Coconut oil for weight loss: How to eat fat to burn fat

Beautiful fat woman loses weight after using FussyBody coconut oil surrounded with measuring tape

When Dr. Bruce Fife (author of The Coconut Oil Miracle) said that coconut oil can burn fat and help lose weight in 2001, hardly anyone believed. But over the years, those who're willing to give coconut oil a shot have lost a significant mass of body fat after incorporating coconut oil into their diet. How does coconut oil achieve that? Very simple. It helps to lose weight by reducing your calorie intake and increasing your metabolism.

1. How coconut oil reduces your calorie intake

Did you know that coconut oil has earned its reputation as the world's only natural, low-calorie fat?

1.1   Energy value: Coconut oil vs other fats and oils

If you pick a few brands of coconut oil and calculate their energy value (calories) contained in one gram of fat, you would've gotten a range of 9 kcal give or take few percent. This has pretty much the same calorie per gram (i.e. 9 kcal/g) as animal fats and other vegetable oils.

In fact, coconut oil carries fewer calories because it contains medium-chain fatty acids that are smaller in size than the fatty acids in animal fats and other vegetable oils.

For example, MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) oil has an effective energy value of 6.8 kcal/g. It carries only caprylic and capric acids – the 2 medium-chain fatty acids that we can also find in coconut oil.

But because coconut oil also contains the relatively longer medium-chain lauric acid and other long-chain fatty acids such as myristic, palmitic and oleic acids etc (these fatty acids have energy values ranging from approx. 8 to 9.4 kcal/g), the overall actual energy value of coconut oil becomes roughly 8.6 kcal/g.

That's just a few percent lower than the actual energy values in animal fats and other vegetable oils. Which I think is the reason why coconut oil manufacturers simplify the caloric calculation by rounding up to 9 kcal/g.

This makes coconut oil appear as having somewhat similar energy value as those in animal fats and other vegetable oils.

Apparently, this tiny discrepancy in energy value is not significant enough for coconut oil to get its low-calorie reputation as a fat. It actually attributes to coconut oil's inherent fat-burning characteristic that makes it well-known as a low-calorie fat.

Let me explain.

Suppose your daily calorie intake includes 500 kcal of fat coming entirely from 4 tablespoons of olive oil added to your meals over a day. (Olive oil comprises entirely long-chain triglycerides, aka LCTs.)

What your body does upon ingesting olive oil is that it'll first break down the LCTs in the oil into smaller individual fatty acids (LCFAs) in your small intestine. It then absorbs and reassembles them into LCTs again for packaging into chylomicrons.

Next, chylomicrons enter your bloodstream through your lymphatic system.

If your body does not use the LCTs in the bloodstream immediately to fuel your metabolic and physical activities because it still has sufficient carbohydrates (derived from food) on tap, the LCTs will eventually end up in your fat cells.

Note
Our body uses carbohydrate (carb) as the primary energy source and LCFA as secondary energy source. That's because carb converts to energy very much faster than LCFA. So, when there is sufficient carb, LCFA will normally be shoved into reserves.

Unless you raise your physical activity to the point where your body needs to burn more calories to fuel the activity, your body fat remains "untouchable". In other words, the fat you eat is literally the fat you wear, even if the fat you consume comes from the health-promoting olive oil.

But when you eat coconut oil instead of olive oil, you'll dramatically reduce your fat deposition because our body metabolizes the fats in coconut oil very differently.

How different?

1.2   Coconut oil's secret fat-burners

Unlike olive oil (and most other dietary oils, as well as animal fats) that composes entirely of LCFAs, coconut oil contains 50–64% medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which are relatively smaller in size.

Because of their smaller size that facilitates quick digestion, our body prefers to use them as immediate energy source, just as it does to carb. Our body shuttles them directly to the liver for energy production and to cells for fueling metabolic activities after they're broken down from medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) in our small intestine, rather than packing them away as body fat reserves like LCFAs.

That means, MCFAs do not practically contribute to fat gain and cause weight gain as a result.

Assuming the same 500 kcal daily fat intake but this time around coming entirely from coconut oil. Now, you have 50–64% less calorie stashed in your fat stores. That means, you cut your fat deposit by 250–320 kcal (50 – 64%) up front.

That's a massive reduction of effective daily calorie intake. Isn't that amazing?

