Fat needed in Atkins?

[kutibah]

Well I've been reading that you actually need fat in this diet and butter is allowed. My dad is totally ok with this. But my mom keeps telling me that is crazy and I will just gain weight. And that you can't lose weight while eating butter and stuff. I keep telling her that because I'm not going to eat lots of carbs my stomach would burn my fat and I need the fat. She keeps telling me that if you don't take the butter you will lose more. Does anyone know what I could tell her? And is fat really crucial in Atkins? Thanks.

[Alan]

Your fat intake should be 60% of what you eat. I'm not too sure if u eat less fat that you'll lose more, but its a plus in this diet so u dont feel bad if u eat bacon or something like. On this diet, fat is our energy source and not all fats are the same.

There are a lot more people on here that are better experts on this, so i'll leave a more in depth answer to them. What i say is to tell her to let you do your own thing, and to see who's right 3 months from now. :nod

[kutibah]

Ok cool thanks. She said she'll let me do whatever I want even though she doesn't agree. Thanks ha

[BikerGoddess]

Let her read the book (or print off some FAQs here or from www.atkins.com). Fats are essential for this diet to work. Many of us have found that we lose better when we increase the amount of fat we're eating to around 65% of our daily calories.

There are only 4 (maybe 5) types of food - fat, protein, alcohol, carbohydrates (and fiber, which is categorized as a carb, but doesn't affect glucose or insulin). Alcohol is burned as a fuel, so it won't set you back like carbs will, but it won't help you either (not to mention it's illegal for most readers here).

Carbs are burned immediately for energy, or stored as fat. Protein can increase glucose and insulin, but to a lesser degree.

That leaves fat and fiber that don't affect blood sugar. One of the things that allows Atkins to work is the leveling effect on your blood glucose and insulin levels. The book explains it much better.

But, you can't do a low fat version of atkins.

Laura

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