When you hear the word fat or low-fat diet, most people think about physique and not food. Then they just think about not wanting a fat physique or not wanting fat. Getting stronger and smarter is a 24/7 job. Everything you eat is an effort to gain muscle and intelligence while reducing bodyfat and time wasted. We would bet that when you go out to dinner, your night goes something like this: you eat your bread plain, rather than dipping it in olive oil; you order your salad with fat-free dressing; and your main course is grilled steak, fish, or chicken breast. Altogether, another successful night of eating clean. But, low-fat meals are not always the best option.

Why Low-Fat Diets Aren’t Great

When you eat fast digesting carbs, like bread and white potatoes, they cause your insulin to skyrocket. While this anabolic hormone helps with muscle growth, this is only the case when muscles are ready for it (like post-workout). When you’re not being active, an insulin spike means an increase in fat storage. For starters, replace the fast-digesting carbs with slower-digesting carbs (like oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes).

You can also just stay away from carbs as a whole. If that sounds too challenging, you can add more fat to your diet. A lot of people get slightly confused when they hear the word fat. Most people think about bacon before even thinking of the good fats out there in some nutrient rich foods. Some healthy fat options that we love are olive oil, almonds, walnuts, natural nut butter, and avocado.

[quote]Research reports that eating fats, such as olive oil, with or before a meal of fast-digesting carbs significantly slows down the rate of digestion of those carbs and keeps blood glucose and insulin levels lower. In addition, research from Iowa State University (Ames) reports that eating a salad with full fat dressing increases absorption of critical phytonutrients from the salad more than eating a salad with fat-free or reduced-fat dressing. -Jim Stoppani PhD[/quote]