As a population, we tend to demonize foods that the authorities tell us are bad for us. One minute it’s carbs, fats the next. Fats became public enemy number one to dieters everywhere after Ansel Key’s Lipid-Hypothesis! I’m here to tell you why fats won’t necessarily make you fat and to provide you with three, amazing healthy fats for weight loss.
Your trainer today: Vinny Russo, a Bodybuilding.com sponsored athlete and personal trainer. Find out more at www.VinnyRusso.com or on instagram @vrusso10
Image of Vinny Russo, courtesy of Bodybuilding.com
The first thing to know is that fats, or any other macronutrient for that matter, will not make you fat in a calorie controlled diet. Natural fats are definitely no exception – nor will they contribute to heart disease as part of an overall, healthy diet.
Due to fats being calorically dense (they provide a lot of calories in small amounts), we need to control how much total fat we add to our diet. Remember, if you over-indulge in anything, even water, it can have negative sides.
The following 3 fat-based foods will not only help you to burn fat when you’re in a calorie deficit, but they’ll also enhance your health if added to your nutrition plan.
3 healthy fats for weight loss
1. Avocado
Holy guacamole – avocados should be put in a class by themselves. Avocado is a fruit that provides the body with kind of monounsaturated fats that keep your overall cholesterol health in check and is also high in fiber, vitamins K, B5, B6 and C, folate, and potassium.
In terms of potassium alone, avocados present twice as much potassium than that of bananas.
Avocados also contain anti-inflammatory properties as well as the ability to help protect against liver damage.
The easiest way to include avocados in your diet is by adding them to your salads. The addition of avocados will add a rich creamy texture and flavor that will enhance any salad you put them in. I love to use avocados as a mayo substitute for my tuna fish, or by making devilled eggs with them.
The options are limitless, making avocado one of my favorite healthy fats for weight loss and health.
Top tip:
To find out if avocados are ripe, just peel off the stem at the top of the avocado. If it doesn’t come off easily, then the fruit is not ripe enough. If it comes off easy and the skin is brown, then the fruit is overripe, but if the skin is green, then you’ve got the green light (pun fully intended.)
2. Almond Butter
In terms of nut butters, almond butter has a better nutritional profile, and it does not contain high amounts of salt when compared to the other nut butters available. Almond butter is simply ground almonds, and as your read earlier, it will retain all the benefits that almonds present.
When buying almond butter you want to buy the brands that show no added sugars or oils in the ingredients. Find then all-natural almond butter that’s free of hydrogenated fats and other additives by checking the nutrition label. The list of ingredients should only contain almonds, or almonds and salt.
The fiber content and amount of unsaturated fatty acids makes this spoonful of delight a heart healthy choice!
Almond butter contains:
- High amounts of vitamin E (contributes to proper cell to cell communication in the body)
- Magnesium (produces energy and helps contribute to overall bone health)
- Copper (aids in proper functioning of the nervous system)
- Calcium (needed for overall bone health as well as muscle function)
My favorite way to incorporate the multiple benefits almond butter provides is by topping my cooked oatmeal off with it.
Top tip:
After I cook my oats, while they are still steaming hot, I’ll add 1 tablespoon of MaraNatha (raw, natural, no salt added) Almond Butter which contains 8g of fat, 3.5g of protein, and 3g of carbs (1g of sugar), and spread it over the top of my oats.
I like to cook my oats to a dry, solid-like texture, which makes the spreading process easy.
3. Grass fed butter
The public has been convinced that butter is unhealthy via the fat-free hoopla started in the 1960’s. Once considered the food of the Gods, it’s now associated with obesity and heart disease. While this is true if butter is overeaten, it’s true of almost all foods.
Butter in itself carries many health and weight loss benefits – milk fat in butter comes in a saturated form which contains hundreds of fatty acids and ample amounts of vitamins. The fatty acid CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which has been used as a fat loss supplement, is five times more concentrated in butter coming from grass-fed cows than grain-fed cows.
Another fatty acid found in grass-fed butter is butyrate which helps fight inflammation within the body. High-fat dairy products from grass-fed cows are among the best sources of Vitamin K2 (has the ability to keep calcium out of your arteries), and has three times as much vitamin A and E than confinement butter.
Grass-fed butter is highly concentrated with omega-3s and the mineral selenium which is a powerful antioxidant.
Top Tip:
Do yourself a favor and throw out the margarine and the “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” (then what the hell is it?), and invest in grass-fed butter! In my opinion, the top 2 butters you should invest in are organic raw butter from grass-fed cows and pasteurized butter from grass-fed cows for maximum health and weight loss effect.
In summary, hopefully this piece has made you see that this topic is not as cut and dry as saying “Fat makes you fat”. Some fats certainly fit the bill and can reek havoc on your health, but there are some healthy fats for weight loss, fat loss and overall health benefits. Go try out these tasty fats as part of your healthy, fat loss nutrition plan.
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