Will You Lose Weight Faster Watching Calories or Fats?

With all the diets available today, it is hard to know which one is better. Some claim that as long as you watch your carbs, you will lose weight no matter how many calories you consume. The Atkins diet is a good example of this. Others say that a low-fat diet is the answer. In the end, it seems that a low-calorie diet is the best approach for most people, though not for all.

Calories Vs. Fat

It seems that, based on most experts' and nutritionists' opinion, watching calories--any calories--as opposed to simply cutting fat in your diet is the most efficient way to lose weight quickly. A study, funded in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), shows it is possible to choose a diet that works for you. When we reduce our calories, and add some dietary fiber, weight loss should be inevitable." Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, NHLBI director, stated, "As long as people follow a heart-healthy, reduced-calorie diet, there is more than one nutritional approach to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight."

Dr. Alice H. Lichtenstein, professor of nutrition at Tufts University in Boston, stated, as quoted in a New York Times article published in September 2002: "Reducing fat alone is no guarantee of weight loss. You must cut calories or increase physical activity."

You may wonder why a diet such as Atkins, which is not based on cutting calories, has become so popular then. The reason is because even in a high-protein,high-fat diet like Atkins, you do indeed cut calories, although involuntarily. Any time you limit any major nutritional group to the extent that Atkins does with carbs, you are likely to lose weight, primarily because you will have consumed fewer calories. Also, foods high in fat and protein digest slower, which will make you feel satisfied longer. When you feel satisfied, you will not eat as much.

Considerations

You need to keep a few things in mind if you decide to lose weight by simply watching your calories. For example, it is easy to underestimate the number of calories you eat. In order for you to lose weight watching your calories, you need to count every calorie you consume. Many people find this not only too time consuming but also incredibly dull. So they end up cutting corners, which almost always results in more calories consumed than they have estimated with their "ballpark numbers." Also, the data that concluded a century ago what amount of energy fat, protein and carbs have, is not correct. As reported by website of the Daily Mail in England, Dr. Geoffrey Livesey, an independent nutritionist who previously worked for the Medical Research Council's human nutrition research unit, states, "For years we have been underestimating the number of calories in some foods by as much as 25 per cent. Depending on the food being eaten, your body could be getting far more or less calories than it is actually consuming." Fat apparently has 8.7 calories per gram, not 9; protein 3.2, not 4; and carbs 3.8, not 4.

Still, fat has a lot more calories than the other two. This means that if you do eat a low-fat diet and are one of those who hate counting calories, you may lose weight faster watching your fat intake.