Fat Loss Myths: Busted!
Before I launch into workout ideas and unconventional ways to maximize your exercise routine in my coming articles, let’s first get some nutritional groundwork of this method laid out. Today, I am going to expose some myths about nutrition and dieting that are keeping you from losing weight and being healthy. Keep an open mind as some of the answers will surprise you, and may sound totally crazy at first. They did to me, too, at one time. So, hold on to your seats folks, here we go!
Fat Loss Myth #1 I have to eat a low fat diet if I really want to shed the pounds.
Not true in the least! Healthy fats will help you lose weight! Let me define what makes a healthy fat:
A ‘healthy fat’ is a minimally processed plant or animal based fat that is in its natural state, the way we were meant to eat it. Examples of some sources of healthy fats are extra virgin olive oil, butter from grass-fed cows, raw nuts (cashews, almonds, peanuts, walnuts), raw nut butters (almond, peanut, macadamia), grass fed beef, avocados, seeds (flax, sesame, pumpkin seeds) and wild caught salmon.
I know that you’re probably thinking, “But won’t fat make me fat?” Yes, it will do that and more, if it comes from a fast food joint, where the meat comes from animals pumped with hormones and growth-inducing steroids. Combined with a high-sugar soda (or worse, a chemical-laced diet drink) and French fries which have been cooked in highly refined soybean or cottonseed oils, you have a recipe for disaster! These kinds of fats are extremely inflammatory and clog the arteries, creating havoc in the body.
Furthermore, when you deprive your body of those healthy, natural fats and calories that it needs to perform so many functions, it will go into ‘starvation’ mode, and will start hoarding fat, setting you back much more than you ever would have been if you had simply over-eaten. Worse, your body will start to raise the level of the catabolic hormone cortisol, which leads to muscle breakdown in which your body basically burns the muscle you already have for fuel. Definitely not what you want, especially when you figure in the fact that muscle burns a lot more calories than fat, even while you’re sleeping!
Your best bet if you are serious about losing weight is to eat a wide array of minimally processed foods, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, legumes such as beans and lentils, lean, grass fed meat, and healthy fats. Your body NEEDS fat to LOSE fat. Don’t be afraid of healthy fats!
Fat Loss Myth #2 What about calories? Don’t I have to count and restrict them to lose fat?
I like to emphasize the quality of your calories over the quantity. To illustrate this crucial point, let’s say I wanted to lose a couple of pounds and I was debating what to eat as a snack one afternoon. Should I go for one of those weight-loss bars boasting lots of fiber, protein, and vitamins? Or, would a handful of raw nuts and a kiwi be a better choice? The answer is the second option. Real, wholesome food has plenty of nutrients, vitamins, and macro-nutrients which are easily recognized and metabolized by your body. That’s more than a processed ‘nutrition’ bar could ever hope to posses. The beauty of eating this way is that it is simple. You don’t have to go out and buy a fancy fat-loss supplement or a month’s worth of protein bars to get amazing results.
Speaking of snacks, the importance of regular, balanced eating habits cannot be emphasized enough, especially when you’re trying to lose weight. Regular meals are important because your body will spend more time burning calories digesting food rather than storing it as fat. To maximize your fat-burning ability, make sure you’re eating six small meals per day (about every 3 hours), to keep your metabolism sky high.
Try eating in the manner I have laid out, a diet full of minimally processed, whole foods, free of icky preservatives or refined sugars, and I guarantee you’ll see and feel a difference within a few days.
Stay tuned for my next article, in which we will expose and discuss two more nutrition and dieting myths. The answers may surprise you!
~Margaret
