How Does Eating Fat Help You Lose Weight?

ByMike Collins

The role of fat in our diet can be confusing. One day it’s bad for you; the next day butter is best. With all the mixed messages, how are we supposed to know?

There’s no reason to exclude healthy fat from your diet.

How Does Eating Fat Help You Lose Weight?

Assuming you’re following proper nutritional principles with the rest of your diet and not consuming an overabundance of calories, we actually recommend that you get fat in your diet, as minimizing dietary fat (i.e., consuming less than 10% of calories from fat) will result in a weight loss plateau.

Which Dietary Fats Help You Lose Weight?

Olive Oil

Extra virgin olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil is perfect for salad dressings, dips, and spreads. Use it in place of butter or other oils when cooking at low temperatures, or add it to your food after cooking.

Although olive oil contains a relatively high Omega – 6 to Omega – 3 ratio (one of the problems with the modern diet is over consumption of Omega – 6 fatty acids to Omega – 3 fatty acids), its role in healthy eating is well documented.

It has been shown in studies to decrease risk of colon cancer and contains antioxidants such as Vitamin E and polyphenols.

Just don’t cook with it – the unsaturated fatty acids in extra virgin olive oil are easily damaged by high temperatures, causing oxidative damage to the oil.

Virgin Coconut Oil

virgin coconut oil
Coconut oil has a bad reputation because it’s high in saturated fat. But the truth is, this type of fat isn’t the enemy. In fact, it can actually help you lose weight!

Because it contains a high amount of saturated fats, coconut oil is considered safe to cook with at high temperatures since its chemical structure is stable enough to resist those high temperatures.

Although it’s high in saturated fat, studies show that the special fatty acids in coconut oil (medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs) are reported to deliver a myriad number of health benefits, such as metabolic stimulation (weight loss), improved immunity, and great skin.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

fish oil capsules
Most people think of fish oil as a health supplement, but they don’t realize that it can also help with weight loss. The Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil helps you lose weight by boosting your metabolism and preventing cravings.

An oil mix like Udo’s Oil (Omega-3,6,9) is helpful if you don’t normally get enough Omega – 3 fatty acids in your diet (a third-party certified organic fish oil is the best non-food source) and you don’t like oily fish or can’t sit down long enough to eat it.

The Omega – 9 fatty acids in these oil blends aren’t essential to your health, however.

Don’t Fear Fat

Eating a variety of fats is a good part of a sound weight loss approach. As long as you don’t go overboard and over consume calories, dietary fat consumption will only work to speed your weight loss.