There is so many health benefits to including healthy fats in your daily diet. Eating healthy fats will not make you fat, in fact it will help you lose weight. Yes, you read that right! Eating healthy fats for weight loss is the key!
For many, many years now we have been told that fat is bad and that fat will make you fat. This is simply not true.
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What is involved when eating healthy fats for weight loss?
Quite simply, you need to add healthy fats to your meals. Seems simple, so why don’t more people do this?
There is a stigma around ‘fat’ as we have been told that ‘low fat’ is the key to a successful diet. The problem is ‘low fat’ products is that if you take the fat out, you lose the flavor.
To add the flavor back in, they add sugar. Sugar is the number one issue when it comes to weight gain!
Sugar is super addictive, even more so when you believe you are eating ‘low fat’ foods which will help you lose weight.
Sugar is an issue, and if you are keen to make steps on quitting sugar you can read more here.
You will need to tune into your own body and listen to how your body uses fats.
This will help you understand how your own body uses fat. You will need to really listen to your body and make adjustments as needed.
When you are first starting to add fat to your diet, you will want to build some fat into every meal and snack.
When you do this, two main things will happen:
- You will feel fuller much quicker and longer
- You will eat less as your body will feel satisfied
Both of these certainly support weight loss as you won’t be reaching for those sugary snacks between meals!
What are healthy fats?
Knowing what fats are healthy and which are not, is very important. If you start adding unhealthy fats into your diet, you will certainly gain weight not loose it!
Unfortunately, it is not always as obvious as it may seem. Some companies are very good at pushing for you to purchase their product and they will use advertising that makes it seem very healthy for us.
Please be careful and do your homework.
When buying fats use this guide:
- Fats need to be of high quality and healthy.
- We really recommend organic fats where possible.
- We also recommend natural fats. By natural fats we mean fats that are not man made, not processed (or little process needed), and come from natural sources.
Some examples of these are:
- avocado
- nuts
- organic cuts of meat
- fatty fish
- olives and olive oil
- coconut oil
- dairy products
- butter or ghee
As you can see from the list above, this is a far cry from lard!
Although, if you can get your hands on lard, go for it! If you have had crunchy potatoes cooked in duck fat… mmmm you will not go back!
These are natural, organic sources of fat that are truly beneficially to your body.
Why not all fats?
Healthy, natural fats are fats that your body knows how to use. They are unmodified and the body can process and use these very effortlessly.
These are fats that allow your body to lose weight.
Fats that are man-made and heavily processed are not healthy fats that we would suggest using. This is because they are not in their ‘natural form’ the body does not know how to process them.
Some of these fats, when heated beyond recommended temperatures, can become dangerous for the body.
Not all fats are equal, fat is not fat.
There are healthy fats and there are unhealthy fats. Eating healthy fats is the key for weight loss, steer clear of the unhealthy fats.
Avoid oils like canola, corn, soy and rice bran as they are all highly inflammatory and can destroy your health.
How much fat is needed?
Prior to adding fats to my diet, the thought of fat repulsed me. It made me feel sick. This is because I didn’t have a full understanding of fats and their benefits.
Basically there is no ‘rule’ around how much fat to add to your meals. I would suggested ensuring that there is some kind of fat in all of your meals and snacks.
To start with you will need to add fats and then adjust the amount depending on if you are full or hungry after meals.
For example, if you have a large salad with a fatty dressing such as coconut oil and the salad also contains cheese and egg (both have high fat content) and then you add an avocado.. you might be full after only half of your salad.
It is about experimenting and finding the right balance for you.
Mindset: Eating Healthy Fats for Weight loss
Your mindset around fats is very important. Adding extra organic butter to your vegetables or eating the fat on your organic cuts of meat feels strange to start with.
This is because we have been told for years, that fat is bad. Remember this is not true. You will need to remind yourself of this as you eat more fats in your diet.
There is also mixed information online and in the media around eating fat. Your family and friends may also tell you that fat is not good for you.
It is so important for you to stand true to what you believe when it comes to how your body interacts with fat.
People may look at you sideways as you add extra fat to your meals. That is fine, as long as you are doing what you know your body needs.
Which fats do I suggest to begin with?
Coconut Oil:
My go to fat is coconut oil. There is a lot of contradicting facts about coconut oil on the internet, however I truly believe it is so beneficially to your health. I add coconut oil to my breakfast lunch and dinner. I cook with coconut oil – heck I even moisturize with it!
Avocado:
This would be another fat I would suggest. It is packed full of health benefits beyond the ‘fat’ content – it is a true super food. You can add it to smoothies, salads, dressings – and so much more!
Butter:
Butter from pasture raised cows is full of nutritional benefits, and it is so yummy! Add butter to your steak, on your vegetables or even just on a spoon!
RELATED: Won’t this fat give me a heart attack?
Want to delve into fats more?
Is this information sitting ‘right’ with you and you know this is what you need to do to lose weight? I would recommend you looking into the Keto Diet further.
The Keto Diet is based on a high fat diet, and has had many benefits for many people.
What else can I do to lose weight?
Losing weight can be difficult and stressful. Please know, you are not alone.
Here are our further tips around losing weight successfully.
