Tag Archives: Protein

Part 3: The Science of a Fat Loss Diet

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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:

  1. Eating more often (shooting for 6 small meals per day)
  2. Resistance training
  3. Interval cardio
  4. Low carbohydrate diets

One last item on the list to be added next time…

Decoding the Catch-Phrases on Food Labels

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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