Fat Doesn't Make You Fat--So Eat It

  When I struggled with an eating disorder in high school, the first thing I eliminated was any food with fat in it.

I went right for the fat-free yogurt, stopped eating ice cream, told my (poor, confused) mother to buy skim milk (we had been a 2% household) and ate Lean Cuisine meals with 5 grams of fat or less.

OMG.

Why? Why did I do this? Why did I never stop to think how much sugar or carbs or sodium was in the foods I ate and only focused on the fat content?

Why? Because that was all over the media. It was in every magazine, commercial and on the lips of my friends. Fat-free this and fat-free that.

It continued for years until I became a certified health coach in 2009 and learned that fat is actually essential for healthy brains, skin, hair and bodies. I learned that they replace the fat with more sugar to make it taste better.

And I thought that was just plain silly.

So, I stopped eating frozen yogurt and low-fat cheese and yogurt. I started reading food labels more clearly and saw the high amounts of sugar and/or sodium on low-fat foods. I started eating fat again. I started eating FULL FAT ice cream, yogurt, cheese and sour cream. I started eating more avocados, more butter, more nuts and healthy oils like olive, coconut and sesame.

And I noticed my hair looked better. My skin glowed. My nails grew like weeds. My brain functioned more efficiently -- and does even better the less sugar I eat.

I didn't gain weight from eating fat. In fact, eating full-fat foods was so filling and satisfying I ate smaller portions and really savored the flavor. I didn't eat as much because the quality of what I was eating was so much better.

And that's what I do now. And why I do it. Otherwise, I don't think I would be enjoying those mochas from Diesel cafe that I adore so very much. ;)

Have you tried this? Are you curious about making the shift from fat-free to full-fat foods? Drop a line and share your thoughts.