Full-fat vs. fat-free - the controversy.

Ok I'm by no means an expert on this debate between whether low-fat/fat-free or full-fat foods are better for diet and weight loss! I've always believed that low fat or fat free products, particularly dairy, is beneficial in losing weight, in conjunction with cutting out fatty products like trimming fat off steak and chops (this I hate, the fat is the best part), and cutting out as many oils and oily foods as possible; along with carbs and sugars for which there's little dispute - carbs turn to sugars and sugars are poisonous to our bodies!

But after doing research lately and listening to many other opinions, brought on by the recent craze around the Banting and Paleo type diets I've been convinced that keeping the fat in the food, such as the fat on meat and full cream milk, yoghurt, etc is indeed not only healthy, but also beneficial in losing weight!

Now I'm not going to go into all the technicalities just yet because I'm still learning and gathering facts, which is hampered by the vastly conflicting views on the subject in publications by "experts" having studied the issue of fats from various perspectives, and whether they are good for us or not and by what degrees and breakdowns by types and food sources, etc. Eg,
some sources say olive oils are good and should replace all seed oils, others say olive oil is not so good especially if used for cooking as it oxidises at high temps; same for margarine - some say it's healthier than animal fats (eg butter), others say it's a chemical shitstorm one molecule away from eating soft plastic (which is made from petroleum). At a later stage I'll compose an in-depth blog on MY understanding of the science of whether fats are good or bad and in what quantities, by food source and fat type.

I will however say I've recently swayed to the side of fats being a good thing for the diet based of the notion that low-fat/fat-free products contain more sugars and other harmful chemicals to bulk up the quantities and to improve the flavours which are lost with the removal of the fat; along with a basic understanding of "ketosis" which, simplified, means that in the absence of carbs and sugars, which the body usually gets it's energy from (the excess of which is stored as fat and makes us overweight), instead through a process of ketosis the body burns fats for energy, and with enough of the (good) fats which the body now uses as fuel more fat is burned off with nothing being stored, thereby we're able to lose weight due to fat burn. {If my understanding is not quite correct, please feel free to correct me in the comments section below. As I said, I'm still learning!}

Anyway, the point is, in the last week I've been using full cream milk and double cream yoghurt in my morning breakfast smoothie and coffee, and regular full fat feta cheese in my lunch salads. I cook with coconut oil, and over the weekend I ate the fat on my steak and had bacon and eggs for breakfast twice. Nothing different otherwise - as little carbs and sugars as possible, except for dinner last night, the wife made lasagne with regular pasta (carb overload), and as I was so hungry and didn't want to waste food by making something separate for myself I ate the cheesy saucy lasagne, which was delicious.

The result is in the last week I've not lost any weight despite still exercising hard including a 10km run on Sunday. (I've not gained anything either).

So my concern is this: is the full fat thing really not beneficial for weight loss, or am I doing it wrong?

Anybody reading this who has some useful advise or links to useful articles, please leave a comment in the comments section below...

Meantime I'll keep on reading up on this and continue refining the diet techniques to get rid of this disgusting belly that despite all efforts and the 10kg I've lost in the last 7 weeks continues to hang on and stick out in front of me like an invincible Mount Blubber!