Full Fat
Heyyyy loves!
Okay so why am I so happy on a Thursday a.k.a. the worst day of the week for me?! Well I have this week off uni woohoo! They gave us our first ‘reading week’ due to interviews and they are short staffed this year to cover us so they’ve given us the week off to relax work from home. Yeah I do actually have a lot of work to be doing but hey, at least I’m getting my lie ins! Speaking of sleep, I have been learning lots from some nutrition podcasts I have been obsessed with listening to recently whilst working on how important it is. Seriously people, sleep is more important than food or exercise in terms of health so if you are not getting enough and sleeping throughout the night perfectly - make this a priority. I don’t think I have a problem with this one personally 
So I’m on week two of my new program this week. To start off with it is definitely about working out what works for you to make it into a routine so I do still feel like I’m testing the water which is kinda anxiety provoking but I’m enjoying it! I have been working on what works for my body. Honestly, I’ve never really been in tune with my body all that well in terms of what food makes me feel good with the exception of when I have wheat/gluten because that’s when I have serious bloating and bowel issues, I’m talking not leaving the bathroom for days on end here so that’s a pretty obvious one. But other than that, I don’t know. I’ve always gone with what I enjoy, what I crave and just trying new exciting things I guess? I do know that I love raw food, I know that I like vegan food, I know that I like cottage cheese and greek yogurt, lots of veg, chickpeas and lots of nuts and coconut flour. But other than that..could I answer what works for me and makes me feel best? Not really. So this is something that starting my new program has made me address.
Now, I’ve been having a lower carb diet as this is what is thought is going to work for my body type. This is a key thing here. I am different to other people. Some people do best on high carb/low fat and some others do best on a balance of everything. We are all different. But for me this is what is going to be experimented to hopefully help my body function at it’s best. That saying I do still have carbs, especially after my workout to replenish my stores otherwise I don’t think I would be able to carry on with this type of workout/eating pattern for too long. And to compensate the lower carbs means high fat and high protein. Anyone who’s been reading my blog a long time knows that my eating disorder came about in the form in fearing fats. I was one of those people who believe that fats made me fat after the low fat diet craze went crazy in the 90s through the government. I watched my own mum put herself on low fat diets so I thought from a young age that fat was not a good thing. How wrong was I? Oh and the government for drilling this idea into people’s minds. But I’ll leave that one for now. In, especially the past year or so, I have increased my fats substantially and I do not fear them. I love nuts and coconut things and raw foods in general and incorporate them into my everyday diet. But whilst I thought I was getting plenty, well, I’ve increased them further. Whilst I do not fear fats, I admit I was anxious about this. Maybe a part of me still had a feeling of too much fat will make me fat. But I know that on a low carb diet this is necessary for my body to not start eating away at itself. I do not want to lose weight, I do not want to lose muscle. If anything I am building muscle here! So this is important. And so I have made an effort to increase my fats further in the ways that I can, eating more nuts, more coconut oil and making lots of chocolate with cocoa butter 
So adding to my diet has been eggs. I used to hate eggs. They totally freaked me out, the texture, the taste…And the first day I had them, I had half a boiled egg to try and I was a bit ummm ‘no way’ about it. But the second day I had a full egg and slowly I’ve actually grown to love them!! So now I’m having 3-4 eggs a day! I tend to have them just as snacks and boil up big boxes of 20 at a time and just stick them in the fridge – simple The same can’t be said for avocado however which I desperately want to love but I just really can’t stand the taste or texture of it at all. Maybe one day my tastes will change again..but at least I’ve got my eggs
Also my current fave snack which I have multiple times a day which I was having before anyway is coconut flour mixed with coconut oil and water topped with cocoa nibs. Really random but so good!!
I’ve also been having coffee with coconut oil pre-workout as I workout on an empty stomach. This is amazinggg…and really gives you an energy boost from the fats which activate the caffeine Anyone who has cream in their coffee – same effect!
I’ve also been adding more cheese other than cottage cheese in my diet. I’m a bit funny with cheeses and I admit they do bring back some bad memories from when I was ill with my eating disorder which I won’t go into but I’ve found a love of feta and mozzarella. The slices from Waitrose are so so good by the way!
Full fat greek yogurt remains of course I love my Fage!
And my current love is Cauldron’s marinated tofu <3 with broccoli, spinach and leek cooked in coconut oil (adding coconut oil to everything right now!) with 2 homemade protein muffins (not recipe worthy just yet…) I also love Taifun’s basil tofu mmm
So how do I feel? Yes, kinda anxious but I’m happy. I feel great, my measurements are the same still, my stomach is looking better already which I see all as better indications of my diet rather than a number on the scale. And my bowels have improved significantly this week. No bloating or anything which is completely new to me as I was still having a little in the evenings. So I shall see where this goes…
But like I say. This is my little journey to find out what is going to help my body. I’m not saying this is going to work for everybody. We are all different, have different backgrounds, body shapes, metabolisms, hormones, eating disorder backgrounds etc.
