Do fat grams matter?

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funkyspunky871
funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I just watched a Discovery Channel video on calorie counting. They said a lot of people think for some reason fat calories are different from carb calories and etc. They said that fat grams and carbs are too commonly counted instead of calories. They also seemed to suggest focusing only on calories and through this a lot of high fat and sugary foods would be cut out anyways because they're high calorie.

So do fat grams matter? If I eat something with 200 calories and 10 grams of fat vs. something with 200 calories and 0 or even 5 grams of fat, will it make a difference? If I'm really craving fast food or something just really considered a 'no-no' for diets, can I still have it as long as it fits in my calorie range? Really confusing.

Replies

  • mzmoonlight
    mzmoonlight Posts: 160
    Ultimately it is calories that matter in terms of weight loss. However, there is more energy per gram of fat than there is per gram of carb. And lower fat is healthier for your heart and other organs. I would always chose low fat over something more fatty even if it had the same calories - unless it was a "good" fat (such as in avocados nuts seeds etc)...
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
    That's total BS (the tv thing). Calories do matter but they are not the only thing. Many food are high in calories but low in nutrients (empty calories)... what you want is your caloric intake to be full of the nutrients you need. These include Fats, Carbs, Protein, Water, Vitamins and Minerals. The six most essential nutrients your body needs to survive and burn fat. Never cut out any of them. These are what are known as fad diets. Usually diets that focus on lowering a nutrient which is bad if you dont understand why you're doing it. (ie low fat diets, low carb diets etc etc) the fact is we need them and the problem is most people dont understand the proper places to get them, what they do, when to eat them and why we need them. Dont listen to TV, it's all bought and paid for.
  • ivykivy
    ivykivy Posts: 2,970 Member
    It really depends on your biology. It is a misnomer that fat is the enemy of your body. Your body loves good fat. Omega-3s are essential nutrients. However some people do not do well of high fat diets and some do not do well on low fat diets.

    As far as the the fast food. I lost pounds eating fast food. A double cheeseburger every once in a while is not gonna break you. Remember the 80/20 rule. If you stay on your good eating plan 80% of the time you should see progress.

    Edit to say:
    I reread and do see what they are saying. Counting calories is important .

    If you only count fat grams it is very easy to over eat carbs (there a lot of fat vegetarians).

    It is also easy to overeat fat if you only count carb (I personally can eat all my allotment in nuts). You do have to focus on calories overall. Personally I count carbs and calories b/c of insulin resistance.
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
    It really depends on your biology. It is a misnomer that fat is the enemy of your body. Your body loves good fat. Omega-3s are essential nutrients. However some people do not do well of high fat diets and some do not do well on low fat diets.

    As far as the the fast food. I lost pounds eating fast food. A double cheeseburger every once in a while is not gonna break you. Remember the 80/20 rule. If you stay on your good eating plan 80% of the time you should see progress.

    So true! And those omega 3's 6's and 9's also help you digest and absorb proteins to help burn body fat. "essential" amino acids... not just a catchy name lol.
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
    and... it's the trans fats, hydrogenated fatty oils and un-natural man made fats that are the enemy of your body. Natural fats like animal fat (not commercially raised however... more talking about wild game), fat from raw nuts, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, tropical oils like coconut oil and coconut fat... are all really good sources of fats.. the ones your body needs.
  • tinasullens
    tinasullens Posts: 203 Member
    I'd also like to add that a lot of fat-free foods normally increase the sugar/sodium levels in order to try and preserve flavor. So just choose healthier foods, good fats, etc. and you'll be fine.

    A calorie pretty much is a calorie - it's energy. The energy (calories) will be burned first from carbs, then fat, then protein.
  • tinasullens
    tinasullens Posts: 203 Member
    If I'm really craving fast food or something just really considered a 'no-no' for diets, can I still have it as long as it fits in my calorie range? Really confusing.

    As long as it fits into your calorie range for the day, ENJOY IT!!! The word "diet" is a bad 4-letter word. It makes people think they have to cut out ALL the foods they love. It's not true.

    Stop listening to the Discovery Channel....they are idiots. Seriously.
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
    If I'm really craving fast food or something just really considered a 'no-no' for diets, can I still have it as long as it fits in my calorie range? Really confusing.

    As long as it fits into your calorie range for the day, ENJOY IT!!! The word "diet" is a bad 4-letter word. It makes people think they have to cut out ALL the foods they love. It's not true.

