Dietary fats have the greatest reputation as a fat storer though we, as Americans, seemed to have switched our focus away from concentrating on dietary fat. These days, dieters focus on both carbs and fat. What would the best fat loss diet be?
Each gram of dietary fat yields 9 calories while each gram of protein yields 4 and a gram of carbohydrate also yields 4 calories. Throwing in the body’s “inefficiency” at obtaining 100% of the calories from the foods we eat, it is rather clear how the common adage “fat is more fattening than carbs or protein” came to be.
Let’s take a closer look at dietary fat versus dietary carbohydrates and dietary protein.
— 100 calories of fat at which 97% is “accessible” = 97 calories
— 100 calories and carbohydrates at which 90% is “accessible” = 90 calories
— 100 calories of protein at which 80% is “accessible” = 80 calories
As you can see, fat is “more fattening” than carbs or protein. Furthermore, gram for gram, fats produce more energy in the body than carbs or protein. For example, 1 g of dietary fat yields 9 calories per gram while a gram of either carbohydrate or protein yields 4 calories per gram. A side-by-side comparison of 100 g of fat, carbs and protein illustrates dietary fat is the more calorically generous of the three.
— 100 g of fat at 9 calories per gram = 900 calories
— 100 g of carbohydrate at 4 calories per gram = 400 calories
— 100 g of protein at 4 calories per gram = 400 calories
Very simply, in terms of calories, you would have to eat 225 g of protein or 225 g of carbohydrates to yield the same amount of calories found in 100 g of dietary fat.
— 100 g of fat at 9 calories per gram = 900 calories
— 225 g of carbs at 4 calories per gram = 900 calories
— 225 g of protein at 4 calories per gram = 900 calories
Yet another aspect to consider in trying to control total caloric intake is food volume. Fatty foods, which yield gram for gram more than 100% more calories than carbohydrates and protein, usually do not take up much space within the stomach. Nor are they visually voluminous.
For example, two tablespoons of olive oil yield 228 calories while a 4″ x 4″ potato yields the same amount of calories. And a large chicken breast would yield approximately the same number of total calories. Of the three, which is physically smaller in size and likely the one that would be easier to overeat?
The oil.
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