The Deadly Truth about diet soft driinks

Cheers to those hot summer days when we tend to crave something cold and refreshing. To cool our bodies down, we often reach out for a bottle of coke for example. Oh sorry, I meant to say - DIET coke, because of course, you don't want to drink your sugar. You know what I'm talking about, right?

In a world where foods are no longer grown but rather genetically modified, it is easy to believe that diet foods and drinks are better for our health because they say to have less sugar. Well, here is the truth bomb.

The sad truth is, that the sugar that has been removed needed to be replaced by some unnatural alternative. Such artificial sweeteners used in drinks (but also low-fat, fat-free or sugar-free products) can have a damaging effect on our health. Drinking 'diet' soda drinks have been linked to type 2 diabetes and even cancer. And did you know?

Drinking diet soft drinks can lead to weight gain as opposed to keeping the pounds off. This is because the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks increase cravings and messes up the body's natural metabolism. But that's not all!

Beverages with artificial sweeteners have been linked to increased risk of high blood pressure, inflammation, stroke, and heart attack. Knowing all of this now, would a diet coke next time be the solution to satisfy your thirst?

What To Do

The answer is really simple - stay hydrated with water. While water should be your main source of hydration, having an occasional soda drink is no reason for panic.

How To Hydrate

Let's start with the fact that water makes up roughly 60% of our body weight, and therefore you should drink water more often than you think.

Hunger can often be mistaken for thirst and dehydration. On top of helping manage your appetite, staying hydrated keeps your body functioning well and of course, helps with weight loss.

TRANSFORM Tip:

When you feel like water isn't satisfying or refreshing enough, which at the time may be true especially if you feel dehydrated during hot summer days or following a workout, there are healthy alternatives.

Coconut water is a great natural way to hydrate and it sure is refreshing, especially if served cold. You can also make your own electrolyte water by adding a pinch of salt, a little maple or agave syrup, a squeeze of lemon and if you fancy, add some cinnamon too!

Electrolyte-enhanced water contains potassium and sodium, which help your body absorb the water more quickly.

Struggling to make hydration your new habit? We can help!

Book your free consultation NOW, and learn more about your body and weight loss!

4 High-Protein, Egg-Free & Low Calories Breakfast

What comes to your mind when you think of high protein breakfast? We bet it's eggs! Eggs are the most popular breakfast food. Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. In fact, a whole egg contains all the nutrients needed to turn a single cell into an entire chicken.

But even when it comes to eggs - or any food for that matter, the good old - all in moderation - should be applied. Apart from being high in protein, egg also contain cholesterol. 

Did You Know?

A single medium-sized egg contains 186 mg of cholesterol, which is 62% of the recommended daily intake (RDI). In contrast, the white is mostly protein and low in cholesterol. Therefore, eating two or more eggs per day, will go over the recommended intake daily and can increase your bad cholesterol (LDL). 

1. PROTEIN RICH OVERNIGHT OATS

Ingredients (Serves: 1)

Directions

  1. Combine oats, milk, yogurt, almond butter, honey, spice, and apple in a 1-cup jar, stirring until very well blended.
  2. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
  3. Once Ready, stir before serving and sprinkle with walnuts.

Nutrition Information:

Per serving: Calories: 380; Total Fat: 14g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 5g; Cholesterol: 3mg; Sodium: 82mg; Carbohydrate: 52g; Dietary Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 19g; Protein: 18g

2. SMASHED AVOCADO WITH TOMATO, MOZZARELLA & BASIL

Ingredients (Serves: 1)

Directions

  1. Spread avocado on toast.
  2. Top with cheese and tomatoes and sprinkle with chopped basil.

Nutrition Information:

