Get two new free healthy recipes each week. Sign Up

Chocolate Covered Katie

Non-Recipe Posts

Hug A Fat Month – Back By Popular Demand!

by Katie

Pin

Oh yes… after more than five years, the tremendously popular feature from 2010 is finally back!

hug a fat

(photo credit: Sara Kiesling)

Welcome To Hug A Fat Month!

Hopefully I don’t sound too crazy right now… I am seriously excited to finally bring this feature back! The first Hug A Fat Month is still one of the MOST popular blog features ever posted on Chocolate-Covered Katie, with absolutely fantastic reader participation!

Here’s how you can be included:

  • Just take a picture of yourself hugging, kissing, balancing, or eating your favorite source of healthy fat!
  • If you have a blog, post your picture on your blog, and send me a link to your hug-a-fat post! If you don’t have a blog, feel free to do a facebook or even an instagram post and send me that link instead. It’s super open-ended and meant to be fun… just be sure to link Hug A Fat Month or my blog somewhere in the post, and I’ll feature all of your posts at the end of the month!

If you’re camera-shy but still want to be featured, feel free to take a picture of the food by itself!

chocolate chip peanut butter ballschocolate spreadcookie dough muffins

Why hug a fat?

While fun and silly, the main point of “Hug A Fat” Month is to help dispel the myth propagated by the media that fat makes you fat.

In truth, every cell in our bodies is made up of fat.

The fats naturally found in whole foods—essential fatty acids—are necessary for our bodies to function properly.  Without them, we wouldn’t be able to think, walk, or even breathe. The brain is 70% fat, and fats are also responsible for soft skin and shiny hair.

Research shows that people who include a little healthy fat in their diets tend to be slimmer than their fat-shunning peers, which may be partially attributed to the fact that fats help keep one satiated, so one eats less in the long run. Since fats make food taste better, one also won’t be as likely to binge on mass quantities of low-fat substitutes trying to soothe a craving that would’ve been satisfied with a small portion of the real thing.

hug a fat

(Above, my favorite Avocado Alfredo Pasta)

Interestingly, the obesity rates for Americans have doubled in the last 20 years, coinciding with the low-fat revolution. To make low-fat food products taste good, many manufacturers replace the fat with refined carbohydrates, processed fillers, and extra sodium and sugar. So while these products might be lower in fat, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are better for you.

Including healthy fat in your diet doesn’t mean you should go out and drink gallons of olive oil to ward off cancer, and not all fats are created equal. (I’m not a proponent of trans fats, and neither is the FDA. They just announced that, within the next three years, food manufacturers must get rid of all partially hydrogenated oils in their products.) But diets that include monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats in moderation may actually give one an edge against diseases like cancer, diabetes, and even heart disease.

The key is moderation. And balance.

**If you are on a very-low-fat or fat-free diet for medical reasons, please follow the instructions of your doctor or nutritionist. The first thing I always tell people who email me for nutrition advice is that they should consult a professional. Every person’s body is different, and it’s important to listen to the medical professionals familiar with your own individual history and needs.

trader joes almond butter

For women, including some fat in our diets is important for another reason. A startling number of bloggers (and girls in general) aren’t getting a regular cycle, even at a healthy weight. If you’re one of those girls struggling to start a regular cycle again and you currently eat low-fat, it might not hurt to ask a doctor or nutritionist if you should try adding a little healthy fat to your diet.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a few years, hopefully you know by now how much the message of eating a balanced diet means to me and how much I hope to spread that message.

It terrifies and angers me how many restrictive cleanses, fasts, and detoxes are being aimed at people who don’t need to lose weight or be on a special diet. Of course there can be a time and place for substituting peanut butter with PB2, replacing oil with applesauce, and sautéing vegetables in water. But for the general population, eliminating fat completely can have dangerous consequences. Plus… coconut butter is delicious Winking smile

So… are you ready to hug a fat???!

You are here: Home / Non-Recipe Posts / Hug A Fat Month – Back By Popular Demand!

