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Counting Fat or Calories: Which is More Important?

If you want to lose weight, then you know that there are a lot of diets out there. Some diets will tell you that the best way to lose weight is to cut calories. Other diets will tell you that calories don't matter—you should watch your fat intake instead. This can leave any dieter confused about how to lose the weight. If you are wondering whether you should watch your fat or calorie intake, here is a little information to help you decide which is right for you.

Fat or calories?

So you want to lose weight and you are not sure of the best way to do it. Do you cut fat or do your cut calories? You have probably heard conflicting information about the two. There are many products on the market that advertise as either being low fat or low calorie. Most of the time, foods that are either low in fat or low in calories are not both; they are one or the other. For example, you could very easily find low fat cookies. Read the package information carefully. What is the serving size? The serving size may be two cookies. Now, look at the fat content. Say the fat content per two cookies is 3 grams of fat. Now look at the calories. What does it say? Chances are, the calories are the same, if not more, than a regular fat cookie. You get less fat, but more calories.

Now think about it this way: if you find a product that is fat-free, you may think that gives your free range on how much you can eat. You want to lose weight and body fat. Right? Wrong. Again, you have to think about the calories you are putting into your body. Your body converts calories into fat pounds on your body, so if you eat six fat-free chocolate chip cookies, but are taking in 500 calories, then it still counts as calories. It doesn't count less because it is fat free.

Think there is the matter of the type of fat you eat. There are many sources of fat in food and some is better for you than others. For example, if you reduced fat, make sure you are reducing the right kind of fat in your diet. Saturated fat and hydrogenated fat are the worst. You have probably heard a lot about trans-fatty acids, too. These are all very bad for you when it comes to your health. They are known to cause heart disease. What you want to eat is fat that is derived from vegetables rather than animal fat (lard). You have to read the packages on your food to know what you are getting. Then, you need to aim for not consuming more than 30 percent of your daily calories from fat. Again, you will see that your calorie intake matters.

When you look at diets, remember that you do need to keep a close eye on your fat intake, especially the wrong kinds of fat. However, what matters most is the calories.