Eating fat won't make you fat....... But......
Eating fat wont make you fat..... But....
The Myth
I always find it amazing when I read posts online particularly when it concerns eating healthy, and losing weight. Sadly for a lot of people who are not really aware of the damages they can do by putting false information into public domain. This morning I was reading a post on Steemit in which they were talking about how fat wont make you fat. Despite the overall topic being accurate, they unfortunately missed out on several key components which the vast majority of people neglect to mention, or the Keto Zealots fail to understand properly.
The Ketogenic Diet
Some people call it a fad but this is something that has been around since William Banting wrote his Letters of Corpulence back in 1864, detailing the need for carbohydrate restriction and eating healthy fats to assist in weight loss. However since that time it has been romantisized and turned into what is now known as "Popular Keto".
It should be noted however there are to clear distinct groups as far as Ketogenic diets are concerned the first is that of the Therapeutic Ketosis, and Nutritional Ketosis
Therapeutic Ketosis
Therapeutic Ketosis is the use of a low carbohydrate diet, high fat diet, with minimal protein, which in turn allows the body to use fat as its primary fuel source. It is primarily used in the treatment of a variety of chronic medical conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, alzheimers and dementia, multiple sclerosis (MS) or traumatic brain Injuries 1,2,3
Unfortunately this is what people get confused with when they think about a ketogenic diet. Unless your licensed medical practioner actually prescribes this for one of the above mentioned conditions or a variety of other conditions which it may be indicated for there is absolutely no need for you to follow this strict regime.
Nutritional Ketosis
Now this plan benefit someone without and active medical issues requiring the use of Therapeutic Ketosis. Nutritional Ketosis is determined by the amount of ketones, and in this instance beta hydroxybutyrate in the blood. This can be measured inside a hospital or laboratory setting, or at home by using a ketone meter, similar to that to a glucose meter. In fact many glucose meters now are dual function and measure both through the use of different strips. 1,2,3
Nutritional ketosis is defined as the range of ketones in the blood from 0.5-5.0 millimolar with the optimal zone for fat loss between 1.5-2.5, however fat loss occurs even at 0.5, which a lot of people neglect to understand.
Chasing the Ketone
For amny people chasing the elusive ketone becomes a lifelong passion, however it is not required in the slightest, typically if you are restricting the carbs and most agree below 50g of carbohydrates per day depending on your size you will be in ketosis. Some people will go out their way to check and prick themselves upto 20 times per day to ensure they have high numbers of ketones and may result to drinking the elusive bulletproof coffee which is laced with coconut oil and butter for that extra shot of fat ( I have tasted them and they are certainly an aquired taste).
Eating Fat doesn't make you Fat..... but....
Sadly, the most common complaint in the hundreds of people I have coached is that they just cannot lose any weight. As I have mentioned, when people who start this way of living (I choose the word "lifestyle" as opposed to "diet") they get caught up in the whizz and bang of the popular keto and end up eating far too much fat for their body.
Typically, this involves them eating 75% Fat 20% Protien and 5% Carbs, now this is far too much fat to be eating if you are overweight and wanting to shed some pounds. The body is an uncomplicated beast and if there is adequate, readily available supplies in the blood for it to use, it will use that and not your reserves.
Similar to hibernating bears, our ancestral hunter gatherers used to gorge themselves on food during the months of plenty so that they could utilise this in the lean months. Since those times, we have not changed greatly, and it should be well understood that if we eat too much fat (or anything else for that matter) we will gain weight. It is far more important to eat adequate protein to protect your lean body mass (thats another topic in itself) use your dietary fat as a lever for weight control or loss, and minimal carbohydrate intake to ensure ketosis.
If this is something you struggle with and what help please feel free to message me on discord @rob menzies#6347
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helpful healthy info. sharing this within the @steemexperience discord community's Healthy Wellbeing section.
Thanks @jacobts I appreciate that.
This is really good @robmenzies. I read up about the Bulletproof Diet not too long ago and I have to say, the one thing I always did, I would always have a black coffee in the morning with some unsalted butter in it. I have no idea if it worked, I just did it.
Whenever I'm trying to get fitter or gain some weight, I always forget the numbers (until it's time to consider macronutrients properly). I think following numbers and what to eat what not to eat, always trips you up in the beginning. Sometimes it's better to just avoid sugar, salt, and flour and follow a MED workout routine.
I love Tim Ferriss' book, The 4 Hour Body. The book debunks a load of fitness BS and helps anyone to achieve results. In the world of fitness there is a saying that is hushed in the boardrooms and the gym offices... complicate to profit, simplify to grow.
