What If You CAN’T Get Fat On A High-Fat Diet?
Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation.
Obesity arises because ‘calories in’ is greater than ‘calories out’.
Which one of the above statements is true?
Are they both true?
Do fat people just eat too damn much or do they just store fat easier than everyone else?
What if you couldn’t get fat on a high-fat/low-carb diet?
Here I’ll attempt to lay out the case that the above statement is absolutely true. Eat fat (and lots of it if you like) with low carbs and you won’t gain any fat. If this is your first exposure to this idea, keep an open mind - it’s good news!
I’ll lay this out step by step. It’s a little technical but hopefully I describe it in such a way the makes logical sense.
The Case For A High-Fat Diet
Calories In / Calories Out are NOT Independent Variables – We need to stop thinking about them as if they are. When you eat less your metabolism slows to compensate for this. That’s why Low Calorie (semi-starvation) diets are not a permanent solution for weight loss. So ‘Calories In/Calories Out’ affect each other.
Obesity is a Disorder of Excess Fat Accumulation – Obese people are physiologically different in that they store fat much more easily than others. Saying that fat people are fat because they eat more calories than they expend is akin to saying alcoholics are alcoholic because they drink too much! We need to understand the cause of excess fat accumulation.
What Then Regulates the Fat Tissue? If understanding what causes the body to want to store excess fat holds the key, what regulates this process? The answer is that the main regulator is Insulin. As insulin in the body increases, lipolysis (burning fat for fuel) decreases. Why? First a few technical notes:
* There are 2 forms of fat; fatty acids and triglycerides
* Fat is stored in the cells as triglyceride which is 3 fatty acids bound together by a glycerol molecule
* Fat is burned for fuel as fatty acids. Fat also enters and exits the cells as fatty acids.
* Fat in the fat cells is in a constant state of flux (cycling) i.e. fat goes into and out of the cells continuously. This is called the triglyceride/fatty acid cycle.
* If more triglyceride is falling apart into fatty acid, you’re losing fat. If more fatty acids are binding together to triglyceride, you’re gaining fat.
With me so far? Ok, the pivotal role is played by a molecule called alpha-glycerol phosphate. Without this there is no glycerol to bind fatty acids to triglyceride i.e. fat cannot be stored in the fat cells. The more of it you have, the more fatty acids can be stored as triglyceride in the fat cells. So, where does alpha-glycerol phosphate come from?
Alpha-glycerol phosphate comes from burning blood sugar (glucose). The more blood sugar is driven into fat cells and burned for fuel, the more alpha-glycerol phosphate will be available. The more Alpha-glycerol phosphate available, the more fat can be deposited.
Bear with me, we’re nearly there 
. Therefore, whatever works to transport glucose into fat cells, works to deposit fat and keep it there! This is exactly what insulin does i.e. it transports glucose into fat cells. High insulin levels are therefore not what we want when our goal is to lose fat.
What Causes High Insulin Levels? Insulin is secreted by the pancreas in response to the carbohydrates in our diet. Large amounts of carbohydrates raise blood sugar and cause this release of insulin.
Conclusion
It is therefore true that insulin regulates fat metabolism and that carbohydrates drive insulin secretion. It is then also fair to say that carbohydrates drive obesity.
“But a low-carb diet is by definition high in fat, so can’t I get fat even without the carbs?”
As alluded to earlier, without alpha-glycerol phosphate present, fatty acids cannot be bound into triglyceride (which is stored body fat). Therefore: (and this wraps it up)
You cannot gain fat on a high fat/low carb diet.
Enjoy the following video. It’s from Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories
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Mark McManusimage credits miamifeeder and lorimarsha
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- Bodybuilding Diet Program - Glycemic Load Anabolic Diet
- Eat Fats, Get Skinny?
- Post-Workout Carbs - Crucial or Counter-Productive?
- How To Build Muscle And Lose Fat At The Same Time
- The Metabolic Switch - Not A Picnic For Everyone
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February 21st, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Great post, Mark! Really helped me understand the relationship between carbs and insulin and weight loss. But you say to avoid so much cardio? Weight loss is very important right now for me, how much cardio should I be doing? I have a very physical job during the summer and that will be my cardio (for at least 4 hours a day of brisk walking) will this hinder muscle growth?
February 21st, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Hi Jay,
This post is about ‘not gaining fat’ as opposed to actually losing it, they are different goals.
