Discover How Fat-Free Foods are Not Really Fat-Free

Fat free food has become the latest trend; it has become a fashion and it has become an obsession, especially for those who are health-conscious. Most of us believe that fat free food is not fattening at all. This idea leads us to eat more of fat free foods and yet result with extra pounds around our waist, thighs, wherever… Doesn’t fat free food contribute to losing weight?

To answer this question you need to understand something about fat. The term fat might refer to fat in foods we eat or fat that we put on our bodies as a result of overweight gained due to over eating, lesser exercise and bad eating habits.

You might be surprised to know the truth that eating fat does not necessarily mean that it is this fat that is put on your body as extra pounds. Fat has more calories than protein or carbohydrate. If you compare equal quantities of two kinds foods fat free food would have fewer calories. But the calories are still there. Your weight gain or weight loss is directly proportionate to calories taken in as against calories burnt off.

Eating more fat means you are consuming much more energy than your body needs and this energy is stored up into fat layers as reserves. It is actually the energy in the fat and not the fat itself that is fattening. Do you understand? If you think that by avoiding fat you would not get fat, you are wrong.

Let us explain this further –
Since fat free foods are less tasty, food companies load such foods with processed sugar and other ingredients to make them taste good. The body could use processed sugar only for a very short time soon after it is consumed. If we do not use up this sugar through exercising, it gets converted into fat. You need to understand that energy that is not burnt off is reserved for future use by our body. Our body reserves energy by building layers of fat. That means, when we consume fatty food or fat free food containing processed sugars, we tend to consume too much energy, which gets stored up as excess layers of fat by our body. We naturally gain layers and layers of fat and gain weight even if we eat only fat free food.

When you understand this point, you would agree that eating fat free food laden with processed sugar is as bad as eating food rich in fat. Both would increase your fat and calories. Most of us are not aware of this fact and wonder why we put on weight in spite of eating only fat free foods.

When a food label says it is fat free do not assume that it is non fattening and hence healthy. You also need to check the label for nutrition facts of the foods to make sure that you are not consuming too many calories or too much sugar. In consideration of this fact it would be wiser to choose a diet that advocates moderation in the quantity of food and a proper balanced diet that includes all protein, fats and carbs in a balanced manner.