Week 1, Lisa's Melbourne Meltdown

But ofcourse with any weight loss plan, it is all about the food.  If you don't eat right then nothing's going to happen or at least very slowly. 

The big difference with my diet is the addition of coconut oil and cutting back slightly on protein and carbohydrates.  Coconut oil has lots of calories but good ones in the form of MCTs. But calories are calories, so if I increase it in one area, I need to cut back a little somewhere else and at this stage cutting back on protein isn't going to hurt as I still have plenty of fat stores to burn!

Just a little bit about MCTs. "MCTs (Medium-chain triglycerides) is a special class of fatty acids. Normal fats and oils contain long-chain fatty acids (LCTs). Compared to these fatty acids, MCTs are much shorter in length. Therefore, they resemble carbohydrates more than fat. As a result, they are more easily absorbed, digested, and utilized as energy than LCTs. The MCTs are more water soluble and are able to enter the bloodstream quicker because of their shorter lengths.

Once in the bloodstream, they are transported directly into the liver. Thus, MCTs are an immediately available source of energy and only a tiny percent is converted into body fat. Unlike normal fats and oils, MCTs do not cause weight gain because they stimulate thermogenesis (the process in which the body generates energy, or heat, by increasing its normal metabolic, fat-burning rate). A thermogenic diet, which is high in medium-chain triglycerides, has been proposed as a type of weight loss regime."

At the moment I'm only having a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil a day to get my body used to processing it.  Over time I'll increase it as my body gets used to converting the oil for energy.  Tell you what though, after a couple of days after taking it I've found it definitely stops my hunger pangs and cravings.  Mind you  it could be partly psychological too as I've got a goal to focus on. 

Other than its fat burning abilities I've also found that coconut oil is great for improving general health in areas such as hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc.

For more on coconut oil check out http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html

Plus, just heard recently that Madonna says the secret to her youthful looks and vigour is coconut juice and she's even investing in the juice company.  And my girl Madonna can't be wrong!

You can also use MCT oil but at the moment coconut oil is a cheaper option, and tastier one for me. 

So what does all the above mean to my weight loss this week?

I'm down to 59.4kg this week from starting weight of 60kg. Hooray!  so good to see something is happening for the changes that I've made to the diet and training.  Hope it continues! more next week. 

Lisa
5 Feb 10

References 

Ivy, John, and Robert Portman. The Performance Zone: Your Nutrition Action Plan for Greater Endurance and Sports Performance (Teen Health Series). North Bergen, NJ: Basic Health Publications, Inc., 2004.

Ryan, Monique. Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes. Boulder, CO: Velo Press, 2002. Stapstrom, Carl E. Epilepsy and the Ketogenic Diet: Clinical Implementation & the Scientific Basis. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 2004.