Per serving: Calories: 224; Total Fat: 24g; Saturated Fat: 10g; Monounsaturated Fat: 8g; Cholesterol: 38mg; Sodium: 136mg; Carbohydrate: 26g; Dietary Fiber: 10g; Sugar: 5g; Protein: 23g

high-protein-egg-free-breakfast

3. CHAI SMOOTHIE BOWL

Ingredients (Serves: 1)

high-protein-egg-free-breakfast

Directions

  1. Heat the milk, add a tea bag and steep 1 minute.
  2. Squeeze the bag and refrigerate until cooled.
  3. Discard tea bag and combine tea-milk mixture, yogurt, oats and seeds in a blender. 
  4. Cut the banana into pieces, setting aside a few slices for garnish, and add to yogurt mixture.
  5. Process until smooth and well blended.
  6. Divide mixture into bowls and top with mango, blueberries, and almonds.

Nutrition Information

Per serving: Calories: 263; Total Fat: 6g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 5mg; Sodium: 91mg; Carbohydrate: 38g; Dietary Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 16g; Protein: 17g

4. FLUFFY CHICKPEA OMELETTE 

Ingredients (Serves: 1)

Directions

  1. In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients, then add yogurt water and mix well. Add more water if needed to make a thick pour-able batter. Mix well and let sit for 2 minutes.
  2. In a non-sticking frying pan sautė tomato, onion and eventually add the prepared batter. Move the pan if you need to move the batter around.
  3. Cook for 5 - 7 minutes, the first pancake usually takes longer as the pan heats up.
  4. Flip it over very carefully and cook for another 2 - 3 mins on the other side. Serve hot with more veggies and a sauce of your choice.

What to eat before & after a workout

You are putting a lot of effort into your workouts so it is obvious that you expect to see progress in reaching your goals. Knowing what to eat and when can make all the difference to your fitness programme no matter what your goal is.

Following our recent blog on 5 QUESTIONS YOU DEFINITELY WANT TO ASK YOUR PERSONAL TRAINER, at Transform PT, we decided to address yet another well discussed topic.

eating before and after a workout

Eating before a workout?

An outgoing debate if people should eat before a workout or not may lead to lots of fights even between the best gym buddies. Whether you are a pre-workout food believer or not, let’s look at it in this way. Simply picture your body as a car – you can’t expect it to drive 200 miles without any petrol in the tank, can you?

When and What to Eat

Just like the car, our bodies need fuel. Ideally, you want to have some form of fuel in your system before a workout. Eating something small and simple about an hour or so before you head out for your workout is the way to go. Try fruit and yogurt, peanut butter on toast or avocado toast with a broiled egg - nothing that’s too much otherwise you will feel sluggish and heavy.

eating before and after a workout

On the other hand, not eating enough before a workout can make you feel dizzy or lightheaded. Not eating may also impact your performance and reduce results. You are also more likely to get injured. If you prefer to exercise first thing in the morning, try to at least have a banana or a sugar free protein bar on the go. Make sure to drink water before, during, and after exercise.

• We recommend to eat light meals and foods which contain simple carbohydrates and some protein 30 minutes to an hour before a workout - see ‘snacks’ examples bellow.

• Eating a meal with around 300 - 450 calories containing a good source of protein, complex carbohydrates, and little fat, 2-3 hours before a workout.

Reasons to eat before a workout:

1. Gives you more energy
2. Prevents muscle breakdown
3. Increase muscle recovery

Here are some tips on how to fuel up before a workout:

SNACKS

MEALS

Eating after a workout

The eating after a workout is no brainer. We all know just how important it is to replenish the body after a strenuous exercise. Luckily, most of us naturally have the desire to eat something considerably healthy following a workout.

Generally speaking, eating after a workout is important. You sort of ‘feed’ the muscles that you’ve just trained. Suggested is a small snack soon after you finish your sweat session - ideally something with protein and fibre rich carbohydrates. Following an hour or two later, would be the time for your main meal.

