Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

9

2

I've got a dumb question for someone who understands biochemistry better than I do:

According to Wikipedia, the body may be incapable of metabolizing trans fats. Lately I've been wondering if body fat deposits caused by large amounts of dietary trans fat could be the reason some of us who have been "paleo" for years, can't seem to lose those last 10 or 15 lbs of stubborn fat stores, no matter what we do. My mom frequently cooked with Crisco, and I ate more than my fair share of Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls when I was a kid, so I've consumed plenty of trans fat over the years.

I realize that this question oozes negativity, but for those of us in this category, is it possible that the quest to lose that last bit of stubborn fat is somewhat futile? If our bodies can't metabolize the stuff, does that mean that trans fat stored in the body will remain with you forever?

flag	asked Aug 22 2011 at 19:45 Kimmie 4,620●1●9●28

2

I will be watching this with interest as I too spent the first 28 years of my life eating predominantly bad fats as a fat source (foods cooked in sunflower oil and copious amounts of junk food) No matter what I do these last 10~15 pounds just won't budge - i've tried VLCarb, Moderate carb, intermittent fasting, calorie restriction to 800 day (THAT didn't last long :) Stepping up exercise, cutting back exercise, eliminating foods, you name it. Its either going to take a really long time, or not happen at all and I feel that some people won't be able to get leaner no matter what... – Grottenolm Aug 22 2011 at 20:30

Bryan de la Puente · Answer 1 · 2011-08-22 20:34:20Z UTC

In my experience with paleo and losing that last bit of belly fat doing tabata workouts aka high intensity interval training in addition to my normal program (20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 intervals) got me through the last stages of actually seeing abs. As far as trans fat is concerned and reversing the effects, eat a lot of foods that contain soluble fiber. The difference being insoluble goes through you like a broom and soluble actually helps cleanse the arteries and blood. I'm not a "expert" in the field but my own personal experience speaks volumes :-)

turkeytyme · Answer 2 · 2011-08-23 09:41:54Z UTC

My personal theory is that we have trouble with the last few pounds because our body is already where it wants to be for health, which may not necessarily be where we think we should be to look good naked. Since our body's goal is to keep us alive and healthy it's going to fight any further weight loss tooth and nail. You can eventually overcome that, but you may be miserable in the process.

As far as trans fats, I think the problem is they become incorporated into your cell membranes and alter their normal function.

Trans fat v. stubborn body fat

2 Answers