Add to that the less physical activity that people engage in. Exercise is supposed to help maintain weight and energy. Sadly, most would rather choose to stay home all day, watch TV shows and movies or play video games. What is more alarming, even children are developing this modern lifestyle as well, increasing the obesity rate among kids.
The Solution?
Most likely, you would say a low fat diet! But not really. A new solution to weight gain problems is practicing a diet using coconut oil (yes, a saturated fat) and following the coco oil diet program.
Saturated fats have been avoided by many people because it is said to have ill effects on coronary heart health. Contrary to the belief, not all saturated fats are bad. Coconut oil is a saturated fat but contains medium chain triglycerides which are more soluble than other fats. These are the kinds of fat that do not accumulate in the body but instead, are easily converted into nutrients and energy to optimize cell function.
In addition, coconut contains 48% lauric acid. Lauric acid is a fatty acid also found in breast milk. This fatty acid is said to boost your metabolic rate by activating your thyroid hormones. Thyroidal hormones regulate digestion and maintain blood pressure, calcium levels, and body fats.
The Coconut Diet
The coconut diet does not mean that you have to eat fresh coconut meat for breakfast, desiccated coconut for lunch, and coconut salad for dinner. The dietary plan is simply similar to other low carbohydrates diet but incorporating coconut oil in it.
Basically, the entire diet program involves taking two to three tablespoons organic virgin coconut oil for weight loss everyday and cooking with coconut oil – virgin or unrefined for low heat cooking and refined coconut oil (not hydrogenated) for foods that require higher temperatures. Coco oil helps you regulate the feel of hunger and helps you control craving for sweets.
Aside from the everyday virgin coco oil supplement, Cherie Calbom goes down to the specifics for an effective and healthy four-phase weight loss plan. She also includes some sumptuous coconut diet recipes in the complete version of this in her book.
The Phases
1. 21-Day Weight Loss
It is the strictest part in the diet wherein you start to extensively limit carbohydrate and sugar intake and focus on eating protein-rich foods like chicken, turkey and fish. You are also advised to eat eggs, cheese, and nuts. People who have tried the program claimed to have lost weight just in this first phase.
2. Detoxifying Phase
This stage aims to detoxify the internal organs such as the intestines, the liver, the gallbladder, and the kidneys through drinking up to ten glasses of water in a day plus maintaining the coconut oil daily dietary supplement. A cleansed liver would speed up the weight loss process.
3. Reintroduction to Carb
You will already be allowed to eat foods that contain carbohydrates but with certain specifications. Rice is discouraged.
4. Maintenance
The good thing about the program is it does not end when you have reached your ideal weight. In this final phase, you are already allowed to eat other foods to some extent except sweets and alcohol. With this, you are guided how to maintain your weight and have a permanently healthy lifestyle following some food suggestions by Calbom.
In her book, she includes coconut diet recipe that encourages using virgin coconut oil and extra virgin coconut oil instead of other vegetable oils. She adds that corn, soybean, canola, and safflower oils are highly fattening so they should be avoided for good.
Note: It is highly advised that you do not immediately follow the two to three tablespoons dosage of virgin coconut oil. You can take one tablespoon for the first week and increase your daily intake as the weeks go on. Give time for your digestive system to adjust in ingesting oil because it may cause diarrhea when taken in big amounts at once.