Cardio should play a role in fat loss but not intense cardio for long periods. That will break down your muscle tissue. Your brisk walking sounds fine, don’t be concerned about it.
Thanks,
Mark
February 21st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
As you said this post is about not gaining fat. So those people eating low carb and trying to lose weight sometimes they find they need to decrease calories if weight is stalling?? So do calories come in play in this case?
February 21st, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Yes I believe so Sue.
Remember, we want more triglycerides breaking down to fatty acids to be used for energy. If there is sufficient energy for the body’s needs coming from dietary fat, the fatty acids get re-esterified to triglycerides and put back into the fat cells - No Weight Gain but No Weight Loss either.
Cutting calories but more specifically dietary fat (but not in substantial amounts) will take cure of a stall. Remember it’s all about encouraging that body fat to come off and stay off.
This is a critical component of the dietary system in my book ‘Total Six Pack Abs’ where getting single digit body fat is the goal. Telling people to simply cut carbs is not good enough in this case.
Hope that helps Sue and let me know if you need anything else.
Mark
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:17 am
Hey Mark, great post here. While we’re on the issue of calories, where would you suggest someone start with for maintaining scale weight but losing body fat? The Anabolic Diet by DiPasquale states 18x’s bodyweight, but that seems a little high to me. Thanks.
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Hi Paul.
Do you mean maintain lean muscle mass while losing fat?
I’m a very optimistic guy but maintaining scale weight while losing fat is unrealistic I’m afraid, let me explain.
You can easily lose 6 or more pounds in a couple of weeks. To maintain scale weight, you’d have to gain 6 or more pounds of muscle in just 2 weeks, and keep gaining at this rate! I think Pasquale was referring to muscle mass as opposed to scale weight, but let me know if you have a source so I can check it out myself.
Make your goal to maintain or even build muscle while losing fat, don’t judge your progress solely by the scales Paul. Get some body fat calipers and some measuring tape to use in conjunction with the scales.
Hope that helps,
Mark
February 24th, 2008 at 11:26 am
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August 9th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
The metabolism of fat is different with and without carbohydrates, true. As you and others who advocate high-fat, low-carb diets constantly point out carbohydrates stimulate insulin and the insulin ushers excess calories into fat cells.
That’s better than the alternative.
What is typically not discussed is the metabolism of fat without insulin, i.e., where and how fat is stored when the amount eaten is greater than the amount needed to meet energy demands.
Fat is still stored without insulin, but in organs, e.g., the liver and the heart, where fat accumulation damages the organs. I fail to understand how people can study high-fat, low-carb diets so meticulously - down to the umpteenth biochemical process - and inocently overlook this aspect of fat metabolism - it’s biochem 101.
Better for EXCESS calories to be stored as triglycerides in fat cells … best though is not eating more than one needs.
Fat is not stored as muscle in muscle tissue - no amino acids. Fat is not simply excreted if it cannot be stored in fat cells (this has been shown in studies). A high-fat, low-carb diet that exceeds energy needs is simply a faster way to damage organs than eating too many calories with carbs. (Those with fewer fat cells who overeat damage their organs faster due to fats being stored in organs instead of in fat cells - google it.)
The best way to use fat for energy is not to avoid carbs and “reach ketosis,” but to engage in fat-burning (aerobic or “cardio”) exercises - daily. This will strengthen muscles (a great deal of muscle fibers are slow-twitch, aerobic fibers), build greater bone density and achieve numerous other health benefits, e.g., good mental health.
Athletes are living proof of this as most of us - who are the leanest in our society - eat high-carb diets, lean meats, and get adequate Omega-3 fatty acids - not sat fats that indirectly promote arterial plaque (“bad” and “high” cholesterol are hype, but so is the notion of a “low-carb” diet).
I do not doubt your sincerity, but in your elucidation of biochemical processes of fat metabolism you left out such facts as excess fat is stored in organs without insulin to usher fat into fat cells - where excess calories (if you must eat them) belong. Thanks for listening.
August 9th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
That Gary Taubes is really something else eh? Another funny thing is that a lot of prosperous hunter tribes really did grow a lot vertically… presumably due to the very hormone cocktail your bodybuilding diet seeks to increase - growth hormone, testosterone, IGF-1, high mineral and fat soluble-vitamin intake. Very anabolic stuff.