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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