Fat + Carbs = Recipe for Disaster? page

[brahnamin]

Okay, this is maybe an odd little question.


The benefits of going high fat/protein-low carb are very obvious to me. And now my wife is intrigued (I think it was watching me flash-fry eggs in bacon grease that won her over) . . . which is what I have been subtly pushing for since I discovered (and became convinced of) primal eating.


Here's the thing. I do the cooking in our house, so we're having a lot of primal meals, but she generally forages for her own lunch and breakfast and snacks.


What I know is going to end up happening, until she's all the way convinced, is she's going to be taking in high fat on one end of her diet and high carbs (read as bread and rice and potatoes) on the other.


She's been following a low fat, calorie counting diet and losing weight on it (the hard way, of course). So, I guess what I want to know is, Will eating high fat and high carbs just be a double whammy for her in this transitional phase?


Keep in mind, she could be on the fence for awhile.


Is high fat at all helpful if you don't significantly reduce carbs as well? (Other than that it will keep her fuller and thus less likely to eat quite so many carbs).


I'm convinced once she sees me dropping the weight and once she sees my bloodwork in August she'll come on over to the dark side. But in the meanwhile I don't want to sabotage her efforts if a partial fix is going to do more harm than good.

[Jordanna]

Good question brahnamin, I'm personal training a few clients now and doing their nutrition, and I know they are not totally convinced that fat is the way forward (years of ingrained CW- then i remember it took me a while to get there too ). And even if they do eat more fat, they are still eating those 'healthy' wholegrain carbs etc. I don't want them to not get results by eating fat on top of too many carbs, so if anyone can shed some light I would appreciate this also!

[Tarlach]

Bad carbs are bad carbs and they will do you harm. If you have 'fixed' dinner than at least she will be eating at least partially better and this is good.


The fat will help her stay fuller during the morning and she may eat less for breakfast and lunch anyway.


The carbs may help her put on weight, but she should see the benefits you are getting and if you explain that it is the carbs that cause the fat, she will have no choice but to go fully primal.


My wife still lost some weight by eating a fair amount of carbs (years ago), but it was fruit and veg. I don't think the same will apply for grains and potatoes.


You may have to rely on education and hope she doesn't go backwards much before she sees the light.

[Clint]

I can certainly relate to your dilemma. There is definitely positives and negatives that can come from this situation. A good article about this is:


http://www.cbass.com/BADDIET.HTM


It shows that there are benefits to be had, but also detriments. I agree with Tarlach that you should just do your best to lead by example and convince your wife to switch over due to your results.

[FlyNavyWife]

Haha... if you replace "wife" with "husband" this is almost exactly my situation and I've been wondering the same thing.


My husband's not trying to lose weight (although ideally he'd like to have less fat and more muscle, but his weight is fine...) and hasn't been counting calories or anything like that.


I HAVE been noticing though, that he's been stuffing his face with carbs less and less. He might have them in a meal (like a sandwich) but he's no longer pouring huge piles of crackers or making himself bagels between meals. I'm guessing it's because he's eating these more sustaining meals with me.


My guess is that eventually he'll make the mental switch, but for now, physiological changes are already happening.

[Conan]

The question is what would she eat for dinner in lieu of the high fat meal that you are preparing? Probably more carbs which would make the situation worse.


One thing that I learned while following the South Beach Diet is that fat slows digestion and can also blunt the impact of carbohydrate on insulin levels. That is why a peanut M&M has a lower GI than a regular M&M and regular ice cream has a lower GI than fat free frozen yogurt. So I would argue that a high carb diet is bad, but adding fat to that diet makes it less bad - not worse. As most of us know, calorie restriction is not an effective way to lose weight so I wouldn't worry about the added calories from the fat.

[brahnamin]

Thanks for the responses.


She's asking questions every day as she sees the weight coming off and I already have a tentative promise from her that if my bloodwork comes back notably improved that she'll wholeheartedly join me.


I just want to make sure I'm doing right by her in the meanwhile.

[grandma]

I think that Conan may be on to something -- I have often noticed that a lot of traditional baked goods are pretty high fat. Several people have observed that the French eat small bites of bread with big dose of butter and cheese or eat things like croissants that are high fat. We all know the best way to enjoy a baked potatoes is swimming in butter and sour cream, that is the way our great grandparents did it, then they told us fat is bad and we switched to margarine and fat-free sour cream (with added sugar for taste)


I think the most important thing is to get out of the mindset that fat is bad -- provided it is good fat and real food. Then ease into the rest.

[maba]

I'm in India on vacation right now and the staple food here in the southern part of the country is white rice. Since I can't be primal for a few weeks, I'm trying to minimize the damage by adding lots of ghee to whatever I'm eating in the hope that I'll be satiated with less of the bad carbs. I've already put on weight in the last one week

[SassaFrass88]

Didn't Mark state in the book that there has been some trial evidence that excess carbs readily push the fat right into the fat cells?...Do not pass Go, do not collect $200 ;-)


I just found it. "Primal Blueprint", page 94. "...eat any appreciable amount of fat along with your high-carb diet, yes, your fat intake will contribute directly to making you fat".