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
