Something Doesn't Add Up

[alibabka]

From the Atkin's literature I've seen, it seems that if I don't eat excess carbs, I can eat all the fat I want, and either lose weight or at least not gain any. How is this possible? Is Atkin's contention that dietary fat is never converted into body fat? And (if I can lose weight eating this way,) does Atkins contend that the body always burns body fat before burning dietary fat for fuel? What does the body do with dietary fat???
Can anyone clarify this for me? Help!

[Atriana]

I think it has to do with how fat satiates the appetite. The body is self limiting about fat and definately not about carbs. Few people would eat a half pound of butter at one sitting, but a half pound of cookies would be no problem at all.

[Natrushka]

I have not read Atkins, alibabka, but I can give you the basics as explained in Protein Power.

For fat to be stored there has to be insulin in the blood stream. No insulin = no fat storage. Glucose released into the blood stream cause a rise in insulin. When you eat carbs they are converted by your body to glucose as fast fuel. When glucose is present in your blood stream your pancrease will produce insulin to 'get it out of there'; if the fuel is not needed for anything it is stored as fat in your fat cells and around your organs.

When you eat fat there is no metabolic reaction in your body. Fat is metabolically inert. So, if you eat fat without carbs no insulin will be released as there is no glucose being created and no fat will be stored.

The flip side is this: Stored fat cannot be pulled from your fat cells and used as fuel in the presence of insulin either. This is why it is so difficult to lose fat on a high carb diet; there is way too much insulin floating around.

The fat you eat when LCing is expended and the fat that is stored is also expended for energy. Btw, the protein you eat is broken down by your body into amino acids and used to build new tissue and enzymes that it requires for daily functioning. Protein is the only 'macronutrient' that you body can fully break down and use totally. If you should eat more protein than your system needs this can be converted to glucose and released slowly into your system without causing a rise in insulin.

If you'd like the bio/chemical long version of this process pick up a copy of Protein Power by the Eades. It is a very interesting read.

Nat

[LC Sponge]

Nat, I like the detail you've given. You've put meat on the bones so to speak ;)

Atkins only says that it is a phenomenon that "dietary fat in the ABSENCE of carbs, causes the body to actually use body fat for fuel. A wise dieter uses this fact to their advantage."

[Natrushka]

Meat and some fat for good measure, LC ;)

Here I go pushing PP again, but it really is a great read - the summaries at the end of every chapter give you a reader's digest version of what's been discussed, the full details are there if you should want to read them. Seeing the science of why LC works and how it can actually improve your health really made a difference for me. It makes so much sense, kinda gets you wondering why it hasn't received more positive press.

N

[alibabka]

Thank you Atriana, Natrushka, and LC Sponge for your helpful answers :). After the holidays, I'll try to look into PP too.

[dug]

Atkins also states you should eat until satisfied, not stuffed. So if you ate all the fat you could I think you would probably gain weight.

[black57]

The body will burn carbohydrates first. If you get some of the carbs out of the way, the body will turn to its fat stores.

I like to think of glucose or carbs as the glue that makes fats stick, although there is more to it. Consider the cookies, breads, chips, candy, pasta granola bars that you consume in a day. Doesn't that worry you? I felt and looked like a chocolate Pillsbury Dough Boy or the Michelin Man in my carboholic days.Before becoming a carb addict I was skinny. I don't want to become skinny again ( I never liked being skinny ), but I can easily identify my eating mistakes, regardless of what dieticians say. The dieticians and/or the FDA tells us that we are to consume x amounts of carbohydrates, I am willing to bet that no one counts how many carbs they eat on a normal basis. I didn't begin counting carbs until now.

You can't just dig gold out of the earth and make a ring. It has to be processed with heat and other elements before it can be pounded into a gold ring. You can't mount your child's artwork on the refrigerator without a magnet. You cannot accomplish one thin without the other. Likewise, you can't stick fats to your body without a magnet, or processing of specific elements to make it stick.

Black57

[whyspers]

If the fat has no carbohydrates to bind to, it does not get stored as fat is my understanding. Also, fat takes a different metabolic path and that is why our cholesterol doesn't skyrocket, etc. Nat definately has a better grasp of this phenomenon than I do, but that is the basics as I understand it.

Pretty kewl, huh?

L

[Arie]

If you eat more fat that your body can use for energy, the extra fat gets broken down and comes out as ketons. If you eat too much fat you will not gain weight, but you'll not lose either.

The trick on the LC diet is to eat enough fat not to be hungry, but not too much so you could burn your own fat for the extra energy.

[cc48510]

Your body uses three types of fuel: carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Insulin is a hormone needed for fat storage. No insulin means no fat storage. No fat storage means no weight gain from fat. Now, the trick is to use up the dietary fat, so that you can get down to using body fat as fuel.

Loren Cordain's The Paleo Diet expands somewhat on this, even though it unfairly demonizes saturated fat...it makes some good points. Your body must expend a certain amount of energy to use each type of fuel. I figure this is why your body uses them in that order. Carbohydrates require almost no energy expenditure to use as fuel and contribute 4 kcal/g. Fat require a some expenditure of energy and contributes 9 kcal/g. But, due to this expenditure, the actual caloric effect is about the same as carbs.

Protein requires a significant expenditure to use and only contributes 4 kcal/g. But, due to this expenditure, the actual caloric effect is negative...as in your body uses more energy to break down and utilize protein than it gets back from the protein.

This is the cause of "Rabbit Starvation." When you eat a diet composed of alot of Protein and very little fat and carbs...you literally starve to death...because your body has to rely on Protein as its main fuel (something Atkins discourages for obvious reasons).

Atkins suggests few carbs to prevent the release of insulin. This is the same reason he suggests avoiding Aspartame and Caffeine. He suggests getting enough dietary fat to meet your body's energy needs. This prevents you from feeling crappy and lacking energy to do things. He suggests enough protein to prevent your body from consuming its lean muscle tissue...but not so much that it becomes dangerous.