What Really Makes You Fat?

Many who struggle with excess weight try to lose weight by limiting their fat intake, thinking that consuming fat is what makes them fat. 

But as they soon discover, it’s not that simple.

Excess fat storage in the body is primarily the result of consuming excess carbohydrates and proteins. This is another way of saying it’s a result of not consuming enough fats. 

Why?

Because excess carbs and proteins are converted into fat. 

The best way to prevent conversion in your own body is to adjust your intake of these three macronutrients - fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. You need all of them, and they need to be in balanced proportions.

We are all unique individuals. However, some general principles can be applied as guidelines from which to implement a healthful macronutrient ratio. 

The Nutritional Therapy Association recommends 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat, and 30% protein.

Before you get carried away, let's look at what these micronutrients actually are.

By "carbohydrates", I mean mostly vegetables and fruits instead of starchy carbs. 

Cabbage, tomatoes, apples, celery, green beans, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant, berries, zucchini, spinach, kale, chard, and collards — these and other fruits and vegetables are non-starchy carbs. 

Starchy carbs include potatoes and root vegetables, beans, and grains.

For weight loss, refined carbs should be avoided altogether. These include white bread, pizza, bagels, pasta, cookies, cake, candy, white sugar, refined cereals, muffins, soda, potato chips, and packaged foods containing white flour and/or white sugar.

Fats that help you to lose weight include lard (from forested pigs like the ones we raise at Polyface), butter or ghee (from 100% grass-fed cows), chicken schmaltz (from pastured chickens), beef tallow (from 100% grass-fed beeves), duck fat, lamb fat (from 100% grass-fed lamb), olive oil, and coconut oil. Coconut oil is a special case (I’ll dedicate another blog to extoll the virtues of raw coconut oil).

A few oils to stay clear of include bottled nut oils or avocado oil. They are extremely fragile and turn rancid almost immediately upon exposure to air. 

Processors deodorize these oils to remove the unpleasant smell and taste of rancidity. Nut oils and avocado oil are nutritious if you obtain the oil by consuming the nuts and avocados themselves. The oil is protected inside the nuts and fruit and can be ingested before it has a chance to become rancid.

Also avoid corn, cottonseed, soy, and canola oils, even if they’re designated 'organic'. These polyunsaturated industrially processed oils are unhealthful for many reasons that cannot be covered in a short blog post. 

They are found in commercial salad dressings, soups, sauces, gravy, butter substitutes (margarine, spreads), mayonnaise, chips, crackers, breads, etc. You will find a few exceptions, such as chips that are fried in lard, and breads containing butter or olive oil instead of soy or canola. This is when reductionist shopping (i.e., reading labels) is required.

Butter is delicious on almost anything. And, if it’s from 100% grass-fed cows, it won’t burn when you cook with it like conventional butter does. 

Greens sautéed in butter, dressed with lemon juice and liquid aminos, make a nutritious side dish for a meal. 

The calcium in the greens  requires the presence of fat and acid in order to release and assimilate it. 

Another delicious combination that achieves this goal is greens sautéed in bacon fat and dressed with a splash of raw apple cider vinegar. Next time you fry some Polyface bacon, simply save the fat by pouring it into a small bowl or jar. The sediment will sink to the bottom, and you'll be left with a beautiful cooking oil for eggs or veggies. Store it in your fridge and use it up.

Saturated animal fats from properly raised animals will help you shed extra pounds that come from consuming excess carbohydrates and proteins. 

So consume the healthy ones and eliminate the unhealthy ones, and you’ll easily lose any excess that you might be carrying around. As your body finds its healthy balance, you'll notice other changes, too.

You’ll notice changes in immune function, hormone synthesis, and insulin metabolism. Good-bye diabetes, infertility, and allergies. 

May you be deeply nourished!

Susan