Benefits of eating nutritious meal after a workout:

• Increases muscle 'growth'
• Restores your glycogen levels
• Enhances recovery

Watch out!

eating before and after a workout

The most common post-workout mistake of eating too much and choosing less healthy options can sabotage all your hard work and efforts. If you burn 300 calories during your workout, you don’t want to be consuming a 500 calorie junk food. Period.

We highly recommend that you eat after a workout, as that is all about replacing the calories and nutrients you just burned. First of all you want to make sure to replenish the glycogen and electrolytes that you have lost during your exercise. Secondly, eating protein and complex carbs rich meal after a workout can help with speedy recovery of your muscles. This is especially important following a weight training session.

Not eating after a workout can result in fatigue and low blood sugar. You are also disturbing your body's natural repair process and in the long run it will be harder to reach your fitness goals.

Example foods to eat after a workout:

CARBS

PROTEIN

FATS

Is this post & pre-workout talk still a little too confusing? No worries - we got your back! Book your free consultation with us and let clear all the confusion up! 

Why to choose a Hove based personal trainer over a bootcamp

There are many ways to get in shape and a number of programmes to get you in shape. Choosing the right way of keeping fit can be just as tough as making it to the gym on your own and can be quite discouraging. There are also so many options: a personal trainers, gym membership, bootcamp… all these options can be overwhelming.

When making a choice you want to make sure you choose something that will make you feel comfortable, motivated and excited. This blog was written to help you find the right direction in choosing the right option for yourself.

In Hove, personal training and bootcamps are very popular, so let’s focus on these.

Bootcamps

When trying to loose weight or get healthier, it is important that you don't lack motivation and inspiration. In a group setting this key element can easily get lost due to these mixed fitness classes. Training in a crowded environment with a number of people with different goals, sizes and fitness levels can be truly demotivating.

Bootcamp classes aren’t tailored to each client’s needs, while one person may find the classes too easy, feel bored and not seeing any results, other people may find the classes too difficult and over-strenuous. The trainer will also not stop the whole class just because it is out of your capability.

You are not meeting your goals and aims, everyone follows the same workout routine, with no personal approach or progress tracking. Often these groups are large than comfortable. These bootcamps are designed to train as many people as possible at once to make their budget prices worth it.

Personal Trainer

Training with a personal trainer can be especially helpful when you have a particular goal or aim. Although the cost may initially turn you off from hiring a personal trainer, the benefits you’ll gain from training with a PT are definitely worth it.

Our lead trainer is Rob, he has been in this field for 12 years helping people in and near Hove area achieve their fitness goals and recover their health. 

Rob helped me to understand how my food, mood and activity all linked up together. I used to run and run without the results i was looking for. Now I have more strength, shape, muscle and confidence, and i feel life is generally more balanced. Highly recommend Rob’s calm, patient and knowledgeable approach 

~ Shinbone Palmer

> BOOK a free consultation with Rob HERE!

Let’s look at few benefits:

1. Personalised Approach

A Personal trainer will listen to your goals and build a programme to fit your need and achieve your aims. Your workouts will be upgraded as you progress through your fitness journey.

Sometimes when your goals seem a little too high fetch, your PT will help you to find a way to achieve one goal at the time, until you eventually get where you want to be without burning out of quitting.

2. Instruction

Often in a group setting your technique and form may be overlooked or ignored. With a personal trainer this would never happen as they help you perform exercises safely and correctly. Learning how to perform exercises the right way will also reduce risk of injuries.

3. Motivation

Motivation is never an easy thing to maintain in any prat of our lives, especially not when it comes to exercise. Having a regular sessions booked in is already a form of motivation, almost a positive habit (read our blog about What are Habits HERE).

Your trainer will also celebrate and complement you on your achievements which can work as a real boost! For example at TRANSFORM PT each month we select one of our amazing clients who did the best job, to congratulate them on their hard work.