But one thing that I did manage to get…
Ohhhhh yeaaaaah! Finally!! After 4 months I have managed to get hold of my true love in food form hehe!
Oh and just one thing – how amazing are the sunsets right now? I went for a drive a couple of days ago in the country just to see it. So beautiful.
What are your favorite sources of fat?
Do you know what kind of diet suits you or do prefer to just eat whatever you like?
hun, you have GOT to keep trying on the avocado front… they are soooo good! i used to be the same, the texture and the smell just grossed me out, but now i freaking LOVE them!!! i can eat one staright up with a spoon, they are so creamy and smooth. delish!
I forgot to ask how things were going with you driving? are you loving having a car?? i remember when i got my first car, i used to just go for drives and find exciting little adventures… the freedom of being able to go wherever you want, whenever is such a great thing
x
I’ll keep trying with the avocado..it is definitely something I’d love to enjoy! OH I am in love with my car haha
I can see a speeding ticket coming my way anyday though 
x
this high fat diet/low carb diet seems to be a trend that all you ‘healthy fad bloggers’ seem to be obsessed with at the moment. you say you dont have your ed anymore but how normal does coconut flour mixed with coconut oil and water topped with cocoa nibs seem to somebody on the street? and the same thing when it comes to having coconut oil in coffee which i have seen from other bloggers. coconut oil is still oil no matter if its coconut or lard or Kerrygold or Flora, its all classed as fat and you all seem to be putting it in your coffee. are you really feeling good or is this just your next eating disorder behaviour/diet fad? anorexia, raw food, raw vegan, vegan, low carb, high carb, dairy-free, gluten free, or fasting, they are all orthorexic behaviours i just hope you start to see your part take in this unhealthy pattern before you and the rest of this bloggers in this obsession let it lead the rest of your life. best wishes.
Wow seems like you have your own issues to deal with here. I’m not saying how anyone should eat and I have been advised to try out this kind of diet by a professional as he believes that my body type would function best at this. And I’ll have you know that we all DO need fat in our diet to function. That is just fact. And it doesn’t matter how you put the fat into your diet does it? I happen to like the flavour of coconut oil anyway and having fat or raw foods is actually totally against what my anorexia was about. If I was still eating disordered – fats would be the first to go. And for gluten free, I personally am intolerant to it and I’d rather not spend all week in the bathroom because of a piece of bread, thanks. I don’t need to stand up for what I am doing anyway as like I say – this is my journey and my health and I know that I am healthy. Other bloggers can do what they like – they all seem to have started eating meat but I don’t choose to do that right now, same goes for being paleo or any other trends. I’m just doing what is right for me.
I have to say I agree with the commenter above. You seem to have transformed from fatphobia to carbphobia. Yes, you might eat lots of fats now and consequently more calories which was your problem then, but you’ve just cut out another food group. Cool, you’re gluten intolerant, but there are still plenty of GF grains and other carb sources. Ortorexia is an ED too, just like anorexia. You don’t have to starve to be disordered, your ED can evolve into another form.
I have to say I agree with the commenter above. You seem to have transformed from fatphobia to carbphobia. Yes, you might eat lots of fats now and consequently more calories which was your problem then, but you’ve just cut out another food group. Cool, you’re gluten intolerant, but there are still plenty of GF grains and other carb sources. Ortorexia is an ED too, just like anorexia. You don’t have to starve to be disordered, your ED can evolve into another form.
I think you have to do what works for you. I got over my fat phobia a while ago, now I love fat! Carbs are still a bit scary for me, but I can always make an exception for kabocha
Oh my gosh that cauldron marinated tofu is seriously one of the best things ever. I practically lived on that during my first year of university, it’s great even for a snack.
My main source of fat is probably olive oil, nut butters and cheese. I don’t really think about the macronutrients I eat, to be honest. I think it’s a fantastic thing to know about yourself, however. I, like you, don’t really pay attention to how different foods make my body feel, but it’s such a shame. I’ve been keeping a food journal for the past month to try and figure out how I feel after eating certain things and the results have been illuminating! I find that grains are surprisingly important for me and definitely the most neglected thing in my diet.
Good luck with the full fat, low-card high protein diet!
I’m a big fan of experimenting with our diets to find out what works for us, and an even bigger fan of the fact that I think I’ve finally figured out a way of eating that suits me best. I tried out soooo many different eating styles over the years, and a lot of them ended up leaving me feeling worse off than when I started, so it’s good to have that all behind me now. I don’t really pay a lot of attention to my macros anymore, but I know that what works best for me is a higher carb, moderate protein/fat diet. Anytime I try to reduce my carbs and up my protein and fat, I end up suffering from a lot of fatigue and digestive issues… But like you said, everyone is different, and I hope you find something that works for you!
