SubscribeCutting Calories Works - But With Low Fat Foods?
It seems ridiculous that we need a scientific study to validate the obvious. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has compared the reduction of portion sizes with the reduction of calorie density in a meal.
Whilst both techniques (obviously!) meant the women in the study were eating less, cutting calorie density was more effective that simply reducing portion size. Reducing the calorie density of a meal meant replacing conventional items (i.e. cheese and crackers) with low-fat versions. Also, the proportions of vegetables in a meal were increased.
Does Low-Fat Equal Low-Nutrition?
I'm really not sure about the advice from this study. By all means we must try to understand the nutrient density of the foods we eat. However the processed food substitutes that fill the supermarket shelves (i.e. low-fat, low-carb) might be lower in calories but they are nutritionally poor.
The following data is from nutritiondata.com.
1 Ounce (28g) Cheddar Cheese (114 Calories, incl. 9g Fat)
1 Ounce (28g) Low-Fat Cheddar Cheese (49 Calories, incl. 2g Fat)
You might have reduced fat - but portion-for-portion - the low-fat process has halved Calcium, Magnesium, and Iron. Potassium and Zinc have also been reduced.
Analyse further, and you'll find that the low-fat version contains just one-fifth of the Vitamin A that is in the full-fat version. All other vitamins are also reduced. Remember this is portion for portion.
I'm not advocating eating fattier foods - but this is something to ponder on.
I definitely hear what you are saying and I have to agree. It is the same with a lot of the so called healthier choices that the supermarkets and food manufacturers sell. 'Low-fat' or 'diet' definitely doesnt always equal a healthier choice.
In the large part these products have been made a lot less healthy in the process of cutting the two measures of health that most people use to jugde packaged foods - calories and fat content.
My girlfriend used to buy a lot of these meals until we started to look at the nutritional content and find that they had been packed full of sweeteners and salt and other ingredients to try and replicate the same product while keeping those two measures low.
I guess the moral of the story is don't believe what the manufacturers are telling you - they are often just trying to shift products!
ReplyIts all about money. Low fat is worth a fortune to somebody. Breakfast cereal and canned soup are now diet programs in our face on TV. These are some of the foods that were shunned by low carb. Now they are weight loss tools. The industry competition with these products is so transparent.
ReplyI posted this on my site a while back when a low-carb blogger talked about this same thing. Since then, I've realized that this may well be either cherry-picking or setting up a straw man.
For example, look at yogurt. A cup of whole milk yogurt has 8g of protein and 296mg of calcium, while a cup of skim milk yogurt has almost as many calories, but has 14g of protein and 488mg of calcium. I'm sure there are lots of other examples (meat would be an obvious one) where reducing the fat increases the nutrients.
So, moral of this story sounds more to me that processing, not low fat, is the bad guy in this story. Some things just don't translate well.
ReplyYou're right - some things just don't translate well. It guess it's easy to look at one macro-nutrient at the expense of all other nutrients.
Processed food is so... deceiving. Not necessarily evil - just deceptive. The hard-sell "low-carb!" or "low-fat!" - just doesn't paint a complete picture.
Replyhey, i am 14 years old and way 150 lbs, my doctor keeps telling me that i am not obese, just a little over weight,yeah, right... i feel the ned to not eat, not do anything it just hurts me, it hurts me so so so much to look at myself in the mirror while gettin ready 4 skool in the morning, i really feel cautious around boys, i hold my arms around my stomach, i like a whole lot of guys,in fact a majoritey of my friends are guys, i cant stand the fact that i am not skinny like all of the gourgous "hot" bodied chix.if someone has any ideas, please respond.Thank You ,
ReplyAlexis
Alexis: Don't try to lose weight by starving yourself. You'll just be sending the "store fat" and "eat muscle" signals to your body. These spell death when it comes to permanent fat loss.
Instead of fighting against your metabolism, why not try working with it. Eat natural foods every 3 hours and exercise. You'll get a great metabolic boost which you can use to drop the weight. Your body works best when it is active and properly nourished. I believe that whenever you pick up a fat-loss program, you should work to be healthier and not just thinner.
I can't describe a full fat-loss program in a blog post, so I'll just say that Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is probably the best you can do for permanent fat loss.
ReplyAlexis, how tall are you? Unless you're pretty short, 150lb is not really overweight. I think if you try to be more active (do a sport, go biking, dance around in your room if you don't wanna do any of the others) it will both help you tone up/lose weight (assuming you do have weight to lose) but it will also make you view your body differently. Not as a statue to be looked at, but as something active, that can do things, bike, run, throw a ball, lift a heavy book bag easily, all these things.
Also, you're assuming that guys will be as hard on you as you are on yourself. They won't. Most guys are able to like more than one body type.. when it comes to teenage boys, heck, they will like *most* body types (it is those hormones, hehe). Women think that "ideal" is around a 5lb range, whereas most guys usually think it is around a 40lb range. They are not as obsessive. Now, by crossing your arms over your stomach, you're saying "stay away from me" with body language, so it is no wonder they aren't thinking of you as more than a friend - that is what you're telling them to do.
I've been where you are. Also, at 14, you're probably still growing. Stay active, eat enough of your good foods not to be hungry, but not enough to feel stuffed afterwards (we all know what they are... the real ones, not the junk/fast ones), and you'll be fine.
ReplyI just learn about the fuss regarding Brazillian Diet Pills. I would like to know what is the update regarding it? Is there a site that you can purchased the real stuff, if so, what and any personal chat rooms so I can read more about it. Thanks.
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