14 April 2010

Fats 101

     Contrary to what is out there, there are such things as good fats and bad fats! I want to share with you 4 key points to know about fats! The right fats are brain food, so it is important to make sure you are getting the proper nutrition!

Eat Half The Fat- Change The Type
Energy doesn't just disappear. Whatever you put into your body and don't burn off in your muscles makes a stopover in your fat cells. Consuming about 60 to 70 fat grams per day will keep you lean and fit, provided they don't all come from saturated animal fats. Ani
mal fat should be kept to a minimum; it is not a fat burner. You're better off consuming unsaturated fatty acids. These are substances your body can't produce on its own. Great sources are vegetables, olives, nuts, seeds, and fish. If you are not sure if you consume 60 to 70 fat grams, keep a food journal for a week and count fat grams of everything you consume that has a label. So, if you eat nuts, vegetables, and fruits... don't include those. Just count the foods with labels and see where you are at. My favorite source of fat is the amazing avocado!

Fats That Keep You Thin
Your kitchen should always be stocked with olive oil! Olive oil supplies fatty acids that ad
just the settings of your hormone balance to LEAN, FIT, and HEALTHY! The same can be said of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish. They control your body's super-hormones, the eicosanoids. If you eat ocean fish (herring, salmon or mackerel) at least 2x's a week, you will stimulate a good number of these types of eicosanoids that will in turn give you better health, more vitality, a lighter mood, and protection for your heart. Who would like to have all these great self-improvements?

Fats & High Glycemic Index
If you eat your pasta with a cream sauce or your roast beef with mashed potatoes, the potatoes and pasta (both high in the glycemic index) will increase the insulin in your blood, which will then immediately transport the fat in the beef or cream to your hips, and seal away the fat molecules inside the fat cells. This won't happen, however, if you eat your meat with whole-wheat pasta (low-glycemic idex). In this case the insulin is kept a bay, and the fat from the meat can be burned off in the muscle cells. When planning meals, remember this:

• Avoid eating fatty foods with high-glycemic index foods (i.e. steak with french fries, pasta with cream sauce, buttered bread with jam, pizza, chocolate croissants, white bread with cheese that is over 40% in fat)

• Create fat burning combinations: Lamb with whole-grain rice, turkey breast with boiled potatoes, chicken with vegetables, whole-wheat pasta with shrimp, mozzerella, whole-wheat bread with tomatoes. 


The Thin Commandments
• Olive oil instead of animal fats. Use less butter and cream. Please never use margarine.

• Practice "light" cooking : brushing oil onto non-stick pans for sauteing. Choose steaming (not steam bags in the microwave) and braising to preserve vitamins and your figure.

• Eat thing with zero fat: Legumes (beans), fruits, and whole grains (rice, pasta, bread, muesli)

• Reduce your consumption of red meats and processed meats like sausage, bacon, and deli meat. Instead choose ocean fish, game, poultry. Choose lean cuts of meat such as fillets, escalopes, loins, roasts, flank steak, etc.

• Always purchase low-fat dairy products and avoid prepared products, even if they say "light". Remember, nature always does it better!

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