The Problem with Many Low-Fat Diets

The Problem with Many Low-Fat Diets

Most people are aware that they should try to keep their daily fat intake low. 20–35 percent [of an adult's daily caloric intake, or roughly 44–55 grams, is the dietary recommended consumption amount for protein. It's not surprising that people are becoming more health conscious and reading nutrition labels before making decisions, such as "passing over" onion rings when trying to lose or maintain weight when one slice of pecan pie contains 27 grams of fat and one tablespoon of Thousand Island salad dressing contains 8 grams of fat.

However, many people are worried because they avoid fat so strictly, especially beneficial unsaturated fat. The "fat-free" population is gaining weight, not reducing it.

People who are trying to lose weight often confuse the terms "fat-free" and "calorie-free," or they just do not know the difference. Thus, many people eat excessive amounts of "fat-free" food in the mistaken belief that it will not cause weight gain. But it's not the fat grams themselves that lead to weight gain; it's the calories in these fat-free foods.

More than twice as many calories can be found in a gram of fat as in a gram of protein or carbohydrates. So, statistically speaking, a person can have twice as many grams of protein or carbohydrates as fat grams and yet get the same number of calories. Dietary advice often emphasizes cutting down on fat consumption and staying away from oily, greasy meals like onion rings because they contain so many fat grams.

While it's true that avoiding fat-rich foods will help you lose weight, this isn't the case because the word "fat" is bad; rather, it's because 9 calories can be found in just 1 gram of fat. In other words, those who are watching their weight should avoid foods high in fat because doing so increases calorie consumption.

Dieters who fail to understand this fundamental nutritional principle that calories, not fat grams, are what cause the body to gain or lose weight often end up disappointed by the results of their efforts.

Due to the average daily calorie expenditure (i.e., conversion of food into energy), an average American adult male requires a daily caloric intake of 2000 calories. A typical male dieter with a daily calorie intake of 1800 will "save" 200 calories per day by following this plan. Since there are 3,500 calories in a pound, the dieter in this situation will "save" 3,600 calories after 18 days (since there are 200 calories in a day). As a result, you'll shed one pound. In a similar vein, this dieter will gain one pound of weight in just 18 days if she consumes an extra 200 calories every day.

Someone on a diet who isn't familiar with this formula might think that eating fat-free foods like "fat-free" caramel topping (6 tablespoons per day) isn't contributing to their weight gain, even though it is. Since there are zero fat grams in the fat-free caramel topping, the labeling is accurate. However, a serving of fat-free caramel topping (two tablespoons) has 103 calories [iv].

If the dieter is on a 44-gram-of-fat-per-day plan and doesn't keep track of his caloric intake, he could not realize that these 6 tablespoons account for 15 percent of his daily calorie total (or 309 calories) on a 2000-calorie diet.

If a dieter only ate "fat-free" meals, they would quickly go over their calorie limit for the day by lunchtime. These additional calories aren't coming from fat but rather from some other source, most likely carbohydrates.

Again, this is a message that many people on diets don't get from marketing and advertising: fat grams do not "cause" weight gain automatically. Instead, fat grams should be recorded along with carbs and proteins because they contribute to overall calorie intake.

The fact that many so-called "healthy" items, like energy bars, are actually quite calorically dense just serves to further complicate matters. The 230 calories in an Energy BarTM (chocolate chip flavor) are just 40 fewer than in a ButterfingerTM candy bar [v]. Unfortunately, some dieters eat multiple Energy Bars daily, gaining 230 calories without much fat content since they mistakenly believe the bar is "low fat" because it has only 2 grams of fat. If the dieter exceeds his or her daily caloric intake threshold, weight gain is inevitable. Yogurt-covered bars can mislead dieters who think they're getting a "healthier" option because of the yogurt, but the yogurt-berry Balance Bar still has 200 calories per serving, with only 25 coming from fat.

While most nutritional supplements are designed to be high in calories but low in fat, there are a few exceptions. In addition to helping during weight loss, these foods are protective during the critical post-diet period. Although they may have made great efforts and sacrifices to lose weight, many dieters unfortunately gain it all back within the first few months after ending their diet. While many factors, such as the dieter's surroundings and genetics, contribute to whether or not they will regain weight after losing it, the lack of access to low-fat, low-calorie, and tasty food options after weight reduction is an important contributor. As a result, they go back to their old eating habits, and their weight quickly creeps back on.

There are, however, smart nutritional supplements available that meet this demand and provide dieters and ex-dieters with the nutrients they deserve to maintain their health and avoid regaining weight. For the benefit of dieters present and future who will have to contend with deceptive "fat-free" marketing, I hope that forward-thinking businesses and their goods swiftly become the rule rather than the exception.

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