Losing Excess Weight With Coconut Oil

Losing Excess Weight With Coconut Oil

Coconut oil used to get such a bad rap, mainly due to the findings of researchers who focused on how the hydrogenated variety affects your health. During the 1960s, most food manufacturers wanted consumers to buy margarine and commercial oils, which prompted them to discredit the food products that people have long been using in their households to prepare food. To do that, food producers maintained that any food rich in saturated fat, such as coconut oil, promotes obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

Coconut oil is indeed rich in saturated fat – saturated fat comprises 90% of the calories that is found in coconut oil. However, fast forward to the 2000s, studies began to show that there is no link between saturated fat and heart disease.

As for the products marketed as healthier alternatives, well, they have actually been associated with increased risks of cancer, diabetes, and obesity. It is a good thing though that recent studies have proven that contrary to popular belief, coconut oil helps people lose weight and controls their appetite. If you are using unrefined and organic coconut oil, then you are in for a number of health benefits.

How Coconut Oil Can Help You Lose Weight?

The belief that coconut oil is bad for one’s health was quickly reversed once health experts took it upon themselves to examine the health benefits of using coconut oil, particularly with regards to weight loss.

They were able to identify a number of mechanisms by which coconut oil can help you succeed in your weight loss efforts. What makes coconut oil different from most of the cooking oils used in households is that it has a unique composition of fatty acids. Not only does this make it ideal for high-heat cooking due to its resistance to oxidation on higher temperatures, the medium-chain triglycerides found in this oil also make a huge effect in the body’s ability to produce energy without having to ingest more calories than necessary.

Coconut oil gives your metabolism a boost

. Coconut oil contains abundant amounts of triglycerides called medium chain fatty acids (MFAs), which have the ability to improve a slow-moving metabolism. It has been identified in a certain study made on coconut oil that MFAs can raise the rate at which your metabolism runs by as much as almost fifty percent and for as long as twenty-four hours. Taking coconut oil on a daily basis can help you reverse the damage brought on by stress or dieting on your metabolism.

One of the essential properties of coconut oil is its being “thermogenic”, which means that it tends to burn fat faster and improves energy expenditure. You will be expending more calories when you have coconut oil in your diet (compared to other fats). One to two teaspoons of coconut oil can increase your energy expenditure by about 120 calories in a single day.

Coconut oil controls your blood sugar levels.

Even without the support of digestive enzymes, coconut oil can be easily absorbed in your body. This puts less stress on your pancreas and enables it to make insulin in a more efficient manner. Moreover, the fact that coconut oil is a type of saturated fat helps it bind more easily with insulin throughout the digestive process. Because your body is able to get the sufficient amount of insulin it needs, your cells are able to get the blood sugar (glucose) they require. This helps you control your appetite as well as curb your cravings, resulting in weight loss. 

Coconut oil aids in stabilizing hormone levels.

A number of your body’s regular activities, such as thyroid function, digestion, and especially metabolism, are affected when your body does not get the fatty acids it requires to manufacture the hormones needed for these processes to take place. Coconut oil is able to convert your blood cholesterol into healthy hormones (a sterone called pregnenolone) that help improve your digestion as well as burn off any fat stores you may have around your thigh, buttock, and waist areas.

Coconut oil helps in curbing cravings and decreasing hunger.

The medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs, in coconut oil goes right into your liver during digestion, which promotes extended energy boost. At the same time, processed MCTs also promote ketone bodies that help reduce cravings and make you feel less hungry. Without needing to satisfy cravings and by staying energized throughout the day, you will find it easier to lose weight.

While the notion that weight loss is all about burning more calories than you take in, it still holds a great amount of truth. Although it’s true that people need a calorie deficit in order to shed pounds, it does not mean that you have to consciously count calories or be too consciously aware about not eating. Since you have reduced appetite and that will lead to you unconsciously taking in fewer calories, you will immediately notice that coconut oil is taking effect.

How does this happen? Medium-chain fatty acids make you feel full. This feeling fullness may be related to the way medium-chain fatty acids are metabolized by the body, which leads to the liver’s production of ketone bodies. Ketone bodies are known to have a powerful effect when it comes to reducing appetite. Here’s a tip – if you want to eradicate the habit of snacking heavily in between meals and feel full faster when you eat, make it a point to have 2 to 3 servings of coconut oil every day.

Coconut oil aids in weight loss better than olive oil.

If you are planning to lose weight, you should refrain from using olive oil – contrary to popular belief, this so-called “healthy oil” contains high amounts of monounsaturated fat, which is a fatty acid commonly found in body fat. In comparison to oils that contain monounsaturated fat, coconut oil is the better choice in hastening weight loss.

Coconut oil helps your body burn fat.

If you want to reduce your calorie intake and lose weight fast without doing anything risky to your health, then you may have found the right diet partner. Because coconut oil improves your body’s ability to break down food and absorb nutrients, you will be able to lessen the amount of food that you eat without feeling lethargic.

Tips on including coconut oil in your weight loss diet:

1. Use coconut oil as a healthy replacement for regular oils or fats.
You can safely use it in its solid form (straight out of the jar), but if you prefer to have it in its liquefied state, simply let the coconut oil container stand in hot water prior to using it. 

2. Taking coconut oil about thirty minutes before you take your meal can help you feel fuller and more satisfied afterwards, which definitely helps you to lose weight.

3. Remember that the daily recommended amount of coconut oil (if you prefer taking it by the spoon) for adults is one to three tablespoons.