Avocado - Healthy Weight Loss

I’ve been consuming avocado with my healthy weight loss diet. As I was adding foods to include on my eating program, I did some research on the avocado. Wow – I found out that avocados are super healthy foods! They contain vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and dietary fiber. A personal trainer once told me that she couldn’t lose weight if she didn’t consume enough fat. That sounded counterproductive to me, so I was determined to lose weight by cutting out almost all fat from my diet in order to lose weight. Guess what? It didn’t work. My weight loss was miniscule, and I was hungry and tired all the time. My skin and hair were also dry, and constipation was a real problem. I gave up on the low fat diet and began a low carb diet that includes healthy fats. I’ve lost seventy pounds, and I feel great! I have more energy now than I’ve had in years, and my skin and hair are in much better condition. I don’t associate all this with avocado fat, but I’s sure it plays a role, as does avocado nutrition, in general. Find out more about the healthy avocado!

Eating avocadoes has really helped me with weight loss. For some reason, they seem to satisfy my craving for something rich and creamy, and I suppose the fiber helps keep me full, too. I’ve also found that just a little of the flesh goes a long way, if you know what I mean. The avocado nutrition information I’ve included below is based on a whole cup of flesh. Who eats that much straight avocado at one sitting? And even if you do, you’ll be getting just three net grams of carbohydrates.

If you’re trying to lose weight, begin snacking on avocado recipes instead of on potato chips, candy, or snack cakes. Try substituting sliced avocado or avocado spread on your burgers and sandwiches instead of using mayonnaise. Use avocado dip instead of dips made with large amounts of sour cream. Try using pureed and seasoned avocado flesh on your salads in place of typical salad dressings that contain unhealthy fats. Serve guacamole or mashed avocado on your baked potato instead of using sour cream. Even f you make just a few small changes, you’re sure to see positive results!

I found out a lot about avocado nutrition. One cup of the flesh has about 240 calories, most of which come from avocado fat and oils. In total, a cup has 22 grams of fat, but only three of the grams are in the form of saturated fats. One cup of diced avocado has 13 grams of carbohydrates and 10 grams of fiber. That’s a net carb count of just 3 grams. Since I’m following a low carb diet, that’s important to me.

A one-cup serving of avocado also delivers 3 grams of protein, along with vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, potassium, iron, and calcium. And, by the way, avocados are free of cholesterol and sodium. And speaking of cholesterol, one study showed that eating avocados lowered LDL cholesterol, the bad kind, along with lowering triglyceride levels. It also raised HDL cholesterol, the good type.

Hold on just a minute! You’re probably thinking that avocados can’t be good for dieting because they’re loaded with fat, and they aren’t exactly low in calories, either. After all, I just told you the fat content in the avocado nutrition information. Well, you see, most avocado fat is a healthy fat. It’s not like the fat you get from eating junk food or fatty meats. And when it comes to healthy eating, all fats are not created equal.

Avocado fat is a mixture of different types of fats, but between fifty and sixty-six percent is in the form of monounsaturated fats, and you don’t get those from other fruits. Monounsaturated fats provide lots of health benefits. They’re heart-healthy, as they can help reduce your LDL cholesterol. They might also help increase your HDL cholesterol, which is a good thing. Some studies also suggest that people who get enough healthy fats are more active and burn more calories while resting. That’s a huge plus for weight loss! Substituting monounsaturated fats for saturated fats can even improve your mood.

There are lots of avocado benefits. You already know about avocado nutrition, as I shared it with you. You also understand more now about avocado fat. One great thing about this ingredient is that it can be used in lots of tasty avocado recipes. Another is that you don’t even need a recipe for enjoying avocados. Sometimes, for quick and easy snacks, I’ll peel and slice an avocado and sprinkle it with garlic salt and black pepper.

Avocados are very easy to eat. With many varieties, the peeling slips right off the flesh. They don’t have to be refrigerated, so they make great portable snacks that are packed with energy and nutrition. I sometimes eat avocados cold, after being chilled in the fridge, but I also like them at room temperature. They’re easy to pack in school lunches and to take on picnics.

Other avocado benefits are their availability, price, and safety. In the United States, you can buy avocados all year, and many are grown in the U.S. – especially in California and Florida. Also, avocados are pretty reasonably priced in my area. That might be because Florida is our next-door neighbor, so to speak. I’m sure a lot of the avocados in my local supermarkets come from the Sunshine State. Also, avocados are almost safe to eat, as the thick peeling helps protect the flesh from pesticides.

More and more studies are being conducted on avocado benefits, and some have revealed some impressive results. Avocado has been shown to help with blood flow, to protect the liver against harmful toxins, to possibly inhibit the growth of certain cancerous cells, and to decrease inflammation. Consuming the fruit will also help your body better absorb fat-soluble vitamins.

There are numerous varieties of avocados, but all of them probably aren’t available in your local stores. Basically, they can be divided into three types: Guatemalan, Mexican, and West Indian. Each type of avocado includes several different varieties, and there are hybrids, too. Below are some of the most popular varieties:

Hass Avocado – The Hass avocado is the most popular variety in the world, by far, and they can be found all year. It’s a Guatemalan type. The small egg-shaped fruits have bumpy peels that are almost black, and they’re very easy to peel. The flesh has a rich, creamy flavor, with a slightly nutty taste.

Fuerte – The Fuerte is medium in size, with a green peeling. Even though the skin is tough, it comes off the flesh easily. This avocado is pear-like in shape and has a mild yet rich taste and a smooth, creamy texture. The Fuerte is a cross between Guatemalan and Mexican avocados.

Zutano - A Mexican type, these avocados are large and shaped like a pear. The peel is thin and glossy, with a greenish-yellowish color. The flesh of the Zutano is mild and somewhat fibrous.

Lula – Lula avocados are grown mostly in the state of Florida and are Mexican-Guatemalan hybrids. The pear-shaped fruits can weigh up to one pound each and have glossy green peels. These avocados have a high fat content and a mild flavor.

Booth – A Guatemalan and West Indian hybrid, Booths are often grown in South Florida. The fruit is large and oblong, with a green peel. The flavor is mild and not as pronounced as some other avocado varieties.

I recently wrote an entire article about avocado recipes, and if you’d like to read it, just click the link. As I said, you don’t necessarily need avocado recipes, per se. They don’t have to be cooked, and they can be eaten with very little preparation. In fact, most avocados shouldn’t be cooked. A chemical reaction could take place that makes the flesh bitter and inedible.

If you’re not a huge avocado fan, you might want to start adding them gradually to your diet. Try using a few slices on a sandwich in place of mayonnaise. Peel a fruit, cut it in half, remove the pit, and use the half as a “bowl” for chicken salad, turkey salad, crab salad, shrimp salad, or seafood salad. I do this quite often, and when I do, I try to get a bite of the avocado flesh with every bite I get of the poultry or seafood salad.

The taste and texture of avocado go well with tomatoes, tomatillos, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, Serrano peppers, onion, chives, shallots, leeks, garlic, sour cream, plain yogurt, cream cheese, and a host of fresh herbs and spices. Think outside the box sometimes, too, and do a little experimenting on your own. Did you know that in some countries and cultures avocados are used in making desserts? I read about one such dessert that combines avocado flesh with chocolate syrup. I’m not so sure I’d enjoy that, even though I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. You might be surprised to discover, however, how good apples, oranges, tangerines, pears, pineapple, nuts, and seeds are with avocado!