Does the fat content in food make you fat?
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polenate
Posts: 19 Member
Does the fat content in food make you fat? Or is it solely the calories you need to be paying attention to? I've been dieting all day, and then I blew it with 2 packets of crisps and a penguin bar this evening... But MyFitnessPal says I'm still eating too little for my weight loss program? I'm really confused. So my question is, does the fat in food make you fat? Or is it calories?
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Replies
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Fat doesn't make you fat. If you want to lose weight, a calorie deficit is how it will happen.0
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Oh, so those 2 packets of crisps don't really matter too much as long as I'm in my calorie deficit?0
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No.
That's not how it works.
Fat content in food does not correlate to body fat UNLESS you are eating too many total calories.
All macronutrients have calories (energy).
Carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram
Protein = 4 calories per gram
Fat = 9 calories per gram
Overeating on TOTAL calories is what causes weight gain. Eating less TOTAL calories causes weight loss.
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I am proof that it is not calories. I am almost alawys under my calorie count and not losing weight. I find that I can eat high fat and lose weight as long as I do not eat carbs for it to switch to burning instead. If I eat high fat and high carb I get extra tubby fast; so n BLT's :-(0
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It's the calories. The idea behind the low-fat/fat-free craze was that you could eat more food by avoiding fats because fat has 9 calories per gram while protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram. So they'd replace fat content in foods with high fructose corn syrup to keep foods the same amount of grams while lower calorie. This is by no means a healthy way to cheat the system as the body does need fats.0
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Oh, so those 2 packets of crisps don't really matter too much as long as I'm in my calorie deficit?
For weight loss: no. You can lose weight eating nothing but crisps if you are in a calorie deficit (you might not feel so hot and you certainly won't be meeting your nutritional needs, but that's another story).
But if you're eating so little that an unplanned snack of two packets of crisps still has you under your calorie allowance, are you sure that your goal isn't too low? How many calories are you aiming to eat per day? A very low goal makes it much harder to resist temptation and it can impact your energy and mood.0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »No.
That's not how it works.
Fat content in food does not correlate to body fat UNLESS you are eating too many total calories.
All macronutrients have calories (energy).
Carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram
Protein = 4 calories per gram
Fat = 9 calories per gram
Overeating on TOTAL calories is what causes weight gain. Eating less TOTAL calories causes weight loss.
There's only 4 calories in carbohydrates?! So if I was excercising, it's okay to have that bag of crisps as long as I'm creating a calorie deficit while I do it?
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Oh, so those 2 packets of crisps don't really matter too much as long as I'm in my calorie deficit?
A calorie deficit is all that matters when it comes to weight loss.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/
He lost 27 pounds in 10 weeks eating nothing but hostess snack cakes, twinkies, doritos, and oreo cookies.
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is it healthy to forgo micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) that you get from fruits and vegetables? Of course not. But from a weight loss perspective, it doesn't matter. Energy is energy.0 -
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I am proof that it is not calories. I am almost alawys under my calorie count and not losing weight. I find that I can eat high fat and lose weight as long as I do not eat carbs for it to switch to burning instead. If I eat high fat and high carb I get extra tubby fast; so n BLT's :-(
^^^ Not how it works unless there is some medical condition involved and even then...
Fat does not make you fat, going over your maintenance calories does. As long as your are under your calorie goal, crisps are perfectly fine!
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janejellyroll wrote: »Oh, so those 2 packets of crisps don't really matter too much as long as I'm in my calorie deficit?
For weight loss: no. You can lose weight eating nothing but crisps if you are in a calorie deficit (you might not feel so hot and you certainly won't be meeting your nutritional needs, but that's another story).
But if you're eating so little that an unplanned snack of two packets of crisps still has you under your calorie allowance, are you sure that your goal isn't too low? How many calories are you aiming to eat per day? A very low goal makes it much harder to resist temptation and it can impact your energy and mood.
I'm 5'11, my BMR is 1644 and today I've eaten 1072, as well as doing about an hour of excercise. My BMI is 19.3 and I'm 25, I'm 9st 13lbs but I want to be about 9st ideally.0 -
When you say:MyFitnessPal says I'm still eating too little for my weight loss program?
Are you saying that when you close your diary, you are getting the message that you are not eating enough calories?