    Stop listening to the Discovery Channel....they are idiots. Seriously.

    AMEN!! yeah it's fun to watch Orange County Choppers, but other than that like I said it's all bought and paid for... with enough money any idiot can have a televised opinion and people put so much faith in it. Not good!
  • jhoyett
    jhoyett Posts: 92 Member
    Thanks for reminding me of the 80/20 rule. I've seen this applied to many things, but never this way. It takes the pain out of weight loss to know I can cheat (or at least not be perfect) 20% of the time and still see results!
  • smae1980
    smae1980 Posts: 794 Member
    and... it's the trans fats, hydrogenated fatty oils and un-natural man made fats that are the enemy of your body. Natural fats like animal fat (not commercially raised however... more talking about wild game), fat from raw nuts, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, tropical oils like coconut oil and coconut fat... are all really good sources of fats.. the ones your body needs.


    Actually the animal thing is not really true beacuse animal fat is generally higher in saturated fat than plant sources and saturated fat is thought to have a direct link to high blood cholesterol, more so than eating cholesterol itself. Animal fat should be limited, choosing lean meats with little fat is healthier. Reying on plant sources higher in monounsaturated fats for the bulk of your fat intake is much healthier. the recommendation of saturated fat is less than 7% from your total calories ( that's less than half the total recommendation of fat from calories).
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
    Thanks guys. :) I always go for low fat things anyways, but I was just curious as to see if fat grams really mattered. If it's in your calorie range for the day, why not? Isn't that how weight watchers works? Fat grams play a fairly small role. You could eat Mcdonald's every day on weight watchers as long as long as it was in your point range, right? (Not on weight watchers, was just using an example)

    I was just wondering if I should be counting fat grams like I am now. I try not to go over 30g of fat per day (Also using alli, so I'm not supposed to get more than 15g of fat per meal anyways). So it's okay to occasionally eat foods I crave that may be high in fat, but in my calorie range? But honestly, I don't even really crave like cheeseburgers and things. I crave avacados! I'd consider them as my favorite food.(Is that weird? Haha)
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
    That's total BS (the tv thing). Calories do matter but they are not the only thing. Many food are high in calories but low in nutrients (empty calories)... what you want is your caloric intake to be full of the nutrients you need. These include Fats, Carbs, Protein, Water, Vitamins and Minerals. The six most essential nutrients your body needs to survive and burn fat. Never cut out any of them. These are what are known as fad diets. Usually diets that focus on lowering a nutrient which is bad if you dont understand why you're doing it. (ie low fat diets, low carb diets etc etc) the fact is we need them and the problem is most people dont understand the proper places to get them, what they do, when to eat them and why we need them. Dont listen to TV, it's all bought and paid for.

    Actually, they did mention things called "empty calories" like sodas and stuff. All the video was really saying was that fat grams don't matter as much as the calories. That a fat calorie is burned just the same as other types of calories.

    And, I've always had it in my head, that fat was bad! Stay away from things with too many fat grams. I've always wondered why I read things about people eating nuts and peanut butter and avacados, etc. I was always like "How can they eat nuts? Do you know how much fat there is in those little things?" Thus why I haven't had an avacado in forever!

    So focus more on calories, but do try to eat those healthy fats instead of processed crap. Got it! Again thanks guys. Slowly starting to make more sense.
  • DJH510
    DJH510 Posts: 114 Member
    Looking at fats and other nutrients is important for general health etc, but for pure weight loss matters, calories are really all that matters. Of course, it is far easier to stay within your calorie limit if you don't eat processed foods, foods high in fat etc; then you can eat a lot more and feel fuller for longer whilst consuming the same overall amount of calories.
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
    Looking at fats and other nutrients is important for general health etc, but for pure weight loss matters, calories are really all that matters. Of course, it is far easier to stay within your calorie limit if you don't eat processed foods, foods high in fat etc; then you can eat a lot more and feel fuller for longer whilst consuming the same overall amount of calories.

    That's just not true. You go and eat the next two weeks of your calories in Junk food and tell me how much fat you've lost at the end of it all ok.
  • acuccia1
    acuccia1 Posts: 1
    That's just not true. You go and eat the next two weeks of your calories in Junk food and tell me how much fat you've lost at the end of it all ok.

    I know this is from while ago, but I just came across it. Here's someone who did just that:

    http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
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