I bet you started keto and were told to eat fat bombs. Before you do, let me tell you the Top 4 Pitfalls of Keto Fat Bombs so that you don’t sabotage your progress and efforts!
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Top 4 Pitfalls of Keto Fat Bombs
Let's talk about fat bombs. I know, weird topic, right? This is a follow on from last week’s topic about macros.
In the article from last week about macros, we discussed all things related to macros and one of the things we talked about was how not all macronutrients are created equal.
Meaning if I had 2 meals that had similar macros, but one was filled with veggies and one was filled with sugar alcohols – well, even if their macros are similar, they are vastly different.
When people first switch to keto there is often this desire for sweets. I can relate to this and also understand why it is.
For one thing, most of us moved from a much higher sugar diet and sugar is incredibly addictive. So when we cut it out, as is the case with any addictive product, our body goes through withdrawal and sends you strong signals that it WANTS MORE.
Fat bombs are often a great way to help pacify the craving but they are a dangerous, slippery slope.
Here they are - The Top 4 Pitfalls of Keto Fat Bombs
#1 Doesn’t break the emotional tie to sweets
This one ties directly to the addiction. There are different levels of addiction and different ways to be addicted to things. Two of which are physical and emotional.
Physical Addiction
Our physical bodies can be addicted to something and we can also have an emotional addiction to something (or someone).
I think with food that often we have both. We have a physical addiction to the harmful chemicals that we’ve been ingesting our whole life and we also have an emotional addiction to food.
When you try to break the physical addiction without breaking the emotional addiction, you are simply setting yourself up for failure.
And it is not just sugar. I would put alcohol in this category, as well as other things. Something you may or may not know about me is that I have a very addictive personality. Knowing is the most important thing, right? Wine was my vice. I would drink it nightly.
I wasn’t drinking a bottle a night or anything, but I would have 1-2 glasses each night. For YEARS.
Emotional Addiction
If I thought about not having wine, I would almost panic. But if I was busy or out of town and never thought about and went a night without it, I was fine. Sometimes I would go months without wine and it was a BATTLE in the first week or so mentally. And then I’d be totally fine and have a glass and then I was right back to nightly wine.
So, I get the mental battle. I’ve mostly overcome that now, but don’t really drink. It is the safest mental path for me. But, I did drink when I first started keto. I had to stop cold turkey for 2 months in the beginning just so I wouldn’t slip and keep giving myself passes to have more.
If you don’t know what this has to do with fat bombs, let me spell it out.
If you are addicted to sweet things either physically or emotionally, stay away from the sweet fat bombs in the beginning. Break both the physical and emotional addiction and then you can circle back if appropriate.
#2 Blood Sugar
Many people are under the assumption that only sugar can cause a rise in blood sugar. That isn’t entirely accurate.
Did you know that protein can also raise blood sugar?
Related to fat bombs though, sweeteners can also affect blood sugars. I talk about this in my keto diet book Going Keto.
First, we must understand the concept of the glycemic index (usually referred to as GI). At a really basic level, the glycemic index of a food measures how much your blood sugar is raised when that food/substance is consumed. The lower the GI, the better for the purposes of our discussion.
Let’s walk through some common keto sweeteners used and what their GI is.
Natural Sweeteners
Stevia has a GI of 0.
Monkfruit has a GI of 0 as well
Sugar Alcohols
Erythritol has a GI of 0.
Xylitol has a GI of 13.
Malitol has a GI of 36.
Artificial Sweeteners:
Sucralose comes in several forms. The liquid form has a GI of 0 but the powder form has a GI of 80.
Then there are aspartame and Saccharin which hopefully you don’t use anyway. Although diet soda has aspartame in it often.
Just try to stay away from artificial sweeteners.
Consensus
Let's face it, sugar alcohols do generally have calories and do have carbs, period.
I can talk from personal experience that that sugar alcohol sweeteners do have an effect on my blood sugar. I use erythritol as that seems to be the best option.
As for natural sweeteners, I generally use liquid stevia and Lankato Monkfruit.
Long story short, do not think of fat bombs as a free sweet treat. They have calories, they have fat, they have carbs, and unless you are starving – you are probably adding fat that you don’t need.
Remember, keto is not a free for all when it comes to fat.
#3 Lower Quality Nutrients
This one is an easy one. If you fill up with fat bombs, you are filling up with less optimal foods for your body. Period. This one should be self-explanatory.
#4 Weight loss stalls
I’ve inadvertently done an experiment on this one over the last few months. I have not really changed my eating much and I am in maintenance mode. This simply means I no longer track and am not trying to lose weight.
I can tell you that I have gained 3 pounds in the last few months.
Nothing has changed other than I’ve been making 2-3 desserts each week as part of the preparations for my upcoming cookbook. I don’t eat when I’m not hungry but I have been substituting foods lately.
Foods Matter
Ex, I’ll have a piece of pie for breakfast because I’m testing my recipe. I’ll then skip breakfast, of course, so I’m not doubling up.
Now, I’m sure my macros are a little wonky, so I’m not going to blame it all on the fat bombs and desserts, but I will blame most of it on it.
I have been eating more keto treats than I used to and I’m putting weight back on.
The key point here is that I am in ketosis.
Many people think that if they are in ketosis that it is this magical state when they will lose weight. That is not the case. You still need a deficit and you still need to be exercising. You also need to be eating healthy food.
Ketosis will drop 5-10 pounds right off the bat in terms of water weight, but it does not guarantee any fat loss unless YOU are putting in the work by doing all the things I just mentioned.
Eating pie for breakfast will not do it for you!