Bethenny Frankel Says Shunning Fat-Free Foods Helps Her Stay Thin—But Should You Try It?

“I do eat,” she says. “I don’t binge, I don’t self-loathe. But I love food, and I like good food. I don’t like fat-free crap,” says Bethenny, who notes that she doesn’t recommend fat-free products to others, either. “I promote eating a smaller amount of quality food, of full-calorie foods,” she says. “Diets do not work. I eat pizza, I eat French fries—I just don’t binge.”

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So should you eat like Bethenny? Well, the reality star’s personal belief in eating small amounts of full-calorie and full-fat foods is nutritionally sound, says Alissa Rumsey R.D., a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. (Though it should be noted that Bethenny’s Skinnygirl brand is based on selling reduced-calorie cocktails and foods.)

“It comes down to balance,” Rumsey says, who notes that any food can cause issues if you eat it in excess. “To develop a sustainable, healthy eating pattern, follow the 80/20 food strategy,” she says. “That means making smart food choices 80 percent of the time, and cutting yourself some slack.” (Get after your weight-loss goals with Women’s Health’s Look Better Naked DVD.)

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Bethenny’s philosophy on abstaining from fat-free foods is also on point, says Rumsey. In order to create fat-free packaged foods, manufacturers often replace fat with sugar and other refined carbs, which could be worse for your long-term weight-loss goals. “Refined carbs and foods high in added sugar digest rapidly and cause a blood sugar spike,” Rumsey says. That leads your body to release lots of insulin, which causes you to store sugar as fat rather than allow it to be burned for energy. There’s also a double whammy effect when blood sugar drops post-spike, causing you to feel hungry again in a short amount of time.

You can combat this by eating foods high in fiber, protein, and fat, which are digested slowly. “Fat is one of the most satiating foods,” says Rumsey. “So if you’re not eating it, you tend to get hungrier quicker.” Just remember that with nine calories per gram, fat has more than double the calorie density of protein and carbs, so a little goes a long way, says Rumsey.

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Your best strategy for eating fat while also losing weight is to make sure that a majority of your diet is made up of non-processed fresh foods, like fruits and veggies, says Rumsey. Then aim to get most of your dietary fat from the healthy, monounsaturated kinds found in plant-based foods like nuts and seeds, avocado, and oils, and some omega-3s from fish like salmon and mackerel or chia seeds.

To keep your portions of fat in check, Rumsey suggests this rule of thumb (literally): “In general, a serving of fat should be half the size of your thumb—a few teaspoons of olive or canola oil, two to four tablespoons of seeds, and 1/5 of an avocado.”