Some fat in your diet can help you lose weight

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Personal trainer Leslie Ivarson tries to make healthy food choices for herself and her family, and that includes fat -- healthy fat.

"I eat a lot, but the stuff I eat is real food," said Ivarson.

"Healthy fats" are mono- and poly-unsaturated fats. They're found in foods like olive oil and nuts.

Some research suggests that dairy fats may also help with weight loss because they make you feel full.

"Over a decade ago it was very popular for people to seek out fat-free foods, but lately people are learning there are good fats," said dietitian Libby Mills.

Mills explains that it's not that fat is bad, you just need to read labels and watch your total fat intake.

"It's still just as important for people to look at the back of a package when shopping to find out if there's too much fat and if the food contains the right kinds of fat," said Mills.

A recent Journal of the American Medical Association calls for the federal government to drop restrictions on total fat consumption in dietary guidelines for Americans, which will be updated later this year.

"One of the movements is toward real food. People are reading ingredients more than ever before. People are putting down products if they can't pronounce the ingredients," said supermarket guru Phil Lempert.

Lempert says consumers are no longer infatuated with "low-fat" or "fat-free" foods.

"You've got to read those labels because very often, you'll see a nonfat or low-fat product that's loaded with sugar instead," said Lempert.

"When we're looking to prepare foods with fuller fats, but keep the foods healthy, it comes down to portions and getting the right amount of foods with the right amount of fat," said Mills.