"FATTY" Foods You CAN Eat

Hello again, well I stayed the same this week and I'm fine with that as I am now noticing that my clothes are starting to fit much better so I think I have lost a few inches instead

Below is an article by Mike Geary on foods that you should be having on a Healthy Eating Plan, see what you think......

7 "FATTY" Foods That Can Help You to Get a Flat Stomach (some of these will surprise you!)

These 7 shocking Fatty (but healthy) super-foods can actually help you to burn body fat faster!
by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
At this point, the anti-fat propaganda has died and almost everybody understands by now that eating fat doesn't necessarily make you fat. In fact, it's absolutely imperative to get enough healthy fats in your diet to keep your hormones balanced, blood sugar under control, and prevent cravings. Here are 7 examples of "fatty" foods that can actually HELP you to get lean...

1. Super Dark Chocolate (at least 72% cacao content or higher) - It might not be a secret anymore, but yes, dark chocolate (NOT milk chocolate) can be a very healthy food, even though it is technically calorie dense.
However, I would contend that dark chocolate can actually HELP you to burn off more body fat if you're the type of person that has a sweet tooth and likes to eat a lot of desserts. In this case, just 1 or 2 small squares of dark chocolate can many times satisfy your sweet tooth for only 30 or 40 calories as opposed to 500 calories for a piece of chocolate cake or a piece of pie.
Also some brands of dark chocolate that are in the mid 70's in % cacao content or higher, can have a fairly high ratio of fiber content (I've seen some brands have 5 grams of fiber out of 15 grams of total carbs per serving), and relatively low sugar content compared to the amount of healthy fats. In fact, that's one of the "tricks" I use to select a good quality chocolate... I look for more total fat than total carbs (or about the same number of grams of each).
The importance of that fact is that it means many dark chocolates will not greatly affect your blood sugar and will have a fairly blunted blood sugar response compared to other "sweets".
In addition, dark chocolate is also very rich in healthful antioxidants, including a powerful compound called theobromine which has been shown to help lower blood pressure and have other health benefits. The fat content in a good dark chocolate should come solely from the natural healthy fats occuring in cocoa butter and not from any other added fats. Any chocolates with added fats or other additives will generally not be as healthy.
The reason I say to choose dark chocolates with at least 72% cacao content is that the higher the % of cacao, the lower the % of sugar. However, this does mean that any chocolate over 80% cacao content will generally start to get a more bitter taste and have very little sweetness. If you like this type of taste, then the higher % cocao, the better. Otherwise, a good 75% dark chocolate is in my opinion an almost perfect combination of lightly sweet with a rich chocolate taste. Just remember to keep those daily quantities of chocolate small as it is calorie dense!
You can also reap the benefits of the antioxidants and fiber without all of the calories by using organic unsweetened cocoa powder in your smoothies or other recipes.
2. Coconut milk, coconut flour, and coconut oil -- Coconut milk and oil are great sources of a super healthy type of saturated fat called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), including a component called lauric acid, which is a powerful nutrient for your immune system, and is lacking in most western diets. In addition, MCTs are readily used for energy by the body and less likely to be stored as bodyfat compared to other types of fats.
Along with coconut milk and coconut oil as healthy fat choices, we've also got coconut flour as a healthier flour option for baking. Coconut flour is an extremely high fiber flour alternative (almost ALL of the carbs in this flour are fiber and not starch!). Coconut flour is also VERY high in protein compared to most flours and is also gluten free!
Just beware that if you're going to use coconut flour for baking, it absolutely NEEDS to be mixed with other flours as it sucks up moisture like crazy... I've made delicious baked goods by mixing coconut flour with almond flour and quinoa flour in equal parts, and adding slightly more liquid ingredients than the recipe calls for.
3. Grass-fed (pasture-raised) butter -- yes, delicious smooth and rich BUTTER (real butter, not deadly margarine!)... It's delicious, contains loads of healthy nutritional factors, and does NOT have to be avoided in order to get lean. In fact, I eat a couple pats of grass-fed butter daily and maintain single digit bodyfat most times of the year.
There's a lot of confusion about this topic... in fact, I just saw a TV show today that was talking about unhealthy foods and one of the first things they showed was butter. It just shows that the majority of the population has zero idea that butter (grass-fed only!) can actually be a healthy part of your diet.
In fact, there's even ample evidence that REAL butter can even help you to lose body fat for a couple of main reasons:
a. Grass-fed butter is known to have high levels of a healthy fat called CLA, which has been shown to have anti-cancer properties, and also has been shown to help burn abdominal fat and build lean muscle.
b. Grass-fed butter also has an ideal balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids (unlike conventional grain-fed butter) which helps fight inflammation in your body, and can help balance hormones.
c. The healthy fats in grass-fed butter also contain MCTs, which help to boost your immune system and are readily burned by the body for energy. The healthy fats in grass-fed butter also help to satisfy your appetite and control blood sugar levels, both of which help you to stay lean!
If you have a hard time finding a grass-fed butter at your grocery store, Kerrygold Irish butter is one of my favorites, and even though the label doesn't clearly state "grass-fed", the cows are 100% grass-fed on lush green pastures in Ireland. It's one of the richest butters in color that I've seen, which indicates high levels of carotenoids.
