Nutrition - FAT FAT FAT!

With all of the millions of diet books out there you would think that eating right has got to be the most complicated thing in the world to do, yes? Not so much. Eat real food, in small quantities. That's it, pretty simple stuff.

Today we are going to talk a bit about FAT. Not your fat or mine, but the fat found in food.

People tend to be fat phobic, but you shouldn't be. The body needs fat to survive. Fat is a part of every cell membrane in the body, it helps transport nutrients across the cell membrane. Basically, we couldn't survive without it.

Fats are generally saturated or unsaturated, based on the amount of fatty acids present. Saturated fats are typically found in animal products and processed foods.

Unsaturated fats are what you want to include in your nutrition plan:

• avocado
• salmon or other oily fish
• nuts
• olive oil, sunflower oil

If you're counting calories, fat counts for 9 calories per gram, while carbs and protein count for 4 calories per gram. So, yes, fat calories do add up quicker, but in moderation will help your body work like the well running machine that it wants to be.

As a general rule, I would suggest avoiding most, if not all, diet books. A diet is a temporary bandaid. To get positive, longterm results you need to change your lifestyle. Not all today, not even tomorrow, but you must make changes if you expect to see something different. There are several healthy eating books out there that I like, most of the Clean Eating books by Tosca Reno are great. Her recipes are a bit on the fancy side for me, but her eating ideas are spot on. I bought the Recharged book a few months ago and really like it. Am still working my way through Your Best Body Now by the same author, and am thinking it might not be necessary to get both.