From a basic caloric standpoint, this appears to make sense. Fat contains 9 calories per gram, whereas carbohydrates and proteins contain 4 calories per gram. If calories were the only thing to consider, it would stand to reason that if you eat fat, you’re going to gain weight because of the higher caloric load.
Well, first off – let’s clear up the calorie myth. If you haven’t done so already, please read last week’s post on why calorie counting is such a small part of the health and weight puzzle.
So let’s look at exactly what your body is DOING with fat. Is it just about energy storage in the form of chunky thighs and a big belly?
Many are surprised to learn of the vitally important roles of fat in the diet:
- For one, fat is a structurally integral part of every single cell membrane in our bodies. Read that again. It is structurally essential in EVERY SINGLE CELL in our bodies. That’s a pretty darned important role. We’re not talking just “fat cells”, we’re talking every single cell for every single function in the body.[1]
- Fats are required in order to properly digest and assimilate those all-important fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E and K. Conveniently, many foods containing these vitamins also come with the fat required to digest them. For example, the fat in egg yolks allows the body to access the vitamins A and D it’s so abundant in. So maybe Mother Nature had it right after all? This is another reason why pasteurized skim milk fortified with synthetic vitamin D is such a silly idea.[2]
- Fats are required for the adequate use of protein. So all the egg whites in the world won’t help you out if you’re not eating them with the fats in the yolk to access that protein properly.[3]
- Fats are a source of energy, and a nice consistent, smooth burning energy at that. In other words, the kind of sustained, even-keeled, constant energy we all long for is right in front of us – in fats. They also slow food absorption, which helps with energy regulation as well.[4]
- Fats are key players in managing inflammation in your body. Some fats help your body inflame when necessary, other fats help your body anti-inflame. Unfortunately, low-quality fats are in themselves highly inflammatory, but that’s about the processing, not the fat in and of itself.[5]
So we’ve established that fat is an absolutely essential part of our diets and shouldn’t be feared. It’s a big bummer (sorry, couldn’t resist) that we use the same label – “fat” – for this vitally important macro-nutrient as the bodily condition we’re all trying to avoid.
But what about the weight issue? Isn’t dietary fat what resides on my inner thighs?
Here’s something really important to know about fat: it does not trigger the hormonal dance that creates fat storage the way that sugar and other starchy carbohydrates do.
When you eat something sweet, your blood sugar levels increase too quickly, and your pancreas secretes the hormone insulin to take the excess sugar out of your blood. Insulin is a fat storage hormone. It stores that extra sugar first as glycogen, and then as triglycerides (fat) once glycogen stores are full.
When insulin is activated, its partner hormone, glucagon, can’t operate. Glucagon’s job is to mobilize stored sugar back into the blood for energy use. These two hormones are constantly in a dance with each other and cannot be present in the blood at the same time. So either your body is in an energy-burning/mobilizing state (glucagon) or your body is in an energy storage state (insulin).[6]
Sugar mobilizes insulin; fat does not.
It’s that simple. In fact, the fat in a sweet treat will actually help to slow down that sugar spike, and thus reduce the insulin surge, mitigating some of the ill-effects of the sweet. This is why the whole fat-free dessert thing is such a bad idea. Not only are you mobilizing a ton of insulin, you’re also removing the one thing in there that could slow that process down.
Another piece to this puzzle is satiation. The digestion of fats triggers your satiation mechanism. This is why low-fat diets are doomed to fail and such an exercise in fierce willpower. Your body is never satisfied without fat, despite the number of calories (one more reason why calories aren’t the be all and end all).
It’s quite the opposite with sugar or foods converting to sugar quickly in the blood (starchy carbs like bread, pastas, cereal, potatoes, etc…). These foods inspire overeating and binging in part because they don’t satiate and in part because of the insulin reaction we explained above. After insulin has done its job of storing that extra sugar as fat, guess what happens? Your blood sugar takes a big hit and you now are in a low-blood sugar space. What do you crave now? You got it… more sugar.
This means: eating fat makes you fuller sooner and longer. Eating sugar leads to a sugar crash which makes you hungrier sooner and in a position to crave more sugar. A vicious cycle indeed.
Now, are all fats created equal? Not by any stretch. In fact, industrially processed oils and rancid fats are ubiquitous in the diet and extremely harmful to both our health and our waistlines. But real, unadulterated fat from quality sources used appropriately is a key component of any healthy diet.[7]
Here’s the bottom line: Eating fat doesn’t make you fat. Eating sugar makes you fat.
For more reading on fats, check out:
Eat fat, lose weight
The truth about saturated fats
5 Reasons you shouldn’t be afraid of quality fats
Great article!
I’ve started eating unsalted grass fed butter and cut way down on my grains. In addition to losing weight, I feel like I have way more energy!
The most amazing shift has been that I’m sleeping a lot less. This was never my goal but I’ve gone from having to sleep 10 hours a night to 7.5 hours a night. I wake up with more energy than ever before!
“In fact, industrially processed oils and rancid fats are […] extremely harmful […] our waistlines.”
Incorrect. In terms of weight loss, a fat is a fat. Your body doesn’t care whether it’s saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Now in terms of general health and well-being, yes, it’s relevant. But for weight loss, it’s not.
Otherwise good articles are invalidated by untruths like this.
