It’s Hump Day. Whoot Whoot!

If you don’t recognize the title of this post, it is from the GEICO commercial “happier than a camel on Wednesday.” It makes me laugh every time I see it. So HAPPY HUMP DAY!

Now onto the topic of the day. Dietary fats in our diet. I’ve heard a lot of my clients say they try to cut fat completely from their diet. While cutting unhealthy fats is smart, it’s not good to cut ALL fats.

DON’T FEAR FAT IN YOUR DIET!

Fat provides energy, without healthy “GOOD” fats we might feel sluggish and have more cravings! Fats also play a key role in healthy digestion. Limiting bad fats like saturated fats and trans fats is also very important. Examples of bad fats are butter, cream, animal fats found in meats, margarine, etc.

Healthy Fats

1. Monosaturated fats-

Nuts & Nut butters, Olive Oil, Canola oil, Peanut Oil, Peanuts, Avocado, Olives

2. Polyunsaturted fats

Fatty fish (salmon, tuna etc), Walnuts, Flaxseeds, Soybean oil, Corn oil

When choosing your fats make sure to portion them out. There are 9 calories in each gram of fat, so the calories can pile up. Use a tablespoon to measure your oil when you cook. Remember a little bit goes a long way!

Here are some examples of ways I incorporate healthy fats into my day:

I try to eat fatty fish at least once per week. During the day I snack on trail mix that I throw together (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, almonds, and cranberries) I generally cook my dinners with olive oil and sometimes canola oil. I add avocado to my sandwiches instead of cheese.

Use your thumb as a measuring tool! I learned this from Chris Powell’s book Choose To Lose

Chris powell is one of my favorite personal trainers. He is the trainer on the ABC hit show Extreme Weight Loss.  In his book he recommends using your thumb from the base to the tip.