The first thing people tend to think about cutting from their diets when they decide to lose weight is fat. It’s true that most Americans eat way too much fat for their bodies to handle. That fat contributes not only to weight gain, but other health issues that are detrimental.
But not all fats are created equal.
Think of a bicycle wheel. Too much heavy grease will gum up the wheel and prevent it from turning.
On the flip side, no grease at all will keep the wheel from spinning properly as well.
Herein lies the issue of good fat and bad fat in your diet.
Not all fats are bad for you or will prevent you from losing weight. You just need to be able to identify which fats are good fats and which are fats you need to avoid.
Mono unsaturated fats can be found in foods like almonds, walnuts, peanuts, avocados, and olive oil.
Not only are they good for weight loss, as an added health benefit they help to lower your bad LDL cholesterol.
Polyunsaturated fats also help lower LDL cholesterol levels as well as aid in weight loss. Foods rich in polyunsaturated fat are salmon, cod, corn and sunflower oils, flaxseed and other fish oils. Foods that contain polyunsaturated fat also contain Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which help aid the body in weight loss. You want to avoid saturated fats such as foods fried in vegetable oil or prepackaged foods that add fat for flavoring.
Whole dairy products also contain a high amount of saturated fat. But simply switching to low-fat yogurts, skim milk and low-fat cheeses will go a long way toward reducing your saturated fat intake.
There are two types of fats that are good for you:
Not only are they good for weight loss, as an added health benefit they help to lower your bad LDL cholesterol.
Polyunsaturated fats also help lower LDL cholesterol levels as well as aid in weight loss. Foods rich in polyunsaturated fat are salmon, cod, corn and sunflower oils, flaxseed and other fish oils. Foods that contain polyunsaturated fat also contain Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which help aid the body in weight loss. You want to avoid saturated fats such as foods fried in vegetable oil or prepackaged foods that add fat for flavoring.
Whole dairy products also contain a high amount of saturated fat. But simply switching to low-fat yogurts, skim milk and low-fat cheeses will go a long way toward reducing your saturated fat intake.
You’re probably thinking, “All that is well and good. But what can I eat?” In a and upcoming post, we’ll talk about foods that will not only aid you in weight loss, but will actually jump start your metabolism and turn it into a fat burning machine.
