Eating anything in excess can help increase body weight. Fat is essential to our lives as it helps keep us healthy. In order to lose weight, a well-balanced diet (lean proteins, fiber rich carbohydrates and healthy fats) is as important as regular exercise. If you end up eating more calories than your body burns off in a day, it gets stored and you gain weight. When we exercise, we burn off some of the extra calories we’ve taken in which can lead to maintaining our weight or losing weight.
If you’re having a hard time understanding which fats to include in your life and which ones to minimize follow this rule of thumb: fats that come from animals (butter, lard, etc.) are more harmful for the body then helpful; while fats from plants (olive oil, nuts, avocados) are more helpful for the body than animal fats. But remember, if you consume even the healthier fats in large amounts, it will increase your body weight.
Fats are calorie dense foods but they will not make you fat if you are eating a balanced diet. Many times when people go fat free they actually increase their chances of gaining weight. Fats do have more calories per gram then proteins or carbohydrates but they are a necessary ingredient in a healthy diet. Fats, especially monounsaturated fats, keep your brain and heart healthy. They also promote satiety and keep you full for long periods of time. Natural nut butters, seeds and nuts, olives, and olive oil are examples of healthy fats.
Eating more calories than you burn makes you fat, whether those calories come from carbohydrates, protein or fat. Any amount of food/calories you consume over the average amount of calories you burn will be stored as fat. At the end of the day it is our non-fitness friendly environment that forces us to sit or not move most of the day, combined with our biology that has hard wired us to eat when food is available (and all of it) whether we are hungry or not that has led to overweight societies in developed nations. Americans eat 250 more calories per day than they did a decade ago and they move less because of technology and lifestyle.
Just remember one thing: excess calories make you fat. Your daily calories can contain anywhere between 15-30% fat as long as the majority comes from polyunsaturated fats, which contribute to your health. Avoid saturated fats, which primarily come from animal sources as much as possible.
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Important: This content reflects information from various individuals and organizations and may offer alternative or opposing points of view. It should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. As always, you should consult with your healthcare provider about your specific health needs.