I bet you’ve heard this one before – a calorie is a calorie. So eating 100 calories worth of Cheezy Poofs is the same as eating a half-cup of cottage cheese, because they are both roughly 100 calories, according to this logic. Well, as I have mentioned before, nothing could be further from the truth.
In a 1957 (!) study, three groups of people were put on low calorie (1000 calorie) diets. The first group ate 90% of their calories in fat, the second group ate 90% of their calories in protein, the third group ate 90% of their calories in carbs. Guess which group actually gained weight, despite only taking in 1000 calories per day? Yep, the carb group. The other two groups lost between 0.5 to 1.0 pound per day!
Several studies have been done since, all coming to the same conclusion – low carbohydrate diets result in significantly greater fat loss than low fat or low calorie diets. In fact, in several of the studies, the low carb groups were consuming more overall calories than the high carb groups and losing more fat.
So low carb diets become the next entry on the list that we started last time of most effective fat burning techniques:
- Eating more often (shooting for 6 small meals per day)
- Resistance training
- Interval cardio
- Low carbohydrate diets
One last item on the list to be added next time…
Just because a box of cookies says “reduced fat” doesn’t mean you should eat it! But what do those frequently seen buzzwords actually mean? Below is a table with the claims and the related FDA guidelines:
| Claim | Requirements that must be met before using the claim in food labeling |
|---|---|
| Fat-Free | Less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving, with no added fat or oil |
| Low fat | 3 grams or less of fat per serving |
| Less fat | 25% or less fat than the comparison food |
| Saturated Fat Free | Less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat and 0.5 grams of trans-fatty acids per serving |
| Cholesterol-Free | Less than 2 mg cholesterol per serving, and 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving |
| Low Cholesterol | 20 mg or less cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving |
| Reduced Calorie | At least 25% fewer calories per serving than the comparison food |
| Low Calorie | 40 calories or less per serving |
| Extra Lean | Less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood |
| Lean | Less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 g of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood |
| Light (fat) | 50% or less of the fat than in the comparison food (ex: 50% less fat than our regular cheese) |
| Light (calories) | 1/3 fewer calories than the comparison food |
| High-Fiber | 5 grams or more fiber per serving |
| Sugar-Free | Less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving |
| Sodium-Free or Salt-Free | Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving |
| Low Sodium | 140 mg or less per serving |
| Very Low Sodium | 35 mg or less per serving |
| Healthy | A food low in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, and contains at least 10% of the Daily Values for vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein or fiber. |
| “High”, “Rich in” or “Excellent Source” | 20% or more of the Daily Value for a given nutrient per serving |
| “Less”, “Fewer” or “Reduced” |
At least 25% less of a given nutrient or calories than the comparison food |
| “Low”, “Little”, “Few”, or “Low Source of” | An amount that would allow frequent consumption of the food without exceeding the Daily Value for the nutrient – but can only make the claim as it applies to all similar foods |
| “Good Source Of”, “More”, or “Added” | The food provides 10% more of the Daily Value for a given nutrient than the comparison food |