4. Accountability

If you are one of those people who needs a little push or a proper kick in the a**, a personal trainer is a must. They will have your back when it comes to getting you on a new fitness routine and teach you how to exercise on your own. Having to pay for your sessions and creating a relationship with your trainer can also be motivating, as firstly you don’t want to lose the money and secondly you wouldn’t want to let your trainer down. So you show up, and you do the work!

5. Variety & Efficiency

Some classes may be repetitive and become boring, while your personal trainer, trust us, will always make your sessions ‘fun’. No two of your sessions will look the same, there will be a variety of exercise, each session will focus on diferent part of the body, with Rob for example you’ll be practicing body weight exercises or using equipment for weighted resistance exercises, keeping your sessions exciting for you.

Not to mention, your time will never get wasted! A good personal trainer knows how to utilise your time efficiently.

BONUS: having a PT can be very educational, you get to learn a little about your body and muscles, but also diet and nutrition. You will also learn some new handy exercises, workouts and tricks that you get to keep for no extra cost.

Do you need a little help starting out or you are particularly looking for a personal trainer in Hove? Then BOOK your free consultation, now!

hove based personal training bootcamp

Our Hard Wired Habits and How to Change Them

What is a habit?

Habits are small decisions turned into actions that's performed daily.

Did you know?

About 40 percent of our behaviours are habitual!

So that only makes sense when we say that we ‘do things out of habit’. Have you ever drove directly home from work and pulling into the driveway you realised that you needed to go to a shop which is the opposite direction? Yup, hard wired habit.

Speaking of deeply routed habits, a friend of mine turned pescatarian, went to a BBQ ate lots of meat and only after he started to feel uncomfortable did he remember he was not supposed eating meat.

What we do repeatedly, eventually forms the person you are and the things you do and believe in. Having a routine can be great to stay organised, however not all of our habits are good. One of those not so good habit examples would be: biting nails when stresses, smoking, overeating, snacking… these can be extremely difficult to change as they tend to be so deeply engraved in our brains, it makes it almost impossible to act otherwise.

Your fitness level? A result of your habits

Not drinking enough water? A result of your habits

Overeating? A result of your habits

Therefore, you probably guessed it, introducing a new habit or changing an old one won't be easy, and a great amount of patience would be required.

Our Habitual Patterns

To make it easier lets split the process of building a habit into four stages:

So what a habit looks like?

Planting a habit requires time and a little (or a lot) of effort. Remember, on average it takes 6 weeks for your actions to become a habit. Based on the principles above, try to make it more 'appetising' for you, when introducing a new habit, by following these four steps. Make it:

  1. obvious
  2. exciting
  3. simple
  4. satisfying

The How to:

• Go small, go easy

I mean, really small, willpower is like a muscle, it gets fatigued if used too much and your motivation will probably rise and fall as you go. For example, rather than quitting smoking cold turkey, reduce the amount of cigarets you smoke. Big change but easy enough to sustain your motivation. As this becomes a little more of a habit, see if you can also switch from normal cigarets to electronic cigarettes, for example, or help yourself quitting by using nicotine patches.

You can also break the new habit into small chunks - so instead of not smoking all week, select 2 'smoke-less' days instead and slowly add up days little, by little, until eventually you you have no 'smoke-days' in a week left.

2. Slipping is totally fine

Don't be too harsh on yourself, as we said it takes time and patience, and practice makes perfect. If you slipped, just back on track as quickly as possible.

Try not to expect failure, but be prepared and ok with it if it happens.

3. You got this

Again, patience, patience, patience! This is a crucial skill to have, patience is everything.

New habits should feel easy in the beginning and by staying consistent and increasing your habit gradually it may get hard enough, pretty fast.

hard wired habits

Do you find changing your habits impossible? We can help!

Book your FREE consultation today and we can coach you guide you through changing old habits but also introducing new ones!

5 Habits You Might Want to Change:

#1 Skipping Breakfast
Having a portion of complex balanced breakfast is the best way to start your day, keeping you fuller for longer and provide you plenty of energy for the busy day ahead.

