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Should people be eating more fat?

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Re: Should people be eating more fat?

#61
post #50
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if the macronutrient content of your diet affects your metabolic rate? I mean I see the value of the "bucket with a hole in it" model of human weightloss but the body is a complex biological machine full of feedback mechanisms so maybe that model isn't always sufficient.

Macros do not significantly affect metabolic rate. Exercise does though. Glycogen (carbs) is the preferred fuel for almost every cell in our bodies. All the fat & protein we eat that ends up used as metabolic fuel will first be converted into carbs. Now granted the thermal effect of these macros are different (it takes more energy to turn protein into fuel than it does to convert table sugar) but the idea that "you n…

Many people think that ketones are the preferred fuel for every cell in our bodies.

Re: Should people be eating more fat?

#62
post #46
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing with carbs is that they don't really satiate you as much as fat and protein does. You'll stabilize on a much lower weight if you (partially) remove bread, pasta, rice etc. from your diet. It requires so much less willpower to lose weight without them.

Agreed. But it's not the carbs themselves, it's the calories in the carbs, and the fact that most of the snacks we eat are carbs. Avoid carbs and you avoid most snacks, which makes it easier to maintain a caloric deficit. It was the same rational in the 1980s, but FAT was the villain then. Avoid fat and you avoid loads of calories (9kcal/g v.s 4kcal/g for carbs) which makes it easier to lose weight. But low-fat or lo…

Or perhaps it is the insulin resistance you get from eating too many carbs.

Re: Should people be eating more fat?

#63
post #41
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

best way to fatten livestock is to feed them carbs (ie corn!) grass fed cows grow much much leaner than those on corn

For cows grass is also predominantly carbs! Grass is mostly fiber, which is converted into carbs by the intestinal flora of the cow. So why does corn fatten them better? Is it the macronutrient makeup of digested grass vs digested corn, or is it simply that corn is more calorie dense than grass?

My understanding is that it's the difference in glycemic index. Corn has a GI of 60, whereas spinach has a GI of 0 (couldn't find the GI for grass, so...). The higher the GI, the more impact on blood sugar and insulin, and insulin causes the body to use sugars over fat for fuel. So how does corn stack up against, say, table sugar? Table sugar has a GI of 68, so cows (or people, for that matter) that consume a lot of corn will have nearly identical effects on their insulin and blood sugar if they were to instead eat an equivalent amount (in terms of carbs) of table sugar.

Though I'm not a doctor, that's my understanding.

Edit: Also, there's the compounding effect of insulin resistance. The chronically elevated insulin levels result in decreased insulin sensitivity, which means that the body will require more insulin to move glucose out of the bloodstream, while further preventing the use of fat for fuel.

Re: Should people be eating more fat?

#64
post #30

Lately I've been on a diet of vegetable fats and proteins, almost no carbs (only fiber). Lots of avocados and seeds (chia, flaxseed, sunflower, sesame) which have approximately 50% fat content 45% protein 5% fiber. I lost body fat while eating as much as I wanted of that, along with yoghurt, eggs, cheese and veggies, the only thing off the table is bread, although I eat some once in a while. People eat too many carbs…

The macronutrient content of your diet has nothing to do with how much you gain/lose. The only way you are losing weight is that you are in a caloric deficit. Whether that's from increased activity, decreased energy intake, or a combination of these, there is no other way (besides liposuction). The low-carb thing is just a trick to get you to eat fewer calories. Not to say it's not valuable - whatever works for you -…

Caloric deficit determines how much weight you gain or lose, but the macros determine how much fat is stored.

I've gained a ton of lean muscle mass while lowering body fat, solely by eating high protein/fat diet.

Re: Should people be eating more fat?

#65
post #5

I lost over 50 pounds about 3 years ago now. And since then I have been relearning to eat and doing a good job at it. One of the tricks of the eating healthy trade that I learned and has helped me tremendously, is to put fatty stuff into drinks; mostly teas and coffees. Like bulletproof coffee[0]. Often you hear don't drink empty calories, but as someone that has never counted a calorie I can attest that it is more i…

The whole point about adding fat is to make you full with less. So if you drink milk or eat yogurt don't go for fat free go for the full monty that way you will be fuller. I lost 60 pounds over the last 6 months and mostly by running, swimming and staying away from bread/pasta/rice without being religious about it.