Actually, Chase, weight loss is about much more than just calories in/calories out. There are many many examples of this, but for one that pertains very specifically to adulterated and rancid fats: these are highly toxic, and our bodies store toxins in fat. No matter how many calories you consume, if you have a toxic burden your body will not allow a certain amount of fat to be shed in order to protect itself, as it will mobilize those toxins into the blood stream and thus endanger organs. So yes, industrially processed oils are very harmful to our health AND our waistlines.
Agree, but more than that. The polyunsaturated oils are toxic and inflammatory in and of themselves. The processing and accompanying rancidity jut makes them worse. Too much Omega-6 in the diet is bad news, no matter how “fresh” and “natural” they may be. Switching to fresh cold-pressed seed oils (which last about two weeks before becoming rancid) wouldn’t solve this problem. PUFAs are toxic and inflammatory merely by being PUFAs.
That isn’t true actually. Polyunsaturated fats are very important to overall health. Omega 6 and Omega 3 are polyunsaturated fatty acids, but they are also essential fatty acids. Meaning they serve multiple purposes in the body, but we must ingest them because we cannot synthesize them ourselves. Omega 6 in and of itself is not bad at all. It, in conjunction with Omega 3 play important roles in inflammation management, for example. The problem is that the standard American diet is entirely too high in Omega 6 and too low in Omega 3. For optimal health it is believed these need to be consumed in approximately a 1:1 ratio, but the American diet averages a 10:1 ratio, much too high in Omega 6, not high enough in Omega 3. This imbalance, not the individual oils themselves, leads to increased inflammation and other health problems.
Brianne – I agree with you entirely. The imbalance is a critical aspect. Also the quality of the oils – many polyunsaturated vegetable oils (the omega 6s in particular) are extremely over-processed and completely rancid when we eat them and thus very inflammatory regardless of the balance between them and omega 3s. I’m talking specifically about oils like soybean oil, canola, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed – the stuff you see in all processed foods.
Good read 🙂
Concerning your comment to Chase, how would someone mobilize toxic fat stores?
Denovo lipogenesis has been researched and it’s generally accepted that the body turns sugar to fat only when excess amounts of sugar are routinely ingested ie constant overeating of sugar. Even then the cost of conversion from sugar to fat is 30% of the calories consumed. (Hellerstein. Denovo lipogenesis in humans. 1999/Acheson et al. Glycogen storage & denovo lipogenesis during massive carb overfeeding.1988)
Here are my macroeconomic and caloric intake this past week. Proteins 291 grams, fats 106 grams, and carbs at 120 grams with at least 36 grams of fiber per day. Granted I love to work out lifting and running but I have been resting the past three days. I have been trying to lose weight and get a nice, ripped figure. The bottom line, I was just too heavy. I was stuck at 208 pounds for months, once I changed my diet to all protein and fat, within weeks I am now 194 and dropping fast. I have figured out this, if I can bring my carbohydrate intake below 100, I will be a furnace burning machine. Granted, all my fats came from Avocados and almonds, which are high in fat. I eat whole eggs in the morning, about three to one egg white. 18 grams of fat. Of course chicken breast. It works. All my carbs come from nutrient densed foods only. Nuts/protein bars or shakes/vegetables/fruits/greek yogurt/. I stopped eating legumes, I love lentils, but I stopped. I feel better. No bread,sugar,cakes,candy,soft drinks. A great tip, I juiced vegetables and pour some into my blender with protein shakes. I love it. I firmly believe I will reach my goal weight of 177 pounds, muscle and ripped two months tops. Here is the kicker. I can workout on any workout program, it all works. Sal
I’ve been researching around the web for a paper but haven’t got the answer to this question: where exactly does fat go after you eat them?
I know the stored fat and cholesterol in your blood stream are converted from excess glucose, but what happens to the dietary fats????
I’ve heard talks of its use as a slow energy source? what’s the process and how does it work?
Margaret is having 150g of olive oil per day bad for you?
150g of olive oil = 1350 calories of olive oil. Depending on your exercise habits, that probably about half of your daily calories. While you’re going to get calories from the olive oil, it’s void of fiber and micro nutrients. So ya, while those fat calories won’t spike your blood sugar, it’s still not a good idea to consume that many calories of straight up fat.. I mean you would almost be drinking it lol.
In depth article. Sugar, especially added sugar is definitely the worst thing to digest frequently. It’s surprising to see what sugar can actually cause health wise. I’m not a heavy sugar taker but I’ll definitely have to find an alternative for hot drinks!
What a brilliant article!!
I have been sharing this for weeks since I found it! So many clients I have who are looking to lose weight and get healthy live off low fat things and wonder why they’re not slimming down.
Fat is an essential part of our diets and while we should try to reduce the consumption of certain fats and to a degree fat in general (from a calorie point of view), it is important that you have an adequate amount of fats and that you try and get them from things such as animal produce ie. meat, milk, butter, cheese etc. I can’t stand people who come to me and say “I only eat low fat things such as margarine etc. because there’s no fat in it and is therefore healthier for me”.
This article should be shared everywhere!
I have a question.
We humans store fat in cells known as adipocytes. My question is, the fat that is stored there exclusively the fat that our body generates out of sugars, or is there also non-human-made fat stored there?
