You should eat a low-fat diet. Here’s why.
High fat, low fat, high carb, low carb, keto, vegan, paleo, carnivore, and fasting! It is the Wild West when it comes to how many different options are out there to lose weight and be healthy.
It can be completely overwhelming to try and figure out what’s good, what’s bad, what’s real, and what’s marketing nonsense. It’s almost enough to just make you want to do nothing at all!
Since low-carb, high-fat diets are all the rage right now, I think it’s important for us to talk about them and make our case for the “low-fat” approach that we take with many of our nutrition clients.
We need to start by establishing some agreed-upon vocabulary.
When we talk about “fat” in this article we’re talking about dietary fat. The fat that is in the food that you eat, not the body fat under your skin.
Dietary fat comes in two forms in food:
Triglycerides
Cholesterol
Most of the fat you eat comes from triglycerides in foods like meat, nuts, seeds, and dairy. Cholesterol comes from foods like butter, eggs, and some fish.
We won’t get too far into the weeds in this article about cholesterol and the ties to increased risk of heart disease, but the takeaway you should know about is that eating large amounts of fried and processed foods high in saturated fat can raise your LDL cholesterol. That’s the bad one.
Those elevated LDL levels are what can lead to an increased risk of heart disease by the narrowing of the arteries that supply blood to your heart. Not good stuff y’all.
But don’t be afraid of eating fat.
It’s absolutely necessary for your health. It plays a vital role in hormone regulation and production. It aids in skin and hair health. It improves mood, and you’re just going to feel “blah” if you aren’t getting enough dietary fat in your diet.
However… that doesn’t mean that we recommend a HIGH fat diet for most people.
Maybe you’re someone who just wants to lose weight for overall health.
The number one factor for that to be successful is that you need to be in a calorie deficit for an extended period of time.
How long depends on how much weight you have to lose.
Just as important as the actual calorie deficit is that however your diet is structured, it has to be sustainable.
If you can’t sustain it, you’ll regain the weight.
So, since a calorie deficit is the main ingredient in fat loss, we can’t ignore calories.
Research has shown us a few things:
Fat loss is more successful when diet is combined with regular exercise.
Overly restrictive diets are less likely to be adhered to long-term than less restrictive diets.
High protein diets help you maintain more muscle mass when you’re in a caloric deficit.
Moderate/High carbohydrate diets do not impair fat loss as long as calories are equated.
Excess dietary fat is more easily converted to body fat than carbs and protein.
Let’s address these one by one.
FAT LOSS IS MORE SUCCESSFUL WHEN COMBINED WITH EXERCISE
If you’ve ever tried a high-fat/low-carb diet you’ve no doubt gone through a period of lethargy and lack of overall energy. If you’re active and exercise for your health, that usually translates to poor workouts and a lack of progress in the gym.
The reason is that carbohydrates are the preferred form of energy for your muscles. Carbs are converted to glucose and burned for energy, or stored as glycogen in your muscles and liver for intense exercise.
We use carbohydrates with our clients to FUEL their workouts and to help them recover from them. They are our friend!
While you can in fact lose weight without exercise (because of being in a calorie deficit), you’re more likely to stick with the plan and make faster progress if you’re exercising also.
OVERLY RESTRICTIVE DIETS ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE ADHERED TO
Yo-Yo dieting is awful for many reasons both emotionally and physically. You would think that we would have learned our lesson by now that going “hardcore” on fad diets doesn’t work in the long term.
The fact is that it isn’t going to stop anytime soon. There will always be that “new thing” that "really works and isn’t even that hard to do!"
Sorry, it’s just not the truth. The diet that works the best is the one you can stick to long term. That’s why we take a slower more sustainable approach to nutrition than a “diet” that you do for 8 weeks and then fall off of because it’s unsustainable.
Eating a lower-fat diet is sustainable for most people and us because it actually steers you toward many healthy, whole foods from the actual earth vs processed foods.
That doesn’t mean you can go cart blanch on high-fat whole foods like nuts and avocados though. We will get into quantities later.
HIGH PROTEIN DIETS PRESERVE YOUR MUSCLES WHILE LOSING WEIGHT & FAT
Another problem with high-fat diets is that they often limit the amount of protein that you can eat.
If you’re trying to get your body to burn dietary fat for energy you’ve got to keep your carbohydrates and protein low.
Have you ever seen someone who was small overall but didn’t look healthy? What you were seeing was probably a lack of muscle mass.
It’s what can give you that “skinny fat” look. Low protein diets and a lack of resistance training are the perfect recipe for this less-than-desirable physique.
That lack of muscle is dangerous as you age also and can lead to dependence on others and a greater risk of death from all causes.
We prefer a lower-fat, higher-protein approach that allows you to build and maintain muscle while eating plenty of satiating protein.
MODERATE/HIGH-CARB DIETS DO NOT IMPAIR FAT LOSS
Remember that overall calories are what drive body weight/fat loss. Not carbs, not insulin, not magic. The total amount of food in the form of calories that you eat.
While carbohydrates do retain water in your body, they don’t retain fat.
Remember, carbohydrates are our friends and we use them as a tool to fuel our bodies.
Research shows us that as long as calories are equated, carbs will not lead to fat gain. In fact, if carbs are fueling your workouts and leading to muscle growth you might lose fat faster!
DIETARY FAT IS MORE EASILY CONVERTED TO BODY FAT
Calories are important, but they aren’t all the same.
Fat in your food packs a punch at 9 calories per gram vs protein and carbs that come in at only 4 calories per gram.
Scientifically, as long as you’re in a calorie deficit you’re not going to gain weight. However, it’s important to note that should you go into a caloric surplus, your body can MUCH more easily convert excess dietary fat into body fat than it can convert excess carbohydrates and protein to fat.
Dietary fat is already in a lipid form and has an easier path to become body fat. Yet another reason to keep protein and carbs high and fat in check.
If you’re going to go over your caloric needs, don’t do it with fat.
Hopefully we’ve helped you understand the benefits of a more balanced, sustainable approach than getting the majority of your calories from fat.
Remember, fat is not evil. It’s absolutely necessary, but how much? Probably not as much as you think.
Since we only get so many calories per day to work with to maintain a healthy body weight and body fat percentage, we recommend getting enough fat per day to maintain your overall health, and then using the rest of the calories for protein and carbohydrates.
Common recommendations usually range from 20-40% of your daily calories to come from fat. Those numbers can be quite high especially when looking at someone with high calorie needs.
We tend to recommend on the lower end of this range depending on the client.
A recent study by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition determined that about .3 grams of fat per lb of fat-free mass is sufficient for most adults to maintain general health.
So for a 150lb female with 20% body fat, that would mean around 35-40g of fat per day. That’s probably less than you thought.
That’s not a whole lot more than two servings of peanut butter.
Remember, you don’t have to be perfect to get results.
There is optimal, and there is real life.
Having an approach that works for your life and is designed to help you achieve your goals is key.
Let us know if you have any questions. If you’d like to read any of the studies referenced in the post, send us an email.
If you want us to help you put a plan in place that takes the guesswork out of getting results, apply for coaching today.