Last night I had a dream about an old friend of mine I haven’t spoken to in ages. He was one of my first clients when I arrived in the United States, but half a year after I helped him cure his fungal infection, he left the country for New Zealand.
We got along very well, and he was one of the few people I’ve met that truly lit up the room when they entered. There was one thing, however, that we could never agree upon, and that was fats, and how much of them we should consume. All our discussions would end up laughing, but disagreeing. He told me that he had been trying to avoid them as much as he could, in order to lose weight. Each and every time I answered him that if he wanted to actually lose the weight, he needed to eat them.
Today, I’ll share with you the same reasons you should not dismiss them from your eating habits, in the hope that those of you who want to shed some pounds will use the advice wisely.
There are two main functions that get affected when you decide to deplete your body of fatty acids intake: metabolism, and nutrients absorption.
If your organism senses it no longer receives this particular macronutrient, it will start storing it, for later emergency use. In other words, the less fat you’ll eat, the more you’ll have to deal with. The opposite is not available, nonetheless, meaning that if your diet would be based entirely on fatty products, you’ll lose more pounds. The key stands in balance – you need to eat the right amounts for your current body weight. You can calculate it by multiplying your weight in pounds with 0.3, and the results will be the total grams of fat you need to eat per day.
Regarding the second process affected, it is essential to know that some of the vitamins and fibers are liposoluble, and they need fat to be absorbed properly.
But where can we get it from, and how often?
Saturated fat can be found in all animal products, which should be consumed no often than three times a week (if you want to lose weight). Unsaturated fat (generally described as “the good type”) comes from fish and sea food, avocado, olives, nuts, and seeds. You can consume one serving per day, and they are the ones that will help you lower your total body fat, as well as the cholesterol and triglycerides.
Please bear in mind that no foods are healthy or harmful per se (except for the poisonous plants), but the secret stands in the amounts and combinations you eat! Your health is in your hands!