If we are trying to lose weight can we please stop pouring oil on stuff!
When you increase the energy density of a meal by adding fat people generally won’t realize and will just eat more, and unknown calories from added fat is one of, if not the most likely thing sabotaging your weight loss results [1-4].
“Dietary fat exerts a weaker effect on satiation within a meal than carbohydrate or protein, and is a key driver of passive overconsumption (especially in the presence of ultra-processed foods)…When eating ad libitum and to a comfortable level of fullness, individuals consume MORE calories from high-fat foods compared to high-carbohydrate foods.”
Beaulieu et al., 2017 [2]
Thus, for individuals seeking weight loss it is in our best interest to stop adding oil to food just because.
It’s a massive Lose Lose.
Relatively nutrient-poor extra calories that people don’t even realize they are eating.
And, when did we forget that oil is a processed food?
Another huge source of caloric variability is the amount of fat added to meals at restaurants. If a cook is heavy handed with the oil and the portioning on the line the calorie content of that meal could easily jump up 500 or more. Thus, it would be in our best interest if restaurantsstarted measuring the oils to the same extent that they measure our proteins!
This is why we take portioning so seriously at My Fit Foods and our team is doing their absolute best to make sure what is on the label is in the container.
No one wants to eat bland brown rice and tilapia forever and lower fat diets that are under 20% of calories do look to be hard to maintain long-term [5, 6]. This is why we keep our total fat percentage consistently above that threshold by utilizing only the amount of healthy fats we need to make our whole-food meals taste delicious.
But, I thought Low-Carb High-Fat worked the best for weight loss?
When people transition from an ultra-processed diet to a highly restrictive low-carb/keto approach it will likely result in weight loss [7, 8]. But, if you go Keto and don’t focus on real foods AKA you eat as much bacon and butter as you want you may even gain body fat!
It is important to recognize that no educated individual in the low carb space is telling people to drink oil and pound ranch dressing. They know the reason that this ideology works is because compared to the typical American diet an educated low carb methodology generally increases protein and food quality [5], but when you control for protein intake and adherence people can lose just as much body fat on a moderate or even higher carbohydrate approach [9-12].
For fat loss, I am not Pro-Carb or Anti-Low Carb, I am PRO whatever works for you, but for individuals seeking weight loss indiscriminately adding oil isn’t an advisable strategy.
LFG!
REFERENCES:
1. Rolls, B.J., Dietary energy density: Applying behavioural science to weight management. Nutr Bull, 2017. 42(3): p. 246-253.
2. Beaulieu, K., et al., Impact of physical activity level and dietary fat content on passive overconsumption of energy in non-obese adults. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act, 2017. 14(1): p. 14.
3. Stubbs, R.J., C.G. Harbron, and A.M. Prentice, Covert manipulation of the dietary fat to carbohydrate ratio of isoenergetically dense diets: effect on food intake in feeding men ad libitum. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, 1996. 20(7): p. 651-60.
4. Hall, K.D., et al., Effect of a plant-based, low-fat diet versus an animal-based, ketogenic diet on ad libitum energy intake. Nat Med, 2021. 27(2): p. 344-353.
5. Aragon, A.A., et al., International society of sports nutrition position stand: diets and body composition. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2017. 14: p. 16.
6. Gardner, C.D., et al., Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets for change in weight and related risk factors among overweight premenopausal women: the A TO Z Weight Loss Study: a randomized trial. JAMA, 2007. 297(9): p. 969-77.
7. Hashimoto, Y., et al., Impact of low-carbohydrate diet on body composition: meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. Obes Rev, 2016. 17(6): p. 499-509.
8. Mansoor, N., et al., Effects of low-carbohydrate diets v. low-fat diets on body weight and cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Br J Nutr, 2016. 115(3): p. 466-79.
9. Veum, V.L., et al., Visceral adiposity and metabolic syndrome after very high-fat and low-fat isocaloric diets: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr, 2016.
10. Tay, J., et al., Comparison of low- and high-carbohydrate diets for type 2 diabetes management: a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr, 2015. 102(4): p. 780-90.
11. Gardner, C.D., et al., Effect of Low-Fat vs Low-Carbohydrate Diet on 12-Month Weight Loss in Overweight Adults and the Association With Genotype Pattern or Insulin Secretion: The DIETFITS Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 2018. 319(7): p. 667-679.
12. Hall, K.D. and J. Guo, Obesity Energetics: Body Weight Regulation and the Effects of Diet Composition. Gastroenterology, 2017. 152(7): p. 1718-1727 e3.