Friend of Julie: How Much is Too Much?

How much fat is too much? Do high fat recipes slow down weight loss? Nikki asked these questions and I turned to some of our blog contributors for answers. I compiled an accumulation of the key concepts that work well for us and are relevant to Nikki's questions.

Yummy: grilled meats. Is this too much fat?

From Nikki:

First of all let me say thank you so much for creating such a wonderful blog and support page! I completed my hypnosis program on Thursday [the last week of March 2014]. I noticed a lot of the recipes on your blog and on Julie's website have higher fat meats like bacon beef etc. I remember Julie saying to keep the fat low. However if I keep it low I definitely do not feel satisfied when I'm eating. What are your thoughts on this? If I have these higher fat type recipes will slow down my weight-loss?

These concepts (below) work for us and we share them with the best of intentions. These are our opinions, our memories of key concepts, and not exact quotes from Julie, the Key Hypnosis Program, or Julie's staff.

Fat keeps us feeling fuller, but we shouldn't be full all the time. Eat when you're hungry. Not when you're not. No snacking. Eat meals.

We can eat all the meats, as well as poultry, fish, etc. I remember something about "the bigger the animal - the bigger the weight loss."

Eat like people did before the invention of refrigeration and mass preservatives.

Eat simple foods and keep the more complex recipes to just a few times a week. I use recipes to change things up. Many of my meals are basic meat and veggies. Always equal amount of meat to veggie or less veggies than meat (protein). I eat bacon several times a week, but not in large quantities - a couple strips of bacon is not the same as a half pound. I also eat bacon when I get that non satisfied feeling, like no matter how much meat I eat, I'm antsy. It usually ends that feeling right away.

Mix it up - don't let your body get used to having the same foods. This concept is to keep us from getting bored. It also is helps our body understand we're on (yet another) diet. If our body thinks we're on a diet, it freaks out and starts storing fat, because it thinks we're going to starve it.

Use condiments in very small quantities. Condiments make the army men come out and convert the condiments into carbs that they store in our body as fat. No thank you - we don't want to store fat - we want to lose fat. Eat more meat and the army men will use the meat to take off our weight. Yes, much better.

Eat grass-fed meat as much as possible. Beef isn't necessarily high in fat, but the more processed meats, like bacon, rib, etc. should be eaten less often. And we all know which meats are fatty. 

Go heavy on the quantity of protein and have it as clean as possible, baked, grilled, etc. with light condiments, not using recipes. Then add a higher fat recipe a couple of times a week. Don't worry about eating too much, as we can eat when we are hungry, and in the beginning of this program we are hungry a lot.

Remember, Julie said we could eat 10,000 calories, but calories don't matter. So I would eat more often of lower fat foods, and enjoy fatty recipes sparingly.

Recipes are meant to be had once or twice a week, and leftovers once or twice a week as well. I never made "fatty" recipes often and I used them when I felt the need.

At my refresh last week, Julie told us to KEEP FAT LOW LOW LOW LOW. I suggest eating lower fat meats in more quantity, and enjoy the recipes every so often. When I started this program, I didn't watch my fats, BUT that was THEN. THIS is now! Eat more often if necessary until your stomach shrinks!

In relation to your question about high fat recipes on this blog, well, I'm evolving too. I follow Julie's suggestions from my refresher last week, to also keep the fat low, low, low. I didn't pay attention to this concept in the past, but I do now.

I'm also eating smaller amounts of food now. If I'm still hungry, I can have more. If not, then I have a nice meal for another day.

The higher fat recipes on my blog and Julie's website are still good to follow, but keep in mind how much fat you're taking in and use the higher fat recipes less often.

You are the driver of your destiny and you get to choose what to eat and when. Listen to your body. If you are not dropping in size, perhaps it is time to look at how much fat you're eating.


Photo source: Delish