A San Antonio Exclusive: Low-Fat Does Not Equate to “Guilt Free”

Not long ago a group of researchers gathered some volunteers for a study and asked them to sit and watch some television. As they watched, they were encouraged to get comfortable and to enjoy a snack.

The volunteers were offered a choice between two bags of snacks: one was labeled “Low-Fat Rocky Mountain Granola” and the other was labeled “"Regular Rocky Mountain Granola."

Here’s where it gets interesting: The folks who chose to snack on the low-fat variety ate 32 percent more than the folks who decided on the regular granola.

Being the brilliant researchers they were, they repeated the experiment with low-fat and regular chocolate. The outcome? Almost exactly the same!

Here’s the problem as I see it: Just because something states that it is low-fat does not mean that it is a better choice. In fact, quite often it is worse. Why? In order to make up for the taste and satisfaction of the missing fat, the manufacturers must exponentially increase the carbohydrate content.

This is dis-heartening because, per calorie, carbohydrates and NOT fats are the largest contributor to a person gaining fat on their body. And this is especially true of processed refined carbohydrates like breads, pastry’s, breakfast cereals, and soda.

When you choose calorie dense foods over nutrient rich sources, you effectively tell your body that you’re starving. That simple action alone can then change your metabolism so that it will begin to build fat instead of muscle, irrespective of the amount of fat you are really ingesting.

To say that this flies in the face of conventional wisdom and common sense is probably an understatement, but that’s the way it is. The truth is that eating too many “low-fat” foods just because you feel you can afford it is like wearing glasses after you know that Mike Tyson wants to punch you in the face (you know the whole, “you wouldn’t hit a guy with glasses on?” routine, right?)...it ain’t-a gonna work.

You also increase the risk of developing some nasty physical ailments like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. And you increase the risk by a lot!

Here’s the bottom line: Beneficial fat is good for you! Keep eating it. Where do you find this “beneficial fat?” Grass fed, lean red meats and wild, cold water fish are great sources. Raw nuts are another, like walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, and cashews.

Eating those can assure that you are getting some of the true guilt-free snacks. Eat as much of them as you want. You'll get full... and you won't get fat.

I promise you.

Steve
Steve Payne is San Antonio's premier fat loss expert. If you're really serious about fat loss, then please consider San Antonio's finest fat loss "boot camp", the Firestorm Fitness Systems Fat Burning Fit Camps, The 28 Day Miracle Fat Loss Program or you can e-mail Steve here for more information on his many GUARANTEED success programs. And please visit http://www.safatloss.com/ today.