@Mike. I’m not sure what you mean by “non-human-made” fat? This might help: our bodies break everything we eat down into its constituent parts and then our body uses it for what it needs – there are many roles for fat in our bodies. Eating fat doesn’t necessarily turn into fat storage. If you eat ANYTHING in excess – sugars, proteins, or fats – it will ultimately be converted into adipose tissue as fat storage. In our fat-phobic culture, it’s usually the excess carbohydrates that get converted to fat storage first. Does that help?
Thank you for this article!!!
What type of diet would help a Type 1 diabetic loose weight? Is it true that where the insulin is injected, that area becomes more fatty?
Unfortunately fat CAN make you fat, if it is consumed in combination with carbohydrates. This is due to the Glycerol-3-Phosphate enzyme, an unavoidable byproduct of carbohydrate metabolism, that binds to intracellular fatty acids to form triglycerides. In triglyceride form, fat cannot exit cells to be used for energy. With constant intake of carbohydrates, the conversion of triglycerides to fatty acids is blocked, thereby leading to fat accumulation in cells, no matter what the source.
But basically, eating 100 grams of fat will make you weigh (becuase normal people absorb about 95% of fat) about 95 grams more, so it ‘does’ make you ‘fat’…
It’s great to learn about the other side of fat, but plz don’t leave out vital information, leaving an opportunity for people on diets to think that it’s okay to eat lots of fat.
Klewy, it’s actually a lot more complicated than that. How your body metabolizes and stores energy isn’t a straight calories in, calories stored equation. I ate a diet that was about 70% fat when I was pregnant and didn’t put on a lick of extra weight more than normal, all of which came off completely within a few months of having the baby. This is just one example of many. It’s not about straight volume – it’s about quality, your body’s digestion, macronutrient ratios, your toxic load, and much more. One of the first things I do with clients is get them eating more fat, and reducing sweets and starches, and inevitably they lose weight. By your logic, this wouldn’t/couldn’t happen – but it does.
Hi, I am not sold entirely on the fat story…a diet made only of fat and protein is also very high in calories. Now, if the calories don;t count, do you mean that a diet made of let’s say 2000 calories mainly in fat/protein would make me lose weight vs a more balanced diet of 1400-1500calories made of 45% carbs, 25% protein and 30% fat? Thanks
Check out this recent study, Noemi: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/02/health/low-carb-vs-low-fat-diet.html
It’s actually showing that even when calories weren’t counted, a higher-fat diet with fewer starches was far more effective than vice versa. I’m not saying only eat fat and protein. That would be very imbalanced. But I’m saying that fat is a very important macronutrient and when we don’t eat enough of it (or good quality fats) health problems ensue. I see it in my practice every day.
If the high protein and fat diet contained around 20% carbs or less then yes you would lose weight faster despite the higher calories.
I hate calorie counting! Such a bad approach to nutrition!
I love this post! When I look at nonfat vs. lowfat I’m looking at the nutrition facts and if they’re comparable then I get the lowfat. There usually isn’t much difference between the two. I’ve been working with a wellness coach for the last two months now and my fat percentage is FINALLY going down without working out like a fiend! She believes in 90% diet and 10% exercise to change you body for the better. I get some healthy fats like 4 ounces crumbled feta/goat cheese on salad and reduced fat cheese & avocado on sandwiches (with Ezekiel bread which is lower in calories and higher in fiber than any kind of wheat/white bread). All those problems areas are FINALLY started to get leaner. It’s all about making smarter choices about what we put in our body. 🙂
I agree. I have lost 135lbs by changing my diet. The 2 biggest things that I took out of my diet was sugars and carbs and all fried foods. Added exercise and I have never felt better. I crave vegetables and will never go back to unhealthy eating.
Margaret and James: I appreciate your enthusiasm and also happen to agree that fat, well organic fat, is good for us. But you would make your point better with science based reports or documentation. There are so many people who have the same passion and dedication on endless topics, and many of them are flat out wrong. Just sayin….
Regards, George
Say I eat 10,000 calories worth of fat a day.
Would the body store the excess as fat or get rid
of it by other means eg. body heat?
Fat makes you fat. That’s why it is called fat. You eat too much of it, you’re in danger. Carbs, on the other hand, we were designed for. Every cell in our bodies runs almost exclusively off of glucose, including our brains. Take it from a 100 lb female who eats 2,500+ calories worth of carbohydrates a day. If this sounds crazy to you, I don’t blame you. I had the same initial reaction. But it would not hurt to give it a try. Who doesn’t want to be able to eat all the carbs they care for and not gain weight? Just look up the 80/10/10 diet or Raw Till 4. Not only will you look your best, but this is the way that we humans are designed to eat so you will reap the amazing health benefits instead of suffer from diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, chronic fatigue, cancer, stroke, to name a few. Just look up the works of Dr. Collin Campbell, Dr. Douglas Graham, Dr. John McDougall, and Dr. Neil Bernard.
