Concerns about high fat in Keto diet

(Ericka Kinsey) #21

That has been my concern as well. I’m a lifetime member of Weight Watchers, but in the last few years I’ve become pre-diabetic with high cholesterol. I’m especially on the fence about food that is high in saturated fats, including the MCT oil that a personal trainer recommended. Thoughts? BTW, I started the ketogenic diet about 3 weeks ago.

(John) #22

Oops. I was thinking in terms of my old way of eating. Sorry!

Thanks for clarifying.

(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #23

My wife and I both lost weight on Weight Watchers, me = 65 lbs, in 2002; she has kept hers off,and is a lifetime member, but mine found me again within a couple of years. I hated having to limit tasty foods and fought with hunger trying to keep weight off.

I tried a program about 2 years ago that was pretty much paleo, at least got me off of sugar and processed foods especially flour, and the weight just fell off of me. 15 lbs the first week, 10 the next, 8 the next, and I was never hungry! I couldn’t believe it. I was eating protein, some whole vegetables, and used fats like butter, coconut oil, and bacon grease to cook in - no where near the amount of fat I consume now.

About 4 months in I hit a bit of a plateau so I started looking to see How the diet worked and I searched ‘insulin resistence’ as I remember that term from the start up materials. My eyes were opened: I changed my eating and cut my carb intake to <20 g/day and increased my fat intake. The weight started coming off again!

I had seen my doctor shortly after starting the original program and he was amazed at how much my HbA1C had dropped! He asked what kind of exercise I do and I told him “I roll out of bed in the morning, and back in at night!” I was due back, quarterly visits, after I changed to keto and he was amazed that I was no longer pre-diabetic and my triglycerides were coming down for the first time in 10 years!

I also noticed that my HDL was on a climb from 23, where it sat for those 10 years, and was at 35 for a marked improvement. I explained my diet and he became worried and told me to come back monthly.

Each visit I brought him a book of a small stack of studies supporting the ketogenic diet and explaining how my numbers were getting so much better. 9 months after I started keto he took me off all of my prescriptions.

My wife is still doing Weight Watchers and gets hangry quite often but she will not try keto because I am trying to kill myself and she could never eat all that fat. She has even gone to all of my doctor appointments and seen the evidence. She even brings me to her 4 different doctors so they will talk some sense into me. I just bring my blood tests from the last 2 years and they have no comments. Well, her Chiropractor told her that I was the smartest patient he has ever seen and recommended she try keto as well!

#24

I had the same concerns. Not sure where they went but they went away. I eat tons of beef, eggs, cheese, sour cream, heavy whipping cream and olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil on my food, probably too many nuts. Last night a steak dinner with family felt too low fat and too high protein and I was a little hungry so grabbed a spoon of coconut oil. I do not like pork so do not eat it but I would if I did. I do fry up tons of turkey bacon, and beef salami and try to use extra oil. Been keto since April, lost about 30 lbs. No idea of numbers before or after. I did find the diet easier when I added more fat instead of limiting the amount

(I want abs... olutely all the bacon) #25

These book recommendations are a good place to start digging through the science, besides exploring the “Show Me The Science” forum section

(I want abs... olutely all the bacon) #26

Podcasts are an easy way to dig into keto topics 30-60 min at a time

(Rick) #27

Agree on Podcasts Becky it was the Joe Rogan podcast from earlier this week with Dom D’Agostino that tweaked my interest in regards to Keto and treating my Type 2 diabetes.

#28

I would recommend you should just read a few books on this topic which will alleviate your concern with fat. I recommend “The Big Fat Surprise” by Nina Teicholz. There is also “The Great Cholesterol Con” and “The Great Cholesterol Myth”. Get the Audible version if you don’t want to read. (the list above Becky mentioned is good, but I think these books talk about the topic of fat/cholesterol specifically)

After that if you want to look into the ketogenic diet as a way to fight/prevent cancer, then you can check out the lectures by Dom D’Agostino and Thomas Seyfried. I wouldn’t start with them first. And once you really get into it and want to really optimize your ketogenic diet, check out “Fat for Fuel” by Dr. Mercola.

