There was a time in the 80s when the low-fat diet was all the craze. The idea was that consuming less dietary fat would result in overall less body fat. If you've spent any time around a calorie calculator, you'll know this to be false nowadays.
What is a calorie?
A calorie is a universal measurement to show how much energy is contained within the food we are consuming. The higher the caloric value, the more energy stored within the food. Dietary fat in the 80s was most likely associated with visceral fat because of two reasons. 1. Fats as a macro (proteins, fats, and carbs are the three types of macronutrients) contain the most calories per gram. Meaning they are calorically denser by weight. 2. The amount of sugar being added to foods was increased drastically to meet the demands of a said low-fat diet so food still tasted good. These factors created a caloric surplus in most people's diet, meaning they instead gained weight despite their doctor's recommendations for them to lose it.
So what is important about fats?
Fats are vital for hormone function and cognitive ability. To properly energize these systems people should spend time educating themselves on the benefits of saturated vs. unsaturated and also on how to avoid trans fats.
So what's making me fat?
Too much food, not enough movement. Start mapping your calories, start tracking your movements; see how those apply to your trending weight, and make a plan from there. Ideally, we want to build healthier lifestyle trends you can keep for life and not a quick "diet". I see it all the time, people who go on traditional diets for months at a time then yo-yo their weight because they can't take care of themselves when off "the diet". Quit dieting and change your lifestyle. Your weight gain is due to bad habits; start at the basics.
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