Your looking at only one area of research and not at others. Just because our bodies have adapted to glucose it dies not mean it can’t use the other system of keytosis. Many health professionals recognise this research. I will leave it up to you to research. Not sure where your getting this carb thing from? I’m a type one diabetic and I know if I did that it would probably kill me. Healthy fat, high protein low carb diet is defiantly the healthy option.
totally agree with the previous comment. Fat makes you fat. If anything.. it’s the dietary fat that makes you fat WHEN it’s combined with carbs in the food you’re eating. Carbs from natural sources like fruits and vegetables and even potatoes and bananas will not give you a sugar crash (unless your metabolism already messed up). If you eat something that’s both sugary (actual sugar added and processed carbs) and has fat in it – this will release a bunch of insulin and it will stop any fat burning your body was doing and all the fat you just ate – has nowhere to go but into your fat storage. This is why sometimes you just eat a cake and next day you gain a pound that is hard to shift, even when looking at just calories – it wasn’t enough to gain a whole extra pound… but weight for weight.. cake is probably 70% fat – so quite a few grams of fat is going to be gained.
I have to disagree with that. Fructose, which is contained in fruits, is probably the highest (excepting Dextrose) insulin releasing factor. So eating banana, apples or any other fruits will causes insulin to spike.
Plus, carbs that aren’t used are directly stored as fat. Where i agree is eating carbs before doing execice to give you energy. Because you are bruning and using carbs as main fuel during your exercice.
Fat or Protein, when eating too much, will get stored as fat as well depending on how much your body can assimilate (you can adapt your body to assimilate more proteins than others: protein synthesis). Fat makes you fat when you eat too much of them and then they get stored as fat.
In an equal amount of fat and carbs, more carbs will get stored as fat due to insulin and energy spend.
Incorrect, fructose does not increase insulin more than glucose. Fructose -if anything- exhibits a smaller peak insulin relative to glucose and this is precisely why diabetic food stuffs are more fructose-based.It is true that overeating fruit can lead to weight gain as sugar -albeit in natural form- is still calories.
Correction, apologies I missed your exception that you were not comparing fructose to glucose. However, fructose does not elicit a problematic insulin spike unless you are consuming large amounts, which is only likely if you eat a lot of fruit or high-fructose corn syrup based products.
You all have it wrong. Fructose will most definitely spike your insulin levels especially when it’s added sugars. On the other hand, if it’s fruit it’s ok because you have the fiber in tact which will not allow your body to receive all the sugar in the fruit. With that being said too much sugar can wreck you as well because our bodies do not recognize sugar as an actual nutrient and it has no other choice but turn that into fat unless it’s fruit because again thanks to the natural fiber. Carbs are not bad for you if they are coming from whole natural and unprocessed foods such as whole grains, squash, sweet potato etc. with that being said, we still need fats in our diet especially women!! Wonder why it’s so harder for us to loose weight than men? Hormones and guess what balances our hormones the most?? Healthy Fats!!! I’m not talking about processed oils and pastries that contain fats but instead things like avocado, nuts, seeds, eggs etc. If your hormones are out of whack good luck trying to loose weight and none of you have a clue. Everyone’s body is different you just have to find what works best for you.
It’s impossible to gain fat from eating protein since 1 gram of fat represents 9cals of energy while it actually requires 9cals just to convert 1g of protein into 1g of fat. Protein is also thermogenic.
Your right about hormones and good fats. A gynocologist said flax seed is SO good for women reproductive health.
Only organ in the body that can metabolize fructose is the liver. If there is too much fructose, you will get fatty liver thus a nice big gut. Just like the only organ than can metabolize trans fat is the liver. Enjoy your fructose.
you are kidding, most cakes are loaded with sugar (carbs) sponge chocolate sponge is about 36 calories of fat and 150 calories of carbs. Open your eyes. I am not saying low fat is better than low carb, but just blindly saying stuff is silly. Cheers
No its not. Maybe 15 percent. Have you ever seen how much sugar goes into cake and the rest is white flour.
Our body uses glucose therefore our diets should be carb based? This is your premise? Why don’t you hook yourself upto a glucose drip if that be the case. No, we were NOT designed to live on carb diets. I’d attribute health gains in such a diet to raw fruit and veg, not the carbs specifically. Sugar is profoundly damaging to our bodies and our ancestors certainly didn’t have the means to cook and process grains that we have today so rice, potatoes and breads are all off the menu. The most sugar-hungry sugar-dependent part of the body -the brain- actually performs better under low-sugar conditions so that throws a wrench in that whole we need to eat what we use theory. What you miss, is that the energy the body uses -in the form of glucose- has undergone a variety of metabolic cycles and pathways before it got to that stage so telling people to eat 80% carbs is seriously flawed and misguided. The only people that need 80% carb diets are endurance athletes. However, given the ageing effects of sugar on the body and the fact athletes have successfully used fat as an energy source I’d recommend endurance athletes also revise their carb intakes to a more moderate level.
NICELY SAID!!! Thank you!!!
Guys come on….for example, people who worked out in the 80s, they had perfectly toned body. No where did they live on an Atkins diet or high fat diet. They used portion control. I think the perfect diet is a diabetes diet
100 Lbs! Where is the rest of you (chuckle)? Yes you may be able to eat 2500+ calories a day but, how old are you? How tall are you? How much and how often do you exercise? Those a questions that need to be answered to have a full understanding of why you can eat that way and only weigh 100 Lbs. Now if you are 39 and 4’11 like me that would completely change how your body metabolizes the food you eat. Let me know when you reach my age if you are still 100 Lbs eating 2500 calories a day. Before I forget I am 150 Lbs in case you are wondering and I walk at least 3 miles a day. I eat 1300-1700 calories based on the walking I do.
