Want your coconut oil weight loss questions answered? I’m dishing up the “why” and the “how-to” so you can get started right away.
One thing is for sure: fact and fiction are hard to sort through when it comes to how to lose weight with coconut oil – or really, with any kind of weight loss tips.
Fad diets spring to life and disappear all in the same season.
So the question is this: is coconut oil weight loss a real thing or just another diet fad?
Experts like Dr. Bruce Fife and Dr. Mary Enig speak volumes about the merits of coconut oil–quite literally.
Fife wrote an excellent book called The Coconut Oil Miracle, and Enig was a co-writer of another great book, Eat Fat, Lose Fat which also emphasizes the benefits of coconut oil.
Both agree that it’s possible – even easy – to lose weight with coconut oil.
But it doesn’t have to be complicated, and you don’t need to read a library to get the benefits of coconut oil or to learn how to use coconut oil for weight loss.
(This is my favorite coconut oil to use.)
Does coconut oil burn fat?
The truth is, it’s all in the fat. Seriously. The specific types of fatty acids in coconut oil are exactly what influences your metabolism and fat-burning ability. (I go into more detail later.)
PS: Before we go any further, can I just say one great way to get your coconut oil is in my coconut oil fudge? You’re welcome. 😉
Is coconut oil weight loss just a fad?
Coconut oil didn’t spring to life in the last few years, although it may seem that way.
And even though trying to lose weight with coconut oil may seem like a new fad, consumption of coconut oil actually used to be very popular and it wasn’t just for people trying to shed a few pounds.
The truth is that coconut has been a healing superfood for many centuries in tropical cultures. And traditional cultures value coconut for its tremendous medicinal power and they have been remarkably healthy as a result.
Check some of the known health benefits of coconut oil in the short video below:
Even in Western society, coconut oil was pretty popular all the way up until the middle of the 20th century.
That’s when fat became a dietary evil, and people started turning from traditional foods to fake substitutes (margarine, anyone?).
So I’m thankful there have been a few health pioneers willing to reconsider the scoop on coconut oil. Now we know this oil has its place in a healthy diet!
Even better, the coconut oil weight loss connection might even make it easier for you to maintain a healthy weight.
How to Use Coconut Oil for Weight Loss
There are three main biological processes that help you lose weight with coconut oil. Here’s how they work:
#1 Coconut Oil Metabolism
There are healthy ways to boost your metabolic rate (so leave those dangerous diet pills alone!!).
One huge coconut oil weight loss secret? It revs up your metabolism!
The secret to healthy metabolism and a wealth of energy is no fad stimulant: it’s pure extra virgin coconut oil.
Coconut oil is one of nature’s most abundant sources of medium-chain fatty acids (mainly lauric acid and caprylic acid), and these nifty little triglycerides can work wonders for a sluggish metabolism.
If your metabolism has been damaged by dieting or stress, a daily dose of coconut oil is the key to getting it back on the right track.
Long-chain fatty acids, like those in polyunsaturated oils, are more difficult for the body to break down and use for energy. Instead, long-chain fatty acids are usually stored as body fat. 
Coconut oil actually helps you oxidize (or burn) more fat! One study showed that eating medium-chain fatty acids increases metabolism and helps burn off stored fat. (source)
This study found that people who ate coconut oil naturally lost body fat and dropped waist size.
This is just from eating coconut oil! The participants weren’t trying to diet or cut calories. This is really important to me because I don’t recommend dieting or slashing calories.
You can also read more about this in The Coconut Oil Miracle. Dr. Fife covers tons of studies done on the benefits of coconut oil, and not just for weight loss.
#2 Balance Your Blood Sugar
When you’re learning how to use coconut oil for weight loss, it’s important to recognize the role blood sugar levels play in losing weight.
When our blood sugar levels swing up and down, we tend to be moody, irritable, and tired, plus we tend to crave sugary foods! This can contribute to weight gain or difficulty losing weight.
Coconut oil can also help you maintain healthy blood sugar levels. This may have to do with the fact that the medium-chain fatty acid in coconut oil can be easily burned for energy, but without causing insulin to shoot sky-high the way a bunch of sugar would.
