‘good fats’ I am referring to unsaturated fats that improve overall health, reduce cholesterol (LDL) and will help our bodies burn fat for energy.
Quick Tips–
- Eating fats isn’t going to automatically make you fat because your allotted a certain macro setup daily.
- Eating a reduced calorie diet with healthy fats can speed up your fat loss.
- Consider trying to include some of these good fat sources in your daily diet: Olive oil, Nuts or nut butters (almond butter my fav!), Avocado, Coconut oil (Cocoteins), Eggs, Sesame oil and/or Seeds.
- If you are not eating 5lbs of salmon a day take an Omega (my favorite one only .37 cents a day) and good multi-vitamin. If you want to help with a fat burner check out the Thermal Revolution.
Now off to go drink me a smoothie,