I think it’s also a good idea to ask how her thyroxine levels are doing lol
But your comment is not at all clear because you dont say WHAT carbs you eat(it matters enormously) nor do you seem to know that people on high fat diets all eat huge quantities of carbohydrates. The high fat thing means rhe number of calories in a day is high, not the physical quantities. 200 gms of cheese eaten with a whole lettuce, a tomato or two, a celery stick and half a cucumber is, by definition, a typical high fat low carb meal(and at least I stay slim and feel great on this type of meal. The BAD carbs( remember when we were talking about “bad” cholesterol?) are the ones that are full of sugar…grains, potatoes, fruits, rice etc. So it all depends on how on earth you find 2500 calories of carbs in the first place…they csnt be “good” carbs, can they?
You’re wrong. I don’t care how much you weigh or how young you are. In the end, a carb-rich diet will ruin you. Did you even read the entire article?
We are designed to eat diets rich and fat and low in carbs. Read chapters 32 – 34 of “Natural Born Heroes” by Christopher McDougall. It discusses the history of humanity’s diet. If you look at the dietary patterns of our ancestors, they were minimal in carbs (with the exception of fiber; that’s the only carb your body truly needs) and maximal in fat. With minimal carbs, our bodies relied on fat as a fuel source. Consequently, it didn’t accumulate and our ancestors were never fat.
I eat a lot of fat and hardly carbohydrates for two years now. I became lean,clear thinking,lowered blood pressure,less headache and joint inflammation. So my choice is made.
Good job…right on keto 4 life
Alexa….. Wrong! There are at least 4 body types and each require different nutrition to be at their best health and weight. There is no one size fits all. Find what works for you but don’t praise it as the end all be all approach.
‘fat makes you fat’, well, that’s only true in carbohydrate-based diets. You see, fat is only bad when you add sugar to it, Cholesterol and even protein are only bad when you add sugar to it. It is not that the fat makes you fat because it isn’t the nutrient that spikes insulin in the first place. just reduce net-carbs and boost your foods w/ high-quality, healthy beneficial fats and you’re good to go.
But fat doesn’t trigger any fat storage processes in the body, particularly the healthier, necessary fats. How were we designed for carbs anymore than fats? There are little naturally occuring foods that are actually very high in carbs, if you take out the highly sugary exotic fruits that only grow in certain parts of the world then you are left with very little to choose from. I’m 99% sure that the carbohydrates you eat are not all incredibly high in sugar which is what triggers fat storage, eating wholemeal, slow-releasing carbs is indeed quite healthy, doesn’t mean that any of what is said in the article is wrong.
When put in the context of eating moderate carbs then yes, fat will add to your caloric intake which will then cause your body to store the carbs rather than use them. When you eat ice cream that’s high in sugar and fat, your body has to store the excess in calories but it does this by processing excess glucose via insulin. Fats don’t get stored the same way and that’s the point of this article. In order to benefit from high fat, you need to limit carbs and in particular sugars. Fat actually does not make you fat when you eat a high fat, low carb, moderate protein diet and the science proves this. This article hits all the points about why fats aren’t the culprit behind weight gain and the science is solid on this. You have to understand the mechanism behind glucose and insulin that causes carbohydrate storage. You can’t just skim this article and dismiss it.
Yes that is my thinking too but according to keto that 2500 calorie carb eater should be fat, toxic, almost dead??? Diabetic at least! But I also personally know someone that eats like that and is probably not even 100lbs! Just wondering if eating disorder as teenager has something to do with the way her metabolism works? She cannot gain weight . Anyone? Just trying to understand!
Something that is so important to understand in all this is that bioindividuality plays a huge role. One person may thrive on a keto diet, and for the other person they feel horrid. For someone else, they may thrive on a more vegetarian style of eating, but another person can’t sustain themselves on that. There is no such thing as one perfect diet. Ultimately, it’s a balance of all the key macronutrients.
Maybe she has an underlying thyroid issued, such as undiagnosed Hashimotos disease, which early on can produce hyperthyroidism. The other option is that she’s actually in a state of starvation from an
imbalanced diet—her body using every carb she consumes because she has no fat stores, and if no muscle mass or tone, probably some muscle wasting too. Unfortunately, she doesn’t provide enough information to arrive at a proper conclusion.
Alexa,
You are lying. 2500 calories of carbohydrates is equal to 13 cups of rice or 32 slices of bread. I am male 5’8″ 160 pounds in my thirties, but I cannot consume half of it in one day.
Ben, you may know that 32 slices of bread equal 2500kcals, but it is a fact out of context. An average two slice sandwich containing any of a wide variety of fillings, such as a generous seeing of butter, cheese and pickle could equate to 450 -500 kcals. Add to that a meal of meat, veg, potatoes gravy egg you can add another 450kcals. Depending on what you eat, 2500 kcal are very easy to eat in one datpy, and sometimes in one three course meal.