4. Whole Eggs, including the yolk (not just egg whites) -- Most people know that eggs are one of the highest quality sources of protein. However, most people don't know that the egg yolks are the healthiest part of the egg... that's where almost all of the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (such as lutein) are found in eggs.
In fact, the egg yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids. Also, the protein of whole eggs is more bio-available than egg whites alone due to a more balanced amino acid profile that the yolks help to build.
Just make sure to choose free-range organic eggs instead of normal grocery store eggs. Similar to the grass-fed beef scenerio, the nutrient content of the eggs and the balance between healthy omega-3 fatty acids and inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids (in excess) is controlled by the diet of the hens.
Chickens that are allowed to roam free outside and eat a more natural diet will give you healthier, more nutrient-rich eggs with a healthier fat balance compared with your typical grocery store eggs (that came from chickens fed nothing but soy and corn and crowded inside "egg factories" all day long).
 5. Grass-fed beef or bison (NOT the typical grocery store beef!) -- I know most people think that red meat is unhealthy for you, but that's because they do not understand how the health of the animal affects how healthy the meat is for consumption. Keep this in mind -- "an unhealthy animal provides unhealthy meat, but a healthy animal provides healthy meat".
Typical beef or bison that you see at the grocery store is raised on grains, mainly corn (and to some extent, soybeans). Soy and corn are NOT the natural diet of cattle or bison, and therefore changes the chemical balance of fats and other nutrients in the beef or bison. Grain-fed beef and bison is typically WAY too high in omega-6 fats and WAY too low in omega-3 fats. In addition, the practice of feeding cattle corn and soy as the main portion of their diet upsets their digestive system and makes them sick... and it also increases the amount of dangerous e-coli in the meat. This is not the case with grass-fed meat.
On the other hand, grass-fed beef from cattle and buffalo (or bison) that were raised on the type of natural foods that they were meant to eat in nature (grass and other forage), have much higher levels of healthy omega-3 fats and lower levels of inflammatory omega-6 fats (that most people already eat way too much of) compared to grain fed beef or bison.
Grass fed meats also typically contain up to 3 times the Vitamin E as in grain fed meats.
In addition, grass-fed meat from healthy cattle or bison also contain a special healthy fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in MUCH higher levels than grain-fed meat. CLA has been proven in scientific studies in recent years to help in burning fat and building lean muscle (which can help you lose weight!). These benefits are on top of the fact that grass-fed meats are some of the highest quality proteins that you can possibly eat... and this also aids in burning fat and building lean muscle.
Grass-fed meats are a little harder to find, but just ask your butcher or find a specialty grocery store and they usually have cuts available.
6. Avocados -- Even though avocados are typically thought of as a "fatty food", they are chock full of healthy fats! Not only is this fruit (yes, surprisingly, avocados are actually a fruit) super-high in monounsaturated fat, but also chock full of vitamins, minerals, micro-nutrients, and antioxidants.
Also, in my opinion, guacamole (mashed avocados with garlic, onion, tomato, pepper, etc) is one of the most delicious food toppings ever created, and you can be happy to know that it's also one of the healthiest toppings you can use on your foods. Try sliced avocados or guacamole on sandwiches, burgers, eggs or omelets, on salads or with fish, or as a delicious side to just about any meal.
The quality dose of healthy fats, fiber, and micronutrients that you get from avocados helps your body to maintain proper levels of hormones that help with fat loss and muscle building. Also, since avocados are an extremely satiating food, eating them helps to reduce your appetite in the hours after your meal. Say goodbye to junk food cravings and bring on that fat burning! I personally eat anywhere from a half to a full avocado DAILY and it only helps to keep me lean.
7. Nuts: Walnuts, Almonds, Pistachios, Pecans, Brazil Nuts, Macadamias, etc -- Yes, this is yet another "fatty food" that can actually help you burn belly fat! Although nuts are generally between 75-90% fat in terms of a ratio of fat calories to total calories, this is another type of food that is all healthy fats, along with high levels of micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Nuts are also a good source of fiber and protein, which of course, you know helps to control blood sugar and can aid in fat loss.
Nuts also help to maintain good levels of fat burning hormones in your body (adequate healthy fat intake is vitally important to hormone balance) as well as helping to control appetite and cravings so that you essentially eat less calories overall, even though you're consuming a high-fat food. My favorite healthy nuts are pecans, pistachios, almonds, macadamias, and walnuts, and by eating them in variety, you help to broaden the types of vitamins and minerals and also the balance of polyunsaturated to monounsaturated fats you obtain.
Try to find raw nuts instead of roasted nuts if you can, as it helps to maintain the quality and nutritional content of the healthy fats that you will eat.
Also, try to broaden your horizons beyond the typical peanut butter that most people eat, and try almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter, or macadamia butter to add variety to your diet.
One of the little "tricks" that I've used with clients when trying to cut down body fat is to have them eat a handful of nuts such as almonds or pecans about 20 minutes before lunch and dinner. This ends up being a perfect time to control your appetite before lunch or dinner and helps you to eat less overall calories on that meal.
I hope you enjoyed this look at some of the healthiest "fatty" fat-burning foods you can possibly eat. I could list a ton more, but wanted to give you a few of my favorites for now. Enjoy!

