Benefits of eating more fats
- Increased energy
- A lean waistline
- Clear and glowing skin
- Hormonal balance
- A balanced mood
These are just a few of the benefits you can expect if you increase the good fats in your diet. Think grassfed butter on your broccoli, extra coconut oil in your smoothies, grass finished marbled steak and delicious nut butters. Food just got a lot tastier.
Read on to find out how…
Training your body to tap into its fat stores for energy, instead of running on the sugar you eat, is the key to burning through stored body fat to reveal a leaner, more defined body. On top of this, detoxifying your body of sugar and filling it with essential fatty acids will give you glowing skin, improved digestion and endless energy. Not to mention, fat is scientifically proven to satiate, keep you fuller for longer and sustain your energy over longer periods of time – meaning no more of those dreadful cravings that can destroy even the best of intentions on a carbohydrate-based diet. Plus, the fat makes food taste better.
What is a sugar burner and why is it not ideal?
If you are starting your day with a “healthy” porridge, muesli or bowl of fruit you are a sugar burner, despite the fact that you might be eating supposedly “healthy” low GI carbohydrates (low GI refers to a food that releases energy into your system slowly). It’s no secret that sugar can be both toxic and an irritant to the body, not to mention disturbing to the natural rhythm of your digestive system. This is why sugar burners tend to have increased digestive issues and skin problems as well as insulin resistance which increases abdominal body fat spiralling inflammation even further.
Insulin is our key hormone for regulating levels of glucose (i.e.sugar) in the blood; when a person becomes insulin resistant, their body fails to respond properly to this hormone, meaning increased levels of sugar in the blood which is then stored as fat. The result? Weight gain.
So why are there some sugar burners that are not overweight? Their metabolisms are simply better (for now) at burning through all of their sugar stores and utilising insulin efficiently, but they are still creating more inflammation in their body, and a good metabolism, sadly, doesn’t last forever. Most of us, meanwhile, are not this lucky in the first place!
What is a fat burner and why is it optimal?
When you train your body to tap into its fat stores for energy, rather than running on sugar that you eat, you become what is referred to as “fat adapted”. What does this mean? Eating a higher percentage of fat, and a lower percentage of carbohydrates/sugar, leaves your body without its normal source of energy, glucose or sugar. It now has no choice but to turn to the fat you are consuming for energy. Once it gets used to this new energy source, it starts to produce ketone bodies: a type of acid that breaks down fat for energy. Your body has now switched gears, and is programmed to burn through fat as its primary energy source, so that once it has burned through the fats you eat, it will turn to that pesky stored body fat and burn right through it!
It’s a common misconception that we need carbohydrates for our bodies and brains to run efficiently; believe it or not, there is no physiological need to eat carbs. Your body has more than enough glycogen (effectively sugar) packed away in the liver to act as an efficient source of fuel for your brain and body, and in fact this type of energy production will keep your body energised for a much longer and steadier period of time. In this new fat burning mode, you will actually feel smarter, calmer and more “switched on”. Becoming a fat burner regulates your appetite and cravings will disappear in just a few days, releasing you from the constant food daydreams.
What are good sources of fat?
Here are some of our favourite sources of fat that you can easily incorporate into your diet:
Nuts
Chia Seeds
Nut and Seed Butters
Butter
Full fat yoghurt
Fatty fish (such as salmon and trout)
Eggs
Cheese
Avocados
Dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)
Oils (olive, coconut, avocado)
In summary, when you use fat as your main source of fuel you will have more energy, fat will melt away consistently and hormones are more likely to come into a natural state of balance.
