That’s a protein snack, really?
It has 66% Fat!
By Dr. Rick
Kattouf II
Individuals wonder why they are not
getting the body composition results they desire. When the answer, every single
time, is right in front of them. They just need to open their eyes and look
into the details. There are a number of foods/snacks on the market, marketed as
‘protein snacks.’ So, individuals just take it at face value and consume these snacks
in high quantities.
Let’s look into the details. Many
of these snacks have as high as 66%. 66% Fat, repeat that to yourself. How is
that even close to good? It’s not; it’s not good at all. This is a fat-loaded
snack, not a protein snack. Sure, many of the ingredients in these snacks may
be ‘healthy’, individually, but always keep in mind, eating healthy is NOT the
key to success. Rather, eating RIGHT is the key to success; and these are two
completely different worlds. Bottom line, consuming a snack that is 66% fat is
going to, well, make you fat. And then here comes the famous knee-jerk reaction
from individuals, “But it’s good fat!” Good try, but that’s not a valid
argument. Fat is fat; 9 calories per gram, period. Fat-load your nutrition with
‘good fats’ and good luck with that.
Professor John Speakman, who led the study, said: “The result of
this enormous study was unequivocal – the only thing that made the mice get fat
was eating more fat in their diets. Carbohydrates including up to 30 percent of
calories coming from sugar had no effect.” And he said mice were ideal test
subjects as they are similar to humans in the physiology and metabolism.
And then, often times, comes the next
knee-jerk reaction, “But I lost a lot of weight when I increased my fat.” Of
course you did, because you were overweight; what did you think was going to
happen? When someone is overweight, they can make virtually any nutrition change
and they will lose weight…they are overweight, of course a nutrition change
will cause weight loss. That’s like saying, “It’s 20-degress outside; so, I put
on a winter coat and gloves and I felt so much warmer.” Of course you felt
warmer, that goes without saying. This same overweight individual could have
done any of the following and they would lose weight:
· Stop eating all together
· Drink only 4 glasses of blended carrot juice all day
· Drink only 4 glasses of carrot-kale blended juice all day
· Consume only chicken broth all day
No, I’m not recommending any of the
above; those examples are as ridiculous as every food fad/diet out there. Point
being, ‘But I lost weight’, is never,
ever a valid argument for a food fad/diet (high protein, high fat, fasting, etc.)
for someone who is overweight. Because once again, of course they lost weight;
they were overweight and what did you expect was going to happen?
It is well established that dieters are able to lose weight in the
short run, but tend to gain it back over time. In 2007, the graduate students
in my Psychology of Eating seminar and I did a painstaking review of every
randomized controlled trial of diets we could find that included a follow-up of
at least two years (Mann et al., 2007). Janet Tomiyama, Britt Ahlstrom, and I
updated it in 2013 with studies we had missed, as well as newer ones (Tomiyama,
Ahlstrom, & Mann, 2013). The results were clear. Although dieters in the
studies had lost weight in the first nine to 12 months, over the next two to
five years, they had gained back all but an average of 2.1 of those pounds.
Participants in the non-dieting waitlist control groups gained weight during
those same years, but an average of just 1.2 pounds. The dieters had little
benefit to show for their efforts, and the non-dieters did not seem harmed by
their lack of effort. In sum, it appears that weight regain is the typical
long-term response to dieting, rather than the exception. Traci Mann, PhD
Losing weight is great, no doubt; big
kudos to those make it happen. But the reality is that anyone can lose weight;
just go on any food fad/diet and he/she will lose weight (and then of course,
quickly regain some, all or even more of the weight initially lost). So, the
question is, who is willing to go all-in, commit 100%, make a lifestyle change
for a lifetime and transform that physique forever?
We have to
keep in mind that losing weight and body transformation are two completely
different animals. Individuals lose (and then quickly regain) weight all of the
time. This happens on every diet and food fad out there. This type of weight
loss is just change (not results) and of course, it’s temporary. When we talk
about body transformation, this is about building muscle, losing body fat and
achieving results that are meaningful and sustainable for a lifetime
(completely opposite of weight loss).
Snacks like the above fall in line
with other snacks like nuts. Individuals read a headline that says ‘nuts/almonds
are healthy.’ Wow, uh, ok. And boy do they start consuming these nuts in
mega-high volumes. A small handful quickly turns into ½ the container if not
the entire container. Let’s dive into these details. A handful of nuts has a
whopping 71% Fat, 71%, dang! And, wait
for it…wait for it…680 calories! And folks
wonder why they are not getting the body composition results they desire. And
these same individuals that will throw down these fat-loaded snacks are afraid of
carbohydrates like bread, rice and pasta. Ok, quick comparison; the same amount
of cooked rice as the handful of almonds has only…108 calories and 7% fat. And you are afraid of carbohydrates? And you say carbohydrates
make you fat? C’mon now, you can do better than that; that makes Zero sense.
Lastly, let’s look at one of the
newest nutrition crazes, plant based. Wow, here we go again. Sounds like the
2019 version of ‘gluten free.’ We see these burgers that are trying to mimic
the real beef burger. And on the surface, you’d think that is something is ‘plant
based’ (and just like ‘gluten free’, etc., just another trendy phrase that
individuals do not even really know what it means) is much, much healthier for
you. And you’d think it would be significantly less calories than a fat-loaded
burger, right? Wrong! The fat-loaded real burger has 660 calories
and is 54.55% Fat while the plant based sandwich has
630 calories
and 48.57% Fat. Nuf said, mic drop!
SHOW YOUR WORKOUT WHO’S BOSS®!
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Rick Kattouf II, O.D. is a 2x Best-Selling Author and Fitness & Nutrition expert and has been named one of America’s PremierExperts® and one of the World Fitness Elite® Trainers of the Year. Rick is a Sports Nutrition Specialist, Heart Rate Performance Specialist, Master Personal Trainer & Triathlon Coach. He has been seen on ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates around the country as well as in the USA Today, Chicago Tribune, National Examiner, Ironman.com, My Fitness Pal, Livestrong.com, Runner’s World, Bicycling Magazine, Men’s Health UK, FIGHT! Magazine, Florida Cycling Magazine and The Independent in the UK. Rick is the CEO/Founder of TeamKattouf® Inc, CEO/Founder of TeamKattouf® Nutrition LLC, CEO/Founder of Virtual Gym LLC, Creator of TeamKattouf® Nutrition Supplements, Host of Rx Nutrition, author of Forever Fit, Creator of 5-Round Fury® Nutrition Supplement, 5-Round Fury Fitness® workout app, Creator of Coach2CEO, Creator of Fuel Keeper®, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. Dr. Rick has personally coached individuals in 30+ states and 10+ countries.