Published on October 5, 2015

Pin

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC's 5 O'clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

Learn more about Katie

Get Free Recipes

Don’t Miss Out On The NEW Free Healthy Recipes

Sign up below to receive exclusive & always free healthy recipes right in your inbox:

Chocolate Covered Katie The Healthy Dessert Blog Recipes

Popular Right Now

Reader Interactions

82 Comments

Leave a comment or reviewLeave a rating

  3. Dana says

    You are awesome Katie! I can’t wait to see what people submit.

    By the way, what is considered for a diet to be labeled as low-fat? I never get a straight definition from the internet.

    Reply

  4. Cassie says

    Then you’ll see me hugging a LOT of peanut butter, almond butter, avocados and dark chocolate! Yummy yum yum! I cannot wait to start hugging some fatsssssss!

    Reply

  8. Kelly says

    I love this idea! My hug a fat recipe would have to be homemade fudge. High in healthy fats, low in sugar and carbs 🙂 This is my favorite way to get healthy fats

    Reply

  9. Grace says

    Love this! Like you said, it is all about balance. Avocado is so wonderful and delicious and healthy. My hug a fat recipe would be my green smoothie with avocado. I have it for breakfast 5 days a week, and it’s definitely what gets me out of bed in the morning.

    Reply

  10. Rosamund says

    I really love this and think it is a fantastic message to spread! I spent way to many years of my live freaking out over fats and doing terrible things like never eating peanut butter and avocado because I was convinced they would make me blow up. In the past couple of years I have realized just how much more nutritional value there is in these foods – and how tasty they are! You are wonderful for encouraging more people to eat good fats 😀 Now I’m going to go hug my coconut butter because we have a thing going on right now.

    Reply

  13. Brenda Davis says

    You have found your “calling.” I love the way you present your messages and the fantabulous recipes! Didn’t have stars to rate this one, if it did last star + or 100%.

    Reply

  14. Teresa says

    I am so, so excited that you are starting up this feature again! Now I need to brainstorm my “hug a fat” picture. There are so many options (and I love them all!) but to be honest I’ll probably use peanut butter ❤️?

    Reply

  18. Homeschool Mom says

    I came to your website homepage, and saw this post immediately. I scrolled down to try and see what others had posted in the comments, but couldn’t find them. I had to snoop around and finally discovered that I had to click on the first picture of you (It was a bit confusing to see 2 almost identical pics of you at the top of the blog, but oh well….) and that brought me, I assume, to the location of this specific post rather than the homepage. Hence, I finally found the comments section. I love your blog and find it exciting that you’re changing things up and growing in popularity, but I have to say, I did like seeing the comments immediately below the post. I think I’ve got it figured out, now, though.

    Reply

    • Chocolate Covered Katie says

      Thanks for your patience with this whole redesign process. To be honest, it has been a huge struggle behind the scenes… I’m working as hard as I can to get things up and running correctly again, and I only wish I knew more about technology to fix everything faster. Please rest assured I am working on it! 🙂

      Reply

  22. Kelsey says

    So excited for this! I tried eating a very low fat diet over the summer, but since I’ve added more fat in I feel so much better. You’ll definitely see me hugging some nut butter this month.

    Reply

  26. Paloma says

    Love this message, can’t believe I used to be worried about eating Nut butters! Much happier now that I eat them freely, whenever I want 😀 Fats should not be feard!
    Here is my submission 🙂 x

    Reply

  30. Wendy@TheNomadicVegan says

    Hi Katie,
    Here’s me hugging a fat! Thank you for everything you do. Finding your copycat recipes through a Google search was part of what helped me decide I could go vegan! It seems pretty silly now to think that I was worried about never being able to eat another Butterfinger, but we humans are not always rational. You are really making a difference! http://www.thenomadicvegan.com/the-nomadic-vegan-celebrates-its-birthday-in-chamonix/

    Reply

  32. Rosie says

    This is such a great incentive and I absolutely love the message behind it. Fats of any kind used to be a fear food for me, but now I choose to embrace them. Here’s my entry:
    https://instagram.com/p/8mHdDfmPuG/
    Even though I do have my own blog, I chose to post on Instagram because I’m hoping my new-ish blog will get some exposure from this.
    Thanks for such a great comp!

