Sugar or Fat: The real villain behind weight gain.

Can’t shake your fear of eating fat — think it’s worse than eating sugar? It’s true that fat has more calories per gram than either carbs or protein. So why doesn’t eating less fat – and therefore (theoretically) fewer calories – help you lose weight? It may be because we often replace the missing fat in our diets with sugar.

Remember, our body converts all carbs, even wheat bread, into sugar. When blood sugar rises, insulin spikes and drives all our body’s fuel into our cells. This triggers more hunger, cravings and (unless you’re religiously tracking your calories) overeating – and it’s eating more calories than your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) that makes you gain weight.

Got a sweet tooth?

Surprisingly, new research shows that eating healthy fats can help you burn more calories than eating the same amount of carbs. Check out the infographic below from the Cleveland Clinic to find out why fat gets a bad rap and why sugar is usually the real culprit.