I'm on the ketogenic diet, and meet a lot of my fat macros using heavy whipping cream in my coffee (52 calories per teaspoon, all fat and protein).

Re: Should people be eating more fat?

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was your experience and opinion of Four Hour Body? I've heard recommendations for it, but its marketing speak of "AN UNCOMMON GUIDE TO RAPID FAT-LOSS, INCREDIBLE SEX, AND BECOMING SUPERHUMAN" has always turned me off to it before I started.

I did 5 weeks on 4HB (only 5 weeks due to my schedule, it's not easy when you have all 3 meals a day out of the house...), and felt fantastic. Circulation in my legs seemed to improve, more energy and lost about a stone in that time.

Regarding circulation in your legs, make sure to walk ~5 minutes for every hour you're sitting. It reverses the negative effects of sitting all day:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140908083748.ht...

Re: Should people be eating more fat?

#67
post #57
post #5

I lost over 50 pounds about 3 years ago now. And since then I have been relearning to eat and doing a good job at it. One of the tricks of the eating healthy trade that I learned and has helped me tremendously, is to put fatty stuff into drinks; mostly teas and coffees. Like bulletproof coffee[0]. Often you hear don't drink empty calories, but as someone that has never counted a calorie I can attest that it is more i…

Regarding 0: do you use "low-toxin coffee beans"? It sounds shady, I'd like to know more.

It is a bit shady. Joe Rogan exposed this [0]. I use Tim Horton K-cups usually.

0. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwY4H3cNTH0

Re: Should people be eating more fat?

#68
post #5

I lost over 50 pounds about 3 years ago now. And since then I have been relearning to eat and doing a good job at it. One of the tricks of the eating healthy trade that I learned and has helped me tremendously, is to put fatty stuff into drinks; mostly teas and coffees. Like bulletproof coffee[0]. Often you hear don't drink empty calories, but as someone that has never counted a calorie I can attest that it is more i…

OT but what Onnit products have you tried? I've only tried Alpha Brain myself and can't recommend it enough.

I agree the alpha brain took a few days for me to realize it was amazing, but now I swear by it. I have been taking the entire primal care, day and night, for about 10 days now and I have never consistently felt this good in my life.

Also, I found Cilep[0] to be really useful once or twice per week. This makes me feel like adderall but with appetite.

[0]https://www.upgradedself.com/ciltep-nootropic-stack-60-ct

Re: Should people be eating more fat?

#69
post #33
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The macronutrient content of your diet has nothing to do with how much you gain/lose. The only way you are losing weight is that you are in a caloric deficit. Whether that's from increased activity, decreased energy intake, or a combination of these, there is no other way (besides liposuction). The low-carb thing is just a trick to get you to eat fewer calories. Not to say it's not valuable - whatever works for you -…

What if the macronutrient content of your diet affects your metabolic rate? I mean I see the value of the "bucket with a hole in it" model of human weightloss but the body is a complex biological machine full of feedback mechanisms so maybe that model isn't always sufficient.

If we are talking about control over body fat, it's not so much about metabolic rate, as about mobility of the stored fat. If your adipose fat does not respond to reasonable caloric restrictions, you're simply going to have a hard time.

It is not actually hard to burn mobilized fat. Each one of us burns a whole lot of dietary fat in a given year: a lot more than what we have stored in our bodies. Why is it that we can burn through all that dietary fat, far in excess of how much body fat we can burn in the same period? Because that fat it is mobile: it is circulating in the body in a form that is ready for use.

Thermodynamics provides us with a summary of what is going on, which doesn't reliably translate to a method. If we measure the total energy output of the body while and monitor the energy input, then the body mass and composition changes will be reliably related to those variables.

Not all body composition changes are favorable, though.

If you could simply cut 500 calories a day, and reliably have the deficit made up by burning body fat, it would be laughably easy for anyone to achieve a vanishingly low body fat level.

Re: Should people be eating more fat?

#70
post #23

fyi, if you're interested in losing weight using this approach the /r/keto subreddit is quite good and very encouraging. I won't say its for everyone, but it certainly worked for me, and after getting over the initial hump I felt better than I ever had. Huge amounts of energy, feeling great after 4 hours of sleep, brain feeling like I was grasping concepts and finding solutions quicker.

It is a good resource. The FAQ is very useful for "what should I do". The /r/ketoscience/ subreddit has lots of studies like the OP.
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