By Rebecca Latham
I originally started eating ketogenically a few years ago by eating very high fat, lower protein, and very low (sometimes zero) carbs. That worked for a while, and I lost weight, but as time went on, I found that I was eating so much fat and so little protein that I was getting hungry all the time. After a bunch of trial and error, I came across the Optimal Ketogenic Living (OKL) group on Facebook and saw their macros chart for the first time. I was expecting to see high fat, but was surprised to learn that for me, fat was only around 68 grams per day if I wanted to lose weight. I was used to eating twice or even three times that amount of fat every day! That lower amount of fat meant that I could barely add any fat to my meat and vegetables. At the time, I thought that eating around a half a stick of butter per day, along with other fats, was the way to make the ketogenic diet work and I was very used to eating my butter like fudge!
I’ll spare you all the anguish I went through, realizing that I would not be able to continue my butter habit. I even turned away from the OKL macros for a few months because I thought I should not have to give up my butter. I had done low fat in the past and it was miserable. I wanted to eat high fat!
Enter Drs. Phinney and Volek, the authors of “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living.” They explained that a well-formulated ketogenic diet IS high fat, but all the fat is not coming from the food you are eating. Part of the fat in “high fat” is coming from the fat that is already stored in your body. At first, you are eating a smaller amount of fat in your food and “eating” a larger amount of your own body fat for your energy needs each day. As time goes on, and your body fat is being used up, you gradually eat more fat in your food and less fat is being used from your body fat. In the end, when your body fat is normal, you will be eating a lot more fat in your food in order to maintain your new, healthy weight and normal body composition.
I have queued this video to the spot where Dr. Phinney explains this. The whole video is good, and after you watch this part, you will learn even more if you back it up and watch it from the beginning. https://youtu.be/2KYYnEAYCGk?t=3m28s
Since August 2016, I have seen how much sense it makes to lower fat temporarily until excess body fat is used. I still miss using butter and my Bullet Proof Coffee freely, but as i have clear goal how to maintain weight using my ketogenic diet. It may seem like a lower fat diet for now, but when you are truly on a low fat diet, you have to stay low fat for the rest of your life, and that is no way to live!
After one month of following this I am very close to my goal for body fat percentage, I have now increased my fat from 68g per day to around 90g per day, and in one day, I probably get to have one or two tablespoons of butter. I continue to lose body fat doing this, showing me that Drs. P & V certainly knows their stuff!
Keto Islands Closing Comments
Rebecca runs an amazing Facebook group called My Low Carb Road – Fasting Support to help people achieve their personal weight loss and health goals. It’s people like Rebecca, giving their time for free, that help us all have tremendous success. I am proud to have her as a friend on Keto Island.