The Skinny on Fat

A seminar on craving-free weight loss

Why Protein?

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Protein (fish, poultry, eggs, meat) is the basic building block of your body and a major component of almost every system from muscle, to hormones, to digestive juices, to skin and hair… and much more.

Diets rich in carbohydrate (for example, pasta, rice, bread, desserts, etc). are often “enjoyed” at the expense of containing too little protein.  Since your body needs protein daily, if you don’t consume enough, your body “steals” protein from the systems mentioned above.  Essentially, you cannibalize yourself to get the building blocks you need.  And body functions start to deteriorate.  This breakdown and dysfunction are partially caused by a moderately addictive, non-essential macronutrient… carbohydrate.

If you have to choose only one of the 3 macronutrients (fat, protein or non-essential carbohydrate), choose protein because it enables your body to manufacture the other two.

Protein…  Your #1 nutrient!

Are Carbohydrates a “Poison”?

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Yes… when consumed in excess, carbohydrates are toxic to our system.  For this discussion, carbohydrate refers to sugar and starch (such as bakery, most fruit, grains and potatoes).

Humans can store very little carbohydrate for our immediate energy needs.  For most of us, our liver can make all the carbohydrate we need.  Since an individual can store only about ¼ pound of glycogen (the storage form of sugar), the excess beyond ¼ pound is stored as fat!

That’s right… Those extra pounds didn’t come from the fat you consumed, but from the carbohydrate you consumed and didn’t use for energy.  Although individuals differ in their ability to burn carbs based on many variables (i.e. age, amount of muscle, genetics, etc.), 50 to 100 grams of low glycemic load carbohydrate is adequate for most people.

What else happens when excess carbs are consumed?  The complex process of converting excess carbohydrate into fat storage sets off a cascade of destructive hormonal and other physiological activities that overload the system and can lead to disease and health issues.

Beware of excess carbohydrate consumption!

Note:  The addictive (yes, addictive!) properties of carbohydrates will be discussed in another blog.

 

 

Yes! Fat IS your friend.

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OliveOil4Fat and cholesterol are related and your body needs both.  For most of us, consuming fat helps us maintain healthy cholesterol levels.  Although “common knowledge” says that lowering cholesterol reduces cardiovascular disease, that’s a myth.  At least 50% of heart attack patients have cholesterol levels (including so called “bad” LDL) that are at, or below, normal laboratory values.

You don’t make fat by eating fat.  In fact, we want to make fat your principal energy source and burn up the storage “pantries” from your waist, thighs, hips, etc.  Using fat as your primary fuel also helps satiate hunger and turn off cravings… hormonally!

Cholesterol is a major ingredient in hormone production and is important for the formation of sex hormones, blood pressure hormones and others.

There’s confusion about good vs bad fat.  But, there are more important things to understand for now.  However, trans fat is an unhealthy, mostly artificial product to avoid, so get rid of it now and we’ll talk about why in another blog.

Help turn off cravings hormonally with cheese, nuts, eggs, bratwurst, sausage, bacon and other “fatty” foods.  If you like fried food (not fried carbohydrates like french fries!), just use long-chain fats like butter, lard and extra virgin olive oil.  Don’t fry with short-chain fats like corn oil.  While this contradicts what you’ve been taught for decades, fat is your friend.

Fat, fat, fat…  Eat it!

Filed Under: Fat