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Alison

Weightloss - It's Like Learning to Ride a Bike

Another 2 pound weight loss this morning, why oh why did I not find this eating plan earlier?  It's so easy to follow and as I am proving - it really does work!!

Have you ever tried to lose weight on a particular diet and failed?

If you answered yes to that question, all it means is that you are approaching weightloss in an unhelpful way.

Weightloss is not a pass or fail situation. Indeed it’s this attitude that leads so many people to giving up on their dreams of losing weight.

How many times have you heard people say -

"I tried to lose weight on that diet, but couldn't stick to it"

"I didn't have the willpower to stay on that diet, so I gave up"

Why do people talk like this? It's part of the "diet" culture. The way that most diets are promoted is by treating dieting like an exam. You either lose weight or you don't. If you succeed, well done - If you fail, sorry, bad luck.
And people who don't stick perfectly to the diet are "cheating".

But just like we wouldn't brush our teeth once and think that our teeth were clean for the rest of our lives, we shouldn't view losing weight as a one-off event that we either pass or fail.

Managing your weight is a process. It's something you need to learn, much like a child learns to ride a bike. When a child learns to ride a bike we don't tell them they've failed when they've fallen off. We encourage them to get up and try again. It would be a rare child indeed that started riding a bike the first time they tried it. Similarly, if you want to change the way you manage your weight, you are going to make a few mistakes before you get it right.

Therefore it isn't failure when you make a mistake on a diet; it is a necessary part of the process of discovering how to manage your weight successfully.

And part of this process includes being flexible with your approach. Not all methods work for all people. We are all different hence the approach that is most flexible for you is the one most likely to succeed. So you should be willing to try different strategies.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket and then give up when it doesn't work out.   If this happens - something doesn't work as well as it should then try something else. There really is no other way of finding a way to manage weight successfully.

Don't let a few setbacks put you off. You are learning a new way of doing things. You need to keep trying different things until you discover what works. And just like the child learning to ride a bike, the only way you can fail is by giving up.

For further information and help with the correct eating plan for you


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by Alison Cormack

Is Bread Making You Fat?

