This isn’t the preface to another keto solution. Fats are integral to dieting regardless of which camp you’re settling in. The keto crusade will be kept fresh and cozy for the next article.

The post-meal rebound is a typical problem that can arrive parcelled in with the latest attempt at a diet. You wrap up a meal, feel pretty great, shove the table away and move ahead with life. But within an hour or two, the new lease of energy peters out and hunger forces its way back to the forefront. 

At this point, you’re wondering whether there was ever a point in life where you weren’t hungry. The diet stretches out into the distant future, and it looks more unsustainable with every passing minute of persistent discomfort.

There’s a solution that tackles most causes of this symptom. 

Try sprinkling some fats on top of your meal. At least a tablespoon’s worth if it’s a pure fatty substance, more if it’s a mix. Here’s why: fat calories are the slowest to break down in the body. They can take 5-6 hours to fully digest, meaning there’s still fresh energy being delivered to the limbs long after you finish eating. 

This keeps blood sugar at a stable level, and prevents the body from entering a serious catabolic state in response to activity. Sure, there needs to be some degree of catabolism to force fat loss, but if it’s approaching severe rates, take it as a sign that the body’s fighting back tooth and nail. Fat loss is about to get decidedly more uncomfortable. Ideally this is a route we don’t go down.

Now where does protein fit into all of this? I’ve skirted around the suggestion of adding more protein, because that’s a strategy most will happily be trying as it is. It works, but that’s old news, and it won’t last as long into the day. It’s the prospect of adding fats that doesn’t come as easily for the fit folk. 

The low fat craze never really died away, despite the mounting evidence against it. Even with the admission that the whole fad was propped up by paid pseudoscience. All these products still get displayed with big reds on the tin. Adding an extra dose or two of fats will bump up the calories, but only a few hundred at most. And the price is well worth it for the suppressive effect on appetite. 

Here’s a few examples that spring to mind.

1-2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil on Salad

1-2 Tablespoons of Butter alongside Steak

1-2 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter on Crisp-bread

250g of Full-Fat Greek Yogurt with a Protein Shake

As it happens, this is a pivotal strategy in surviving past the hours of intermittent fasting without breaking and ordering extra large fries from the closest takeaway. If you’ve been taking my advice already and trying that diet out for yourself, add this to the growing list of protocols, as long as it’s still manageable.