Low-fat is soooooo last year!

So I had a text from my Mum the other day (if you haven’t met my mum, you should, she’s pretty awesome, think of a care bear mixed with the Mad Hatter, sweet and caring but mad as a march hare, got that image? Yep that’s her; now let’s carry on with the story…) She was sending to me yet more measurements she has taken to track her fat loss over the past two months. And I am pleased to say that yet again, they had gone down. It has been a slow and steady decline working on just pure nutrition with some extra walking thrown into the spice. She is doing really well and I am dead proud of her, but anyway I am not here to promote my mums super efforts (but I’m doing a pretty good job right? 😉 ); I am here to tell you HOW she has done it.

Mum came to me to ask what she should and shouldn’t be eating as she had her holiday coming up and wanted to lose some weight so that she could feel comfortable in her bikini. I told her the usual, cut out sugary and processed foods and eat more fresh meat and veg… but my next piece of advice came as a shock to her, albeit a nice shock… I told her that she can still eat full fat dairy… now before you recoil in horror and chuck your computer out of the window in protest, please hear me out….

  Bet you wouldn’t argue about milk with him!

Fat is very often overlooked in peoples bid to lose weight as they are led to believe by the media and advertising that this three letter word is the very root cause of the nation’s obesity problems. And in some cases this is true, the manufactured fats found in processed foods (along with lots of other horrible chemicals and toxins thrown in) will contribute towards an increase in body fat and general poor health. But it’s the good fats in life that you need to include in your diet, after all (good) fat does not make you fat. Fat is essential as it has a major role in the body in terms of hormone production, brain productivity, increasing energy and helping maintain a lean physique. And this is only skimming (no pun intended!) the surface of what good fats can do for you. Some good fats are also essential fatty acids; this means that your body can’t produce the nutrient itself; therefore you must get it from an outside source.

 Who would want to ruin nature with a face like this? 😉

When you think about it, low-fat dairy almost is a processed food. After all, we all know that the full fat versions are pretty much what comes out of the animal. The low-fat versions are processed to remove the fat and in some cases replaced with sugar or cheap oils or some other flavour enhancing agent (especially yoghurts), taking the food as far away from its natural state as possible. In terms of healthy eating, I believe that you are much better off eating food the way nature intended, fresh and if possible organic, just the way it has been consumed for hundreds of years by humans. After all have you ever noticed the coincidence of global obesity becoming a problem after all these low-fat foods came into fruition?

Now, before you run off with a huge grin and knock up a plate of cheddar cheese with a layer of full fat butter soaked in full fat milk and yoghurt on the side, I must mention that these should still be consumed in moderation. On the scale of good fats full fat dairy is still at the bottom. Therefore my mum happily consumes these as and when, but it hasn’t become the main staple of her diet, she has instead learned that when they are called for in a meal, she can bask in the glory of eating dairy as nature intended. However, she has increased her consumption of good essential fats on the other end of the scale. These are the super healthy fats that should be included in your diet every day and will contribute towards your fat loss goals and give you the bright healthy looking skin and shiny strong hair you desire (among all the internal benefits you will reap too!).  What’s more fats can help with satiety (the feeling of being full) so in turn will keep you fuller for longer reducing the chances of over-eating.

     looks pretty good!

You can include good fats in your diet by eating foods such as nuts, seeds, olives and olive oil, oily fish (salmon, mackerel etc), flaxseed and flaxseed oil, coconut and coconut oil and avocados. All these foods are pretty versatile to so can be easy to incorporate into your daily food intake. Just Google the ingredient to get thousands of results with endless recipes!

So that’s it! Now remember I mentioned that my mum has been losing her body fat through pure nutrition, so imagine your results if you included this with a regular exercise regime! You will have those Jessica Ennis abs before you even know it….. 😉

Thanks for reading!