On any weight loss journey, you’re guaranteed to hear talk about fat. Whether it’s about losing fat, burning fat, or healthy and unhealthy fats in foods, it’s become a notable topic of discussion in the world of wellness and fitness.

With this conversation of fat, there are also a ton of misconceptions about what is and isn’t healthy for your body. So, let’s clear a few things up and learn the true secret to burning fat and keeping fat off your body. 

Debunking the #1 myth about fat.

How many times have you heard or been told that eating fat is what causes you to be fat? If there’s one misconception to remove from your head before starting or making more progress in your weight loss journey, it’s that one.

The idea that eating fat is what causes us to gain weight has been disproven by new science. It’s important that before any weight loss journey we get out of our heads that eating a low fat diet is the way to lose weight. In fact, doing this often causes us to gain weight since low fat-labeled foods tend to add more sugar to make up for lost flavor. 

Before all else, know that low fat-labeled foods do not always equal healthy.

Eat healthy fats.

So, rather than low fat-labeled foods, what should you opt for instead? Healthy fats are key. Yes, healthy fats are a thing and they can be found in foods like olive oil, fish, avocados, nuts, whole eggs, and so much more.

It’s so easy to go overboard with fats like bacon or butter, and while they do contain some fats that our bodies can benefit from, they contain a large percentage of not-so-good fats that can have negative impacts on our body’s overall health. 

Healthy fats are key to giving our body more energy without the weight gain that comes with eating unhealthy fats.

Cut back on sugar, flour and processed carbohydrates.

If you’ve been working out and wanting to burn fat, but your body is just not getting there, you may be eating too much sugar, flour and processed carbohydrates. 

We’ve become so accustomed to eating foods packed with more sugar and carbohydrates than our body needs. When we’re eating things like white bread or white rice, the glucose goes immediately into our bloodstream. When glucose is high in insulin, our insulin, which is the fat storage hormone, spikes which just keeps more fat on our bodies. 

So, if you’re trying to lose more fat, it’s imperative that you stay away as much as possible from processed carbohydrates and sugar so that we can continue making the progress we want, and staying as healthy as possible.

Opt for complex carbohydrates.

Before you go ahead and start cutting back on all carbohydrates, remember this—Not ALL carbohydrates are bad. It’s all about the carbohydrates you’re eating. 

In fact, you do need some carbohydrates in order to have a balanced and healthy diet. This is where complex carbohydrates come into play like fruits, sweet potatoes, beans, quinoa, and so much more. 

There are a lot of good carbohydrates out there that can benefit your body and are easy to incorporate into your diet. It’s become very common to see a lot of carbohydrate consumption around us, but for the sake of your health and seeing the results that you want, it’s important to cut out the processed carbohydrates, and stick to the good ones.

Achieve the results you want to see.

When you start incorporating the changes above, your body is going to respond by using the healthy fat you’re giving your body, for energy. This is the secret to getting the fat off that you’ve been trying to lose.

Remember, eating fat is not what makes you fat, it’s the increase in sugar and processed carbohydrates that causes your body to store more fat. Once you start to steer clear from those foods and start fueling your body with healthy fats and complex carbohydrates, you’re going to start seeing the results that you’ve been working so hard for.