What happens to sugar and fat in the body ?

Hannahp1402

Hi,

Please can someone explain to me whether or not I should be looking at the content of fat and sugar in foods? I concentrate on calories at the moment mainly. My brother in law is in sports science and told me that fat and sugar do make a small difference but we didn't have enough time to really discuss what difference they make and now I am intrigued!

What confuses me is that the drug Orlistat (for weight loss) stops you absorbing a 1/3 of the fat you take in and apparently makes you lose weight. There is no guidance about limiting calories with that drug , only fat. I am wondering why limiting the fat makes you lose weight even if you are eating under your calorie allowance? FYI I am not on this drug and once considered using it but decided I didn't want to use it and would rather do it alone!

Please could someone explain if fat is something I should also look at and why? I can't understand why it would make you lose weight if you took a drug and fat absorption was limited , then in that case surely won't eating less fat make me lose weight too?

Sorry if I am being a bit silly, I just can't get my head around it.

Thank you

yarwell

Orlistat reduces your effective calorie intake by restricting absorption of fat - the fat comes out "the other end" so you don't want too much of it. Eating less of it would have the same effect, the question is whether you can control your eating or not - it's used in obese people who clearly have self control issues.

isulo_kura

Hannahp1402 wrote: »

What confuses me is that the drug Orlistat (for weight loss) stops you absorbing a 1/3 of the fat you take in and apparently makes you lose weight. There is no guidance about limiting calories with that drug , only fat. I am wondering why limiting the fat makes you lose weight even if you are eating under your calorie allowance? FYI I am not on this drug and once considered using it but decided I didn't want to use it and would rather do it alone!

By reducing the fat you are just reducing the calories in a different way. Orlistat stops the absorption so you take in less calories. It does have the wonderful side effect of 'Anal Leakage' due to this.

elphie754

Actually if you buy Alli (the over the counter orlistat, just half the prescription dose) it actually does come with calorie instructions as well. The blocking of 1/3 of fat absorption is on top of a calorie deficit.

Paperchains38

Just using my experience so it may not be the same for everyone else. I have used Orlistat in the past to lose weight (8 1/2 years ago) which does stop some of the fat being absorbed the side effects are not pleasant if you do eat a fatty meal. I lost over 7 stone in 18 months. The reason i put the weight back on was because i got lazy as i reached my goal weight stopped taking the tablets completely instead of weaning myself off and stopped exercising.

I had gall stones which were caused by the weight loss and i managed to put up with them for about 7 years until last year i had an infection in my gall bladder and the only way to manage the pain was to go on a low fat diet (fatty foods are a trigger) doing this i managed to lose 3 stone in a year without counting calories, i had my gall bladder removed in January but i am still on a lower fat diet (however not quite as low fat) but as the effectiveness of this became less i now combine it with a lower calorie diet and i am losing on average 1lb a week which is just slightly less then i was using the Orlistat however i am not doing as much exercise as i was when on the tablets.

As i have said this is just what happened to me and may not happen to everyone else.

Chrysalid2014

High-sugar foods (including fruit) make me feel more hungry and prone to bingeing; whereas high-fat foods such as avocados and nuts I find are more satisfying. I used to always opt for the former as it meant I could have more volume. I've just recently learned the error of my ways.

MissMaija

There are three macronutrients your body uses for fuel... carbohydrates, protein and fats. If you have consumed enough calories from carbs and protein your body will use that for energy first and store fats. For someone with a low caloric intake, who doesn't consume enough calories in a day from carbs and protein, it probably won't make much of a difference if their diet is higher in fat because their body will resort to fat for energy also. We do need a certain amount of fat in our diet which should come from "healthy fats" such as avocados, olive oil, almonds etc. and not saturated fats, found in greasy food, fatty meats, food made with cheese, full fat milk, butter/cream etc. Foods high in sugar usually aren't very filling and cause you to eat more, whereas foods high in fiber (complex carbs like oats, brown rice, sweet potato etc.) will keep you fuller for longer and you will eat less.

If your goal is to lose weight by burning excess fat and you consume your daily intake from mainly carbs and protein, your body will use that energy for fuel throughout the day. If there is a caloric deficit from either cutting calories or exercising, your body will then turn to fat for energy, resulting in fat loss. Your body will start to burn fat after it has burned up all of the energy from the other macronutrients. I hope this makes sense!

debteel

I use Alli and I have lost 10 pounds in a month. I am still trying to learn to eat a low fat diet, and I must say the Alli will let you know when you do not. I have tried low carb, high fat diets, but that is not healthy for me. The only way I ever lose weight is doing a low fat diet. The Alli will make sure that you do that.