Hi, well another 2lbs weight loss this morning so I'm very pleased.  That's a total of 12lbs now in a matter of weeks and I'm beginning to change my shape so onwards and upwards for me

Below is an article from Isabel on Grains and Bread which may help if you are struggling with your Weight Loss

 Grains

For several million years, humans survived on a diet of animals and plants. As hunter gatherers, they ate whatever they could find. With the introduction of new farming practices 10,000 years ago, humans began eating sugar and starch (in the form of grains and potatoes).

Although 10,000 years sounds like a long time, it’s really only a fraction of a second in evolutionary terms and the human body and digestive system have not evolved to process and digest high amounts of carbohydrates from starch and sugar rich diets. Genetically speaking, humans still have the bodies of cavemen.

Carbohydrates

Most Americans eat far too many carbohydrates—in the form of bread, cereal, pasta, corn (a grain, not a vegetable), rice, potatoes, and processed cakes and snacks—with severe consequences to their health.  Making matters worse, most of these carbohydrates are consumed in the form of processed foods. After 130 years of consuming highly processed grains in the form of breads, pastries, and cereals, chronic diseases such as heart disease, elevated cholesterol, and obesity are rampant among most industrialized nations.

I do not suggest that everyone should follow a low-carbohydrate diet; everyone needs a certain amount of carbohydrates. What most people haven’t realized is that the body’s storage capacity for carbohydrates is quite limited, and any excess is stored as fat. Therefore, it is important to remember that vegetables and fruits also contain carbohydrates.

Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates generates a rapid rise in blood glucose (sugar). To compensate for this increase, the pancreas secretes insulin into the bloodstream, which lowers the glucose. Insulin, though, is essentially a hormone that stores excess carbohydrate calories (as fat in the thighs, abdomen, and buttocks) in case of famine. Even worse, high insulin levels suppress two other important hormones: glucagon and human growth hormone, which regulate the burning of fat and promote muscle development, respectively. So, the insulin from excess carbohydrates promotes fat, and then inhibits the body’s ability to lose that fat.

The goal to successful weight loss is to first find the right quantity of carbohydrates that provide enough fuel and energy for the day (but not so many that we end up storing most of it as fat), then consume the right kind of carbohydrates to feel good and satiated after a meal.

Bread

Probably the most consumed and most popular of all carbohydrates among Americans is bread. Americans consume far too much bread, and the negative effects of its consumption are manifest in poor health and excess weight. Americans also consume the wrong kinds of bread.

The only bread allowed on the Diet Solution Program is Food for Life brand’s Ezekiel organic sprouted whole grain products. The process of sprouting changes a grain’s composition in numerous ways to make it more beneficial as a food. It increases the content of vitamins dramatically.

The whole wheat bread that the American public has been led to believe is healthy contains processed wheat, which is deficient in nutrients. Hence the extremely high prevalence among Americans of digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome and constipation.

Chronic constipation can lead to many potentially dangerous health disorders and also can make losing weight quite difficult. Simply replacing bread with sprouted grain bread can radically improve your digestion and your ability to lose weight.

Note that if you are intolerant of gluten or wheat, then you also will be intolerant of Ezekiel organic sprouted whole grain bread. Even though sprouted grains are healthy foods for most people, the Ezekiel ingredients include wheat and other grains that contain gluten.

Gluten Intolerance

Many people cannot digest gluten—a protein found in wheat and some other grains that forms the structure of bread dough and suffer from mild to severe gluten intolerance. Possible symptoms of gluten intolerance include

abdominal pain and cramping

bloating and flatulence

bone and joint pain

chronic diarrhoea

emotional disturbances such as anxiety and depression

fatigue (especially after eating gluten containing foods)

infertility

painful skin rash

weight gain or the inability to lose weight

If you suspect that you may be intolerant to gluten, I encourage you to eliminate gluten from your diet for at least 4–6 weeks to determine whether your symptoms are alleviated.

If you feel relief  after following a gluten-free diet for 4–6 weeks, then you may be able to maintain a healthy weight more easily without gluten. Because most individuals who are intolerant to gluten also are intolerant to dairy, lactose, or both, I encourage you to also eliminate dairy and dairy containing products while you’re on a gluten free diet.

Eliminating Grains

Many health experts recommend that people who suffer from chronic disease (e.g., diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease), have struggled with obesity their whole lives, or are genetically predisposed to obesity or chronic disease completely eliminate grains from their diet.

by Isabel De Los Rios

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