Fat is Your Friend
Poor fat, it’s gotten such a bad reputation over the years. I’m here to help fat get back in your good graces. Healthy fat is an essential part of your diet. It is responsible for jobs like brain development and function, lubricating your joints and keeping them healthy, and proper hormone function. Fat keeps your fuller, longer. So, when you have a salad and you wonder why you’re hungry 20 minutes later, it’s probably because you didn’t add any fat (or protein, but that was our last post). If you eat an apple and you’re still hungry – or if you’re like me and you feel even hungrier than you were pre-apple – add some fat and it will make a big difference.
We’ve been told for so long that eating fat is what makes us fat – wrong. Eating excess calories, no matter the source, and poor quality calories, makes us gain weight, among many other factors. Adding healthy fat to your diet can actually have the opposite effect and help with weight loss. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.
So, give fat another chance, choose the right kinds, eat the right amount, and see if you can make fat your friend again. You’ll thank me.
Here are some foods you probably put on the naughty list that you can put right back on the good list once again:
Butter: Organic, grass-fed, that is.
Bacon: You’re welcome. Just make sure you get the good stuff, go for the no-nitrate kind.
Nuts: Add these to your snack of fruit, your salads, or just have a handful by themselves.
Nut Butter: Peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, all the butters.
Avocado: On everything.
Full-Fat Yogurt: Organic, plain Greek yogurt. Good source of protein, good source of fat.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Use this while cooking, in salad dressings, and marinades.
Olives: They make a great snack or a tasty addition to a salad
Coconut Oil: I literally use this for everything. To cook, bake, moisturize, remove my makeup, you name it.
The Whole Egg: Keep the yolk in there, folks. It’s good for you!