#2 Sitting too Much
Nowadays, majority of people lead sedentary job, it is important to take a break here and there. Get up, walk, get the blood flowing. Taking stairs instead of elevators, walking instead of driving - you get the idea.

#3 Not Drinking Enough Water
Drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated while boosting your metabolism.

Check out our blog: DRINK YOURSELF INTO WATER DRINKING HABIT

#4 Lack of Sleep
This can make your brain function slower and leave you feeling sluggish. Not to mention, over the time it can decrease your metabolism and mess up your hormonal balance.

#5 Stress
Stress produces a hormone called cortisol that leads to increased appetite, cravings, laziness and restlessness. Try managing your stress levels by taking some down time, practising self care, exercising or even meditating.

Attention Office Workers! How to Stay Healthy...

The ultimate office worker's lifestyle - staring at the screen sitting behind a desk and snacking away as if you haven’t seen food in years. In general the life of an office worker is sedentary and sugar-filled. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Sedentary lifestyle can have a a big impact on your health, higher risk of heart diseases, back pain, increased stress levels and poor blood flow. Finding the time and motivation to exercise in the evening, is most likely the last thing on your mind. This is why is it important to incorporate little lifestyle changes into your daily work routine to improve your overall health, physically and mentally.

So what to do? Read on and try these small changes we prepared for you. Incorporate them into your daily routine and practice them continuously over a period of time to increase your health and well-being.

office workers

Here are our 5 TOP easy-to-adopt tips for office workers:

1. MOVE

Set a little reminder and every hour stand up, walk around the office or just up and down a corridor to get your blood flowing. If you feel adventurous go and run up and down one flights of stairs!

At times or during a lunch break, go for a walk, give your legs a quick 10-15 minutes stretch to make yourself feel human again. If your office isn't too high try to take stairs instead of elevator or if you office is on the 9th floor get off on the 8th and walk the rest. You might hate it at first but over time this will become a habit that will make you and your body feel so much better.

Don't be too lazy to walk to your college's department, instead of calling them as usually, get up and make that extra effort. Not only will your colleague be impressed by your appearance instead of a phone call, you will also feel better, even if it's only a few metres.

You can also do some minor sedentary exercises such as clenching your gluteus, holding for five-seconds then releasing, repeat this several times. Or contract your abdominal muscles, hold for five-seconds and repeat as many times as you can. Lastly, get the legs working by stretch one leg out under your desk with your foot flexed, and moving it in a circular motion for as long as you can. Then repeat with your other leg. As simple as it gets!

2. STRETCH

At least 3 times per your working hours stretch. It really doesn't matter what you do, as long as you move, getting your blood flowing and heart rate increase slightly.

Simple standing stretches:

  1. Reach your arms up overhead lengthening and elongating your body, come ip on the tiptoes then allow your arms to lean towards the right hold for a few breaths then switch sides stretching and opening up the sides of your body
  2. Roll your shoulders up and over, and back and forth
  3. Perform a forward bend with your need bent and upper body relaxed over you thighs allowing the head to hang freely - give it a few yes and no nodes, relaxing the neck and shoulders
  4. Stand up tall, place your hands on your lover back and lean backwards, squeezing your elbows together, opening your chest and pushing your chest upward
  5. Shake it - literally, shake out your legs, your arms and hands

Did You Know?
Sitting for long periods of time can make your muscles to lose their elasticity and cause aching due to the lack of use.

3. DRINK - WATER!

Yes really, water will give you a sense of fulness keeping you away from snacking. Not to mention water means a happy body but will also keep those annoying headaches at check.

The secret is to treat yourself to fun reusable water bottle that you should carry with you everywhere to keep hydrated, while also protecting our planet by reducing your plastic waste.

office workers

4. EAT & SNACK HEALTHILY

Be prepared! Always have a bag of nuts, some fruit or kale chips at your desk to avoid paying a visit to the vending machine or staff room for the chips and cookies you always crave during the mid-afternoon.