Or are you saying that you still have calories available even after a high-fat snack?0 -
I am proof that it is not calories. I am almost alawys under my calorie count and not losing weight. I find that I can eat high fat and lose weight as long as I do not eat carbs for it to switch to burning instead. If I eat high fat and high carb I get extra tubby fast; so n BLT's :-(
That's a sign that your calorie goal is actually set for you to maintain OR a potential logging issue. It doesn't prove that your body can create energy out of nothing.0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »No.
That's not how it works.
Fat content in food does not correlate to body fat UNLESS you are eating too many total calories.
All macronutrients have calories (energy).
Carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram
Protein = 4 calories per gram
Fat = 9 calories per gram
Overeating on TOTAL calories is what causes weight gain. Eating less TOTAL calories causes weight loss.
There's only 4 calories in carbohydrates?! So if I was excercising, it's okay to have that bag of crisps as long as I'm creating a calorie deficit while I do it?
Remember that "healthy" and "weight loss" are two completely different things. Weight loss is only caloric deficit. As long as you are within your calories, your weight will decrease (over time - this isn't a one day kind of thing). Those crisps may not be "healthy", but that's a completely different issue.0 -
I am proof that it is not calories. I am almost alawys under my calorie count and not losing weight. I find that I can eat high fat and lose weight as long as I do not eat carbs for it to switch to burning instead. If I eat high fat and high carb I get extra tubby fast; so n BLT's :-(
Unless your calorie count for weight loss is wrong, you are eating too man calories and that's why you're not losing weight. Food has no special properties as to weight loss. Eat your BLT's, just make sure you are within your calories.
Weigh your food in grams and make sure you are choosing accurate entries, count only cardio for exercise calories, and eat only about 75% of your exercise calories back.
You are makiing some uniintentional errors somewhere, which is why you're not losing weight.
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janejellyroll wrote: »Oh, so those 2 packets of crisps don't really matter too much as long as I'm in my calorie deficit?
For weight loss: no. You can lose weight eating nothing but crisps if you are in a calorie deficit (you might not feel so hot and you certainly won't be meeting your nutritional needs, but that's another story).
But if you're eating so little that an unplanned snack of two packets of crisps still has you under your calorie allowance, are you sure that your goal isn't too low? How many calories are you aiming to eat per day? A very low goal makes it much harder to resist temptation and it can impact your energy and mood.
I'm 5'11, my BMR is 1644 and today I've eaten 1072, as well as doing about an hour of excercise. My BMI is 19.3 and I'm 25, I'm 9st 13lbs but I want to be about 9st ideally.
yikes.
Seek medical attention.0 -
Yep, saying fat makes you fat is like saying if you eat green veggies you will turn green. Your body's metabolism runs on three main sources, fats, protein, and carbs. So, unless your eating in excess the previously mentioned macros, then you won't gain weight.0
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It is calories. Start a thread and you'll receive help.I am proof that it is not calories. I am almost alawys under my calorie count and not losing weight. I find that I can eat high fat and lose weight as long as I do not eat carbs for it to switch to burning instead. If I eat high fat and high carb I get extra tubby fast; so n BLT's :-(
OP, no, the fat content does not make you fat. Under eating, will however make you sick. You're a male, why are you doing this? The minimum you should be consuming is 1500 calories.0 -
So the fact I've eaten 1072 calories and my BMR alone is 1644 means I will be losing weight right now even though Ive had the crisps? Should I add the calories that are in the carbohydrates, fat etc. to that total of 1072 is the calories in the carbs, fat etc. included on the back of the packet?0
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janejellyroll wrote: »Oh, so those 2 packets of crisps don't really matter too much as long as I'm in my calorie deficit?
For weight loss: no. You can lose weight eating nothing but crisps if you are in a calorie deficit (you might not feel so hot and you certainly won't be meeting your nutritional needs, but that's another story).
But if you're eating so little that an unplanned snack of two packets of crisps still has you under your calorie allowance, are you sure that your goal isn't too low? How many calories are you aiming to eat per day? A very low goal makes it much harder to resist temptation and it can impact your energy and mood.
I'm 5'11, my BMR is 1644 and today I've eaten 1072, as well as doing about an hour of excercise. My BMI is 19.3 and I'm 25, I'm 9st 13lbs but I want to be about 9st ideally.
You need to eat more. What is your calorie goal?0
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