You know how some food labels indicate that the contents of a package are 'fat-free'? So you stock up on lots of such 'good' foods, faithfully avoiding as much fat as you can.

But somehow, you continue to pile on the weight. How can that be? I'm assuming you're exercising regularly here. If you aren't then that's a different story altogether.

Well, not all 'fat-free' foods are truly fat-free. The trouble here is that in order to make these 'fat-free' products more palatable for you, the manufacturers add lots of sugar or sweeteners of questionable safety to them.

Next time you go shopping, check this out for yourself: pick up any 'fat-free' (non-dairy) food product off the shelf and see if it contains any of the following items: 'glucose', 'syrup', 'dextrose', and other ingredients that end in '-ose'.

These are all sugars. Those that don't contain sugars may contain sweeteners like aspartame which have dodgy properties (won't go into that now).

What's so bad about sugars, you ask? Well nothing, if you take them in moderation. But if you regularly consume 'fat-free' products which contain sugars, you're setting yourself up for disaster.

This is because of how your body deals with sugars. It metabolizes some of the sugars you eat, but then stores any excess in form of fat!

And you thought you were eating fat-free foods!

Worse still, the fat-that-used-to-be-sugar is harder to reach (read - burn up) when you're trying to lose weight through exercise than the fat-that-has-always-been-fat.

Also, if you are so bent on avoiding fat, remember that you actually need fat to function properly. Your hormones and many other important chemicals in your body are made from a form of fat. You may be depriving your body of vital substances without knowing.

Now bear in mind that there are different types of fat,some good, some not so good (again, beyond the scope of this article. Very quickly though: the worst types of fats you could ingest are 'trans-fats' - on your food labels these are called 'hydrogenated' or 'partially hydrogenated' vegetable oils. Saturated fats are not ideal, but these 'trans-fats' are positively dangerous. Unsaturated fats are the healthiest especially omega 3 oils).

So in all things it pays to wise up and be aware of what you're eating.

What does this all mean to you?

Unless you have a medical reason not to, eat your regular foods, but do so in moderation. For any healthy food plan to work, it helps if you actually enjoy the food you're eating.

Always check out the labels of the foods you buy. Make sure that they don't contain any 'hidden fats' while claiming to be 'fat-free'.

Remember to eat only when you're hungry, and to stop eating when you feel full (not stuffed).

And get moving: start an exercise program and work out regularly. Aim to turn your body into a fat-burning machine. The benefits are multiple, and it helps you maintain a healthy weight (and shape;)) while eating your favourite foods.

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Dr Kem Thompson is a Health & Success Coach, Speaker and Author.

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