That's not all. According to numerous studies and researches, MCFA encourages the burning of LCFA too. So chances are, before the remaining LCFAs (about 35%) from coconut oil land in your fat stores through the bloodstream, they could have already been utilized and burned off as fuel too, leaving even lesser contribution to your body fat.

Dr. Julian Whitaker, a well-known authority on nutrition and health says, "LCTs are like heavy wet logs that you put on a small campfire. Keep adding the logs, and soon you have more logs than fire. MCTs are like rolled-up newspaper soaked in gasoline. They not only burn brightly, but will burn up the wet logs as well" (Murray, 1996).

Note
LCT (long-chain triglyceride) is made up of various types and sizes of LCFAs. Animal fats and most vegetable oils contain 99% or 100% LCTs. MCT generally refers to oil that contains entirely of MCFAs.

I'm not finished yet.

1.3   The hidden trait in coconut oil that makes you eat less

All dietary fats induce appetite-suppressing hormones. Which explains why you feel more easily satisfied with fat added to your diet. As dietary fat also delays the emptying of stomach, you can withstand hunger longer.

In addition to these "special features" that all dietary fats possess, MCFA creates a more satisfying experience. How? It makes you feel full even longer than any other dietary fats.

Here's a study that proves the point:

In a group of women, some were fed MCT drink while the rest LCT drink. 30 minutes after the drink they were allowed to choose and eat as much as they wanted for their lunch. Those who had the MCT drink before the meal ate lesser than those who took the LCT drink.

If you're not convinced, another study involving a group of normal-weight men shows the same result. Men who took breakfast that contains MCT ate less at lunch. What's even more encouraging is that these men who ate less at lunch did not make up for the lower calorie intake at lunch by eating more at dinner. Why?

That's because MCFAs (after broken down from MCT) can enter cells with absolute ease to supply quick energy. When these cells feel satisfied, your body won't crave food easily. This also helps to curb your binge eating, resulting in overall lower calorie intake.

So that's how coconut oil earns its reputation as a "low-calorie fat".

Now, you know how coconut oil helps you consume less calorie without you having to force it on purpose. Let's move on to see how coconut oil boosts your metabolism for a more complete and effective weight loss.

2. How coconut oil boosts your metabolism

Bustling cells rev up metabolism. Any food you eat can raise cellular activity. But no food can boost your metabolism to level where your body can burn fat all day long like coconut oil. Here's why.

Carbs and LCFAs from food generally take only one path (by traveling through the bloodstream) to energize our cells and hike cellular activity. But MCFAs in coconut oil use two approaches to accomplish the same mission. How so?

Our body essentially splits MCFAs into 2 groups. One group heads directly to the liver via hepatic portal vein for energy conversion. The other go via bloodstream to each and every cell of our body.

Note
You'll feel the burning sensation somewhere near your stomach and below your chest when MCFAs are burned in the liver as fuel and heat is produced (thermogenesis). The feeling is particularly more apparent in cooler environment and of course, when you consume more coconut oil.

Energy conversion (burning of MCFAs) in the liver produces heat (thermogenic effect). This in turn excites the entire body cells. Cells that are closer to liver get more heat energy. Just like when you heat up water its molecules move rapidly. And molecules that are closer to the fire move faster.

At the same time, MCFAs in bloodstream also enter directly into other cells of our body to throttle up our metabolism.

Note
As MCFAs in coconut oil are all saturated fats, they do not oxidize easily and change into something else that cannot be burned off. For this reason, MCFAs remain as a very stable energy source for cells.

When cellular activity increases, your cells naturally demand more energy to stay at that level. MCFAs alone can't sustain for long. In view of that, your body will obtain energy from carbs and LCFAs via the food you consume. It'll draw on energy from your fat stores as well, resulting in body fat burning.

This chain reaction will continue as long as you keep your MCFA supply incessant. Just one meal alone can activate your metabolism and keep it elevated for several hours. Of course, depending on the amount of coconut oil you eat with that meal.

Imagine you include coconut oil in every meal you eat, you're literally setting your body to a full-day fat-burning mode, even while you're sleeping like a bear.

Note
You can consume as much coconut oil in the daytime as possible to induce fat-burning. But take it in moderation at dinner. This is because the thermogenic effect from coconut oil might affect your sleep.

