You have probably heard that losing weight involves eating lots of low-fat food. For a few years there, eating fat-free was all the rage. Companies produced a mind-numbing amount of fat-free foods that claimed to be healthy and would help you lose weight.
And guess what? They were wrong! It turns out, eating fat does not make you fat!
Eating healthy means you need to eat fat. Dietary fat has lots of health benefits for your body and is necessary for you to live. In fact, eating a lot of fat can be great for you since fat can fuel your body (instead of glucose) and help you feel full.
Why Fat Helps You Feel Full
When you consume fat, you are eating a calorically dense macronutrient that plays a big role in your digestion and hormone production.
First, fat slows digestion. Your food hangs around a little longer in your body when it is full of fat. This is great news when it comes to feeling full and satisfied. You can become full more quickly and stay full for hours after you have finished eating a high-fat meal.
Fat also has an effect on the hunger hormone, ghrelin. Ghrelin tells your brain that you are hungry and you need food right away. However, fat can suppress ghrelin, which will eliminate that “I need to eat everything,” feeling you get when you follow low-fat diets.
Fat also decreases your blood sugar and insulin production. Not only is this great news for decreasing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but it also allows another hormone, leptin, to do its job. Leptin actually tells your body that you are full and no longer need food. When you keep your insulin levels low, leptin is not interfered with and functions properly.
An interesting fact: Leptin is released when you eat fat and protein, but it is not released when you eat carbohydrates. The only mechanism to tell your body to stop eating carbohydrates, is you telling yourself it is time to stop. Or, you stuffing yourself so physically full that you are physically uncomfortable and choose to stop eating. The other substance that has no hormone mechanism to stop you from consuming is alcohol. It is no wonder that they are both addictive…a topic for another blog.
In order to be sure that you can experience the benefits of leptin, make sure you eat more slowly so you are able to experience the full sensation that leptin provides before you have eaten too much.
Feeling Full = Weight Loss
So now that we know why fat makes you full, let’s talk about how it leads to weight loss.
We have all tried to lose weight at some point in our lives on a high carb, restricted calorie diet. And we have all realized we cannot live on very few calories! You may have some success but eventually you give in because you are hungry. So, you wind up bingeing and you gain back any weight you may have lost.
When you feel hungry, you get cranky, anxious, and lose your will power. But when you feel full, you are satisfied and not tempted to snack. Therefore, staying full is key to success in weight loss!
So, the reason is simple. If you are full, then you are much more likely to stick to your eating plan.
Eating a high fat diet is also a delicious way to eat. You look forward to your meals because they taste good and leave you full.
This is where my keto taco pie comes in. This crustless taco pie has plenty of healthy fat that will leave you full and satisfied. And did I mention that it is delicious? Both your high carb and low carb family and friends will love this one. But watch out and only eat one piece…otherwise, you will feel too full! 🙂
Keto Taco Pie
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet of keto compliant taco seasoning
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup sugar-free salsa
- 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9” pie pan with coconut oil or grease with butter.
- Heat a greased large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, breaking up with a spoon or spatula. Stir occasionally until brown.
- Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the ground beef.
- Whisk together the eggs and heavy cream in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the green onions, salsa, ¾ cup of the cheese, and salt.
- Stir the prepared taco meat into the egg mixture. Pour into the pie pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
- Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until the top of the pie is a nice golden brown colour. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
- You can add extra taco toppings such as sour cream, guacamole, or extra salsa and onions.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1/8th of pie
Calories: 258
Fat: 19g,
Carbs: 2g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 18g
Net Carbs: 1g
https://www.livestrong.com/article/535414-does-fat-or-protein-make-you-full/
https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn201390