I know what part of the saying the bosses prefer. Great read buddy, looking forward to more like this. Very interesting topic.
PS. those fish on the barbie look devine....
I need to study this post and the comments when I get a free moment, but also really like Ferris. I’ve read all of his books and each one has been game changing.
Thanks @calumam for the great comments. I think everyone has to employ a strategy that works for them. Ordinarily and especially my patients they have a severe lack of control and misunderstanding about what they are actually eating. I personally find tracking the Macros that you are given in the early stages, develops a discipline of ensuring you eat the right foods, can help to prevent cheating and help to track your progress. If you dont get the desired results then it can help to identify possible stumbling blocks in your regime. That in combination with blood tests we can tweak and fine tune it as required for the best results.
Yes the BPC phenomenon is certainly a weird one but its origins are well grounded in its Nepali roots where they would drink Yaks butter tea at high altitudes for energy. Now if we want to talk about fads then this well could be one of them, sadly there is a lot of misinformation about this and people do not treat it as the meal it’s supposed to be. Me personally i enjoy my coffee with some cream in it in the morning.
I must admit I haven’t read his books but will have to check them out!!
Yes sadly a lot of corporations or board rooms are only interested in the bottom line and don’t really care about the potential good that they could be causing. Yet they wonder why the attrition rates are so high in those that don’t get the desired results. Imagine if these people had positive results early on and started bringing other undit people to the gym when they see the pounds coming off.
That is a very good point. Being able to track from an early stage would definitely give you a better understanding of where you slipped up and what foods matter more than most. Not to mention it will help you create lasting habits.
I didn't know that! I can't remember the guy who created the Bullet Proof Diet but I know he was mad into his 'biohacking'. I think some of the concepts are great and if they work, thumbs up. Some people try to substitute to much and they totally neglect their health. It has to start with a solid foundation and grow from there.
Right? Imagine if they were able to train people who to develop their fitness better and the knock on effect would result in more people sticking it out in the gym for longer. Too many supplements marketed wrong and not enough education for those walking into a gym for the first time. Some people just hate reading.
Yes the creator of the BPC actually came up with the idea after a visit to tibet where he tried the yak butter tea, and then refined the idea to coffee and the MCT oil that he uses today for it.
Yes I know its a crazy business model but actually showing that gyms have a role in helping the general population in becoming more healthy, how can that be!! Gyms are only for healthy people.....
I didn't know about dual purpose meters. Do they measure both gluecose and ketones in the same test or would that mean more finger pricks? I'm already testing for glucose. Would be cool to see both results . Not sure if I would have any need to monitor my ketones though.
Hi there @doctorcrypto, Thanks for the great comment, although the meter is dual purpose, it does require two different strips one for ketones and the other for glucose, so its not possible at the moment to check for both at the same time, but yes you're correct it would be great to see both results at the same time, but I believe this is more an issue with the different reagents than anything else.
When I use myself as a guinea pig, and check my levels I just make sure i keep the site open and just gently squeeze the area so it can give me a drop of blood for the next test. the good thing is both test only take 10s to finish so it isn't really that hard to do. however if you are stingy with your blood it may mean a second finger prick.
As far as checking for ketones I personally feel that unless you were either a type 1 diabetic or needing to make sure you had high ketone levels for therapeutic purposes, there is not really any need to measure your ketones to be honest. If you have adopted a lifestyle where you were maintaining and track your food then it would be very feasible to assume you had adequate ketone levels to keep you in nutritional ketosis.
I actually am type 1 diabetic. They run ketone tests when I see my doctor. Is it something that needs to be monitored as strictly as sugar?
Unless your blood sugars are way out of control, and you do not take your insulin shots properly the likelihood of developing diabetic ketoacidosis is slim.
Insulin is the natural antagonist for ketones and maintain them are normal safe levels its only if a type 1 were to have high Glucose and Ketones, as well as some dehydration that they would end up acidotic.
There are some great resources available on youtube which covers all the topics for type 1 diabetics from a US doctor who has been diabetic for nearly 70 years himself and in fact he was one of the pioneers as far as glucose monitoring is concerned.
Thanks for all the info! I've got the glucose levels pretty stable these days. I just wish my insulin wasn't so expensive. :)
You should check out Dr Bernstein, he gives some bery good recommendations on how to control your diabetes as a type 1, he uses diluted insulin and obviously doesnt use so much as part of his Low carb program, he also has a book you can read too!!
I will check him out. Thank you!
