I've been getting a little confused with comparing fats vs. protein vs calorie intake. Some say weight gain is purely caused by a surplus of calories. While I agree partially, I also feel like it depends on where those calories come from.
Do foods that are high in fat cause weight gain because they are high in fat, or just because they tend to also be high in calories? I know that 1 gram of fat has 9 calories vs 1 gram of protein/carbs has 4.
Let's say someone at a 2000 calorie diet of pure protein and another person ate pure fat. They're both the same calories, but wouldn't the protein one lead to more muscle and a leaner body? And wouldn't the fat diet lead to a higher body fat % ?
And lastly, many people are saying how a diet high in carbs is what is really causing obesity, etc. Because too many carbs ends up being converted to fat. I agree, but shouldn't fats still be kept somewhat low (besides healthy fats) since fat is already fat? So it's basically the same as a carb that's been converted already.
Does fat make you fat or is it purely calorie surplus that does?
Can a diet high in protein lead to fat gain just as much as an identical calorie diet of fats/carbs? It seems like that's what the "calorie surplus people" are saying but it seems hard for me to fully agree...
Thanks for any input
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Thread: Fats vs. Carbs
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05-25-2011, 10:02 PM #1
Fats vs. Carbs
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05-25-2011, 10:06 PM #2
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05-25-2011, 10:06 PM #3
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Cals in cals out...
I'd say the correlation is that higher fat items tend to be higher in cals due to the 9 cals/g thing. They're more calorically dense and people that don't track cals will likely eat more of it to feel satisfied/full. Ex: 1 TBSP of PB is 100 cals, 2 NLEA servings of broccoli is 100 cals. I know I DEFINITELY wouldn't feel full or satisfied with that tiny amt of pb, but probably a little more so with the volume/fiber of the broccoli. (and yes...these are just my idea of extreme examples)
If you eat more cals then you burn, you'll gain weight. Doesn't matter what they're from...~Impatience never demanded success~
***Calculate your Calorie/Macro Needs HERE --> http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=156380533 ***
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05-25-2011, 10:09 PM #4
Specific food selections are not relevant to bodyweight and body composition outside the context of daily nutrition.
Rather, the diet's contribution to bodyweight is dependent on caloric balance and the diet's contribution to body composition is dependent on micro/macronutrient sufficiency.
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05-25-2011, 10:19 PM #5
High carb diets will make your body store more fat.
Some fats cause obesity, some fats fight it. Dietary fats like saturated and monounsaturated fats promote health and weight loss. Partially hydrogenated oils and vegetable oils = bad for health and weight loss.
A high protein diet has been shown in studies to lead to fat gain just like a high carb diet, because too much protein at a meal can trigger insulin. So you have to be careful to eat just the right amount of protein needed for your activity (ie. lifters would eat more).
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05-25-2011, 10:20 PM #6
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05-25-2011, 10:36 PM #7
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05-25-2011, 10:38 PM #8
Essentially, yes. It's all about calories in vs calories out if all you're talking about bodyweight. Body composition is another story.
Let's take the simplest situation for example. Let's say someone has a maintenance level of 2000 calories and isn't working out. So anything below 2000 calories and they would lose weight while anything above 2000 calories they would gain weight. Makes sense right?
Now let's look at body composition. What I stated above is purely for overall weight gain. I was not targeting fat or muscle specifically. This is where macros come into play. You're body composition will be dependent on your macro nutrients.
Let's take the same example above as the simplest case. A person has a maintenance level of 2000 calories and does not work out. Now let's first look at the situation of eating under 2000 calories. Relating back to your question, let's look at two situations:
1. This person eats 1500 calories of pure protein.
2. This person eats 1500 calories of fats and carbs.
In both situations the person will lose weigh because they are under 2000 calories. But of course in situation 1 the person will retain more muscle mass since your body needs protein to survive and in situation 2 the only source of protein would be to break down muscle. I'm not sure about using protein as an energy source when carbs or fat aren't present so I won't touch on that, but you see what I'm saying.
Now lets look at the situation of eating over 2000 calories.
1. This person eats 2500 calories of pure protein.
2. This person eats 2500 calories of fats and carbs.
Now in both cases the person will gain weight because they are over 2500 calories. But in situation 2, the person may still experience muscle loss while gaining fat since they aren't eating the protein their body needs.
