Specifically, the shift in calorie density.
One of the fastest ways downshift the calorie density in your diet
is to find where the expelled oils are in your diet - and expel them.
Because guess what kids. Oil is a calorie heavyweight at 4,000 calories per lb.
And don't get sucked in by all that "heart healthy" nonsense
The research done on one
vegetable oil vs. another as being "heart healthy" simply means that some have been found to be
less damaging than others.
Of course in true American style, we think this means it's reason to
pour olive oil all over everything in the interests of "heart health"
.
Yes, we need fats in our diet.
Yet all essential fats for human health can be found, fiber intact, in whole plant foods. Expelled
vegetable oils are
calorically a very expensive way to pick up those essential oils and are basically an empty calorie.
After all, the fiber has been stripped away, it's highly processed, and a humongous source of empty calories.
The same thing we say about table sugar. Clever marketing has made us somehow put oil in a different category.
Exactly
how 'a little oil' can get in the way of our body composition goals is
addressed in this guest blog by Jeff Novick, MS, RD, my nutrition
consultant. Jeff has the remarkable skill of putting these things into
perspective and easy-to-understand terms. You'll see what I mean.
The myth of moderation: The impact of 'just a little oil', part 1 of 2
by Jeff Novick, MS, RD
The following question is one I am frequently asked. It is about he impact of "just a little olive oil."
Q: I know that it is best to order (or make) steamed vegetables. If I were to order (or make) vegetables with a 'little" olive oil, how much olive oil do you think is usually used in proportion to the vegetables and how bad would that be?
A:
No one knows for sure. And little amounts can have a big impact since
oil is the most calorie dense food there is. And, while vegetables are
the lowest in calorie density, the impact of even small amounts of oil
on the vegetables can be huge.
In addition, in spite of all the health claims, olive oil is a very rich source of calories and, in addition, 14% of the calories
in olive oil come from saturated fat. The current recommendation from
the American Heart Association is to limit our intake of saturated fat
to no more than 7% of calories. Personally, I think less than 5% is
better.
Now, this is a great question because everyone always wants to know, "how bad is a little of this" or "a little of that." Your question, will give us an opportunity to look at this issue in detail.
So, let's see how this works (and bear with me and all the math as I think this is very important)...
Let's
say you ordered a plain side of steamed vegetables. For every 1/2 cup
serving of steamed vegetables, that would be about 25 calories. So,
even a larger 1 cup serving would be only 50 calories.
Olive Oil, like all oils, is 40 calories per tsp.
So let's see the impact.
If
the serving of veggies is 25 calories (1/2 cup), adding even just 1
tsp. of oil would raise the total calories from 25 to 65 and the majority of the calories (62%) would now be coming from oil.
Since
most of the calories are no longer coming from the vegetables, this
technically is no longer a side of veggies but a side of oil, with some
veggies added. 
In
addition, in regard to saturated fat, the vegetables would have
virtually none. But by adding in the olive oil, the side dish is now
about 10% saturated fat.
As we can see, the impact of the oil on the vegetables, at this level, is dramatic and that is just for a tsp. of oil.
If
we add 2 tsp. of oil to a 1/2 cup serving of steamed vegetables, we
would raise the total calories from 25 to 105, and the majority of the
calories (76%) would now be coming from oil. This side dish is also now
11% saturated fat.
If
we add 3 tsp. of oil (which is the same as one tablespoon) to a 1/2
cup serving of steamed vegetables, we would raise the total calories
from 25 to 145 and the majority of the calories (83%) would now be
coming from oil. The side dish is now also 12% saturated fat. 
For those of you who
eat more than a serving of vegetables at a time, let's see the impact
of the oil on the vegetables if we double the side dish of vegetables
to 1 cup, which, according to traditional serving sizes, is 2 servings
of vegetables.
If
the serving of veggies is 50 calories (1 cup), even just 1 tsp. of oil
would raise the total calories from 50 to 90 and almost half of the
calories (45%) would now be coming from oil. In addition, in regard to
saturated fat, the vegetables would have virtually none, but by adding
in the olive oil, the side dish is now 7% saturated fat.
If we add 2 tsp. of oil
to the 1 cup serving of vegetables, we would raise the total calories
from 50 to 130 and the majority of the calories (62%) would now be
coming from oil. The dish is also now 9% saturated fat.
If
we add 3 tsp. of oil (which is the same as one tablespoon) to one
serving of vegetables, we would raise the total calories from 50 to 170,
and the majority of the calories (70%) would now be coming from oil. The side dish is also now 11% saturated fat.
As we can see, the impact of even a little oil on typical serving sizes of vegetables is dramatic! Watch for part 2 of this article in next week's FitDream Ezine.
© Jeff Novick, MS, RD
Yikes! See how easy this can add to our caloric load? Stay tuned for part 2.
Tell a Friend! 
Outdoor Girl Antics. It's my mission to show you how you can eat well wherever you are, move your body around, stay trim, and have a blast doing the whole darn thing.
, expelled oils in your diet help that gene express itself. 
Lani Muelrath, M.A, is devoted to empowering women with the tools they need to realize and live the healthy, energetic body ideal of their dreams.