by Tammy (Contributor to the Greene Guide)
"Old," "ugly" and "fat" are the three most undesirable words in a woman's vocabulary. Especially during the holiday season and especially when you are dealing with family members like mine, who have about as much tact and subtlety as an M1 army tank. Our conversations tend to always revolve around these three taboo words, and are as comfortable as cart-wheeling down Times Square in December wearing nothing but a Santa hat. These conversations usually go like this:
"So, Tammy, how old are you now?"
"Oh, Tam, hon, let me recommend a reputable cosmetic surgeon."
"Happy holidays, sweetie-pea! Here's an exercise video and a digital scale."
Therefore, my crash diet in preparation for our holiday family gathering starts early. It's easy to avoid all types of fats. But healthy dieting is not about avoiding all fats; just the "bad fats." We need to consume the right foods to make hormones and various other necessary chemicals for healthy living. Of the 20 edible fats, only omega-3 and omega-6 fats are essential building blocks for our physiology.
Omega-6 fats can be found in corn oil and omega-3 fats can be found in fish, flax seed oil, canola oil, and soybean oil. However, that doesn't justify eating a plate of deep fried onion rings in a tub of corn oil. One teaspoon of corn oil would satisfy our daily nutritional needs for omega-6 fats. The omega-3 fats are the ones that most of us don't get enough of. You can obtain them through either ½ teaspoon of flaxseed oil, one tablespoon of canola oil, or one tablespoon plus one teaspoon of soybean oil.So this holiday season, you don't have to avoid all fats to lose or maintain your current weight. The key is to eat the right fats in the right amounts.
To learn more about essential fatty acids as well as how it can help protect pregnancy against early pregnancy loss, check out the Greene Guide at thegreeneguide.wordpress.com.
