Did Low-Fat Fail?
You’ve probably heard this logic before:
Low-fat diets failed because eating low-fat doesn’t work for weight loss.
I’ve always wondered about this logic, as it seemed to go against the common sense that eating more calories then we need to is what makes us fat, not the source of these calories.
So I decided to look into EXACTLY what happened with the whole Low-Fat trend.
The Low-fat foods trend really started picking up popularity in the early to mid 1980’s, and by the mid 1990 Low-Fat was all the rage.
EVERYTHING was low fat…even cookies…and ice-cream.
During this time, the population of the USA also got fatter.
A LOT fatter.
So what gives?
Was not eating enough fat to blame?
Was it replacing fat with sugar that was the mistake?
Nope.
As it turns out, it’s still highly correlated to Calorie Control.
According to the USDA food availability data charts, there was an average of 3,200 Calories per person available in the USA in 1980. (Even thirty years ago this was much more than we needed).
This is about when Low-fat really started to take flight, thanks to aggressive marketing and government support.
You don’t need to look any further at the massive increase in skim milk production in the 1990’s to the see the drastic effects that
the low-fat movement had on the food industry.
Total milk intake decreased over the 90’s but intake of low-fat milk skyrocketed by comparison.
Yet a funny thing happened with the introduction of low-fat foods.
We didn’t eat less fat…
We just ate MORE food.
Over the next two decades the amount of calories available per person increased up to roughly 3,900 Calories per day.
Yet, according to the USDA databases our total fat per capita never really went down.
In fact, it slowly crept up from 145 grams to 155 grams per day.
Our ratios of Saturated Fat to Mono-unsaturated and Poly-unsaturated fat also all stayed relatively the same over this time.
So we didn’t replace fat with carbs….We just ate more…more everything.
Carbohydrate intake went up. Protein intake went up… and fat intake went up.
Bottom line, low fat foods didn’t make us fat…simply having more food to choose from did.
More convenient foods like Snack Well Cookies, that we were lead to believe were “guilt free” …after all, they were low fat.
Basically, allowing food companies to Market Health and Weight loss back to us is what caused us to eat more, not eat differently.
No matter which way you cut it, eating more is the culprit to our weight gain.
Thus, the cure is always going to be eating less.
The trick is to find a way that you can eat less long term.
A way that is enjoyable.
Don’t let the marketing fool you, EXTREME dietary manipulation isn’t needed for weight loss, we just need to learn to take a break from eating every once in a while.
If your goal is weight loss, remember concentrating on one Macronutrient (protein, carbs or fats) does not necessarily mean you are eating less.
People who have successfully changed their body did it by eating less and exercising.
And have done this around the world, from a variety of different places and cultures. Eating different foods, in different ways.
The bottom line is: To lose weight you have to eat less.
This is the most successful approach to weight loss. (And, I believe The EASIEST way to eat less is Eat Stop Eat.)
You do not need to eat low fat, low carb or low protein…you just need to eat a little bit lower EVERYTHING.
After all, in my opinion your BODY should be low-fat, not your ice-cream.
BP
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I just wanted to say thank you to Brad and to say that I am NEVER straying from the ESE lifestyle again. I’ve been vegan, vegetarian, low carb, high fat, low fat, fast 5, warrior, paleo, panu, ect, ect. Each and every one of these “diets” started out great but all eventually lead to binge eating and gaining weight becausse of all of the rules and restrictions and the guilt when I broke the “rules”. Since getting back to ESE I have repaired my relationship with food and am no longer guilty when I eat “unclean” foods and no longer craving foods constantly. Now I eat ANYTHING I want, when I want and I am consistently losing weight, not that I need to (I’m 5′0 and 97.5 lbs). Thank you for setting me free from my obsession with micronutrients.
Jenny
Love the last line! Amen!
Any attempt to make desserts healthier, while simultaneously ruining the flavor, is pretty ridiculous. What’s the point? The only reason to eat a dessert is for flavor. If I wanted to eat something with more nutrients I would eat an apple or some baby carrots.
