Eat Fat to Get Lean! Principle #7

Did I seriously just say that..Eat Fat to Get Lean????  Yes, I did.. Americans start getting fatter, when the "low fat" craze came along. Why is that??
First of all one of the problems is that sometimes "fat free" is also, well, taste free. And to make up for that lack of taste, food manufacturers tend to pour other ingredients -- especially sugar, flour, thickeners and salt -- into the products. This boosts the calorie content. They replace the fat with carbs. Fat doesn't make you fat sugar makes you fat.  That includes starches..they are just complex chains of sugar.  Most low-fat diets are high in carbohydrates, so sugar and refined foods replace fatty foods. This encourages a blood sugar problem that, in turn, makes it harder to maintain weight control. This is the reason, very low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets can often cause fatigue, mood swings and sugar craving.  Am I saying eat no carbs??.. No, fruits and veggies still have carbs.

It's not about fat itself, it's about eating good fats.  In order to build a lean body full of healthy muscle you need fat.  Fat is a molecule of energy that can either be rapidly metabolized or not.  It has to do with the make up of the fat molecule.  So this is where it is important to understand good fat and bad fats
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Good fat are monosaturated and polysaturated fats. These come from sources like fish, nuts, olive and canola oil, seeds, avocados, coconut, lean protein sources.  I eat chicken and beef.  Yep, beef.  Red meat is not a problem if you eat a lean cut. It's not the meat, it's how the cow is raised.  When companies inject hormones, antibiotics, and feed them corn to fatten them up..of course it's going to have effects on our bodies after we eat that. 
 I buy my beef from a local farm and friend from church.  Wendi is the prettiest, sweetest farmer I know :) She sells me my beef, eggs, and some veggies when they have extra to sell. According to studies, I like the mayo clinic studies, grass fed, hormone free beef is higher in omega fats and lower in saturated fats..see that here.  I eat eggs too. The same thing goes with the chickens as with the cows.  Did you know an egg from a chicken that is free range, organic, no hormones and junk have a lower cholesterol content??? It has 1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, twice as much omega-3 fatty acids, and 7 times more beta carotene.  Hmmmm  Here is a trend..when manufacturers and farmers alter and try to improve on God's creations, there are ill effects on our bodies.

Bad fats are saturated fats and trans fats. Bad fat consumption will lead to heart disease and high cholesterol.  Most fats that have a high percentage of saturated fat or trans fat are solid at room temperature. Because of this, they're typically referred to as solid fats. They include beef fat, pork fat, shortening, stick margarine.  Notice I didn't just say "beef" "pork" it says the fat part. So choose a lean cut of the meat, don't avoid it. And check out how it's raised. It does matter. They sell it in the grocery store too. Make sure it says antibiotic,hormone free. Those are the words to look for in all meats. 


Check out what trans fats are.  Not surprising..they are the worst. Where did the come from?
Trans fat. This is a type of fat that occurs naturally in some foods, especially foods from animals. But most trans fats are made during food processing through partial hydrogenation of unsaturated fats. This process creates fats that are easier to cook with and less likely to spoil than are naturally occurring oils. These trans fats are called industrial or synthetic trans fats. Research studies show that synthetic trans fat can increase unhealthy LDL cholesterol and lower healthy high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. This can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.

So..our bodies need fat to be healthy and lean..so choose the good kind.