Fat Loss Nutrition - When Myths become Big Fat Lies

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Yet more people than ever are on a diet. So what is going wrong? The fact that diet foods such as low-fat and low-carb products are a $7.6 billion-a-year business might have something to do with it. The food industry keeps you fat with processed foods, so it can sell you more diet products. Avoiding both is one of the key factors in fat loss nutrition.

Fat loss nutrition needs to be understood, along with the right kind of exercise, to ensure successful and healthy weight loss. Many diets are not balanced and are not designed to encourage healthy eating habits to help you keep the weight off once you stop the diet. When the weight creeps back on, people turn back to the multi-million dollar diet industry for help. Fat loss nutrition takes a more balanced approach. You should be thinking of about 4 grams of carbohydrate and 1.5 grams of fat for every 3 grams of protein you eat at a meal. The types of fat, carbohydrate and protein you eat are crucial.

Fat Loss Nutrition: Good Fats, Bad Fats

The secret to healthy weight loss is not low-fat, it is quality fat. The fats to avoid are the toxic 'trans' fats or hydrogenated fats in processed and fried foods. We also have an excess of omega-6 fats in our diet which can lead to insulin resistance (see the section on Carbohydrates). It is important to reduce the amount of vegetable oils, grain-fed beef and many processed foods (omega-6 fats) in your diet. At the same time you will probably need to increase the omega-3 fats in your diet to obtain the ideal 1:1 ration of omega-3 to omega-6. Oily fish, fish-oil capsules, or flaxseed oil are the best sources of omega-3 fats.

Saturated fat is not the enemy it once was - a myth perpetuated by the polyunsaturated vegetable oil industry. Coconut oil, which is a good saturated fat, has been shown to increase weight loss as it helps to stimulate metabolism, and regulate blood sugar, so even helps in burning fat for energy. You might be surprised to know that it is also good for your heart, as well as being a weapon in the fat loss nutrition arsenal.

As coconut oil is such a stable fat it is the best fat to use for cooking. Save your extra-virgin olive oil for salad dressings.

Carbohydrate Quality and Fat Loss Nutrition

Insulin resistance is the key to weight loss. Reverse it to burn the fat off. It is not so much the fat in the foods we eat but the excess carbohydrates from our starchy and sugary diet that is making us fat and unhealthy.

We consume far too much bread, cereal, pasta, corn, rice and potatoes, mostly as processed food. Good for the food industry, but not for fat loss nutrition and for you. These processed carbs stimulate the over-production of insulin, which leads to insulin-resistant cells. The sugar in your blood has no place else to go except to your fat cells, resulting in bulging stomachs and rolls of fat.

Increasing the fiber in your diet plays a powerful role in fat loss nutrition and weight loss. Eat brown rice rather than white rice or pasta. Grains should be limited to start but when you do eat them, make sure they are whole grains. Fill up on vegetables which are a great source of fiber.

Protein

Protein helps to stabilize blood sugar by slowing down the digestion of carbohydrates, which means that you do not get a sugar surge. This does not mean eating red meat at every meal, which is associated with higher risk of colon and possibly prostate cancer. There are plenty of other sources of protein to choose from such as lean white meat, fish, beans and lentils.

The fat loss nutrition approach means that even snacking on a handful of pumpkin seeds with an apple can help to slow down the sugar release.

Balance and Quality

Weight loss has little to do with willpower. Fat loss nutrition is all about the right balance and quality of foods, and the right exercise. This balance is easily obtained by avoiding all the low-fat, low-carb, high-protein, high-fat diet fads and avoiding processed foods as much as possible. If you get the fat loss nutrition right, you don't have to be overly concerned about how much you eat and you won’t go hungry.

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About the author: Discover the truth about fat loss and healthy weight loss. Nutritionist and health writer Natalie Beech sorts the fat loss nutrition fact from myth at the Fatloss-Fitness Website
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