I have been in nutritional Ketosis for 4 months now. I GET that I am not as hungry as before due to being “fat adapted”. Some days I do not feel like eating much at all. But, my question for the group is there science around “Does you body have the ability to store extra calories from fat into adipose tissue when insulin is low?” That is… when someone is Keto adapted (protein is appropriate and carbs are very low) if I DO eat too much cream cheese and whipped cream one night- what happens to that energy? I have done this a couple of times (binged on whipped cream) and it has not seemed to ruin anything. Are there alternative mechanisms other then insulin for your body to store excess calories from “fat bombs” when you are fully Keto- adapted? BTW, I am not looking for permission to gorge myself- just the science how how our bodies deal with too much fat calories! I have been curious since the second month on Keto.
Fat storage eating too much fat
I believe that yes it is possible to eat too much. However, the fat typically allows you to have satiety signals that naturally stop you from over eating.
I think the key to this is the definition of “low”. I take that to mean normal basal insulin plus whatever insulin response you get from stomach signaling upon ingestion. Then yes, it is sufficient to store fat in adipose tissue. Take, for example, a type-1 diabetic. They do not store fat well at all. Also, a severely insulin resistant person has damaged fat cells in adipose tissue that can no longer absorb fat. This is when visceral fat accumulates and leads to NAFLD. Most of us with normal to elevated basal insulin are quite adept at fat storage. It’s getting the fat back out again [and using it for fuel] bit that’s the problem.
@richard and @erdoke can get more technical and sciencey than I can.
I posted a similar question yesterday, there were some good responses!
Just like to add that the medium chain fats get a fast track to the liver and generate ketones rather than being stored away like longer chain fatty acids. Whole foods contain a mixture of different fatty acids, the most ketogenic of which are the c8 and c10.
[Added link]
I don’t know the science of it, but as a long term weight maintainer eating LCHF/ Keto, (keeping 70 pounds off for almost 5 years post 40 years of obesity), I can and will gain weight if I keep my fat intake too high for many days in a row. That’s just me.
I developed a cyclic sort of eating, mostly Keto, always LCHF (I was almost dx with T2D) where a few days my fat is closer to my protein intake grams, some days my fat is higher.
I seem to have a lower threshold of carbs (total of 27, so about 20 net) where I tend to do worse if I go lower. More subcutaneous fat on my body. I do better in weight maintenance at a total intake of 30-40 grams of carbs all from non-starchy veggies (20-30 net carbs).
Good luck! I carry 2 genes that code for only losing fat when “low fat”, but let me tell you 85 grams of fat is not low for me. I do have to cycle my fat down for a few days during a week time frame, but I don’t keep it that way for long.
Eating very high fat (for me) for long periods = lots of back fat and subcutaneous fat. It took me a long time to figure that out, but Onward!
@Fiorella You are right… some days I cannot eat because I have too much fat. It has happened the few times I have tried MCT oil WITHOUT food and when I have “binged” on high fat food. Too much Olive oil causes the same problem for me. Thanks for your reply.
@gardengirlkp
Thanks for your story and congrats on your success. We need more long-timers on Keto. I hope to be one- at some point. I am more curious than anything how the human body can gain weight IF insulin is low…Is it known? I know most of the time, nature packages fat and protein together. Also, fat causes satiety. It may NOT be important to even know HOW a person could gain weight if they were eating only fat- as it is not healthy and may NOT be possible. I am down 32 lbs and feel so much better and will continue KETO. My intellectual curiosity concerns if there is another pathway for humans to get fat IF sugar and protein are not causing insulin spikes. I heard Carl @carl ask a similar question on one of the 2KETODUDES podcast and was curious if anyone knew?? Thanks
I can binge eat fat with almost 0 shut off signals. Same with protein. I have an additional extra ghrelin hormone release ( it’s a genetic thing) - so, yeah, I can eat, and eat and eat.
Keto is my best food template to hope to have normal signals. I still weigh out proteins due to this. If I want my bigger pants back, they are only a few weeks away if I forget. I consistently log on MFP as a tool to warn me.
The only pathway into adipocyte cells is via the GLUT4 receptor which is insulin sensitive. (Muscle cells have multiple pathways.) It doesn’t require a spike in insulin, just the presence of insulin which we all have at a basal level, except T1 diabetics. The more you spike insulin, the more the cells will absorb, until eventually they become resistant. If the adipose cells are unable to abosrb fat, like in some genetically deficient mice where GLUT4 is broken, it causes IR even faster in the rest of the body.
This is my current understanding. @erdoke is more fluent in the science.
All usable nutrients in quantity elicit an insulin response, including fats and even exogenous ketones. The key here is what happens within the fat cell, and what signals the nutrients deposited provoke.
Speed of fat sequestering to adipocytes appear to matter, too.
Normally, satiation signaling increases after overfeeding and appetite naturally drops. Also, unhealthy level of fat cell expansion stimulates local mitochondrial biogenesis, uncoupling, and excess fat is burned off.
The big question is how these feedback mechanisms break in obesity.