6 diet questions that weigh in the balance –

Fabio Mangabeira (/)

In the consulting room of endocrinologists and nutritionists, these are the top questions from the audience. The answers can make your diet much more efficient

1. What works more for weight loss: cutting calories or fat?
Fat. When you cut out this nutrient, you cut a lot more calories than if you cut out any other item on your plate. That’s because 1 gram of fat has 9 calories (protein and carbohydrates have less than half – 4 calories per gram). Furthermore, fat is a molecule ready to be stored. Here’s an example: when you eat 100 calories in the form of carbohydrates, you need 23 calories just to process those nutrients. That means 77 calories left to make you fat. If you eat 100 calories in the form of fat, you’ll only need 3 calories to process them, leaving 97 for storage in your breeches, love handles, and belly.

2. What is the diet that burns the most fat?
A diet low in fat, especially saturated fat (the moniunsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, as you’ve seen, are also fattening. But, in the right measure, they’re only good for you). The suggestion is that you organize your menu with foods with reduced fat. For this, give preference to skimmed milk and yogurt, light Minas cheese, light vegetable cream, chicken fillet, fish and lean meats, for example. And avoid radicalism. Adopting diets that promise jet weight loss (more than 1 kilo per week), makes you lose a lot of water, muscle mass and almost no fat.

3. How do I know if I’m losing water or fat?
The margin of error for scales that only register your weight is too high for you to rely on them while dieting. In fact, the most important changes are in your measurements. That’s why many experts recommend adopting the tape measure as an evaluation tool. You should take measurements in the critical areas of fat accumulation. In women, they are: in the abdomen, two fingers above the navel; on the hips, on the small bones of the pelvis; and at the height of the breeches. These measurements don’t give the percentage of fat loss, but point to your progress. Detail: the place where you store the most fat is usually the last to lose weight and the first to gain weight again if you regain the lost weight. Blame it on genetics (again!).

4. Is high cholesterol a problem only for older people?
Not even. There are many teenagers with high rates – some because they follow a menu full of industrialized foods, others because they are born with a tendency to have high rates. Therefore, if you have a father, mother or grandparents with high cholesterol, be aware, regardless of your age and whether or not you are overweight.

5. Are there foods that help eliminate fat before it becomes stored?
Yes. Research from the Federal University of São Paulo showed that the soluble fibers in oats help to reduce the absorption of fats, which facilitates the control of blood cholesterol levels, in addition to being an ally in the treatment of diabetes and weight control. Soluble fibers are also found in other foods that you can include every day in your menu, such as whole grains, greens, vegetables, fruits, quinoa (Bolivian cereal with a very high fiber and protein content), wheat bran and flaxseed.

6. Does liposuction permanently eliminate fat deposits?
Before you put yourself through a painful process like this, be aware that the fat can come back. Research from the Center for Science and Health at the University of Colorado, in Denver (USA), concluded: unless you manage to maintain weight after surgery, you can, yes, recover the accumulation of fat in the part of the body that was liposuctioned. Therefore, the advice of experts is that you are prepared and convinced that you have to adopt exercise as a habit and maintain a balanced diet.