Having trouble losing weight? You may need to add more fat to your diet.
Contrary to popular belief, fat doesn’t make you fat. In fact, you need fat to lose fat – at least the healthy kind. While you want to avoid trans fats found in crusts and baked goods, and saturated fats found in processed and grain-fed meats, you don’t want to cut healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats from your diet. Research shows that healthy fats can help control your appetite, which means it can help you eat less throughout the day and lose weight!
One of the best fat-burning sources are almonds. A study from the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders found that people who eat almonds lose more weight on a calorie restricted diet than those who don’t. Researchers compared two diets over the course of six months – a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet (18% fat), and a moderate-fat diet (30% fat) supplemented with almonds. Both groups consumed the same amount of total calories, but the group who ate almonds lost more weight than the low-fat group. The almond eaters also experienced a 50 percent greater waistline reduction!
According to Men’s Health, almonds contain compounds that limit the amount of fat absorbed by the body, with some of it passing through undigested. Add slices almond to cereal, yogurt, salads, and oatmeal, or just eat them by the handful! Just be sure to keep your total caloric intake in check; almonds may be a health food, but they still have calories!
