We learned last week that one of the top diet myths is that your genes can prevent you from losing weight. Believing that you will never be able to lose weight due to your physical makeup can have a ripple effect, causing you to lose hope and give up. By understanding that you have more control over your body and its reactions to food, you can alter its reactions and achieve your weight loss goals. This week we will cover the last in our five top myths about dieting and weight loss. Read on to learn Diet Myth Number 5 in our set of 5 Diet Myths you need to know.
Diet Myth Number 5: All Fats Should be Avoided to Lose Weight
Since weight loss is typically a goal that is set due to an excess of body fat, the first thought may be to limit the amount of fats in a diet in order to decrease the fat in the body. While this is true for some forms of fat, it is a diet myth that you should cut all fats from your diet to lose weight. Instead, it is important to know which types of fats are bad for the body and can result in weight gain and which types of fats offer health benefits and should be included in the diet.
A Better Option
Instead of checking labels and eliminating those foods that contain fat, the best way to achieve weight loss is to understand the difference between the different types of fats in foods. Good fats are not only okay to eat, but are actually a necessary component to health. They provide the body with essential fatty acids and are the method by which fat-soluble vitamins get transported throughout the body where they need to go. In addition, unsaturated fats can help prevent the clogging of arteries over time. Instead of falling into the trap of this diet myth that all fat is bad, you should avoid certain types of fats – saturated fats and trans fats both are considered bad fats and should be avoided as much as possible. These are the types of fats in the diet that can raise bad cholesterol and keep you from losing weight. The bad fats that you want to limit are those that are found in animal fat, creams, butters, and most types of cooking oils. In addition, read all labels of snack foods and other foods to keep trans fats and saturated fats to a minimum.
Busting the Diet Myth
In order to truly bust the diet myth, you not only need to know which fats are bad and should be avoided, but you need to learn where to find those good fats that can help achieve better health. The following is a list of sources of the good fat that should be included in a diet:
Oils that come from beans or seeds – this includes sesame oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, olive oil
Avocados
Nuts – this includes most types of nuts, such as pistachios, peanuts and almonds
Tub margarine – be sure to check the labels
Nut butter – Almond butter, peanut butter, etc.
Although the good types of fats will not prevent you from losing weight, and offer health benefits, they should still only make up a small portion of your diet in order to achieve your weight loss goals.
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