Myth: The fat-free version of a food is always healthier than the full-fat version.
Myth: If something is fat-free, you can eat as much of it as you want.
Myth: Fat is evil. Fat is your enemy. Fat makes you fat.
Yes, a cheeseburger has an unbelievable amount of fat; those chili nachos you inhaled while watching Monday Night Football fare no better. But those are extremes we’re talking about. Who honestly thinks that 85g of fat – Ruby Tuesday’s bacon cheeseburger, I kid you not – is reasonable for one meal? Look at it this way: that feast packs just a smidge under 1200kcal and also contains 52g carbs and 55g protein. It’s not the fat in the food that made you fat. Rather, it’s you, who decided it would be a great idea to overindulge.
It could have been carbs. Heck, it could have even been protein (not as common, but it could happen). If you eat too much of anything, it will make you gain weight. It’s that simple. Let’s take, for example, a hypothetical Jane who is a self-professed health freak and exercise fiend. She’s an endurance runner, so she finds herself frequently noshing down on carb-heavy snacks to fuel herself – a bagel or two here, five bananas there and a huge bowl of pasta for dinner. Oh, and let’s not forget the chicken breast and egg whites because she needs all that energy to sustain her. Obviously. Well guess what, little miss Jane? It’s four weeks later and you’re up four pounds!
What? Blasphemy! But everything she ate was low-fat! She used PAM spray in all her cooking! Bottom line: all of that is irrelevant if she is still consuming more calories than her body needs. First off, she grossly overestimated her caloric expenditure, even as an endurance athlete — a very typical occurrence. Secondly, she mistakenly believed that just because she was avoiding dietary fats, she could eat as much of everything else she wanted.
The fact that a gram of fat is more calorie-dense at 9kcals/g than a gram of carbohydrate or protein, which only have 4kcals/g does not mean that you should avoid the macronutrient at all costs. Our bodies need dietary fat to function properly. Not all fats are the same, however.
And now for a paragraph of dietary fat education (it’ll be quick, I promise). The two types of fats that we consume on a daily basis are triglycerides and dietary cholesterol, the former comprising approximately 90% of our fat consumption. Triglycerides can be further divided into the following subgroups: trans-fat, monounsaturated fat, saturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. Trans fat is semisolid (think vegetable oil) and is mainly found in processed foods; it’s been shown to cause metabolic dysfunction. They really have no good place in your diet. Monounsaturated fat (olive oil) and appears to have no positive or negative effects on blood cholesterol levels and is a staple of the Mediterranean diet. Saturated fat is typically found in animal sources is and may be required for proper hormone levels, but too much can lead to numerous health problems including inflammation and elevated cholesterol. Polyunsaturated fats (salmon) are nearly always liquid at room temperature and are essential for your diet (essential fatty acids = EFAs). This is critical for things like gene expression and protection against heart disease. The more you know.
From a health standpoint, then, the quality of the fats you are eating is more important than quantity. Think olive oil, almonds, nut butters – things like that. From a weight gain standpoint, the devil is in the dose. Check yourself before you wreck yourself – and this pertains to any food, no matter its macronutrient breakdown.