Carbs or fats. Which makes you fat?

Question

Nowadays, specialists say that it's not the type of food (fats, carbs or proteins) you are eating that makes you fat; it's when one has too many calories per day and the extra calories are stored as fat. If so, wouldn't that mean one can eat a fat only diet and not gain weight as long as one does not exceed the daily calorie intake? Could someone clear this one up for me, please.

Answer 1

Yes, you could eat a fat-only diet, or a carb-only diet and not be overweight because you're not eating too many too many calories. There are a couple problems with that, though. One, if you deny your body the things it needs, it can't function properly. If it's not functioning properly, you cannot count on it to burn calories and use food in a predictable and healthy way. Your body could be prone to storing calories because if you were to eat nothing but fatty foods, you'd find that you couldn't eat very much throughout the day. Your body could interpret that as starvation. Two, since you cannot eat as much with unhealthy foods, you will more likely to overeat. Unhealthy foods aren't as filling and unhealthy foods leave your body craving other things in order to supply it with the nutrients it needs.  

Answer 2

Definitely! I will make this as simple and short as possible. Weight is really and is SOLELY dependent on CALORIES. You'll lose weight when you restrict and expend/burn the calories you consumed. 1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories, protein = 4 calories, fat = 9 calories. Being said, if you can have 2000 calories without gaining weight or you don't exceed your daily calorie intake, you can have 2000calories coming from fat without gaining weight too. It isn't dependent on what sources, it's solely on calories.

Answer 3

Moderation is the key.  If you ate fats only within the recommended caloric intake you most likely would gain weight.  The body can only use so much fat for the daily functions/demands of the body.  So, if you are eating mostly fat latent food your body is going to be starving for other nutrients.  In this case your body will try to glean any of those nutrients from where ever it can get them, leaving the fat behind to be dealt with later.  The best sorts of fats can be found in foods which also contain a fair amount of protein like fish and nuts.  In fact I have just started substituting nuts into my diet in the place of other things and I have actually gotten a flatter stomach.  This isn't to say you should eat a ton of nuts; they are pretty high calorically, But they are a good source of proteins and fats and are very good at satiating the appetite.  

Answer 4

Eating too much of anything will cause you to gain weight. So both can cause you to be fat. The difference is that it's easier to get rid of calories than fat. (by exercise)