The PERFECT diet is what a diabetic eats to be honest. But I to agree that carbs aren’t the enemy. It’s quanity. I was my skinnier when I ate a higher carb/low fat/low protein diet. I wasn’t skinny fat either, I had energy, no cellulite..I mostly ate white rice w/plain fat free yogurt topped with salsa and low fat chips.I also ate a serving (bowl of spiral pasta topped with alittle low fat ranch. I was healthier then. Once I started eatting read meat and starchs, fat I looked aweful. However , in certain situations the author is right. I’ve been reading about all this and high”er”fat diet is better for most then carbs, to because people tend to eat fat with them. Everything is bad in excess.
She has a point. At my thinnest/leanest I ate more carbs then fat and slightly more carbs then protein. Example chicken a few times a week. Example rich,fat free yogurt,topped with salsa and baked chips or A small cereal size bowl of spiral pasta with light ranch dressing for dinner. When I introduced my body to red meat and fats and potatoes my body was ruined.I also craved food more. I heard a dermatologist say that protein is hard on the cells and *high*protein isn’t good for you. Food for thought….
Another carb defense. Many Chinese and Japanese eat rice, are they fat? Do they suffer from heart disease? It’s that fatty fried food and red meat diet.
I don’t think keto is bad if it’s followed healthy. However, to many people using bad fats = disease.
Actually overeating anything, even fat and protein will spike blood sugar and cause insulin resistance. It just takes longer to show up becuase it digests slowly but it does show up later on. All foods even fat and protein from meat have to be converted into sugar to be used by your body. Carbs get converted into sugar more quickly depending on how processed it is (the more cooked or refined it is, the faster is digests and turns into sugar your body). Carbs only spike your blood sugar IF you eat an all carb diet all the time or eat too many carbs all the time. But when you combine healthy carbs with fiber, fat, or protein (low glycemic/slow digesting foods like non-starchy vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and meat) it doesn’t spike you’re blood sugar. So it’s about eating a balanced diet of low glycemic foods with a little fat and meat (nuts, seeds, meat). Too much fat and meat causes health problems, weight gain, and imbalance. It’s ABOUT BALANCE! Overeating anything spikes blood sugar. Balance, balance, balance.
Nonsense. Protein and fat do not EVER cause insulin resistance. Protein and fat both moderate insulin spiking so the idea the mild amount of insulin they elicit by themselves could potentially raise diabetes is preposterous.
Do you have any idea what insulin resistance actually is? Fat ALWAYS causes insulin resistance! It’s the only thing that can! Insulin resistance occurs when (muscle) cells develop fatty buildups that prevent the intake of sugars… fatty buildups. Guess how you get overly fat-saturated cells. Could it be fats? Whether or not fats cause an insulin spike has absolutely nothing to do with your bodys ability to process sugars. Don’t be an idiot. No one ever got diabetes on a high-carb, low-fat diet.
Eseul, Proteins are broken into amino acids and used to repair our bodies, but in emergency can be used for energy. Proteins in food are broken down into pieces (called amino acids) that are then used to build new proteins with specific functions, such as catalyzing chemical reactions, facilitating communication between different cells, or transporting biological molecules from here to there. When there is a shortage of fats or carbohydrates, proteins can also yield energy.
Margaret, insulin is not involved in the process of storing dietary fats. That’s why eating fats is not linked to insulin levels. Insulin is not the fat storage factor.
Dietary fats ARE stored, however. Acylation Stimulating Protein is the fat storage factor, not insulin. There’s plenty of research out there on the effects of overfeeding with different macronutrients. You will most likely store a higher percentage of fat consumed than you will of carbs consumed, so it’s a little irresponsible to assert that it’s not possible.
Fat you eat is most definitely stored, just not in response to consumption of carbs or protein, nor by processes involving insulin. Look up Acylation Stimulating Protein.
I have never claimed that the body doesn’t store dietary fat – clearly it does. And I agree with you entirely that insulin isn’t involved in that specific process of storing dietary fats – but it IS involved in storing sugar that is converted to fat. That is my point exactly.
How much fat you store as a result of the macronutrients you eat is related both to the combination of macronutrients and to the total amount. My point here is simply that lower-fat and higher-carb, while it may be lower calorie, actually drives the fat storage process more, and also does not satiate the way that a higher fat, lower-carb meal will do. If you eat too much of anything it will be stored as fat. This is all about the relative portions and the myth that fat itself is the culprit to our obesity, when for most people it’s more the excess carbs that is the problem.
sorry, all reaserch suggest the fat is what makes you fat. unless you overeat carbs for a very long period then some will turn into fat. its easier to get fat from eating fat. i gained fat during ketosis!
Doctors were paid to say that fat makes you fat. It’s a well known fact. After seeing how addictive sugar was, the sugar industry giants needed someone to stop saying sugar made you fat and turn it into fat itself.
Eating fat will never make you fat. The reason eating carbs does is because blood sugar is tightly regulated by your body. Hi sugar and low sugar are both deadly. Eating processed carbohydrates causes blood sugar to ramp up. Hi sugar causes your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin forces your organs and fat cells to accept excess glucose to get blood sugar back down. Insulin forces your liver to metabolize glucose into fatty acids, which are then stored in your fat cells as triglyceride. Later, when you are not eating, your body will recover some fatty acid for your needs. Eating excess calories of carbs leads to body fat production. The same does not happen when you eat natural fats. They do not cause an insulin reaction. They do not lead to fat storage. Here is more information. don’t take my word for it. https://doc.research-and-analytics.csfb.com/docView?language=ENG&source=ulg&format=PDF&document_id=1053247551&serialid=MFT6JQWS%2B4FvvuMDBUQ7v9g4cGa84%2Fgpv8mURvaRWdQ%3D
according to my encyclopedia carbohydrates cause tooth decay is it likely that we evolved to eat something that destroys our teeth ????
