Olive Oil and Your Weight

We all know that olive oil has health benefits.  So then it can’t hurt to add a little to your salad, dunk your bread in it, use it to sauté your chicken and veggies –  right? It is possible that you are consuming more calories than you think from the “nutritious olive oil”.

I recently spent some time with a city guy, L.C. on my ski vacation to Park City (thanks L.C. for letting Paula and I use your condo!). L.C. mentioned to me that he was interested in losing a few pounds. As he said this, he was dunking his bread in olive oil. With a straight face (my “clinical” face), I asked him if he thought olive oil was low in calories. He said “Sure, it’s good for you. I don’t even use butter any more – just olive oil”. I asked him how much he used a day. He estimated he might use approximately 3 – 4 tablespoons at dinner. This included oil in cooking and on salads.  It appears his Italian girlfriend, M, also has a heavy hand with the olive oil. (pic is of L.C. in his condo in Park City, Utah. He is actually rather trim from all his skiing … just wants to lose a few pounds)

L.C. is not alone. Many of my clients who are trying to lose weight are heavy handed with the olive oil. Yes, it is true that olive oil is a healthy fat and contains phytochemicals and antioxidants. It can help to lower cholesterol when used in place of saturated fats. However,  if you are trying to lose weight, you should keep in mind that your fat cells don’t know the difference between a healthy fat and a not-so-healthy fat.

Compare calories in these fats:
– One tablespoon of olive oil has 120 calories and 14 grams of fat (includes 2 grams saturated fat). And no – “light olive oil” doesn’t contain fewer calories or fat than regular olive oil!

-One tablespoon of butter has 102 calories and  11.5 grams of  fat (includes 7 gm saturated)

As you can see, butter actually has fewer calories than olive oil. However, I am not by any means suggesting you switch to butter. I am just making the point that all calories count if you are trying to lose weight. If you feel that you eat a really healthy diet and exercise on a regular basis and are still having a difficult time losing weight, you may want to examine the amount of oil you are consuming. By cutting out one tablespoon a day (120 calories), you could lose 12 pounds a year! And if you eat out a lot, keep in mind that restaurants tend to add quite a bit of oil (or butter) to foods. I would suggest getting dressing on the side and asking for steamed veggies (at least on occasion)

BTW, L.C. enjoys his wine. More on this at a later post!