Low Fat or No Fat Diets Aren’t All They Are Cracked Up To Be

Perhaps one of the greatest diet myths of our time is that low fat diets (or even no-fat diets) are the best way to lose weight. In actuality, though, low fat diets not only are not the best way to lose weight, but they can actually be unhealthy. Let’s take a look at why this is.

A lot of times when people go on a low fat diet they become so consumed with reading the fat content of foods that they forget to look at the calorie content. Sadly, low fat doesn’t mean low calorie. While in many cases low fat foods will have fewer calories than higher fat foods this isn’t always the case.

When the fat is removed from food a lot of times the texture and taste of the food really suffers. To make up for this the companies that make low fat foods will add sugars, starch, flour or other types of thickeners to help improve the texture of the food and to make it taste more like the higher fat version. Unfortunately, this can also mean added calories. In fact, sometimes low fat foods have more calories than higher fat foods!

There are also other health problems with following a strict low fat diet. Our bodies need fat in order to function properly. Fat provides energy and helps our bodies with tissue repair. Fats also help our bodies to absorb vitamins including A, D, E, and K. Without adequate fat intake our bodies don’t function properly. That means that when you cut your fat intake too low you may actually be doing more harm than good.

Of course, extremely high fat diets aren’t good for you either. The key is to find a good balance where you are getting enough fat for your body but not overdoing it. In a healthy diet about 30% of your daily calories should come from fat. Rather than focusing on eating strictly low fat foods, instead focus on cutting saturated fat and trans fat from your diet while eating unsaturated fats instead. Foods like olive oil, avocados and peanut butter are all good sources for unsaturated fat.

Another “good” fat is Omega-3 which can be found in oily fish like tuna or salmon as well as in dark green vegetables and nuts.

By eating foods that provide your body with both the right amount of fat and the vitamins and nutrients that your body needs you will feel fuller longer and will help reduce cravings making it easier in the long run to stick with your weight loss goals.

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