Remember back in the 90′ eating Snackwell’s cookies and feeling like you were doing yourself a favor because they were fat free. (Yes, back in he 80’s I was a kid, but still.) Back in the day fat-free was all the rage, but now we know better. Now we know we need fat in our diets, as it’s one of the THREE MAJOR MACRONUTRIENTS that makes food, food and a calorie a calorie.
I’m gonna break it down for you in human terms so get ready ’cause I’m about to drop some knowledge. There are four types of fat:
1. Saturated Fat – This kind comes from things like animal fat, shortening, coconut oil and butter. It is known to increase both good and bad cholesterol.
2. Transfat – These fats are typically man made during food processing to keep food from going bad. They can increase your bad cholesterol, decrease your good cholesterol, increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. They are just plain old yucky. They are also known as partially hydrogenated oils.
3. Monounsaturated – Make your cholesterol levels happy, make your heart happy and help balance insulin levels which makes you less likely to become diabetic and may help control diabetes.
4. Polyunsaturated – Same as monounsaturated. These two come from oils, fatty fish like salmon, avocados, olives, olive oil, seeds or nuts.
The USDA recommends about 20 – 35% of your daily calories come from fat. (Not that I always agree with what the USDA has to say…. #justsayin.)
There are no recommendations on limiting your daily intake of polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats.
The USDA does however recommend that NO MORE than 10% of your fat intake from from saturated fat. (There’s so much new research out there these days debunking this. I love this article particularly: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/high-fat-diet-healthy-safe/)
The American Heart Association recommends NO MORE than 1% of your total daily calories from from transfat.
Fat is good for you.
Some vitamins are fat soluble. This means you can’t unlock some of the vitamins you get from your food or supplements without fat, leaving you deficient.
It keeps you satiated longer and it’s a great source of energy. When a client tells me she can’t stop craving sweets it’s usually a sign she doesn’t have enough fat in her diet. If you are full and your tummy is satisfied you probably won’t feel the need to go out for ice cream.
Half of our cell membrane structure is comprised of saturated fat, including our brains and fat is a wonderful source of fuel for our brains.
You need essential fatty acids (omega 3 & 6) because they are required for your body’s biological processes like naturally curing depression and decrease inflammation. And since depression and inflammation suck, you should most definitely eat some fat!
Great ways to get fat to get fit:
Add a tablespoon of flaxseed to your oatmeal at breakfast
Cook your veggies in coconut oil
Make muffins with almond meal or coconut flour
Try half an avocado in your salad at lunch
Put a tablespoon of nut butter on your apple during your snack
Make clean eating recipes with 4 ounces of fatty fish like salmon for dinner
Add some crumbled bacon to your salad to give it some flavor that you look forward to!
Leave me a comment below with your favorite way to add healthy fats to your diet!!!
Your Coach,
Kyra
P.S. Do you still need help figuring out how to incorporate fat into your diet?
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