Eat Fat Lose Fat

There is a great debate, and the notion is counterintuitive, but the days of low-fat, highly processed foods are a thing of the past. Real foods are in, and that means finding a healthy balance of macronutrients your body needs. Consuming foods high in healthy fats can lead to significant weight loss and other surprising health benefits. Not only can you ward off cancer with fat, but you can eat fat and lose fat while enjoying foods that actually taste good and keep you feeling full and satisfied.

Types of Fats

Despite the stigma surrounding the "F-word", there are such things as good fats. When consumed in moderation, these fats have been found to lower cholesterol overall, decrease LDL cholesterol, otherwise known as the "bad" cholesterol and the nasty culprit of stroke and heart disease, and increase HDL, or "good" cholesterol. Despite the good news, a diet high in fat requires some give and take. In order to consume high fats to be used for energy, you must balance your diet with low carbohydrates and moderate protein intake.

Ketogenic and Low Carb/High Fat (LCHF) Diets

The ketogenic diet consists of low carbohydrate, high-fat foods that keep the body in a state of ketosis, wherein ketones are produced to be used by the liver for energy. The body will then use your body fat as fuel, and that means weight loss. Foods high in carbohydrates produce glucose and insulin, which can cause energy spikes and hunger soon after the carbohydrates are consumed and processed by your body. In 1924, Dr. Russell Wilder of the Mayo Clinic created the ketogenic diet as an answer to childhood epilepsy. Later, the diet was prescribed for diabetics for weight loss and blood sugar, or glycemic, control. Today, these two conditions are still controlled by a low carbohydrate, high-fat diet, but the science community has added cancer to the list of diseases impacted by this type of lifestyle, citing the benefits of oleic acid to combatting cancer.

Calculators and Tools

There is no magic number for the number of fat grams or carbohydrates you should consume daily. Body weight plays a part, as well as body type, activity level, and body mass index, although you can use about 20 grams of net carbohydrates as a starting point. Various calculators online will take your personal information and calculate your ideal levels of the three major macronutrients: fat, carbohydrates and protein. Bear in mind that high fat, low carbohydrate diets take net carbs into consideration, so when calculating the carbohydrates in various foods, you can reduce the number of carbs by the grams of fiber.

Meal and Snack Ideas

The controversy surrounding high fat, low carb diets may have you believing that participants quickly grow tired of bacon and eggs, butter and steak, and salad dressing, but there are a plethora of options available when you combine research with creativity. If you subscribed to the once popular low-fat diet, wherein high carbohydrate, highly processed foods were all the rage, you will need to adjust your thinking, but again, you can find an abundance of ideas online. Try searching for recipes for "fat bombs", which range anywhere from chocolate cream cheese to spicy pecans and serve as convenient high-fat snacks to curb your appetite. Search for "oopsie" or "cloud" bread made from eggs, cream cheese, and cream of tartar. Avocados are another favorite in the health community, not only for this fruit's high level of fat, comprised of 77% to be exact, but the health benefits of monounsaturated fats and oleic acid.

The great news is that you can eat fat and lose fat. Even better, with a little bit of planning, you can enjoy real food with variety and healthy options. Do your research and set realistic expectations and you will be surprised at what a little fat can do for you.