Not only snacks can be prepared, but also a lunch. Instead of buying something quick and unhealthy, bring a packed lunch that you prepared last night. Yes, it's en effort but it’s so worth it not only for your health but also for your your credit account. Get in for the double win!

Are you familiar with the 'you are what you ear' rule? Now try this one 'you eat what your friends eat', so during the lunch hours, aim to surround yourself with health conscious people who will positively influence you meal choices, naturally.

5. TAKE A BREAK

Give your eyes and your brain a break, look out the window and focus on what you can see for a moment. This is a great quick break for the eyes but also a little bit of a down time for the brain. Breathe, rest the eyes and hands - pause for just a moment.

The best choices to make when eating out

Eating out has never been easier. There are tons of restaurants and the prices are more affordable than ever. Not to mention with our increasingly hectic and busy lifestyles, nowadays we are more likely to eat out.

Eating out in a restaurant is fast - no need to cook or to wash dishes, while you're waiting for your food you might be able to respond to a few emails awaiting a response or even finally call your mum. It is considerably cheap and often we are willing to pay the price for a meal not necessary because of the meal itself but the fact that we don't need to do anything other than eat.

But, yes there is a BUT, there is one minor problem. Eating out can seriously sabotage your weight loss if that is your current goal, but often isn't the healthiest of options for your overall health. In restaurants they tend to use a lot of fat (oils, butters, cream, etc.), salt, and sugar for example to make the food taste richer and more delicious to the consumers. So let's see what you can do to eat healthier when eating out!

restaurant eating

Best choices to make when eating out:

  1. Seek restaurants that actually offer healthy nutritious food, and treat yourself to what your body needs and deserves. Although most restaurants nowadays carry out healthy dishes, a Thai or Mediterranean restaurant would be a better choice than steak house for example (apologies to those red meat lovers out there!).
  2. Try not to be negative - there are always simpler and healthier options. Ask your waitress for healthier alternatives, they are often happy to help. Most restaurant now even mark healthier options out in their menus. You are the boss so don’t be too afraid to kindly ask for what you would like, the way you want it.
  3. Be mindful on your portion sizes so there is no need to eat your plate clean. When you are full - you are full, and you can stop eating. It is OK to leave some leftovers, or even ask for the waitress to pack it for you to take away. You paid for your meal, you have all the right to take the rest home with you, even if it's only a little portion.

TIPS ON HOW KEEP YOUR MEAL MODERATE IN CALORIES (FAT, AND SUGARS):

  1. Eat mindfully, meaning try to eat slowly, enjoy the taste and stop eating when you are full and have the leftovers packed to take away (lunch for the following day?). You saved lots of time by not cooking and having to clean the dishes so take an advantage of this to truly enjoy your meal.
  2. Ask for salad dressing to be served “on the side” so you can add only as much as you want - if you want. You can always just ask for a few slices of lemon, which makes for a delicious alkalising dressing for your salad.
  3. Order foods that do not have too fatty and creamy sauces or gravies. Not only it is too much grease and fat that unhealthy, it is also heavy on the digestion.
  4. Just because you're eating out, it doesn't mean you have to have a desert. If you are still a little hungry - go for it. Choose fruits for dessert, or sorbet instead of ice-cream. But if you are full, don't force the issue. You can always run out for a coffee later and get that delicious raw cake from the coffee shop next to your office.
  5. Remember that you can always ask you waiter how a dish is cooked if it is not clear from the menu. Why? Because for example baked potatoes will be a better choice than fried potatoes.
  6. You can say no to bread or other nibbles before your meal arrives, as these are likely to increase your overall calorie intake.
restaurant eating

EATING OUT TIP:

If you know you are going to be dining at a restaurant, aim to eat a filling and healthy breakfast, a lighter lunch, and a small snack before the dinner. If you starve yourself for most of the day, it will be harder for you to later resist the more indulgent (unhealthy: fatty, fried, and sweet) dishes on the menu.

