What’s going on everyone??  I hope everyone is surviving this heat wave!  I’ve been delaying this blog due to the non existence of air conditioning up in my apartment.  But I told y’all ill go hard in the paint with this one, so I feel really confident my points will at least make you think outside the box, so here’s what I got, “Want Your Body Looking PHAT, Then Eat More FAT”.  For those needing clarification PHAT is an old acronym used mainly in urban communities standing for “Pretty Hot And Tempting”, and it’s used as an adjective to describe a person or object as something cool/stunning/interesting…  So in reference to my title, getting fit requires eating fat!

            As ironic as this may sound, it actually takes FAT to lose FAT!  Now I know many of you might be reading this saying “What the heck is E.J. talking about???  If I eat FAT, then I will get FAT…”  But don’t believe that hype!  It’s an inception (but not the one in dreams) that a man named Ancel Keys in the 1950’s with the support of major corporations convinced our whole nation with this THEORY of the anti-fat campaign, and in result made billionaire money.  However, take a look around at the people in our society now, 1 out of every 3 Americans is overweight, and heart disease has increased dramatically since the 1970s. 

Now many of you who are reading this most likely have been affected (directly or indirectly) by some form of heart disease, so let me explain some of the FACTS and not the theories.  But before I shred the anti-fat theory, lets rewind and let me first clarify that I do 100% AGREE with Ancel Keys in that trans-fat, hydrogenated oils (things like margarine and fried foods), and fats from hormone and antibiotic injected animals (mass produced meats) definitely will cause all the side effects that our culture is so afraid of:  plaque in arteries, cancer, inflammation and obesity.  However, the research behind fat causing heart disease picks on these trans/hydrogenated oils, but somehow links “saturated fats” as well, which many of you have been frightened to eat due to this inception (not from a dream though).  Saturated fats (which ill get back later) are very vital to our health!!!

Let’s look at my 3 key points ill touch on…

1.  The importance of FAT to our bodies
2.  How eating fat makes you lose excess fat
3.  Fat helps lower excess cholesterol

The importance of FAT to our bodies

            Now when we say fat is bad…  Do you really know why or how???  Fat is very very very important to our health!  Here’s a list on just SOME of the benefits:

• It’s a precursor to EVERY hormone in our body
• 60% of our brain is fat (50% of phospholipids are saturated fat)
• Regulates blood sugars (so we stay fuller longer, and are able to control cravings)
• Lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Natural anti-inflammatory
• Promotes body fat loss
• Protects liver from toxins (alcohol, tylenol…)
• There’s saturated fat in our: heart, lungs, cells…

There are just too many dang benefits from fat, to ignore it from our diets!!!

How eating fat makes you lose excess fat

            It is physiologically impossible to get fat from fat (the right kinds).  You can only store fat in the presence of insulin which is a hormone released when sugar is in the blood from carbohydrates and sugar (but this topic is another blog by itself).  When fat is digested, your body doesn’t release insulin, it releases bile instead.

            Remember earlier when I said fat is a precursor to every hormone to your body??  Think of your body like a chemistry lab; remember chem lab and having to use the little droppers to get precise measurements of each chemical (which I never had the patience to do)???  Your body is the same way, in that it needs the right balance of hormones to work in synergy to optimize your weight as well as your overall health.  When you have your hormones in check, your metabolism is supported and is at its peak, so you’ll gradually return to your natural weight.  While on the other hand, if you’re not getting enough fats in your diet…

• Your body starts to starve, which is interpreted as stress, and stress releases cortisol (stress is good on our body, but in excess is when it becomes problematic).  One of the negative effects of cortisol is it eats away at your muscle tissue and we hella don’t want that, because we know that the more muscle we have, the higher our metabolism and the more fat we burn!!!! (not an inception, just facts…)

• Fat and protein are like BFF’s (best friends forever), without fat you cannot digest proteins, which is why so many protein foods are also high in fat.  Now protein’s main function is to repair muscle tissue, but if we ain’t getting the fat we need to digest proteins then we are shorting our muscles the chance to repair, thus leading to more fat storage (then decrease metabolism).

Fat helps lower excess cholesterol

            It’s true!  I know we’ve all believed for years that fat causes high cholesterol, but like I said, it’s an INCEPTION (but not like from a dream…)!  I know we all are or know someone who has high cholesterol, so let me break it down for you real quick…

• Cholesterol is produced by an enzyme called “HMG coA reductase”.  Now when we eat excess carbs in relation to fats and proteins, we have excess sugar running around in our blood, and we know from earlier carbs release insulin right????  And insulin happens to produce more of our enzyme HMG coA reductase, and uses the excess sugar to bind to the enzyme to make MORE cholesterol (this is one reason why some vegetarians have high cholesterol).

• Now when we eat fat, it releases bile not insulin, and bile actually breaks down fats.  So what fats do is that they actually inhibit some of the receptor sites (HMG coA reductase) to HELP REGULATE OUR CHOLESTEROL.

In conclusion

            Thank you if you’re still reading by now, and I hope I accomplished my goal to make you realize that the fat is bad campaign is just an INCEPTION (like a real inception), or at least interest you enough to do your own research!  When my clients ask me where should I get my fat intake from??  I will always recommend from a free range/grass fed/wild animal, eggs, coconut oil, raw milk, raw organic butter, nuts, and avocados (sorry if I’m leaving something out).  That’s it y’all for this blog, I plan to have many many more so get ready!  PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR FEEDBACK!  Shout outs to my assistant, my friends and family, shout out to all who are starting school again, and shout out to summer, for spending time in the sun, and catching up with old friends, and to having down time.  And if you have any ideas for my new blog name let me know!  Until next time y’all!!!!