As for favorite fat source, does chocolate and ice cream count? If not, then it would have to be roasted almond butter. Love that stuff.
I’ve always been a fan of more protein to carb ratio. But lately as I’ve stepped my running up I’m finding that I’m becoming really fatigued and hugely hungry. So I’m going to eat more carbs for a bit and see if that’s better. Im a huge fan of cheeses, like feta, goats cheese, mozzarella…yum! And I still need to try kabocha squash!
Hey, I’d love for you to go into more detail about your workout routine! Sounds like you are on a great programm.
My favourite source of fat is definitly peanut butter. I literally say ‘I love peanut butter’ in my head every time I open the glass
Diet wise I figured out for myself that I function best throughout the day if I have a high-protein, high-carb breakfast and lunch, but a low-carb dinner.
I managed to have my first kabocha for months too, so good, it was gone it no time! I’ve been eating loads of good fats lately, coconut milk/oil/butter, avocados, nut butters/tahini, and plenty of nuts and seeds! I eat a high carbohydrate diet but the majority of that is fruit/juices/smoothies, I can’t cut back on that as I just don’t have the energy without them!
I’m sort of doing the same thing at the moment – I was just diagnosed with Candida and have to go on a ‘detox’, which terrifies my parents because of my previous ED. All of a sudden I have to eliminate all sugar, fruit, gluten, dairy, limit meat, chicken and fish, eat organic, take supplements, etc. and it’s day two and already unbearable! The only thing keeping me going is the hope it will help me in the long run!
Well you know my love of fats at the moment and I’m definitely all for experimenting with what works for you. I noticed a few commenters above saying that they are concerned, I think there is definitely a difference when you are more interested in nutrition and therefore your diet doesn’t look like something someone would normally have. And as you say we are all different and on our own journeys, I think some people have difficulty getting their heads around that unfortunately. Oh and three cheers for kabocha again!
I think it’s a good idea to experiment with different foods to figure out what works best for your body. Everyone is different and what may work for someone may totally fail for someone else. For example, there was a time where I ate very little meat and dairy because I thought it was hurting my body. However, I quickly discovered that I thrived when meat and dairy made a daily appearance in my life. I love cheese
I hope you figure it all out soon! And remember – the best kind of “diet” is no diet at all. It’s all about working with your body and seeing what it reacts best to. Ignore external influences and just build a relationship with yourself (if that makes sense 
)
Experimenting with you food and diet for me is a good thing as long as it’s not heading into dangerous territory. I think it’s all about learning about your body and how to nourish it best.
Fat’s are the best! I noticed that they fill me up longer and leave me more satisfied. When I do not eat enough of them I tend to snack a lot and feel kind of hungry all the time. My favorites: avocados (sorry for you, that you don’t like them), nut butters, nuts and seeds in general (especially in my new discovery – homemade nut and seed bread) and oily fish, especially salmon.
Heyyy sweetie! Like we chatted about, we’re all different and function best with different ratios of the macronutrients in our diet. I need more of a mixed approach, probably with more carbs. In tribes they thrive on berries and grubs, the Eskimos thrive on meat protein and blubber….in the Western world we are presented with so many foods that only the people who’ve studied nutrition and themselves will know what’s truly right for them. Who knows if you’re an Eskimo in disguise if you don’t try a high fat/protein diet?
The nutrition we put into our body can help, hinder, accelerate, decelerate and generally affect every single cellular reaction that goes on. Therefore the ratio of macros in our diet can ultimately shift the metabolic balance of any chemical reaction inside us – this impacts on EVERYTHING – health, healing, wellness, mental health…everything! So if you’re following a certain diet for healthy reasons and you feel healthy and happy then what’s wrong with that? 
Love youuuuu xxxxxxxx
p.s – although I need my carbs and also have a similar history to you, I say keep having your coconut oil/flour etc coz it’s yummy! period!
You’ve just reminded me how much I love eggs! x
I hope you enjoyed your week off!
You’re so right about the general fear of fats – I do think that quite a bit has been done in recent years to re-educate people, but the concept of brandishing all fats under the same umbrella is so frustratingly wrong – and clearly very dangerous!
Glad you finally got your hands on some of your true-love squash!
Curious as to which nutrition podcasts you enjoy! Please share!!
It’s funny how people don’t know what carbs actually are (i.e. vegetables somehow are not carbs?). For fat, I love avocados, olives, and almond butter. Fats don’t always agree with me, so I have to limit them as well as raw vegetables
Have you tried roasted coconut chips? So tasty!