How are you incorporating coconut oil into your diet/macros.

Fat is fat, and you log it as such. Coconut oil doesn't have magical properties that somehow make it a freebie for dietary purposes.

I only use it for cooking. It's one of the better fats to use for cooking. I wouldn't eat it though, but mainly because it doesn't taste THAT great.

Coconut oil is my favorite! I will sometimes coat pieces of chicken breast in coconut flour with a little salt and garlic, and then fry in just a bit of coconut oil... seriously amazing. I really like coconut though. I also will use that instead of butter on non-gmo popcorn.

I have it on toast sooooo nice...i eat it as is as good as if not better than olive oil and speeds up metabolism and burns fat faster ...is antibacterial and anti fungal ....i use instead of butter i even pop in rice and quinoa and my daughter uses as a prewash conditioner for her hair

I use it to moisturize my dog's dry skin - works perfectly! I do have a cake recipe I'm gonna try it in, but I haven't gotten around to it. Of course I would count it if I ate it. It's not exactly a celery stick, ya know. :laugh:

I use it in my coffee with a little rice milk, instead of creamer. I love it! I do count it as a fat, but I am ok with that as I know it is a good for me fat.

I put a couple teaspoons in my coffee in the morning, I use it to pop popcorn, my oatmeal and I've used it in a few saute's. I use it as a part of my weekly deep conditioning for my hair. I also put a little bit on the ends of my hair after each wash and before I blow dry. It has also replaced my lotion and face moisturizer (which has saved me a lot of money, as my face moisturizer was $30 alone). You just need to make sure that you put it on your skin/hair right after you get out of the shower, as it's not a moisturizer, but it locks in moisture.

I've started all this about 3 months ago, and though i don't notice any internal health benefits, i feel better using this rather than butter or margarine. As far as using it on my face and hair...my skin is much more smoother, and tiny lines have literally disappeared from my face. For my hair, I have far less breakage on my ends.

It's really nice on rice...

Also love it to saute veggies in...

As far as the flavor, I think it's light and slightly buttery... I enjoy it. It's also a lot more durable than olive oil at different temperatures. It doesn't break down as easily.

There's been a lot of doctors that rave about it. I wouldn't start drinking it by the cup full though... But, if you enjoy it - it definitely can't hurt.

Hey everyone!

I have a huge jar of coconut oil that I use for pretty much... everything. BUT I have yet to cook or consume it. I know that the fats in coconut oil differ from that of other foods and are composed differently, but I'm not sure whether or not to take the plunge and go over my macro for fat simply because it is processed differently than other fats. Do you do this? It would be impossible to stay under fat and still eat coconut oil for me.

So, if you eat it, do you count it as an "exception" ?

First of all, I'm curious what you are doing with your coconut oil if you use it for "everything" but you don't cook with it or eat it! :noway:

Anyhoo, I had the same problem as you: I was afraid to go over on fats even though they were good fats. My cholesterol was slightly elevated so I spent months being RELIGIOUS about keeping my sat fat in the single digits and staying under my fat goal in MFP. And my cholesterol only got worse. Then I FINALLY started listening to my doctor and nutritionist who both kept telling me to NOT LIMIT MY FAT CONSUMPTION but to just focus on eating LOTS of GOOD fats. I had such a hangup about it that I had to HIDE my fat and sat fat columns in MFP, haha. I replaced them with potassium and sodium columns. And guess what? After about 8 weeks of eating wild-caught salmon and tuna at least 4-8 times a week and eating avocados every week and lots of seeds and nuts and ground flax seeds and chia seeds every day and walnuts and peanut butter and lots and LOTS of extra virgin olive oil all over my foods (and yes I use coconut oil every time I use my frying pan and I drink coconut milk too), I FINALLY saw my cholesterol numbers improve and stay normal! With NO medication! Yay!

So yes, take the plunge. Remember, if you stay under a calorie goal, what will happen when you eat more good fats is that it will change your macro ratios. I used to eat about 50% carbs and about 20% protein, 30% fat. Now (without tracking, just looking back at the end of the week) I usually end up at 35% fats and only 45% carbs, yay! And eating more fats has led to more protein too so sometimes I'm also up to almost 25% protein and my carbs have gotten down to almost 40%! Yay!