Including coconut oil before or during a meal also lowers the glycemic impact of what you’re eating, which prevents those dreaded blood sugar highs and lows.
This is because fats digest more slowly than carbs, so if you combine the two, the fat helps slow down the digestion of carbohydrates.
That way your meals don’t negatively impact your blood sugar as much, and your levels remain steadier throughout the day and after your meals. (This is also why I always recommend eating fats, proteins, and carbohydrates together.)
#3 Balance Candida and Yeast Overgrowth
The beneficial fatty acids in coconut oil do more than speed up a lagging metabolism.
Lauric acid and caprylic acid in coconut oil also protect against one of the top hidden causes behind weight gain: candida and yeast. When an overgrowth of candida is present, weight loss can be almost impossible.
Candida causes symptoms like fatigue, poor concentration, recurring infections related to yeast, excessive sinus infections, and much more. But the side effect that really hinders weight loss is cravings for sugar and carbohydrates.
This is because yeast feeds off sugar (carbohydrates break down into sugar once in the body), so candida causes cravings in order to support its own growth.
Taking coconut oil to counteract yeast overgrowth is highly effective, but it should be done with care. Coconut oil is such a powerful remedy for candida that it can cause strong side effects of headaches, chills, and foggy thinking as the yeast dies off.
** This can be reduced by slowly incorporating coconut oil into your diet, starting with as little as one teaspoon daily (read more about that below).
Read my post about how to do a detox coconut oil cleanse.
How to Lose Weight with Coconut Oil
Taking coconut oil for weight loss is as easy as a short count to 2:
- Simply replace some of the fats you use every day with coconut oil. You can use it in place of butter or vegetable oils for cooking and baking.
- Add a spoonful to warm coffee or tea to get an extra boost of energy.
(This is my favorite coconut oil to use.)
How Much Coconut Oil for Weight loss?
You can eat up to about 3 tablespoons per day to reap the benefits. You can
IMPORTANT: Don’t forget to work up slowly if you haven’t been eating much coconut oil! Start with just one teaspoon per day, and increase by a teaspoon per week until you reach about three tablespoons a day. (There are three teaspoons per tablespoon.)
If you trying to do the coconut oil weight loss theory by adding a bunch to your diet all at once. I promise you will feel sick and want to quit! Do your stomach a favor and start slowly. 🙂
Where do I buy coconut oil?
Today quality coconut oil can be found almost anywhere. Even my local Wal-Mart carries a few varieties (though not always quality brands — plus I prefer to give my dollars to companies that emphasize quality over quantity).
You’ll find the best deals online, especially if you’re willing to buy in bulk. Many online health food and supplement companies carry several brands of coconut oil for weight loss to choose from.
Again, the bigger you buy, the more you’ll save. And because I recommend that you lose weight with coconut oil as a long-term strategy and not a crash diet.
It’s totally worth it to invest in a larger amount so it will last you a long time.
More of our best posts:
- Refined vs. Unrefined Coconut Oil
- Learn How to Detox with a Coconut Oil Cleanse
- Why You Need to Try Oil Pulling
- 40+ Coconut Oil Skincare Recipes
- How to Make Homemade Potato Chips with Coconut Oil
- Craving Peanut Butter? Here’s Why
- How metamucil helped me to lose 10 pounds in 1 month
oh I love your site. thank you so much for all your good information. I have used it several times to send links to friends who have been questioning my strange new habits, including this one today. ( sent the raw eggs one yesterday)
LOL I’m glad my site is helpful for you! It is really hard when friends or family don’t “get” our nutrition choices, but it is fun if you’re able to convince them to go for it, too. 🙂
We only use coconut oil and olive oil for cooking.
Coconut is very versatile, you can make some wonferful ice cream with it …
I’ve never tried ice cream with coconut oil – do you have a recipe for that?
I have been reading this type of info for a long time now and really want to try it though I am so scared. I have lost 50 lbs in the last year and I so don’t want to gain any weight back! I have since has severe adrenal exhaustion which has a nasty way of messing with your thyroid 😉 My resting pulse is now only 48 and my morning temps are very low, signs of a thyroid problem and slowed metabolism. So, coconut oil seems like it would be a good thing . . .I should just do it, but again, I’m sort of afraid. Maybe if I start with a teaspoon at a time . . .