This unique way of handling MCFAs by our body makes coconut oil a perfect metabolism booster for those who need to lift up their metabolism for weight loss, regardless of whether their sluggish metabolism is caused by low thyroid problem, genetic issue, diabetes, age, fatigue or whatever.

Alright, you now know how coconut oil works to help lose weight. Let's start eating coconut oil to set your excess fat on fire.

3. How to eat coconut oil for weight loss

You can't shove any coconut oil in your mouth or simply mix your food with coconut oil and expect it to burn fat just like that. You must get these 3 things right for best result.

3.1   Which coconut oil for weight loss?

Go with virgin coconut oil (best, organic) for weight loss. This coconut oil contains the best combination of various MCFAs for boosting metabolism and toughening immunity. It benefits both weight loss and health.

If you want to soar your metabolism to greater heights, mix some MCT oil into your virgin coconut oil diet. (MCT oil is the edible version of fractionated coconut oil.)

This is because MCT oil carries purely caprylic and capric acids, which are very short medium-chain fatty acids (usually extracted from coconut or palm kernel) that can infiltrate into your cells easily and then convert to energy quickly, thus providing an almost instant boost to your metabolism.

"Since MCT oil is more powerful for weight loss, can I just take MCT oil alone for weight loss?"

Why not? But virgin coconut oil really offers plenty of health benefits besides its fat-burning property. You're killing two birds with one stone if you use virgin coconut oil to help you shape up.

Another thing is, if you find the distinctive natural coconut scent in virgin coconut oil a bit too strong for your liking, either you learn to like it or you mix and match MCT oil with virgin coconut oil until you get the perfect degree of odor to your preference, without sacrificing too much of the health benefits.

What if you cannot stand even the mildest coconut smell after mixing virgin coconut oil and MCT oil? Pick up RBD coconut oil then. It's a deodorized refined coconut oil.

3.2   Best ways to eat coconut oil to burn fat

For best fat-burning result, take coconut oil raw. When I say 'raw', I do not mean to eat it straight out of the jar. Of course, you can do so if you can stand the greasy feel lingering in your mouth. But I'd suggest to add it raw to your food or beverages. It's easier to consume coconut oil for weight loss this way.

Note
Coconut oil may bring about diarrhea, stomach cramp etc when you take it internally on an empty stomach.

Besides taking coconut oil raw, you should also cook with coconut oil. This way your food is loaded with the fat-burning MCFAs. But here's the kicker. Cooking involves heat and heat will more or less diminish coconut oil's metabolism-boosting effect due to some loss of its MCFAs.

So, what can you do to compensate for the loss of fat-burning MCFAs due to cooking?

Simple, just add a tea- or tablespoon of coconut oil raw to the cooked food before serving. This will make sure you're not losing MCFAs that will make you lose pounds.

3.3   How to lose fat with coconut oil the right way

Let's say you've all along piled up your meals with 4000 calories every day. Boy, that's a lot!

And now, you want to use coconut oil to help manage your calorie intake. But you didn't cut back on those calories on your plate. Instead, you simply add 2 tablespoons (250 calories) of coconut oil to that 4000 calories and total it to 4250 calories. How much do you think coconut oil can burn off?

Remember coconut oil also contains some LCFAs which may get stored as body fat? If you're just getting started with coconut oil, I'm afraid you won't burn much body fat at the end of the day. You might gain some fat instead.

This is where it goes wrong for some people.

If you're adding 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to your meals, you should take away 250 calories from your meals. In other words, replace the take-away with coconut oil and you'll lose weight without losing your satiety.

Coconut oil replaces a small fraction of food to help lose weight
Note
It's not easy to count and replace exact amount of calories. Just remove some food from your usual portion size and replace with coconut oil. This should work just fine.

You'll still feel satisfied after the meal as before but with some calories burned off instead of storing in your fat cells. What's more, you'll feel full longer and eat lesser later thanks to the effect of MCFAs.

At this rate, you'll be able to gradually reduce your daily calorie intake from 4000 to 3500 to 3000 and so on until you get down to your desired shape and size.

You get it now?

Besides, you should try to reel in some exercises as they can help to further step up your metabolism for more burning of fat. Exercising can help to suppress your appetite too so you'll be able to cut back on more calorie intake naturally.

4. How much coconut oil for weight loss?

Unfortunately, I can't tell you exactly how much coconut oil you should consume for weight loss. Why?

