I am competitive powerlifter and have been for about ten years. My recent girlfriend has started to weight train (Ian King style workouts) and run wind sprints. She has cleaned up her diet (no more high sugar binges) and takes supplements and has made great progress. The problem lies in she is wanting to lose a little more fat ( I think she is hot now but…) and I can not get her to try incresing her fat intake by using fish oil or olive oil or flax seed. She has this paragdiagm (thanks to her mother and all those damn women’s "un"health magazines that increasing the consumptation of good fat will make you fat.) She is usually a smart woman and in the past I have been able to show her studies on training, supplementation, and diet and she will embrace a paradiagm shift or at least try it out. With the increase of good fats she can’t overcome the fear and belief that it will make her fat. Does anyone, including the T-Vixens, out there can give me any advice, research article, or story that can help her see the light? She has come so far so quick and it is frustrating for me as a competitive powerlifter to see her not making progress because of years of misinformation
I have lived both sides of your girlfriend’s dilema. After decades of being blasted with information about how fat we are, how we must starve ourselves to achieve that unhealthy, anorexic look that is oh-so-desireable, how we can only perform high-impact aerobics to burn this enormous overload of fat we carry and heaven-forbid we lift weights (which would cause us to look bulky and manly) - it is very, very (can I say very?) hard to break this mentality (mental illness?). I didn’t have any trouble believing the hundreds of fitness queens (and bodybuilders galore) on the exercise part of the equation as I’d seen the proof in my personal physique, but I had to go on pure faith when they wrote/spoke about their diet. It took me FOREVER to get over my misguided/preconcieved notions about how eating more frequently/different ratio’s of nutrients would affect my body - and the part about actually ADDING fat to my diet was the worst part. I just had to do some serious journalling about what I ate, how I worked out, and how I felt to see that it really is true - it really does work! She’s seen the progress that she can make by doing the things she’s been doing, why won’t she take a chance on trying this one thing? If she’s really made great progress quickly then what’s she got to lose - if it works then she’ll get the results she’s not been able to get so far and if it doesn’t work she can A) rub it in your face about how she was right and you were wrong ;), and B) whatever negative effect it has on her body she can quickly and easily repair by cutting it out. Seems like lots to gain and very little to lose.
Hey. If she’s reasonable and will take heed when presented with research, look on T-Mag and other internet health sites for info about the positive effects of fat in the diet. You could also get her some lay press books that deal with the issue too. “The Zone” by Sears and “Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill” by Erasmus are good places to start.
I would point out that hard candy, cookies, apples, and oatmeal are all full of carbohydrates. Some types are obviously better for us then others. It is the same for fats. Some are good and some are bad.
Then tell her that omega 3’s increase insulin sensitivity in muscle and reduce insulin sensitivity in fat reducing the body’s ability to store fat
On a side note I believe that omega 3’s are the closest thing to a wonder drug around. It helps with weight loss, reduces triglyceride levels, is anti-inflammatory, improves mental health, and whatever else they have, and will, come up with. The fact that I can get all these benefits, and a bottle of 300 caps is just $6.99 from Sam’s Club is great. If they came up with a drug that did the same thing just imagine what the pharmacist would charge.
i had the same situation w/ my wife.she is an aerobics instructor and trains heavily w/ weights. it was unbelievable to see her accept so much info. , but reject anything having to do w/ fat. after persistence , i convinced her to try fish oils(i showed her how many calories it would actual equal).she took 12 caps in divided doses a day.in 2 weeks she freaked out because she dropped 2% bf, w/o changing anything else.shes already extremely lean as it is.she went off the oils and it came back. she then repeated and dropped it again.she still doesnt"like" fat, but shes not scared of it,and is healthier.remember, it is not always a logic thing. these things can have heavy emotional issues tied up w/ them. so give her the logic info. but be patient.shell have to change when shes ready.feed her the info. but avoid pressuring.sounds like a lot of work?it is.but worth it in the long haul.
To build on what The Mage said, omega-3s have shown promise in alleviating menstrual symptoms, which I’m sure would be of interest to any woman. They are also current studies relating to cancer preventative properties. Omega-3s has eased the symptoms of colitis, arthritis (reduced needs for NSAIDs), reduced the risk of sudden cardiac death, etc., etc., etc. PUFAs are the preferred source of the body when it comes to making cell membranes. I wrote a paper on it last semester that is sort of a “Fish Oils for Dummies” paper that conveys the facts to ordinary people in ordinary terms; if you want a copy of it, I can email it to you. You can contact me through my website at http://ericcressey.tripod.com