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DOES EATING FAT REALLY MAKE US FAT?
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Does eating Fat really make us Fat?
Restricting what we eat is counterproductive as a means to losing weight in the long term. My friends and family seem to start a diet in the New Year or every Monday, restricting foods they enjoy and opting to go fat free. However, does dieting really keep the weight off in the long term?
When you’re on a diet you’re restricting fat, calories, carbs and exercising like crazy, a complete lifestyle change. After a couple of weeks the brain recognises you're eating less and thinks you’re STARVING or there's a famine, so it slows your metabolism right down to help you survive. Your brain is pretty smart, right!
Now that your body is functioning in “STARVATION’ mode you ain’t gonna be losing much weight. You’ll be craving the foods you’ve cut out from your diet and likely to end up having a binge…. That’s the dieting cycle; restrict, crave, binge, guilt then restrict again…..If you’ve been dieting or struggling with your weight, this will sound familiar.
When "dieting" It's likely you'll feel hungry or you may never feel satisfied, and this maybe down to restricting FAT, because you think it’s BAD. The myth that cutting out fat from your diet is a way to lose weight is not necessarily true. Food rich in healthy fats are essential to health, takes longer to digest, so you feel fuller for longer. Believe it or not, people who include healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds, tend to hold a healthier weight.
So why do we fear fat?
Because we’ve been told fat has lots of calories, it causes heart disease, cholesterol problems and it helps you gain weight. When we think of fat, we conjure up images of deep fat frying, lard, dripping and the Friday night fish and chips!
Healthy fats (mono and unsaturated fats) are necessary for the production of sex hormones for fertility, brain development, healthy cells, supple skin, maintaining healthy bones and absorbing certain vitamins. Fat has a major role in health, not eating any fat or severely restricting is not reasonable or healthy and not effective as a long-term weight loss measure.
If you’ve cut out healthy fats from your diet, try introducing avocados, nuts, olive oil, oily fish or seeds into the diet. I’m sure you’ll feel fuller for longer, so you don’t feel the need to snack. Believe it or not we still need some saturated fat such as ghee, butter and dairy for healthy cell and hormone maintenance, so a little of what you fancy is ok.
Don’t restrict or make yourself feel deprived… aim to work towards food freedom!
If you want to know more about fat, please read my earlier blog "Fats & Oils" or let me help support your weight loss transformation!book a discovery call.
Big hugs
Van x
