Our quality of life is determined by the quality of our thoughts, how we choose to fuel our bodies, and how well we move. Yet we are a society filled with negativity, fast food and apathetic attitudes.
As a Former Special Forces Soldier and now fitness advocate I am constantly trying to educate people on how to correctly look after their physical and mental health, but the one question I get most is, “Scott, what do I eat?”
Debunking The Myths
For breakfast everyday I have 4 Eggs, 2 rasher bacon, ½ an avocado and a cup of kale – oh, and an espresso of course.
For years the food industry shunned eating any form of fats, pushing the low fat diet in our faces. We ate fat-free carbohydrates, which, in turn, made us hungrier and then heavier than ever. As a nation we are currently the fattest we have ever been and dying of food related diseases. Quit listening to the billion dollar food industry and listen to the facts I am going to give you about eating a high fat diet for weight loss, and general health and wellbeing.
If you want to perform at your peak, have a shredded physique, and have enough energy to train the house down then it’s time you switch your body from using carbohydrates as fuel to a fat-burning machine.
Fats Improves Insulin Sensitivity & Accelerates Fat Burning
Your body requires a decent amount of fat to stay lean. Decreasing your carb intake and replacing it with healthy fats can improve your insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation, and support your metabolism.
The primary role of insulin is to regulate blood-sugar levels. Insulin acts like a switch, after eating within the first few hours you burn carbohydrates for energy and store the extra calories as fat. When the switch is off, and insulin depleted, you begin to burn fat as fuel.
Put simply, if you keep your insulin levels low you will be burning your own body fat. So switching out the high starchy carbs for a high fat alternative means accelerated fat burning. Our bodies were never designed to eat high starches or sugars. Grain products and concentrated sugars used to be absent from human nutrition.
Fat Crushes Food Cravings & Fill You Up For Longer
There’s nothing worse than eating a lower calorie diet that leaves you hungry all the time. Eating high healthy fat foods will fill you up for longer. Pair them up with a good dose of protein and it will curb your hunger and cravings substantially.
Insulin greatly affects how hungry you feel; it causes hunger by lowering your blood sugar. When you get too much insulin, your blood sugar drops and you will get ravenously hungry. This can lead to you consuming to much food and gaining weight.
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When you eat foods like white bread and potatoes they will spike your blood sugar levels with a surge of insulin within minutes so the resulting rush of insulin stores the blood sugar away for hours later, causing your blood sugar to be lower than before you ate.
This is when your body begins to think it has run out of fuel, but the insulin is still enough to prevent you from burning your own fat. The end result is hunger and a craving for more carbohydrates.
Fats Balance Hormones
Estrogen, testosterone, adrenaline and insulin are extremely important chemical massagers that affect many aspects of your overall health. The endocrine system works together to control the level of hormones circulating your body. Eating a variety of foods high in short, medium and long-chain fatty acids is key to keeping your hormones in check.
Your body needs various types of fats to create hormones, including saturated fat and cholesterol. Not only are these essential fats fundamental building blocks for hormone production, but they keep inflammation levels low, boost your metabolism and promote weight loss and greater overall muscle gain.
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At the end of the day, the body will adapt to what fuel source it is given, there is no decline in performance if you’re on a high fat diet as compared to a high carb diet. Whatever you may believe to have read in the past, do some more research and find out the facts. I choose to eat a greater proportion of my calories from fat to help me achieve optimal body composition and positive metabolic adaptions.
Not only will it help you stay lean, it will enhance your immune system, keep your bones healthy, provide energy and structural integrity for cells, protect the liver and enhance the body’s use of essential fatty acids. You wouldn’t put crap fuel in your Ferrari so why not start treating your body the same way?
Healthy Fats You Need To Eat
Consume fat the right way with these foods that are designed to work with your body.
- Salmon
- Avocado
- Coconut Oil
- Nut Butters
- Eggs
- Bacon
- Tuna in Olive Oil
- Butter
- Sugar-Free Cocoa and Chocolate
- Bulletproof Coffee
- Flaxseeds
- Coconut Milk
- Cream
- Olives
- Chicken Thigh
- Lamb
A Word Of Warning…
Be careful you don’t increase fats without lowering your carbohydrate intake or your body will be running two fuel sources and this will make you gain weight.
Scott Evennett is an ex-Australian Commando and a health, fitness and mindset expert. You can find his custom nutrition programs via his site