The carbohydrates in our diet right now are very different from those we are biologically designed to eat — this isn’t about evolution. This is about massive changes in our food supply and overabundance of highly refined carbohydrates (which are simply not present in the natural world)
So true Margaret, old school apples were the size and taste of a crab apple, eat one of those and see how many our ancestors would have chosen over meat and fat, in fact we have developed our grains etc over the past 10,000 year, in some parts of the world, others still mainly had root crops and wild greens, to supplement their meat and fat diet. I am not sure wether our meat and fat today is the same as old school, but I suspect not, but we like meat and fat, and sugar, because they had flavour. Eat grains, beans, vegetables, without fat and you will see how tasteless they are, butter makes all greens tasty.
cheers
Amen to that!! Finally another individual that gets it. Agricultural proceedings have vasely changed over the decades. Profit organizations fund cheap inexpensive fruits and vegetables genetically modified beyond its original molecular structure.real fruits and vegetables that grew in the wild before modification were actually lower in sugar, on the contrary, they were quite bitter. This bitterness acted as a natural defense mechanism towards predatory insects. High fat diets, with moderate protein and low carbs can actually reverse years of metabolic damage. Whether it be blood regulation or aleviating your adrenal glands. Not saying one or the other works better, but before stomping each other with definite, indefinite answers, try doing some research for yourselves to see what best fits your needs! Some people are just simply more insulin resistant than others, therefore allowing a greater range of carbs in their diet without I’ll effect. I’ve lost 50 lbs(FAT) on a ketogenic diet, eating tons of healthy fats!! People will argue that it’s water weight etc, etc, but the results speak for themselves!!
Eating carbs trigger insulin, which creates fat and stores fat. Cutting out carbs and eating fat minimizes insulin and releases glucagon, which burns fat. It’s as simple as that. I have been eating like this for 30 years. I am 5’9″, 125, 57 years old and in perfect health.
All the great information on here is helpful, But I beleive the bottom line is eating balanced sensible meals is always the way to go. Watching the quality of the food and moderate exercise. No other approach is healthy.
So I have tried the information given in this report. I have limited eating fat foods and carbs together. If I have fat like dressing on my salad I don’t have a roll. If I have a carb diet I leave out the fat. That means a baked potato without the butter and sour cream. I always include a protein. In the morning I eat plain yogurt, the kind that is the lowest in carbs and sugar, with some kind of berry. Breakfast should be with all three protein, carb and fat to fuel your body. Look at the carbs and sugar in the diet yogurt and you will be shocked at how many there are in a low fat yogurt. Especially the ones that are flavored. Look at many of the foods and you will see that the low fat foods are high in SUGAR and CARBS. I have lost 7 lbs in three weeks. Now that don’t sound like a bunch of weight but I am an older female and any belly fat that is gone is good news. It is not always easy when it comes to preparing meals, but the results are worth it. Green foods are basically free and fillers. Things that go in salads and if I find myself getting hungry during the day, I always bring a baggie full of veggies to snack on. I still have splurge days and eat everything I want. I am convinced that this works and I feel great! On a side note, I have a friend that decided that she would eliminate fat from her diet and when she went to the eye doc, he asked her if she was on a low fat diet…her eyes were dried out because of it and had to take special eye drops to fix her vision problem. It took over a year.
I have lost over 60 kilos by eating lots of fat and ive never felt better. I now weigh 89 kilos down from 160 kilos and wear Levi jeans of the rack again, awsome. Every single day I have 2 eggs for breakfast on Bürgen Rye Bread, which is the only bread I buy now, love it but its better toasted, I have loads of real butter go through 250 grams a week. I have pure cream in my coffee, not that thickened rubbish, and I drink a lot of coffee and tea, so i use over 300ml of Pure Cream every week and I always use a dab of Honey in my tea and coffee and the Honey hasnt made me fat again. I eat at least a loaf maybee 2 of Bürgen Rye Bread a week with cheese sandwiches and eggs on toast and I eat a lot of cheese. I eat over a dozen eggs a week. For evening meal I usually have frozen Salmon or Chicken and vegies, mainly Sweet potatoe, Brocoli, Cabage, Carrot and leak with heaps of olive oil, vegetable fibre is very important for your Bio Mass or gut Bacteria which controls eveything including hunger and depresion and on a Friday night I even have a couple of beers. I have done no excercise except for moderate walking with the dog. I so wish I had discovered this fat thing years ago, I am 53 now and have struggled with weight my entire life. I have lost 60 kilos at least twice before, the wrong way and always put it back on again, but not this time, I have been doing this for over two years and have had checkups and my bloods ,colesterol etc are really good. I basically get all my energy from fat these days, I never go near sugar apart from honey in my coffe and tea. I feel great I look good my skin is good. it is so easy to loose weight when you get your head around this and I feel sorry for people who are still strugling and knocking themselves out with to much exercise which is very inefficent at getting rid of excess fat, I mean excersise is good to make you fiter but it wont shit a lot of fat, and I just shake my head when I watch “The Biggest Loose TV show”. I try to tell my fat freinds about this and they just dont listen even though they see how much weight I lost in a relatively short time. Im never huungry I eat a lot of food now and enjoy eating without feeling guilty. I never buy or consume milk. I see fat peopl and feel like running up to them and shaking them and try to help them but they just wont listen. you know for years I tried every diet known to man and I was always hungry, tired and cranky but not any more, I just wish I had learnt this when I was in my 20’s. I sometimes have porridge with frozen berries and butter and cream for a snack, NO MILK, milk is great for fattening up calves. I could go on and on. Anyway Thanks if you read this, I hope it helps someone.
