Why Eating Excessive Amounts of Fat Makes us Fat
While most of us know that consuming excessive amounts
of fat will make us fat, we don't all understand exactly why
this is true. To implement a successful weight management
program, you need a good understanding of fat and why this
nutrient makes us fat.
The amount of energy a particular food
has depends on the quantity of fat, carbohydrates, and protein
it contains. Food energy, both in its consumption and
expenditure, is measured in terms of calories. Foods are either
made up of fats, protein, carbohydrates, or a combination. A
food that contains mostly fat will contain more than twice the
calories than a food containing mostly carbohydrates and/or
protein. For example, compare a serving of low-fat yogurt to a
serving of nonfat yogurt--the low-fat yogurt has quite a few
more calories than the nonfat variety because every gram of fat
has more than twice the calories of a gram of protein or
carbohydrate. Fat contains 9 calories per gram; protein and
carbohydrates yield only four calories per gram. Therefore, it
is important that you move towards replacing foods high in fat
with foods higher in protein and complex
carbohydrates.
No more than 25 percent of your total
calories should come from fat, fewer than 10 percent from
saturated fat, the most damaging form. A recent study of 23
lean men and 23 obese men found little difference in the total
number of calories each group consumed. But the obese men
consumed, on average, more than 33 percent of their total
calories from fat, compared with 29 percent for the lean men.
Because the body converts dietary fat into body fat more easily
than it converts protein and carbohydrates into body fat, the
obese men were storing more fat even though both groups
consumed the same total number of calories.
During the process of converting
protein and carbohydrates to fat, your body uses them as energy
and burns more than a quarter of their calories; it takes more
energy (calories "burned") to convert carbohydrates and protein
into body fat than it does to convert dietary fat into body
fat. Thus, more carbohydrate and protein calories are used and
fewer are stored as fat. Dietary fat, on the other hand, goes
straight into storage, with very few calories being used. For
example, John consumes 2,000 calories a day of which 40 percent
come from fat. If John replaces half of the fat calories (20
percent of total calories) with calories coming from complex
carbohydrates, less food will be converted to body fat even
though the total number of calories consumed has not
changed.
It is important to note that when that
20 percent of the 2,000 calories from fat now comes from
carbohydrates (or protein), you consume a lot more food, since
each gram of carbohydrate or protein contains less than half as
many calories per gram. Therefore, when you begin to decrease
the amount of fat in your diet and replace it with
carbohydrates and protein, even if you still consume the same
amount of food as before, you will be consuming a lot fewer
calories.
If dietary fat were easy to control,
most "diets" would probably succeed. Even with the recent
explosion of low-fat and nonfat products, people generally
still eat too much fat. The reason is simple: We have grown up
loving fat, and we are accustomed to its taste and texture.
Although most people do not usually crave fat as they do sugar
or salty foods, we do have a strong taste preference for fat.
Fat is responsible for the flavor and texture of many of our
favorite foods: meats, cheese, dressings, sauces, creams,
desserts, etc.
Because a high-fat diet increases fat
storage and yields more than twice the amount of calories, the
most effective way to reduce body fat is to concentrate on
reducing your daily fat intake. Even if you do not consciously
lower your total caloric intake, making the switch to a low-fat
diet will most likely result in fat loss. However, attempts to
suddenly restrict high-fat foods when you still have a strong
preference for them causes feelings of deprivation which may,
in turn, cause a higher intake of fat than normal. Deprivation
is part of the "diet" process, and one of the main reasons it
is doomed to fail. It is very important to make gradual,
healthier changes to the foods you enjoy. Drastic changes
backfire. When people base their food choices on the number of
calories consumed and a "foods allowed/not allowed" list, the
focus is on numbers rather than satiety and enjoyment of the
foods' taste and texture. This often negates any positive
effect the original focus on choosing low-fat foods may have
had. Simply counting calories and grams of fat does not make
for a permanent healthy lifestyle change. If tastes do not
shift to enjoying foods lower in fat, this quickly becomes too
restrictive and normal eating habits resume.
I'm not saying that you should avoid
counting grams of fat altogether. The way to lower fat in your
diet is to become a fat-conscious eater--and this requires that
you know the amount of fat in each food. However, instead of
counting fat grams and deciding if it is a "good food" or a
"bad food," try to balance the foods you are eating so that you
average 25 percent or less of your total calories from fat each
day. It's okay to have a piece or two of high-fat pizza (pizza
can be low-fat) if you are truly hungry and craving it, as long
as you balance that out with low-fat foods at other meals soon
after. What's crucial is to learn how to make small healthier
changes. Consume fat in moderation by balancing higher fat
foods with lower fat foods.
You should now have a better
understanding of fat and why excess consumption of this
nutrient makes us fat. Your greatest challenge, however, is not
learning new low-fat shopping or cooking techniques. Nor is it
remembering how to calculate fat percentages or what to say to
the waiter to reduce the fat in your restaurant meal. The
greatest challenge facing you at this moment is deciding
whether you are willing to make a change--to make small,
gradual changes to the foods you love.
Sure, there is plenty of work to be
done, but it really doesn't matter how long this new process
takes. If you allow changes to take place over several years,
your body will adjust comfortably, and you will be more likely
to maintain the healthy lifestyle permanently. When you begin
achieving improvements in energy and physical and psychological
performance, the fun and excitement you experience will make
the change well worth the effort. Action creates motivation!
Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of a
healthy, active lifestyle.
Chad Tackett is President of Global Health & Fitness. Learn how you
can have your own personal online trainer, dietician and
motivator at global-fitness
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