Another Way Eating Fat Helps You Lose Weight

It can be hard to just say no to a slice of chocolate cake to cap off a nice evening meal, especially after you've tested your willpower time and time again by choosing vegetables over greasy foods and sticking to water instead of soda all day long. But if you're trying to cut out refined sugar (for many good reasons), curbing these cravings is a good idea. Registered dietitian Keri Glassman has a surprising way that may help you banish your sweet tooth for good.

According to Keri, if you're trying to lose weight and are noticing your cravings are getting more intense at the end of the day, it's probably because you're not eating enough fat throughout the day. "Sometimes when people are undereating they actually have bigger cravings," she explains. "Very often those people who have cravings after dinner, it's because they haven't fueled themselves properly during the whole day." In other words, if you spent the day drinking green juice or swearing off all carbs, you may find it hard — or even impossible — to resist digging into a pint of ice cream after dinner.

Cutting out fats from your diet not only can cut too many calories, but often can make a meal seem unsatisfying so your brain starts to crave other foods like sugary desserts to feel satisfied. Instead of viewing fats as the enemy, Keri advises her clients to add avocado, oil, and sunflower seeds to their salads, choose a handful of raw almonds as a midmorning snack, and have enough lean protein at each meal. This way, you'll increase your calorie count to a healthy amount, feel satisfied all day, and still see results. After all, eating clean, whole, and filling foods — rather than starving yourself by subsisting only on lettuce — will make it that much easier to just say no to dessert at the end of the day. "When you get enough fat and protein, you're going to have less cravings and you're going to be less hungry," she says. You may know that healthy fats are the key to losing fat, but this tip is bound to make you a believer even more.