I wondered if it was possible to eat too much coconut oil.
It wasn't long before I knew the answer.
It sounds like the opening of a mystery.
Well, you don't need to buy the book because I can solve this mystery for you pretty quickly!
So you may be asking yourself, "Is it possible to overeat coconut oil?" and I can answer that.
I hope you're not asking because you already have a good idea that it's possible.
Okay, to be a little blunter, I hope you're not searching Google for an answer from your bathroom.
The short answer is HECK YES!
You can most definitely overeat coconut oil.
Can You Overeat Coconut Oil?
How do I know this, you ask?
Over the weekend, I decided to make some fat bombs.
These fat bombs that will never be shared on this blog because I officially hate them now.
Is it the fat bomb's fault that I hate them?
Well, no, not really. It's not their fault that I overindulged and ate ½ cup of coconut oil in one day.
I digress; I am mad at them right now.
To be honest, I have no desire for coconut oil at the moment.
Possibly never again.
I love that stuff, but not after the experience I've endured this weekend.
Right now, I can still taste it in the back of my throat, and just thinking of it still makes me a little queasy.
What Happens When You Overeat Coconut Oil?
I was sick for probably 12 hours after eating ½ cup of coconut oil, and I had to run immediately to the restroom after every meal the following day.
So I would estimate about 24 hours of cramping, bloating, and diarrhea.
To be honest, looking back, it seems like a horrible idea, and I feel like a total idiot, but I didn't think about how much coconut oil I was consuming.
The only good thing from this experience was the weight loss.
Last weekend I had my first cheat meal (huge mistake), and it was almost shark week (sorry if TMI, but let's keep it real here), so I was already bloated, and the cheat meal just made it a thousand times worse.
After my coconut oil overdose, I lost a good 5 pounds, which was most likely water weight from my period and the cheat meal.
Cheat Meals On Keto?
A word on cheat meals.
I have been in ketosis for almost an entire year and learned that cheating on keto is not a good idea.
Every time I have cheated, whether it was one meal or an entire day, I have regretted it.
When you are in ketosis, and your body is not used to carbs introducing them back in can be a painful experience.
I suffered from bloating, stomach cramping, and feeling like crap every time I cheated.
Everything great that came from keto was undone as soon as I cheated.
I hadn't had hormonal acne in months until I cheated.
I will say that cheating showed me how great keto worked for me, though.
As soon as the adverse effects of unhealthy eating started rearing their ugly heads, I knew for sure that the keto diet was what cleared up many of my issues.
So what's the takeaway?
Don't cheat on keto, like cheating on your spouse. It's just not worth it, and you will regret it.
You may find that many keto foods and ingredients can cause severe issues in the bathroom if you consume too much.
I am starting to think that this is a good thing.
As much as it pained me to learn from my mistake, I will NOT make the same mistake twice.
Why Do We Overindulge?
When we overindulge like I did last weekend, we have to ask ourselves: WHY?
Why did I eat the entire batch?
For one, I was lazy and didn't like cooking, but it was more than that.
I mentioned that I was suffering from PMS, and I know how I got it during that week.
I crave sweets and sugar; it comforts me to eat just about anything.
During that week, I was tired, stressed, and my hormones were out of whack.
The only thing I can't change is my hormones, but I can rest more and pay attention to the food I'm consuming.
We should never eat for comfort or because of stress.
For many of us, those are the exact reasons we started the keto diet in the first place.
I want us to get past those issues with food.
We need to learn that food is not a drug we can use to numb the pain or stresses of our daily lives.
We have to be stronger than that.
When we remember to view food as fuel for the body and nothing more, we are likelier to have a healthy relationship with it.
I'm talking to myself here as well.
Even though I have come so far since I started this journey, I still have lessons to learn and hard choices to make.
Just Remember: We're All In This Together
Remember, you can overeat coconut oil. 😉
If you start getting lazy in the kitchen and don't want to cook.
If fat bombs become more than a snack or a way to meet your macros.
Maybe you should give them up until you can control your cravings. If you are eating purely ketogenic foods and dealing with cravings, they are in your head.
These meals are designed to keep you away from your addictions to sugars and carbs, so you aren't getting those cravings from the foods.
The only exception to that could be fruit.
For some people, fresh fruit is like a candy bar.
I don't have that problem with most fruits, but I know that if I eat a banana, I will be hungry all day.
They are not a part of my diet because they will sabotage all my hard work to get to this point.
Want to learn more about how sugar affects your brain?
Watch this movie and then share it with everyone you know!
Lisa says
Thank you for your motivational thoughts.
I've been ketoing since June. The start was very successful. Now some foot injury's left me unable to move, which has caused some emotional binges 🙁 . My trigger food is nut butter and of course fat bombs. My strategy for not binging is not having them in my flat.
UpChuckCoconut says
Oh crap...I just ate about the same amount, never had before and my stomach started cramping. I got worried and Googled, "too much coconut oil" and found your article. I just got a new job and 12 hours of diarrhea tomorrow sounds like a nightmare, so I just went and lost my dinner down the toilet hoping it came out the easier end!
Rebecca says
It's really easy to cheat when those hormones change and we're desperate for sugar/carbs, but we have to push through it. I always went for bread and desserts, but it's just not worth it anymore. I try to limit my intake of oils because those things are mother nature's laxative. No wonder so many old school moms talked about cod liver oil. :/ Ugh.