Low Fat Diet Plans

Many people turn to low fat diet plans because they are looking for ways to reduce calories and lose weight. Since fat contains more than double the calories (9 per gram) than either protein or carbohydrates (4 per gram for each) a low fat diet seems like a perfect way to accomplish this. And with low fat products bombarding you in the supermarket aisles, it seems like a no-brainer.

Let's take a closer look and ask some questions.

Why do you want to eliminate fats?
When you consider low fat diet plans, how low should you go?
What are you going to eat to replace the fats you eliminate?
What are some popular low fat diet plans?
Is a low fat diet right for me?

Why Eliminate Fats?

Fats have gotten a bad rap because of all of the media coverage about trans-fats.

In the 2008 public opinion survey take by the American Dietetic Association (ADA) respondents were asked - on a 1-to-5 scale - how much they had heard about possible health-related effects of various foods or nutrients.

More than three in four people (78%) revealed that they have heard a lot about low-fat foods, and 72% have heard a lot about foods containing trans fat.

Meanwhile, only 3.5% said they had heard little or nothing about low-fat foods and 7.5% said the same about foods with trans fat.

When asked where they heard about these foods and nutrients 63% responded that they got their information from TV and 45% responded that their information came from magazines.

So we are getting our information from advertisers on TV who are spinning the information to make their product shine. Is television a reliable source for nutrition data?

In response to the low-fat diet craze, manufacturers may have taken all of the fat out of their products and replaced it with sugar.

Reminder

Healthy carbohydrates include fruits, whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and low fat or non fat dairy products.

You can verify this yourself by reading the nutrition facts label. Here's the problem. Not all fats are like trans-fats, that is, there are fats that are good, in fact vital, to your health, and some like coconut oil that are controversial.

Please, don't judge a food by its fat content alone! Take avocados or nuts. Both are high in fat and high in calories but most of the fat is heart healthy monounsaturated fat and both foods will help you feel satisfied for hours after you eat them. I haven't even mentioned how delicious they are which is a primary factor in keeping you from feeling deprived.

So now that we know that your body needs fat and that it can be beneficial, let's move on to the next question.

When You Consider Low Fat Diet Plans, How Low Should You Go?

A low fat diet is a diet that includes minimal amounts of fat. Low fat is considered 20-30% of daily calories from fat, very low fat is less than 20% of daily calories.

Dr. Dean Ornish recommends no more than 10% of your daily intake should be fats. He has had extraordinary results for his patients with advanced coronary disease. Do you want to limit your fat intake because of a heart problem or because you think it would lower your risk of heart disease? If that's the case, I would talk with your doctor about it and if you decide to do that, be sure not to replace the calories you eliminate with refined carbohydrates, that is, processed foods. More about this later.

Low fat diet plans with daily fat intake of 10-15% are also recommended for people with gallbladder disease. If neither of these conditions applies to you the American Dietetic Association recommends daily fat intake of 25-35% fat, which is also in line with the recommendations of the FDA. Headline: What are you going to eat to replace the fats you eliminate?

This is the real heart of the matter. Choosing the right carbohydrates is essential. If you choose processed foods claiming to be low-fat what are you really getting is a lot of sugar and calories, often in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which is not going to help you get healthy, stay healthy, or lose weight.

You must choose healthy carbohydrates just like you choose healthy fats. Many people think that filling their diet with low fat foods is automatically healthy and low calorie. Not so. Jelly beans, soda, and lots of other treats are have no or low fat and are full of calories and are often the type of foods that are eaten as snacks, without regard to portion size.

Healthy carbohydrates include fruits, whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and low fat or non fat dairy products.

What Are You Going To Eat To Replace The Fats You Eliminate?

This is the real heart of the matter. Choosing the right carbohydrates is essential. If you choose processed foods claiming to be low-fat what you are really getting is a lot of sugar and calories, often in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which is not going to help you get healthy, stay healthy, or lose weight.

You must choose healthy carbohydrates just like you choose healthy fats. Many people think that filling their diet with low-fat foods is automatically healthy and low calorie. Not so. Jelly beans, soda, and lots of other treats that have no or low-fat are full of calories and are often the type of foods that are eaten as snacks, without regard to portion size.

Low fat diet plans should include healthy carbohydrates, that is, fruits, whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and low-fat or non-fat dairy products.

Popular Low-Fat Diet Plans

These are several low fat diet plans. Both the Pritikn and Ornish diets recommend 10% protein and the Scarsdale diet is a very restrictive diet that recommends specific foods and does not allow for deviation from the prescribed food list for at least two weeks.

Is A Low Fat Diet Right For Me?

Let's put all of this information together. Following a low fat diet has to include sound nutritional principles. If you are going to reduce your fat intake to less than 30% of your daily caloric intake be sure to: