To understand the relationship between fats and weight loss we need to understand the differences in fats that are available in the market. This is important if you are planning a low fat diet.Fats are either of animal origin or of plant origin. Fats that are of animal origin are usually saturated fats and they are unsuitable for a health body. You will be eating animal fats when you eat butter, cheese, whole milk, and even ice-cream.You will be consuming mostly saturated fats when you eat animal meat.

When you eat poultry or fish you are eating saturated fats but less than in animal meat as poultry and fish have in addition to saturated fats also unsaturated fats. There are other fats which are close to the animal fats. These are Trans fats.Saturated fats can easily be stored to accumulate as belly fat.Trans fats are not found in nature but they are formed during the process of manufacturing called trans-hydrogenation. In this process unsaturated fats such as cheap vegetable oils are made to undergo a chemical process in which the fat is reacted with hydrogen gas. The newly formed fats are solid at room temperature and unlikely to deteriorate or become rancid.While this is good for the industry trans fats are not good for the heart as they promote atherosclerosis or narrowing of the arteries. They can also be easily stored in the body and enhance the increase of your belly fat. You will find them in cream-filled cookies, donuts, baked foods, frozen foods, fast foods such as fries and chicken and other deep fried foods, packaged foods such as cake mixes, and spreads such as shortening and butter.If you frequently eat cream-filled cookies, donuts, baked foods, frozen foods, fast foods such as fries and chicken it will not be hard to gain weight along your belly. You will find it hard to lose weight as they are calorie rich. Note that the calories are derived from the saturated fats as well as from simple carbs or excess complex carbs.

Vegetable fats are better than trans fats but not all vegetable fats are good. The good vegetable oils include olive oil, canola oil (rapeseed oil), flax-seed oil, walnut oil and soybean oil. The vegetable oils that are not good for a healthy body include coconut oil, cocoa butter palm oil and palm kernel oil. They are rich in saturated fat.

You will be consuming these fats when you eat baked goods, such as cookies and crackers, or nondairy substitutes such as whipped toppings, coffee creamers, cake mixes, and even frozen dinners. As you cannot see these fats you will need to read food labels.

The food label will indicate to you how much saturated fat a food contains. This will help you choose foods with the lowest amount of saturated fats. Again saturated fats just like the trans fats are to be avoided or eaten in very small amounts as they increase the risks in heart disease as well as cause weight gain.They cause an increase in bad cholesterol(LDL) and a decrease in good cholesterol(HDL)

Another type fat you must consider is a group of fats collectively called polyunsaturated fats. These are found in the oils of fish and shellfish. They are often referred to as fish oils, or omega-3 fatty acids. They are described as polyunsaturated fats or unsaturated fats. You will find them in fish such as herring, salmon, and mackerel. Eating these types of fish is good as they are low in saturated fat and by extension bad cholesterol.

For a healthy body the best oils to use are unsaturated oils such as olive oil, canola oil (rapeseed oil), flax seed oil, walnut oil and soybean oil. But they can also deteriorate easily depending on storage conditions. We recommend that you consider using unsaturated oils in cooking and in preparing your salads.

Most weight loss programs will stress the significance of low fat diets.Low fat diets tend to go along with high carbs so that the diet is referred to ha low fat high carbs.

If your goal is to lose weight you will need to eat more fruits and vegetables, because they have high nutritional value. Most fruits and vegetables have little or no fat but more simple carbohydrates. The amount of fat in the diet is an essential part to most weight loss programs

How much fat do you need per day?. You should not take more than 30% of a day’s calories from fat. You should not lower your fat intake to less than 30% of a day’s calories. If you need 2000 calories in a day we can estimate the amount of fat you should include in your diet as (2000/9) x (30/100) =83g. But remember there is hidden fat in almost every food you eat. This value is therefore an overestimation. Similarly if you need 2000 calories in a day, the amount of fat that you will need is (2000/9) x (30/100) = 67 g.

You need fats in the body for the transport of certain vitamins and metabolites. For example healthy skin and hair need fat for maintenance. Fat facilitate the absorption, and the transport of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K to various parts of the body through the bloodstream. Although you want to lose weight, you should not completely eliminate fats. Make sure that most of your fats come from the unsaturated fats group.

Low fat diet is essential to anyone who wants to lead a healthier lifestyle, or lose weight. If you are taking a high calorie diet with a lot of fat, you can change by switching to a lower fat diet. Weight loss begins in your kitchen and shopping. Buy more vegetables and fruits and less of fatty foods.

Include cooking oil but use the oils sparingly. You can boil your food if you do not really have to fry. If you reduce your fat content in your meals it will surprise you how much weight you will lose provided you do not increase the amount of carbohydrates that you are already eating.

Although there are different types of fat that have different effects on the body, eating low fat diet is the most important concern if you are going to succeed in weight loss.

Finally you should appreciate that weight due to low fat diet is usually modest but there is a marked improvement in health and a reduction of risks associated with fat accumulation. To lose weight you should limit the amounts of the carbs that you eat.