FOOD SWAPS TIPS:

Are you a Brighton and Hove resident?

In our previous blog on 'ARE YOU EATING OUT IN BRIGHTON THIS WEEK?' you can find some of our favourite restaurants to visit and eat at. 

Fat is GOOD for you!

Over the years we were told that fat isn’t good for us, that it makes us fat, and it can contribute to cardiovascular diseases. And so we cut down on it or switched to low-fat and fat-free products. But was this shift the healthier option?

Well, the opposite is the truth. Eating the right kinds of dietary fat can offer health and weight-loss benefits. So yes, fat is good for you!

The truth is:

Your body needs fat, it needs the so called ‘good’ fat delivered from real food. Fat is a major source of energy, it helps you absorb some important vitamins and minerals. It is needed to build the exterior part of your cells, and it is essential for blood clotting, muscle movement, and inflammation.

Just like we discussed carbohydrates in our previous blog >Carbs are GOOD for you! some fats are better than others. The good fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, while the not-at-all-good ones are the man-made and processed trans fats. Saturated fats lay somewhere in between.

THE BAD FAT

The worst dietary fat is known as trans fat. It is a byproduct of a process that turns healthy oils into solids to make them last longer. There are 0 health benefits from trans fats! This kind of fat is found in solid margarines, vegetable shortening, commercial cookies, pastries and most fast-foods fries or fried foods.

Eating foods rich in trans fats increases the amount of harmful-bad (LDL) cholesterol in the body, while reducing the amount of beneficial-good (HDL) cholesterol.

How do trans fats effect my health?
• create inflammation
• heart disease and stroke
• contribute to insulin resistance (increasing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes)

*for every 2% of calories from trans fat eaten daily, the risk of heart disease rises by 23%!

THE OK-ish FAT

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, and liquid once heated up. They are not as harmful as the trans fats, but a diet rich in saturated fats can spike up cholesterol, especially the more harmful type. This LDL cholesterol can form blockages in the arteries. Which is why it is ok to eat this type of fat but, in moderation.

High-quality saturated fat sources: grass-fed butter, coconut oil, ghee whole milk and other whole-milk dairy foods

Fat is good for you

Healthy fats benefits:
• Improves fat-soluble vitamin absorption
• Maximises metabolism
• Provides fuel & energy
• Maintains healthy skin
• Help the body absorb nutrients
• Improves nerve, brain and heart function

High- quality monounsaturated fats sources: peanut oil, sesame oil, and olive oil, canola oil, avocados, and most nuts
*always choose cold pressed oils

Polyunsaturated fats are essential fats, meaning they are required for normal body function. However, your body can't make them, so you need get them from food. Eating polyunsaturated fats reduces the bad LDL cholesterol and improves overall cholesterol profile.

There are two types of polyunsaturated fats:
• omega-3 fatty acids (fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines, flaxseeds, walnuts, canola oil)
• omega-6 fatty acids (vegetable oils, soybean, sunflower, walnut, and corn oils)

Omega-3 fatty acids may help prevent heart disease and stroke, reduce blood pressure, raise HDL. There are other health improvements such as lowering the risk of dementia which is what makes the Omega-3 fatty acids the best kind of fat.

Fat is good for you

BUT WHAT ABOUT FAT-FREE PRODUCTS?

When removing fats from foods, something else needs to be added instead. And guess what that is? Yup => processed sugar!

You can read more about sugar and which sugar type is actually good for you on our blog > The Healthiest Sugar Alternatives

Sugar causes damage to your body, because it digests simply to elevate blood sugar levels. On the other hand, fat is more complex, and can be crucial for maintaining satiety and metabolic health. Hence low-fat diet foods, full of sugar and starch are actually worse for your health than full fat products.

Is this whole fat dilemma too confusing for you? Then book a FREE consultation with us! We are here to help you.

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