As obesity in the US becomes an epidemic, more and more people are going on a diet. Is there a connection? The fact that diet foods such as low-fat and low-carb products are a $7.6 billion-a-year business might have something to do with it. Is the food industry keeping you fat with processed foods, so it can sell you more diet products? And is avoidance of both processed and diet foods the only solution for weight loss?

Fat loss nutrition needs to be understood, along with the right kind of exercise, to ensure successful and healthy weight loss. Many diets are not balanced and are not designed to encourage healthy eating habits to help you keep the weight off once you stop the diet. When the weight creeps back on, people turn back to the multi-million dollar diet industry for help. Fat loss nutrition takes a more balanced approach. You should be thinking of about 4 grams of carbohydrate and 1.5 grams of fat for every 3 grams of protein you eat at a meal. The types of fat, carbohydrate and protein you eat are crucial.

Good Fats and Bad Fats

Low-fat is the myth that has fuelled the diet industry, with complete disregard to the quality of fat you consume. The 'ugly fats' are the 'trans' fats or hydrogenated fats in fried and processed foods which are the toxic fats that are dumped in the body's fat tissues. These fats are difficult to shift, so fat loss nutrition has to increase the balance of good fats. Although omega-6 fat is a 'good fat', our diet contains too much of it in relation to the other 'good fat' omega-3. This imbalance contributes to insulin resistance (see Carbohydrates below for more information). So, not only do you need to reduce your omega-6 fat intake (vegetable oils, grain-fed beef and many processed foods), you need to increase your omega-3 fats (in fish, fish-oil capsules, or flaxseed oil). This will bring your essential fat intake (and yes, they are essential to health) to a more balanced one-to-one ratio.

Saturated fat is not the enemy it once was - a myth perpetuated by the polyunsaturated vegetable oil industry. Coconut oil, which is a good saturated fat, has been shown to increase weight loss as it helps to stimulate metabolism, and regulate blood sugar, so even helps in burning fat for energy. You might be surprised to know that it is also good for your heart, as well as being a weapon in the fat loss nutrition arsenal.

As coconut oil is such a stable fat it is the best fat to use for cooking. Save your extra-virgin olive oil for salad dressings.

Fat Loss Nutrition: Carbohydrates

The key to fat loss nutrition is blood sugar balance. You need to reverse the insulin resistance that contributed by processed foods to burn off the fat. The excess of carbohydrates from our starchy and sugary diet is a far greater contributor to weight gain than the fat on its own. The combination of wrong fats and wrong carbohydrates is the route to an unhealthy lifestyle.

Our diet of bread, cereal, pasta, corn, rice and potatoes, mostly as processed food is primarily responsible for our bulging stomachs and rolls of fat. These processed carbohydrates lead to too much insulin being produced, which leads to insulin-resistance. Your body has no choice but to turn the sugar into fat. Good for the diet food industry, but not for you.

Fat loss Nutrition Tip: Fiber plays a powerful role in weight control. Brown rice and vegetables are high in fiber. When you do eat grains, make sure they are whole grains.

Fat Loss Nutrition: Protein

Protein helps to stabilize blood sugar by slowing down the digestion of carbohydrates, which means that you do not get a sugar surge. This does not mean eating red meat at every meal, which is associated with higher risk of colon and possibly prostate cancer. There are plenty of other sources of protein to choose from such as lean white meat, fish, beans and lentils.

The fat loss nutrition approach means that even snacking on a handful of pumpkin seeds with an apple can help to slow down the sugar release.

Balance and Quality

Yes, it is. Weight loss has less to do with willpower than the balance of fat loss nutrition and the quality of foods. The right exercise helps too. Just avoid all the low-fat, low-carb, high-protein, high-fat diet fads and processed foods where you can. You will not have to worry about quantity of food or feeling hungry when the fat loss nutrition is under control and you keep your blood sugar balanced.

Article Source: http://www.healthyfad.com

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