Does eating fat make you fat?

        I have a confession; I love butter and cream! Every time I eat this though in front of my friends or clients they always say, “Hey Russell, I thought fat is bad for you, why are you eating it?” Or they looked surprised and say, “Hey you eat dessert?” Does this sound familiar to some of you? Now, here are a few things I want to share with you about the principles of FAT.

Let's get this out in the open!
 1. Fats do not make you gain body fat.
 2. Fats do not put you on Heart Attack Row.
 3. Fats are not the enemy.

Fats are essential for your body's hormone production.

        Studies have been done to prove that fat does NOT make you fat. In fact extreme diets and lowering your fat intake too much can actually make you GAIN more fat and have the opposite affect. It’s all about moderation – eating good quality fat in balance with other food groups. In case some of you don’t know, there are good (HDL) and bad fats, so eat the right fat that is required for your body. Scientists wanted to prove this fact that fat doesn’t cause heart attacks and high cholesterol, they experimented by feeding people high fat diets over a period of time to see what the results were; guess what? The cholesterol levels of these people eating high fat diets actually didn’t change and had no adverse affects. So does that mean I can eat as much fat as I want??

No, but here’s my suggestion to eat fat correctly…

1. Fats still contain over twice the calories per gram as carbs and protein so you should still limited fat in your diet but no there’s no need to be scared of it.

2. Any kind of "fake fats" -- margarine or processed oils are highly dangerous foods.

Here's my simple dietary fats solution:

1. Eat fats as they occur in nature, but eat at least 80% as they "actually" occur in nature -- meaning from grass-fed and free-range sources. The extra cost is worth it. It tastes better and your medical costs will well offset the few dollars more per pound you pay.

2. Cook with a combination of olive oil and coconut oil, but use both sparingly. If you are eating plenty of animal protein you do not need excessive fats, not because of 'danger' but because of needless calories.
        Not a good idea if you're wanting to keep your abs. For me, I decided I didn’t want to keep my six pack anymore because I’ve had them my whole life and I don’t really care about it anymore so I think a bit of raw butter or olive oil can make bland veggies taste wonderful, so feel free if you are not working on your abs too!
        Also eat omega 3-rich fats like olive oil and fish (especially fish oil) help lower inflammation which is the real culprit behind heart disease in most cases.

3. Avoid lots of fats at night. The night-time meals should be high in lean protein (tuna, tofu, turkey breast) with very limited fats if you are want to really get lean. If you are just trying to shed bodyweight slowly, but it's okay to have some fats at night.

        We have consumed fat for countless thousands of years.

        Just consume it the way we always HAVE (naturally, not over processed) and you'll be fine.