The Thermic Effect: Her 30 Calorie Popcorn vs. my 315 Calorie Lunch
Dear Nedah,
Fat Free is NOT Healthy
“Fatty foods are so bad, don’t eat them or you’ll get fat.” This was/is the thinking that too many people have about fat and what it does, and where it fits in our nutrition. To elaborate, let me share a comparison of two meals with you.
Meal 1 is microwave popcorn that is 99% fat free and only 30 calories. Meal 2 is a cucumber salad with tomatoes, chicken breast, feta cheese, and Italian dressing. If you are attempting to lose fat, at first glance you may believe that the popcorn is a better option. While it is lower calorie and very low in fat compared to meal 2, meal 2 is optimized for fat loss.
Meal 2 is what is called a supportive meal consisting of a lean protein (chicken), and a fibrous carbohydrate (cucumber, tomato). There are no starchy carbohydrates in meal 2, therefore allowing for more fat to be implemented into the meal plan as it has several health benefits and will help you feel full longer.
The fact of the matter is that it isn’t fat that makes us gain weight, rather a combination of things. High amounts of starchy carbohydrates with unhealthy fats, lack of physical activity, overconsumption of food all play a part in weight gain, and gaining fat.
To take in 30 calories for a snack or a meal just isn’t enough for someone wanting to be lean. It is for someone who doesn’t exercise and wants to lose weight, but correct me if I’m wrong, but there are two reasons we lose weight: to look good, and to be healthy.
To be healthy you must have healthy muscles and lean active muscles are healthy muscles. Healthy muscles need nutrients way past 30 calories of a starchy carbohydrate that popcorn is. Healthy muscles need protein, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, water, small amounts of carbohydrates in moderate amounts. If they do not get those required nutrients, muscles will not work effectively, muscles will not become lean, they will lack the ability to work at a high level for exercise, and some muscle wasting will happen (muscle tissue broken down- often mistaken for fat loss). What’s left is skinny fat. Weight loss but no leanness of muscle to speak of. If that is the desired outcome then.
Now let me get back to the fat free foods. Typically these foods are those that require a fatty food to make up the food you are eating, such as peanut butter (peanuts), salad dressing (oil for healthy options), or oil and eggs for mayonnaise. Now when fat is taken out of these foods, something must replace the void that is now present where fat used to be. Typically this is sugar, sodium, salt, or high fructose corn syrup. These items often allow for a food to be lower in calories and low fat or fat free. However, these substitutes are not going to assist you in becoming lean and losing fat. These substitutes will lead to many health issues in the future, and upon that, give you no immediate satisfaction to your body.
If food has fat in it you should consume it that way, as it is in its most natural state. And we all know that natural is going to be much healthier than any other option hands down. Moderate rather than eliminate. Keep your starchy carbohydrates down and lean proteins up with moderate amounts of fat to satisfy your body and muscles for leanness.
Thanks,
Ben Warstler of Ben’s Bootcamps
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MikeMoffit
Nicely put Ben!!!!
I will be sharing this post with all of my friends! This is also a great reminder to me to virtually eliminate those starchy carbs and stick with lean proteins, fibrous carbs and healthy fats. And it was explained really well!
The salad would stay with you longer than the popcorn too! The salad has more nutrition than the popcorn. The popcorn is empty food. Hummm but sometimes for the low cal fun of it all, and to satisfy a craving for only 30 cals ok then.
Agreed, Kristi!
Exactly!
This completely sums up what I was doing wrong, and how with Ben’s Bootcamps and lean kitchen I am now doing it RIGHT! I used to eat fat free popcorn for lunch every day and I watched the scale go up…but now I eat a lean protein and fibrous carb at every meal, with little to no starches in my diet at all (and by the way, I have gone from 1 1/2 meals a day to 5-6 meals/day) and the scale is dropping! Gotta love the thermal effect of eating right!!
This really works and I can attest to it!