History

The notion of the high fat diet is nothing new (and no, it was not invented by Atkins as many of you believe). Records show that low-carb diets were recommended even before 1900 to help control diabetes. However, the first person to recommend the low-carb diet to non-diabetics was a doctor named Seale Harris in 1924. And it wasn't until 1963 when Dr. Walter Bloom created the ketogenic diet fad involving the concept of going into ketosis to induce lipolysis/fat burning. (Don't worry, I go into this in more detail below.) About 11 years later in 1972, Atkins came into the American collective diet consciousness when he published his now well-known book, Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution.

The Diet Debates

Since the publication of Atkins' book, most mainstream medical experts have been going postal over this type of diet. They contend that not only do these diets cause acidosis and excessive potassium loss, but that they are just plain dangerous. The medical field is also critical of the fact that the diet calls for insane amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. If I remember correctly, it wasn't long ago that the government sponsored a "diet summit" where all the diet gurus (Pritikin, Atkins, Sears, et al.) were invited to sort out the dieting quagmire. As usual, when so many big egos get together and the government is involved, nothing whatsoever was settled -- except that they all agreed to continue to disagree.

Without surprise the person attacked the most was Dr. Atkins. But I am still confused as to why he was not more vigorous in countering many of the claims made against his diet. Maybe he didn't have enough data, or maybe he wasn't quite the modern day Cicero like me (...ha ha, I'm kidding...I'm not actually related to Cicero). But to do Dr. Atkins justice, more and more data is still coming out which validates his key points (such as the issues surrounding simple carbohydrates). This does not mean that I am in total agreement with his concepts, however. I think the Atkins method has too many holes, like advocating ketosis for too long of a time period, which lowers your body temperature and consequently compromises your metabolism in the long run. But without Atkins' nascent popularization of this diet, we wouldn't have Dan Duchaine, who 24 short years later, became the person to formulate the best ketogenic approach.

False Starvation

I said it before and I'll say it again: any diet will work. By cutting calories and expending more energy, you can create a deficit and voila! weight loss. Now, if it were really that simple, you would all look like me... but you don't! Life's a bitch, ain't it? Who said that life is fair? Anyway, what we are looking for (or what *I* am looking for) is the most efficient method for fat loss, not weight loss. The most efficient method happens to be the high fat diet.

Our goal is to lose as much bodyfat as possible while preserving as much muscle possible (and sometimes even gain muscle). The hardest and the most important thing to do is to eliminate most carbs from your diet (I am not totally heartless; you are permitted up to 30 grams (120 calories) per day. This tricks your body into thinking that it is starving. By creating this false starvation mode, you basically force your body to stop using glucose and switch to using free fatty acids (FFA) and ketones as your main fuels. The three things this accomplishes are as follows. First, it eliminates the need for insulin, which removes its storing effects on our fatty tissues. This in turn allows your body to turn on its "fat-burning" enzyme (lipase) which (as you already know) will have a mobilizing effect on your bodyfat. Second, it forces your liver to convert FFA to ketones. Since your brain and heart cannot use FFA ‘as is', your liver will now need to manufacture ketones. Third, by causing this metabolic shift to ketones and FFA, you greatly reduce your body's propensity for breaking down your own muscle. So, when you are in ketosis, 90% of your energy is derived from fat. Sounds magical, right? Well, you know what they say: nothing is free. There is a price to pay for what seems to be too good to be true.

Ketosis: A Quick Lesson and Drawbacks

Ketosis, in scientific terms, is a chemical imbalance due to an incomplete fat mobilization. This imbalance is caused by your liver as it starts to convert your FFAs into ketones. Ketones are usable energy that will replace glucose when we eliminate carbohydrates from our diet. What is very interesting is that when your liver converts FFA to ketones, you get less than 9 calories of usable energy. In other words, it is very inefficient to use ketones as your main energy source. Furthermore, the unused ketone bodies are conveniently excreted from the body and cannot be reconverted back into bodyfat. So you have this great mechanism ready to be used, right? But hold on a minute, Elmo. Like I jes' said, ain't nothin' free.

There are these little, tiny things called anxiety and food cravings. You know how late at night all you want to do is nosh on anything that remotely resembles simple sugar, and the only way to stop yourself is to install masterlocks on your fridge and pantry? Well, this is still gonna happen. But I promise you this: if you can survive the first week, your cravings will come under control. That first week, however, will feel like SHIT. It is during this week when you will first make the metabolic shift from sugar/glucose to ketones. You will feel fuzzy in your brain and might even have flu-like symptoms. Ah, but all is not lost. If you can get through the anxiety, fuzzy brain, and feeling like shit, you will be richly rewarded. There is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Although it is gonna take some work at first, it is all smooth sailing from there. If you can just grin and bear the initial week, I promise you, you will reap the benefits of all the great things I've talked about. AND, you will feel even stronger than you felt when you were on the carb-based diet. I saved the best part for last: you will get to pig out on the weekends without feeling guilty or getting fat.

I am gonna make you wait again, this time for part three of "My High Fat Diet".

About Me:

I've worked in fitness for the past 10 years. I first started as a performance coach at a Frappier affiliated sports and conditioning center. Then I moved on to a Hospital affiliated gym where I worked as a fitness supervisor and a personal trainer. About a year and a half ago, I left that gym to start my own personal training service.