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Is Cutting Fat or Cutting Carbs Faster to Lose Weight?

Carbohydrates are energy that if not used will turn to fat. Fats, on the other hand, are already a form of stored energy that goes directly to the gut. Both are essential nutrients for the body and need to be taken in proportion according to your exercise habits and size.

  1. Cutting Carbs

    • Carbs are essential to the body's growth and maintenance. They provide your body with energy to complete all the necessary bodily functions. Nevertheless, consuming too many carbohydrates is unhealthy and a quick way to gain weight. When you consume more carbs than you need to function, the body transforms the extra carbs into fat inside the liver. The liver then sends the fat into the fat reservoirs in your body. Carbs need to be consumed at a rate as close to the body's needs as possible. Cutting carbs below your body's needs will make your body's digestive system much more efficient, making better use of energy taken into the body than it had previously. When this "hunger" diet ends and a regular amount carbohydrates are consumed, fat will accumulate due to the digestive tract's efficiency.

    Cutting Fats

    • Fats keep the body working when the carbs are used up and provide the body with energy when carbs are not available. Nevertheless, fats should be avoided as much as possible for weight loss. This can be done by simply avoiding meats, eggs, greasy food and dairy products. Michael Phelps, the eight-time Olympic Gold Medalist, eats 12,000 calories (six times more than the average person) from carbs during off-season training, but eats almost no fats. A diet very low in fat, like Michael Phelps's, has to be controlled carefully; for example, meals can't be skipped. Fats go directly to the stomach and should be reduced in diets. However, in order to reduce fats, you will need a systematic intake of carbs. Nutritionist Kathleen Zelman explains that diets with an average intake of carbs and low or lean source of fats show the best results regarding weight loss. Thus, cutting fats is much better for long-term weight loss than cutting carbs.

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