(Jim Russell) #29

That pretty much says it all, right there.

(Rick) #30

Further to the fat questions, have any of you guys tried the keto two week trial on the diet doctor website? first recipe sounded great cabbage and meat balls, but the amount of fat that you need to add to the meal made it almost inedible for me.

Does your body adjust to eating such high levels of fat?
If at first you struggled how long did it take until the levels of fat became something you were used to?

Thanks for all the responses thus far it’s greatly appreciated.

(Jeremy Storie) #31

Your body does just fine eating the fat. It’s your mind you have to convince. Let go of the false nutritional information the government has been feeding you.

(Todd Allen) #32

There really is no target for fat. You can eat a lot or none at all depending on your hunger and body’s need for energy.

The aim is to keep insulin low which is a hormone that promotes energy storage and impedes the burning of fat. You do that by restricting carbs and keeping protein in a reasonable range. If you do that and you have a lot of body fat to burn you may not feel much hunger and have minimal needs for dietary fat. For some it can take a while before their insulin drops low enough and whatever other changes need to occur to allow the body ready access to stored fat. In that case you will be hungry and you should eat as much fat as needed to keep your metabolism humming and your energy up.

Check out fat bomb recipes for some very high fat snacks and treats. Use those as needed when starting out to keep hunger in check and you should have no trouble making meals with a moderate level of fat you find palatable. Expect over time that your tastes will change and you’ll also come to enjoy high fat meals as much as fat bomb treats.

(Arlene) #33

Saturated fat is preferred by the body over any other kind of fat. Ask yourself if our ancestors were likely to manufacture and then eat oils from seeds and vegetables. They hunted and gathered, then they ate. What kind of fat did they get…yep, saturated fat.

(Mberg) #34

I heard this man speak. He has done the research! Amazing stuff!

(KCKO, KCFO) #35

This blog has some excellent information, please read it and see if you can find your sweet spot for fat. When I did induction, very high in fats, I started out with more olive oil, avocado, and butter/hwc, gradually added in more saturated fats. My HDL began to rise and my trigs lowered.

(Mary 🌹 ) #36

I agree that>>>>Avocado oil, beef tallow, coconut oil, olive oil, butter ghee, heavy cream and cheese, are considered healthy oils.

I just ordered Dr. Rosedale’s diet. He does not recommend Coconut oil…I am using it alot.

I don’t eat pork.

(Carpe salata!) #37

Stop it yoi’re making me hungry. Lol. I had to break out the pink salt.

(Alicia Warren) #38

The main differing opinion about fats is which ones are bad for you. The keto/LCHF camp want you to stay clear of the seed oils and oils (rational: high in unstable polyunsaturated fats, too much omega 6 causes inflammation). The standard nutritional advice camp want you to stay clear of the animal fats and coconut fat because they are saturated (rational: cause heart disease). There are a few fats that everyone agrees are healthy, namely olive oil, avocado oil, nut oils and fish oils. So if you want to sit on the fence between the 2 camps these are the fats to use. What to use for high temp frying is still a conundrum though, because the keto/LCHF say that only saturated fats are stable at high temps, and standard nutritional advice camp think you should fry in polyunsaturated oils. At this point you will have to decide for yourself. Only solution is to read a wide range of different opinions and consider the quality of the arguments for each opinion. Personally I am on the keto/LCHF side of the fence and no longer fear saturated fats, but I also make sure that I get plenty of olive, nut and fish oils so my fats are not just the saturated ones.

#39

I use avocado oil, it has a high point, much better option than olive oil at high temperature

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #40

Tallow and lard also have high smoke points, and like butter, they are about 50% saturated fat, just under 50% monounsaturated fat, and the rest various polyunsaturated fats. Like butter, they also make food taste great!