Can eating fat make you thin? According to author Deborah Arneson it can. In her new book Fries, Thighs, and Lies: The Girlfriend's Guide to Getting the Skinny on Fat, Arneson preaches that the best way to lose weight is to say no to dieting.

This does not mean that women should run out to the nearest burger joint and whole heartedly indulge themselves. Arneson encourages women to maintain a healthy, reasonable diet. Her belief, as she reports in her book, is that women who try to follow restrictive ultra low-fat diets will ultimately fail, and actually end up gaining weight. This is because eating too little causes a decrease in metabolism and the body loses its ability to burn fat quickly.

The “diet” book Fries, Thighs and Lies encourages women to embrace healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats found in fish, avocados, nuts, olive oil and canola oil. These fats contribute to balanced cholesterol levels, heart health and healthy skin and hair. Arneson’s reasoning is pretty logical. Eat plenty of nutritious foods and cut out unhealthy fats and you will lose weight. Maybe it’s time to put away the weigh scale and bring on the guacamole.