How Eating Coconut can Help you to Lose Fat, and not be hungry!
By Annie Berryhill
As I began a new phase of training and working toward a pretty big goal, I have made some changes mandated by my coach. My diet now consists of much more fat than I had been eating. 1 HUGE source of that is coconut. In the weeks that I have been integrating coconut and it’s off-shoot products into my diet, the changes in my body composition, hunger, cravings have been pretty staggering.
The goal for so many Crossfit athletes is to have an edge. What if you could lean out considerably and improve performance drastically by eating more fat like coconut regularly? How would it feel to have less inflammation and recover quicker? Yes, these are possible with the faithful integration of coconut products into your daily diet.
But why would anyone want to add more coconut into their diets? It’s a source of saturated FAT and FAT makes you FAT, right?
Well, actually not in this case. In the book Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Dr. Mary Enig she teaches about why eating coconut is the preferred source of getting your saturated fats.Coconut Oil is easy to digest because most of the fatty acids don’t require bile for digestion. What’s more, the body turns these fatty acids directly into energy, making it terrific for losing weight….eating the right fats at every meal keeps your blood sugar stable and maximizes your metabolism by providing a steady fuel supply throughout the day.What’s more, a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2000, found that adult males oxidized 41% of the lauric acid (the fatty acid in coconut oil) but only 13% of stearic acid (the fatty acids found in other fats). This means that you burn off coconut oil 3 times faster than any other fat! It it also shown to help with hypothyroidism, a low functioning thyroid! Very cool!
But you may be confused on how to use the different products that are available. Here is a small list and how to use each of them:
Coconut Flour- Use as a substitute for a wheat flour when baking. I often will mix even parts of coconut flour and almond meal/flour. Use in muffins, pancakes but cakes may be tougher to recreate with it. I buy it at Mother’s in a can. Be aware, this product is not cheap, but worth every penny!
Coconut oil is perfect for cooking. Most people don’t realize it, but olive oil is not the best for cooking because it has a relatively low smoke point. Once an oil smokes when heated, it is already starting to break down which means it is potentially harmful to ingest. Coconut oil has a very HIGH smoke point making it the perfect oil to cook pretty much anything.
Coconut Milk- Honestly, there are so many recipes out that that call for coconut milk. Great stews, soups, sauces and even as a base for a smoothie. It has a rich silky texture and since using this in my morning shake, my shake will last me easily 3-4 hours before I need to eat again. I also use it as creamer in my morning coffee.Pour it over frozen fruit and mix for a fruity “ice cream” treat. This is more readily available in grocery stores. If you like Light Coconut milk, just by regular and thin it out with water. That is the only difference between light and regular!
Coconut Butter/Coconut Manna- Be sure and get the most virgin, least processed or heated of these 2 products that you can find. They both work well in smoothies, on top of sweet potatoes, eat a scoop when hungry, spread on things, melt and use in recipes. Coconut Manna is a new product that my coach’s wife turned me onto recently. I have eaten it by the scoopful, but be careful because once the oil part slides down your throat, the stuff that is left (the meat etc) can get kind of dense and hard to swallow! I recommend eating a little at a time.
Coconut Water- This is my go-to product for the base of my Post-Wod shake. Its a great way to beef up your electrolytes too. Probably a healthier choice than that “G” product! It’s good cold!
Coconut Flakes- These coconut shavings are useful in salads, as the toppers on sliced fruit, in a homemade trail mix or Paleo “cereal”.
Recipes and Stuff
There are amazing Paleo cookbooks out there and they all like to use coconut for the base of many of their recipes. Everyday Paleo alone has about 50 pages listed in their index of recipes that call for a coconut product.So hopefully moving forward, you too will start to be Coo-Coo for Coconuts. Trust me, it will change everything for you!
You are DESIGNED to live
LEAN – STRONG – HEALTHY!
Today is a good day to get started
Anne (Annie) Berryhill is a Crossfit Level 1 Trainer, USA Weightlifting Sports Perfomance Coach, Crossfit Athlete and competitor who owns and operates OC Fitness Revival in Orange County, CA. Services include personal and group training, nutrition classes and counseling, as well as providing incredible health-improving supplements to help people to make the most out of what they’ve got.
Contact her today for a Free class, Nutrition consultation or to try Chava Chocolate