    Reply

  34. Tammy Blomsterberg says

    Love this! I think it’s important we remember that our bodies need healthy fat. My favorite fat is peanut butter. I always say my kids were made with peanut butter because during each pregnancy I ate jars of it. 🙂 I love having a bowl of nanacream with crumbled 3 ingredient pb balls which are dates, pb and oats and then I top it with ground flax for an added bonus of omega 3. Yummy! I posted my pic on instagram at: https://instagram.com/tammyblomsterberg/

    Reply

  35. Tori Farber says

    Good morning Katie,
    I just wanted to share my Hug A Fat Month post: http://thesweetlifediaryofahealthnut.blogspot.com/2015/10/friday-favorites-healthy-fats.html

    Thank you so much for inspiring others to eat healthy. I also wanted to thank you for allowing me to share my post on your website. I also have an Instagram that I share some of my blog pictures to: https://instagram.com/toriswholelife/ . Happy Friday and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
    Best,
    Tori “It’s a beautiful day, don’t let it get away.”

    Reply

  41. Nathalie Sader says

    Hi Katie,

    I really love bringing this matter to people s awareness! I know so many people who put their health at risk avoiding absolutely all forms of fat! As a psychologist, I have seen so many young girls with big damages not only physically but also psychologically.
    Entering this Hug a fat feature with my Avocado Carob mousse with the avocados being the healthy fat.
    Here is the link : https://instagram.com/p/8omF-stCuJ/

    Thank you!

    Reply

  42. Sophie says

    This post is so inspiring. You are 100% right of course. Navigating away from deep-fried pickles and such shouldn’t make us afraid of our avocados, almond butter, and coconut oil. I love it ALL.

    Reply

  43. Athena (AJ) says

    Hi Katie,

    Thanks so much for spreading the word about “good” fat! I share the same viewpoint. I just made a posting about your Hug a Fat challenge on my FB page. I live in Turkey, a huge producer of nuts and dried fruits. I had a great time sharing how I shop for the ingredients to make peanut butter from fresh, Turkish ingredients every month.

    I am working on building a wellness website and am thinking about posting about the Hug a Fat challenge in the near future… In the meantime, I hope you like the FB one.

    Thanks for sharing in your love of healthy fats!

    Reply

    • Chocolate Covered Katie says

      Hi! As mentioned in the directions, I’m featuring ALL posts published by readers in October that are about Hug A Fat Month, but they do just need to mention Hug A Fat. This isn’t to be difficult; it’s because the movement will only spread if people get the word out. 🙂

      Reply

  70. Aliyah says

    Ahhhh! I hope I’m not too late! I didn’t realize until yesterday evening that the deadline was tonight, so I stayed up really late last night and then spent much of the afternoon today (in between going to work) working on my blog post for Hug a Fat Month…and then what happened? My internet decided it wanted to be reeeeeeeeeeallyyy slow and make me miss the deadline! I have been waiting for FIFTEEN minutes for it to start working again so that I could leave this comment! Anyway, your post on healthy fats was out of this world. I love the concept that you’re promoting and the creative way you’re choosing to promote it! Thanks and keep up the good work!

    Here’s the link to my post dedicated to my favorite healthy fat: https://twoworldsmerge.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/my-top-7-favorite-uses-for-coconut-oil/

    Reply

  76. Linda says

    Hi Katie. Is hug a fat month going on now or is this an old post? I have a vegan blog I would like more traffic on. I thought is idea was really cool and fun. If this is an old post. Will you be doing it again soon.
    Thanks
    Linda

    Reply

Leave A Reply

I want to make

Get Free Recipes

Don’t Miss Out On The NEW Free Healthy Recipes

Sign up below to receive exclusive & always free healthy recipes right in your inbox:

Chocolate Covered Katie The Healthy Dessert Blog Recipes