This is a great post. I first learned about this from a book which, unfortunately, I have forgotten the name of. I started on a semi high protein diet because I got sick a long time ago. I have had hypoglycemia since a kid so my blood sugar drops really low if I do not eat protein an fat, which burn longer and keep my blood sugar more stable. I also have a kidney/adrenal issue which affects my mineral corticoids, so the blood sugar swings are made worse. Your post is informative. Thank you for clarifying since this information isn't widely understood.
Thanks @phedizzle to be honest it can sometimes be difficult to eat the adequate amount of protein daily to protect your lean body mass. If you are using ketones as your primary fuel source then it doesn’t really matter that much how low your sugar goes. When i do my bosy weight resistance excercises i can manage to get my sugar down to 50 with no issues, the only part of the body that does require sugar is a small part of the brain and thats only about 25g of glucose daily, so can be well supplied by the conversion of protein to glucose.
Yes adrenal and cortisol issues can sometimes take a bit of figuring out and especially when trying to get the glucose under control most people see this in the morning “dawn phenomenon” when people tend to experience this surge in glucose.
It is great to read some sober info about this. As you read on my blog, I am having some trouble dropping weight, but I’m really just getting serious so I will see how things go over the next few weeks.
Thanks @cstrimel you know where to find me if you need some help ;)
Everyone in my house is on the keto diet at the moment. Its killer for me, as I do not put weight on easily, so I need my carbs and they aren't buying my carb foods to minimise their own temptation lol
Ha ha ha this made me giggle, normally its the reverse, only one person on Keto and everyone else carb munching :).
Typically when I have people on the Keto diet I set their macros where they have a set maximum amount of carbohydrates, a set amount of protein with an allowance to eat 50% more if they like and fat in a range with the lower third for weight loss, mid range for maintenance and the upper third for the weight gain.
So if you want to gain weight its not essential to eat carbs to gain weight, it means you get to enjoy a lot of the treats out their and can increase the amount of fat that you eat. Think Low carb cheesecake or any of the other juicy desserts that you like. Yes you get to have your cake and eat it. That way you can support your family and you can put on some weight too, then when you reach your target weight you can cut back down to the maintenance range.
Nice one for the tips! For now, I can still get away with eating what I want with little consequences. Some day (probably when the baby comes in june), I'll start to develop the 'beer belly' and consider watching what I eat haha!
Congratulations!! Now you probably dont even realise it but pregnancy is one of the optimal times due to everything going on and the amount of energy required to grow the little one inside, the probability of already being in ketosis even on a higher carb diet is likely.
My wife was the same when she was pregnant and she had her ketones up around 4 or 5 whilst mine were .6 (i wasnt jealous much lol)
Yes keto will be a good way to quickly reshape that beer belly good luck in the upcoming months .
This is pretty in depth, I have always lived by the rule to eat everything and move around a lot. I have never monitored my health, instead i just listened to the signals my body sends me and I have never had any health issues concerned with food :)
@arrados yes i agree there certainly isn’t a one size fits all, but the most important thing that you said is:
Many people unfortunately can’t or don’t want to.
Now imagine you can’t move around a lot!! Do you think you could eat what you want.... I suspect not otherwise the pounds would pile on.
The thing about a lot of these illnesses is they creep up on you and pounce when you least expect it. As is the case with diabetes, many people could be prevented from developing diabetes if they were tested properly for the underlying cause, but i will leave that for another post!!
Great info, thanks. Just paraphrasing (and including some of what I think I already know) to make sure I'm clear.
Nutritional ketosis (eg for fat loss) only requires getting the carb intake low enough for ketones to be detected in the urine, which indicates adipose tissue is being reduced (usually under 50gm C is adequate). But it doesn't require low protein, and not even necessarily fat bombs, bulletproof coffee or other ways to get the fat really high. Therapeutic ketosis requires a high level of ketones as fuel for the brain, which is why it has to be so strict - very low carb, and quite low protein. Is that right?
I've always thought that you couldn't really overeat fat, as you would feel sick. But it seems like you're finding that people can eat 75% calories from fat without feeling sick? Or do they just override their natural instincts, and force themselves to eat that much?
Does it make a difference whether you're eating good fats or bad fats? I mean, if someone is mainly eating stable saturated or mono unsat fats, would having too many be as much of an issue as overeating unstable, polyunsaturated seed oils?
