Life Fit Chat with Laura Lewis: Eat Fat To Lose Fat

Life Fit Chat with That's Fit Life Fit Expert Laura Lewis brings conversation provoking tidbits to your table, served up with a touch of spice! Byte-sized information that pack some punch, brought to you every Wednesday and Thursday!
If you are one who still thinks losing weight is all about eating a "no fat, low fat diet," then it's time to get up to speed. You need to eat fat -- good fat -- every day. I came across a great article in Wired magazine that was published a few years ago that makes a great point about WHY fat is essential!

If you don't eat fat, your liver isn't happy. You need to give it fat, eaten by YOU, so it is able to efficiently do its job which, includes telling the body to burn stored "older" fat on the body. Including good fats in your diet on a daily basis, such as ground flax seeds on your oatmeal or salads, fatty fish, delicious extra virgin olive oil, almonds and even real butter (make it organic), helps your body to mobilize stored fats. Gotta love that!

A balanced diet, that includes a variety of nuts and seeds, fresh fruits and veggies, lean protein, a moderate amount of good fat as well as whole grains is what your body needs in order to be optimally healthy. What about supplements? Personally, I must admit, I do have an arsenal of supplements I take every day. I eat well but not THAT well! But I really find it makes a difference, especially in the area of ingesting good fat via flax and fish oil supplements on a daily basis! With my Scottish-Irish American heritage, genetically I am prone to need more essential fats than others in my diet. By the way, did you know fair-skinned red heads especially need to pay attention to this. Two out of three of my kids are red heads ... believe me, I KNOW! One symptom of needing more essential fat in your diet can be as simple as dry skin! If I miss my essential fats for a few days, then it shows up as dry skin as a reminder. It's that simple.Are you low in essential fat? Check out these symptoms:

• depression
• brittle hair and nails
• inflammation
• memory problems
• dyslexia
  
• ADHD
• cracked heels or fingertips
• eczema
• allergies
• elevated cholesterol
• cardiovascular disease
• dry eyes
• poor wound healing
• weight gain
• weakness
• fatigue
• suppressed immunity

Ramp up your good fats and get healthy and lean!