DAY 22... Fats

Yup, fats. These guys have been getting a bad rap for a while now and I'm here to set the record straight. Well, actually, I'm not going to set any record straight, because it's not like I've been doing millions of dollars worth of research, but I'm going to give you my opinion anyway.

You realise I said MY opinion. That means, there is no science here, just a humble opinion from my experience.

For years we've been hearing that if you want to keep your weight down you have to eliminate all fats from your diet. At the very best eliminate most fats from your diet. And where has that left us? It's left us with a bunch of obese, highly strung people who are so hungry, they'll eat anything that's lying still in front of them.

You see, fats serve some good purposes:

1) They make you feel full.

2) Our skin, hair, nails and joints need them to work properly and shine (okay, I know our joints don't shine, although maybe they should, but the other stuff shines.)

3) Did I mention they make you feel full?

That's a really important part. Because, when you feel full after a meal you are less likely to run out and grab something you shouldn't. If that feeling carries you through to your next meal, or your next snack, then it's not all bad. Instead, if you are hungry all the time, you are bound to make some bad choices - normally choices that involve the sugar department, or the bad used-deep-fried-oil department.

But let me give you another example. In my first week of going raw I ate an avocado pear almost every day. Some days I must admit, I snuck in two. Now you ask any doctor and they will tell you avocado pears are so high in fat, they should be avoided at all costs - go on, ask a doctor.

I also ate enough nuts to be the envy of every squirrel in my neighbourhood. In fact, I ate so many nuts I thought I might just become a squirrel. All types of nuts, including the high fat ones - Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds and every nut and seed in between. And what happened? Well, I'm pleased to report, I lost 6 pounds. Yup, I said SIX in a week.

What I didn't do however, was eat natural fats along with processed sugar. I also didn't eat natural fats along with unnatural fats (now I'm not sure that unnatural fats is actually a term), so I mean the fat from your doughnut, or the fat from your fast food fries, or the hidden fat from your ranch dressing, or bagel, or hot dog or bacon and cheese burger and I'd go on, but I'm in fast food withdrawal agony right now so I better stop.

Oh and one last one... or the fat from any animal products.

So, my theory is that you can have fruit and nut fats even in fairly high quantities, as long as you don't mix them with a processed food diet. Therein lies the catch.

And while we're on what I believe. I also think that while you are transitioning from a SAD diet to a raw diet, there is a tendency to eat more natural fats than perhaps necessary, because you are not used to that clean feeling after eating a meal, you are used to that stuffed full feeling. I have not doubt that further down the road, I'll be able to cut back on those avocado pears and nuts and lose even more weight from cutting down the good fats.

So go on, give it a shot, you might be surprised at the result.

Oh, and just in case you are wondering, avocado pear on a bagel with some cream cheese does NOT count!