I hope some of this was helpful because I didn't want to make any accusations I'm unsure of. What it boils down to is this:
-Focus on calories in vs calories out
-Focus on macros because you're body needs all three macros: carbs, fats and protein.
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05-25-2011, 10:40 PM #9
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05-25-2011, 10:41 PM #10
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05-25-2011, 10:53 PM #11
Thank you all for the replies! There's some conflicting views but I'm starting to get a better understanding.
It seems like basically, all calories are the same insofar as His WEIGHT will not change (in the case of comparing two different diets with the same amount of calories). The same cannot be said for other factors, like body composition and health.
Also, taking a good excerpt from this article: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa16.htm
Understanding how your body will use the calories you consume can help you in setting up your nutritional program. Simply counting calories will not lead to bodyfat loss. Knowing that the heat liberated from a particular food, whether it is fat, protein, or carbohydrate is determined by its particular molecular structure, and that this structure determines its thermogenic effect. The higher the thermogenic effect of any particular food, the higher your metabolic rate. Know what you are consuming, but more importantly, know how your body will use your consumed calories. When planning your nutritional plan, remember that all calories are not created equal.
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05-25-2011, 10:55 PM #12
Respectfully disagree. Tomorrow I will find my references citing exactly how protein has been seen to stimulate an insulin response. Also vegetable oils play a huge role in obesity through their high PUFA content. Too much omega-6 blocks omega-3 from working, because they compete for same enzymes. Omega-3 is essential for so many functions, including weight loss.
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05-25-2011, 10:57 PM #13
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05-25-2011, 11:04 PM #14
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05-25-2011, 11:16 PM #15
I think the misconception that many people have, including myself possibly, is in regards to dietary fats vs. body fat.
One would assume, eating fats, means gaining body fat. And also that eating too many carbs, convert to body fat. So in the end, they seem like the same fat.
And there's a lot of opposing ideas. For example, I just found this online:
A rather disadvantageous property of fat is that it is quickly and easily absorbed by the body and most goes directly to your waistline. This is because the conversion of dietary fat to body fat is easy and costs little energy.
It takes more energy for the body to convert carbohydrates or protein to body fat than it does to convert dietary fat to body fat
Personally I'm not worried too much about fat, weight gain, etc because I'm very active and my focus is primarily on bodybuilding and gaining muscle. But as a Biology major and currently working on becoming a personal trainer, I find nutrition and stuff like this very interesting and want to clear up any misconceptions I have and that others may have as well. Fitness and health is very complex, but I love every bit of it.
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05-25-2011, 11:27 PM #16
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05-25-2011, 11:28 PM #17
Lol no, but I have done enough research to learn that the foods that are being sold to Americans have caused 34% of the population older than 20 to be overweight and another 34% to be obese.
What goes hand in hand with obesity? Insulin resistance.
So my information applies to the more common man with weight problems.
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05-25-2011, 11:30 PM #18
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05-25-2011, 11:37 PM #19
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05-25-2011, 11:41 PM #20
You read something off the internet and are confused because you found something else that contradicts it? Maybe your reading the wrong bros. Stick to facts that can be backed up be science.
Whether fat is more likely to be stored as fat as protein and carbs is irrelevant. When you consume an excess of calories then that excess will be stored as fat. Whether your body prefers to store the dietary fat as fat and burn off the carbs or whatever is of little consequence. The thing that causes an increase in fat stores is eating more calories than you burn. Fats won't make you fat, an excess of calories will.
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05-26-2011, 12:02 AM #21
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05-26-2011, 12:21 AM #22
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05-26-2011, 12:22 AM #23
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05-26-2011, 01:29 AM #24
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05-26-2011, 02:53 AM #25
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05-26-2011, 03:08 AM #26
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Correlation =/= causation
It's not the specific composition of the foods themselves that are the problem. The problem is that people eat too bloody much & don't exercise enough. Food is plentiful, tasty, cheap & convenient in ways that it wasn't 40 years ago.
And insulin resistance is caused by obesity. It doesn't cause it - in fact it works against the storage of calories.________________________________
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05-26-2011, 03:10 AM #27
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05-26-2011, 03:16 AM #28
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05-26-2011, 03:46 AM #29
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05-26-2011, 03:49 AM #30
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