Been thinking about the whole reinterpretation of the heart hypothesis and de-fearing of saturated fats while promoting pasture fed animals, whipping cream in coffee, raw whole milk, butter and coconut oil for frying et cetera.
While helpful correctives, you can’t get away from the high calorie content of fats and the need to utilise the macro nutrients in general that go into ones mouth. Low to moderate unrefined carb (veg and some fruit) intake works for balanced energy and low body fat stability, but I find I can easily overdo the protein and fats – just as the ‘low fat’ skimmed milk/skinny ice cream/no fat biscuits industry encouraged and led to excess consumption/caloric intake as you describe
Experimented with 16hr IFs couple of times.
Will make it regular. Robb Wolf recommended not going over 16hrs due to effects of excess cortisol and the need for a low stress life in general to benefit from longer fasts. May try longer IF’s to test this on my physiology.
My hypothesis is that people tend to think they can get away with eating more because they’re eating so called “healthy” foods.
I personally can never feel satisfied with low fat foods. Adding fat to anything makes it taste better so removing the fat from foods seems backwards to me. So people are reduced to eating more of the foods they don’t enjoy. Can anyone really say that skimmed milk tastes anywhere near as good as full fat milk?
That’s funny, I was raised exclusively on skim milk, so just drinking full milk straight is gross to me. However, chocolate milk, or anything flavored, has to be full.
Fat free has always been a euphemism for me: nasty.
very interesting stuff Brad. We’ve been hearing that the American epedemic of obesety was macronutrient based, but the firgures here are more logical. Serving sizes have increased, availablity has increased and affordability has also increased while options for being entertained while sitting down have increase along with the whole seated job thing. Pretty obvious really why everyone is getting fat.
Go back to what grandma said and eat three healthy meals a day (and we do all generally know what a healthy meal is), don’t stress about missing a meal or two (cause you won’t get fatter by eating less) and move more (let’s please end the whole lazy gym theory of long slow cardio to lose weight) work hard at whatever you are doing. It works.
Still overthinking this. It is very simple. Eat real foods. Eat when you get hungry and avoid processed foods, no matter what it says or claims. Don’t be scared of meat, fat or anything else that isn’t processed. We don’t have to think in terms of 1000’s of years ago(Paleo), more of what it was like 100 years ago. When my grandparents were growing up they didn’t have access to the abundance of processed foods nor did they eat fresh fruit morning, noon and night because it wasn’t as available. They used butter because thats what you had. It was the overthinking of nutrition and manipulated studies that caused the increase in obesity in the U.S. Just my opinion, but has always worked for me.
Hey Brad,
Big thanks for all the research and info you put out on the website. Everything is top quality. I wasn’t sure where to post this question but wanted to see if you have any advice or can point me in the right direction for a men’s multivitamin. I am currently taking the GNC Men’s Mega Sport multivitamin but it’s mostly due to the fact that I have been taking it for years and don’t know if there is a better option out there. I think I initially started it as it matched up pretty well with what Men’s Health was recommending at that time. I did a search on your blog and couldn’t find anything related to my query. Thanks in advance.
Neil
Jenny, I concur with you. I tried almost every diet known to mankind. I am glad I did, don’t get me wrong. But I wish I could go back and try delicious foods that I passed on because it wasn’t low carb or had sugar, or had bread crumbs…for crying out loud what was I thinking….?
ESE is the only way to go.
Sorry if I’m posting this in the wrong spot, but I need some help/info. Today is my very first fasting day as I’ve now adopted the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle. (yes, lifestyle, NOT diet)
I just wanted to know if there are any forums to go to discuss progress, get support, or get questions answered.
Thanks so much for your help, and thank YOU Brad, for changing my life. This may seem odd to some, but I already feel healthier and have more energy after only fasting since 6PM last night! Amazing!
Tracy
The only thing low fat failed was my taste buds and mood.