Will Eating Fat Make You Fat????

Does Eating Fat Make You Fat?
The short answer is NO!!! We live in a society where everyone just believes "Oh if I eat fattening foods, I will gain fat" and they cut out all products that have fat and go to "no fat" or "low fat" products. Little do they know that they replace those fats with artificial junk, excess sugar and fillers! They have to ADD to take that fat away. When you eat more carbs and protein that your body isn't using, then that gets stored as fat, not good healthy fats.  Also, eating an excess about of calories a day will make you gain fat.

So Now What?
You NEED fat in your diet to survive and have everything working properly. Our bodies are made to have a certain amount of fat per day. This varies based on height, weight, gender, calories consumed, calories burned but roughly you should have about 20% to 30% of your calories being fat. This does not mean you are going to rush to McDonalds and get a Big Mac because I said you need fat. You need to make sure you are eating the right kinds of fats.

Good Fats VS Bad Fats
There are "good" fats and "bad" fats. Good fats include Nuts, Avocado, Coconut Oil, Olives, Olive Oil, Fish and Peanut Butter and other Nut Butters. These are to be eaten in moderation and per the serving size (yeah put that spoonful of peanut butter down right now because I bet its 3 tbsp not the recommended 2 tbsp). These fats are the polyunsaturated fats and mono-saturated fats, which are essential to having your body run as it is supposed to.

So what are "bad" fats? These are fats that are man made. This includes your saturated fats and trans fats. This is why alot of products now are saying "no trans fats" because they are not good for your system. But PLEASE read your labels and do not always trust the front of food boxes. This is another reason why you should be eating whole foods because then you will know what it is made of. But back to bad fats. These fats are the fats that people talk about making you fat. Some of the bad fats your should be avoiding are anything deep fried (fast food places), whole milk, animal fats, butter, margarine, and hydrogenated oils (found in crackers, pastries and most processed foods).

What Should You Be Cooking With?

When you go to cook, make sure you are using healthy fats (avoid those sprays because you are probably using more then the recommend about anyways are they are full of chemicals). If you like sprays, switch to a oil mister that you can fill up with your own oils. And make sure you are using all natural dressings which healthy oils in well (the fat actually helps absorb some of those nutrients in your salad). 

I hope this helped clear up some confusing on fats and why which ones to eat and which ones not to eat. :)