The main thing people dont get is that you NEED to consume a lot of fat to get energy and loose weight, So they do everything else like cut sugar, cut carbs but they dont eat enough fat, you need to consume fat to loose weight other wise you will just be hungry and have no energy and your diet will fail. learn to love and eat more fat whole eggs, cheese , fish, nuts ,pure cream, butter, not-margarine, olive oil, pure lard. this is your new energy source. If you dont eat enough fat you will fail. fat rules.
The word is LOSE. You don’t LOOSE weight.
Anyone that still thinks that fat makes you fat is just simply misinformed. Your body stores energy in the form of fat because it is simply the most efficient storage mechanism in regard to the amount of energy in a fat cell versus a protein cell or as glucose in the liver. Think of fat as the battery cell of your body. When you eat food, the glucose triggers an insulin response which shuts down your fat conversion thus you run from the energy you just ingested versus the fat battery you are carrying around. When you eat fat, your body converts that fat to glucose vial gluconeogenesis. Eat too much fat and then you start storing it. But eating fat does not shut down the fat burning process. Carbohydrates do that. Proteins are used as muscle building blocks and as transport mechanisms for the fat in your body. But in any case, don’t take my word for it. Listen to a Biochemistry expert, if you can follow along. https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/biomolecules/fat-and-protein-metabolism/v/introduction-to-energy-storage
What works for me is.
Both fat and carbohydrates in proper amounts.
I thought I had a food intolerance to wheat until I
cut out milk.
The most help in processing macronutrients for me has been a strong probiotic. . And reducing my toxins exposure of fast food.
Okay this whole argument of what causes obesity needs to stop.
1. Eating fats does not make you fat. If that were true then every person who was on the Keto diet would be obese and gaining weight like crazy. But they dont, they lose body fat rapidly.
2. Eating carbs does not make you fat. If that were true then every fruitarian and vegan would be obese and gaining weight like crazy. But they dont, they lose body fat rapidly.
3. Eating proteins does not make you fat. If that were true then every person on a high protein diet would be obese and gaining weight like crazy. But they dont, they lose body fat rapidly.
So you want to know what makes you fat ….. SUGAR. By sugar I mean processed, refined, powdered, grained, or liquid sugar. It’s the sugar making everyone fat. I’m not talking about naturally occurring sugars found in fruit, veggies and smaller micro amounts in raw meat. I’m talking about the crap from sugar cane, from high fructose corn syrup. All of that fake industrial sugar crap they dump into food today that wasn’t being added 60 years ago.
That sugar is being hidden and dumped into everything you eat. You’ll never imagine all of the places they are hiding this sugar. They hide with different names, different terms. To fool you from noticing it. Even if the label says “0 carb” or “0 sugar” the ingredients list will still state the sugar. It’s impossible to get away from it without just going to the natural whole form of food itself, raw meats, eggs, cheese, fruits, veggies, and raw unprocessed grains.
People all over the world where sugar isn’t added to their food sources aren’t fat. They eat tons of carbs, fats, and proteins. They eat far more in terms of caloric intake as well. But don’t get fat. Then look at places where sugar is added to food. The people are fat. You could be a person who eats 700 to 1000 calories a day and be fat. Because of the added and hidden sugar.
If you want to lose body fat. Stop eating foods with added or hidden sugar. Everything else, fats, proteins, carbs, counting calories, will become irrelevant.
David
Sugar might be the worst offender but guess what, carbs will turn to sugar/glucose/glycogen during digestion. Processed carbs from flour like bread,cake, fruit juice and pasta immediately spike blood sugar level. Too much sugar in the blood is dangerous. Starchy whole foods like brown rice, corn on the cob, oatmeal and even fruits will also become glycogen but slower due to its fiber content. Insulin will try to control blood sugar level by first using glycogen for energy and then store excess sugar by converting and storing the sugar as fat.
More difficult to become glycogen are proteins. It has to go thru gluconeogenesis only when you run out of glycogen.
Fat is is also used for energy thru lipolysis to become fatty acids. Because it is not glucose, it does not spike sugar level and it will not call insulin to store it as fat in the fat cell. The fatty acids can stay long to be used as energy unless there are lots of excess in which by this time it may be stored as fat.
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Have to believe Dr Jason Fung and his research, it is all about insulin. At 62 years old, 5’1″, 180 lbs (was 200 lbs) when I eat refined carbs I gain. Whereas when I eat only whole plant foods, I loose. The longer I fast (2 meals or OMAD), the more consistently I lose fat, ( 20 lbs & 4 inches off my waist ). I track my weight & waist measurements every day.
Fantastic post.
Really enjoyed reading it and it held my attention all the way through! Keep it up.