No I wouldn't say that. I would scythe ketones excreted through ruin are waste or unused ketones, and that over time the amount of ketones excreted will decrease, so just because the urine strip doesn't turn purple doesn't mean you're not in ketosis, the only accurate way of measuring ketone levels is via blood. The 50g threshold for ketosis may vary from person to person but on average yes if you dip below this level you should be able to enter ketosis easily.
People opt for low protein because they believe that the protein causes an insulin spike which exacerbates their insulin resistance, the spike is only minimal, but whats more important a tiny insulin increase or destroying your lean body mass!!
The body and all of the cells in the entire body prefer burning ketones as a primary fuel source not just the brain, but the brain loves it!! remember the brain is about 90% fat anyways, so whether it is for nutritional or therapeutic ketosis the ketones are used as the primary fuel. the main reason for maintaining high levels of ketones, and to ensure low levels of glucose basically to starve of the cancer cells as they need sugar constantly to divide and replicate themselves. They also help to enhance repairing of the neurons.
Yes it seems people can quite happily put away vast amounts of fat without feeling sick, although I would never recommend anyone to have this much fat as a percentage of total calories unless they were doing therapeutic ketosis.
what is a good fat, what is a bad fat?
I think when you consider that most meats have a good mix of all three trans, saturated and unsaturated fats they aren't really the issue, what I think is more important is the ration of Omega3 (healthy) and Omega 6 (inflammatory) fats. I certainly do not recommend any highly processed oils such as canola, or vegetable oils, the seed oils I haven't quite made my mind up on them yet, but I tend to stay away from them. As far as Cholestrol and triglycerides are concerned I would be more concerned about the triglycerides made in the liver through glucose storage than I would be from eating it from healthy fats such as butter, olive oil, tallow or lard.
last year the CANTOS study clearly identified that the vast majority of Cardiovascular disease is attributed to the inflammatory processes occurring in the body and that by treating the inflammation they can actually reduce the risk of heart disease without even touching the levels of cholesterol.1
Gosh so much information that my poor old brain is reeling - you get told so many things from different people that it's no wonder I struggle with losing weight. I shouldn't really as I have so much to lose that it should just fall off with reduced carbs and limited calories - alas it's never that easy is it!
Yes I understand where you are coming from, there may be many underlying issues at play, and unless you can identify and address each of these
Issues, sometimes it takes a bit of work to figure out evrything but eventually it all fots together and the pounds fall off. However falling too many people will only confuse you. Stick with one you trust and go with that!!
I definitely learned some stuff here, namely the difference between therapeutic and nutritional Ketosis, as well as the reason some don’t lose weight.
I’ve used a Keto diet a couple of times in the past. The first time with good success, the second time not so much. The second time I was utilizing bulletproof coffee and fat bombs. 70/25/5. So, are you saying that my downfall could have been the macro % of fat being too high? Or, the overall quantity of fat?
I switched to IF after and had good success until I lost my focus after a year. Looking to re-focus but can’t decide on a course of action.
Side note: I was dx with glomerulonephritis (spilling protein in urine but didn’t know why) as a teen, and told then to limit my protein intake which I didn’t do. Symptoms (pitting edema, fatigue, headaches) came and went over the years, usually in times of physical stress. I’ve been symptom-free for years, but that one comment of “limit protein” rolls around in my head when I do Keto.
I’d love your thoughts?
@coachjj thanks for the great comment!
For sure, if you are taking in far too much fat the body will utilize that over any body fat that you are trying to get rid off. Typically when I set a persons macros I set them based on their height or LBM, and I make sure for fat loos their protein is actually about 10g less than their protein macro. I think you are the proof to yourself when you didn't have the additional fat bombs and coffee you lost weight but when you ate them you had difficulty losing the weight. As far as the % fat or quantity its one and the same 70% Fat is far too much for someone in Nutritional ketosis to have, people need to ensure adequate protein intake to protect their lean body mass otherwise how can you repair your muscle and internal organs.
I am happy to help you out!!
As far as the glomerulonephritis is concerned I know many patients I have coached with CKD stages 2 and 3 and even 4 manage with no problems, obviously we don't want to overdo it initially so slowly increasing the protein at safe levels not to overdo it. These are mainly due to inflammation in the body which has been left unchecked, and when you think about diabetes it really is a systemic inflammatory condition of the cardiovascular system, due to insulin resistance.
one of the things with patients and end stage renal disease or chronic kidney disease is caused due to the fact they reduce levels of protein that they feel to maintain adequate lean body mass and it actually is detrimental for the person. the current guidelines recommend maintaining adequate levels of protein.
hope this helps feel free to ask anymore or I can catch you on discord.