Weight loss tips & tricks: 'Teen Mom' star Amber Portwood sheds 36lbs., thanks to diet
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Here's something to get you inspired—Teen Mom's very own Ambert Portwood, who recently appeared at her costar's wedding as a guest, showing off her admirable weight loss. Us Magazine reports that Portwood had lost 36 lbs since she began her weight loss journey. Too Fab adds that according to the 25-year-old, she dropped the pounds in just four months. She advised her fans via Twitter: "Cut out bad carbs like sugar and cut down on pasta to start...also try to not eat trans fats."
Trans fats, according to the Mayo Clinic, is "formed through an industrial process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil, which causes the oil to become solid at room temperature". Considered as oneo of the worst type of fat, trans fat raises your LDL or "bad" cholesterol.
The Verge reports that a recent study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that a high trans fat diet may increase the risk for coronary heart disease by as much as 30 percent.
Health reports that according to Andrea Giancoli, RD, MPH, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, in Hermosa Beach, California, "Trans fats raise your bad cholesterol just like saturated fats, but they also increase inflammation and lower the good cholesterol that protects us against heart disease."
Even worse news is that trans fats are often found in a lot of our favorite food, such as french fries (especially if it's cooked in vegetable oil, which results to trans fat when hydrogenated), margarine, pie crust, pancake/waffle and/or cake mixes and frostings, non-dairy creamers, cookies and rather unfortunately, ice cream.
FDA announced in June the official ban of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods nationwide. According to FDA's Acting Commissioner Stephen Ostroff, M.D., "The FDA’s action on this major source of artificial trans fat demonstrates the agency’s commitment to the heart health of all Americans. This action is expected to reduce coronary heart disease and prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year."
Limiting or eliminating the artificial sources of trans fat in one's diet can prove beneficial, especially for long term weight loss. Kevin Marzo, chief of Cardiology at Winthrop-University Hospital told Forbes: "Trans fats are toxic. There is no minimal limit. As a toxic substance, they really shouldn’t be put into our food or used to cook our food."
However, it is good to remember that certain fats are good and required for the body to function optimally. According to LiveScience, Russell de Souza, a coauthor of the study and an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, recommended: "It's important for people to remember there is no one nutrient or food that's responsible for all heart disease, diabetes or death. The whole diet matters."