These changes have improved my health so much, and helped my blood sugar too (I have reversed my diabetes too with diet). :flowerforyou:

its a fat, so just log it as one. its a healthy one and a delicious one, but still...its a fat. ( I add a tablespoon to my smoothies...insanely relish)

Fat is fat, and you log it as such. Coconut oil doesn't have magical properties that somehow make it a freebie for dietary purposes.

true. But it does have differences in makeup that change the way it is digested, which is why I asked.

It is digested the same way. The energy yield from a gram of fatty acids is approximately 9 calories. That is the same whether talking about vegetable oil, olive oil, canola oil or coconut oil. If you are going to consume it, log it exactly as you would any other food item.

The first step in digestion of a fat such as coconut oil is to dissolve it into the watery content of the intestinal cavity. The bile acids produced by the liver act as natural detergents to dissolve fat in water and allow the enzymes to break the large fat molecules into smaller molecules, some of which are fatty acids and cholesterol.

The bile acids combine with the fatty acids and cholesterol and help these molecules to move into the cells of the mucosa. In these cells the small molecules are formed back into large molecules, most of which pass into vessels (called lymphatics) near the intestine. These small vessels carry the reformed fat to the veins of the chest, and the blood carries the fat to storage depots in different parts of the body.

The type plant or animal that an oil is derived from will not affect this process.

It's a fantastic lubricant!

Fat is fat, and you log it as such. Coconut oil doesn't have magical properties that somehow make it a freebie for dietary purposes.

true. But it does have differences in makeup that change the way it is digested, which is why I asked.

It is digested the same way. The energy yield from a gram of fatty acids is approximately 9 calories. That is the same whether talking about vegetable oil, olive oil, canola oil or coconut oil. If you are going to consume it, log it exactly as you would any other food item.

The first step in digestion of a fat such as coconut oil is to dissolve it into the watery content of the intestinal cavity. The bile acids produced by the liver act as natural detergents to dissolve fat in water and allow the enzymes to break the large fat molecules into smaller molecules, some of which are fatty acids and cholesterol.

The bile acids combine with the fatty acids and cholesterol and help these molecules to move into the cells of the mucosa. In these cells the small molecules are formed back into large molecules, most of which pass into vessels (called lymphatics) near the intestine. These small vessels carry the reformed fat to the veins of the chest, and the blood carries the fat to storage depots in different parts of the body.

The type plant or animal that an oil is derived from will not affect this process.

Coconut oil and more specifically lauric acid do not require bile to be metabolized because they are already broken down before that happens. The body treats MCT as a carboydrate essentially and is used as immediate energy and people that have had their gallbladder removed are told MCT's are fine to consume.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024320597011430

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2739575

Fat is fat, and you log it as such. Coconut oil doesn't have magical properties that somehow make it a freebie for dietary purposes.

true. But it does have differences in makeup that change the way it is digested, which is why I asked.

It is digested the same way. The energy yield from a gram of fatty acids is approximately 9 calories. That is the same whether talking about vegetable oil, olive oil, canola oil or coconut oil. If you are going to consume it, log it exactly as you would any other food item.

The first step in digestion of a fat such as coconut oil is to dissolve it into the watery content of the intestinal cavity. The bile acids produced by the liver act as natural detergents to dissolve fat in water and allow the enzymes to break the large fat molecules into smaller molecules, some of which are fatty acids and cholesterol.

The bile acids combine with the fatty acids and cholesterol and help these molecules to move into the cells of the mucosa. In these cells the small molecules are formed back into large molecules, most of which pass into vessels (called lymphatics) near the intestine. These small vessels carry the reformed fat to the veins of the chest, and the blood carries the fat to storage depots in different parts of the body.

The type plant or animal that an oil is derived from will not affect this process.

Coconut oil and more specifically lauric acid do not require bile to be metabolized because they are already broken down before that happens. The body treats MCT as a carboydrate essentially and is used as immediate energy and people that have had their gallbladder removed are told MCT's are fine to consume.

If you can show me a study that states this, from a credible scientific source, I'll digest that. So far, I've come up with nil. Specifically the part of the body treating it like a carbohydrate.

Lauric acid is 50% of coconut oil so even if you are right, the other 50% still needs to be taken into account. Also, MCT (medium chain triglycerides) and coconut oil are two different things and should not be used interchangeably as a 1:1.