Look, when you ingest coconut oil, it doesn't just stimulate your metabolism for burning fat. It may also trigger a detox reaction.

Sounds good if you have chronic constipation issue. The problem is, we each may react differently to the detox effect of coconut oil due to different body constitutions and if any, medical conditions.

If I were to give you a fixed amount and that amount triggers diarrhea on you, the runs can zap you out.

"Okay, but at least tell us how much coconut oil we should start off with."

That's a lot easier to handle.

4.1   How much coconut oil to start with for weight loss?

Begin with a small amount such as one teaspoon per meal. Add coconut oil to food, always. This is to mitigate any potential adverse effects from coconut oil.

Then observe to make sure your body feels good with such quantity for at least 5–7 days before you raise your next intake of coconut oil to say, 2 teaspoons per meal.

Note
The max for most people in general is 3 to 4 tablespoons daily. If you can shoot up to 5 or even 6 tablespoons in a day, that would give you an even stronger and longer lasting fat-burning effect. But be prepared for more bowel movements.

The reason for doing this is to gradually condition your body for more coconut oil intake as you progress. The more coconut oil you consume, the more fat it'll burn.

If you're new to coconut oil and you take too much coconut oil in one sitting, I'm afraid it'll over-loosen your bowels or cause severe stomach discomfort. Things may get worse if you consume coconut oil on an empty stomach.

It's worth noting that you should try to take less coconut oil during dinner. This is to help you avoid the diarrhea symptoms (in case it does trigger) throughout the night that may affect your sleep quality.

Taking more coconut oil in the morning or afternoon allows you to at least have some buffer during the day for multiple bathroom visits. By the time you hit the sack at night, the effect should wear off and so you can sleep soundly.

As a seasoned coconut oil eater, I take more coconut oil in the day than at night. I do pour some over my meal at dinner but probably just a teaspoon or so. For your case, I would suggest that you stick to morning and afternoon until you become a seasoned eater like me.

Note
Assess your own condition and situation continually. And then adjust the amount of coconut oil accordingly to best fit your lifestyle and the pace you feel more comfortable with.

4.2   When will coconut oil start burning fat?

It all depends on:

  • How much coconut oil you're taking at the time.
  • How much toxic buildup you have in your body that block your fat from converting to fuel efficiently.
  • How frequent you're ingesting coconut oil for weight loss.
  • How much body fat you have.
  • Whether you're using coconut oil the right way.

Having said all that, don't expect to lose fat after consuming coconut oil for only a few days. If you have tons of toxins amassed in your body over the years due to a poor junkie diet, your fat will probably only start to seriously burn after couple of weeks.

However, you might begin to shed some solid pounds and tip the scales few days after your coconut oil intake due to colon cleansing. Do you know that the waste in our gut may weigh several pounds?

But that's a good head start already as getting rid of toxic waste can improve your overall metabolism and efficiency of fat-burning.

4.3   How much coconut oil to take after weight loss?

After shedding off the excess pounds with coconut oil and achieve your desired shape, do you still need coconut oil? Yes, I strongly recommend so.

"But I'm afraid coconut oil will make me too skinny."

Trust me. It won't. The amazing thing with coconut oil is that it'll burn more if you got more fat and burn less if you got less fat.

One study proves the point. After consuming a meal containing medium-chain fats, normal-weight people increase their energy expenditure by 48%, but obese individuals increase their energy expenditure by an amazing 65%.

What's more, coconut oil can help maintain your metabolism so that you won't easily grow back to the size you were having. So, why stop?

Actually, coconut oil is primarily meant for lifting immunity due to its high content of saturated fats and antimicrobials. Saturated fats neutralize the destructive free radical reactions while antimicrobials fight off harmful pathogens.

I started taking it in the first place for such reason. It just happens that it also helps to move bowels and lose weight as the "side effects".

That makes coconut oil a powerful constipation remedy as well as a fat-burner for many people.

So, how much coconut oil should you take after a successful weight loss?

Keep to the amount you have been taking. That should be fine. For example, 3 tablespoons per day. This quantity is what I recommend for obtaining health benefits from coconut oil.

But if you want to cut down a little bit, by all means. Just make sure you have enough to keep your immunity in good condition and maintain your metabolism at fat-burning level.

References

  1. Coconut oil health benefits: Why is coconut oil sooo good for us?
    Soon Chai