Anyway thanks for the info
Coconut oil (and other healthy, natural fats like butter) are great for your metabolism. I am still recovering from adrenal fatigue, so I can relate. And I also understand your concerns about gaining weight. Have you been eating a low-fat diet? If so I would recommend starting slow with the coconut oil, since your body may not be used to the fat. You can also take Betaine HCI, herbal bitters or digestive enzymes if you think your body might need help digesting fat. But in the end it’s important to remember the body needs plenty of natural fats in order to function properly, and coconut oil is a great way to work those fats into your diet.
Betaine HCL is to help convert pepsinogen into pepsin for protein digestion. Lipase is what you want to help digest fat.
Actually, in the GAPS book Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride talks about how Betaine HCI helps stimulate the body’s production of its own enzymes, so it does indirectly help with the digestion of fats, too.
Another great post! I started using coconut oil instead of sugar in my green & white tea. My friends and family do think it’s super-weird, but it helped kick my sugar cravings.
Kicking the sugar cravings was a surprise side effect for me too. I love that it seems to keep me from getting very hungry and I am satisfied with much less food at every meal.
I am a serious tea drinker, and I normally use honey, or Bee Free Honee, but I’ve never heard of using coconut oil. Does it provide a sweet taste?
I recently read “Eat Fat, Lose Fat’ and started taking 1 tablespoon of coconut oil before emails. Two months later I’m down over 10 pounds – I’m a believer. I’ve been slowly moving towards real foods for years, but this has been the most dramatic change I’ve seen so far.
That’s awesome, Laurie! I love to hear success stories like that. 🙂
When do you eat that 1tbsp coconut oil?!?!?!
First thing i do in the morning when i open my eyes is to drink my glass of lemon water, so what you suggest when is best moment for that coconut oil?!
I drink very warm water with lemon juice and zest, a touch of raw honey, and 2 tsp coconut oil in the morning.
Do you use refined coconut oil or unrefined coconut oil?
Yes, coconut oil is one of the best healthy oils you can add to your diet. Not only can you cook with it, you can also use it as an organic skin moisturizer. Women of tropical countries have also used coconut oil as a hair conditioner and moisturizer. Studies looking at using coconut oil as a hair moisturizer found the oil actually penetrates the hair shaft and helps reduce protein loss.
I love coconut oil for a moisturizer. I’ve actually used it in place of body wash and it works much better. However, I do notice in the wintertime coconut oil doesn’t quite cut it and I have to use something like sweet almond oil instead.
How do you use coconut oil as a body wash?
I’ve used it as a sort of “oil cleansing” — massaging the oil into your skin and washing it off actually does a really good job cleansing the skin.
Beware of “washing it off.” Oil will harden in cold drains and clog your pipes — very expensive fix! What I now do when I take an oil bath: 1) 5 minutes of oil massaging; 2)scrub down body with DRY, rough, white cloth (buy cheap auto cloths); 3) shower-rinse with COOL water. When oil pulling, spit the oil into cheap little plastic baggies and discard into TRASH BUCKET to avoid drainpipe clogging as well.
Coconut oil is definitely one of the healthiest oils on earth does have measurable effects on burning fat. It also helps my clients with carb cravings when I put them on a reduced-carbohydrate diet. I would combine it with omega-3 oils for the full fat-burning effect and with Pau D’Arco, Berberine and Grapeseed Extract for the anti-candida effect.
Great tips, thanks for the recommendations!
Do you just take it by the spoonful???
One thing I have always wondered about: I don’t have a thyroid anymore (lost it to cancer). Will coconut oil still rev up my metabolism?
I can’t say for sure, but I do know that the metabolism does have to do with more than just the thyroid. Coconut oil is still a very healthy source of energy regardless, so it might still have a beneficial effect.
Thanks for leading me to Mountain Rose store (link in the last paragraph). GREAT online store with the best prices I’ve seen! I bought a gallon of unrefined coconut oil, a pound of gunpowder green tea (only $9 and it’s $35 at my local natural foods market – I can’t even buy it here, it’s so expensive), a lb of broccoli sprouts (miracle food) and some cheesecloth (unbleached organic cotton). Very good lead, thanks!!!
Sounds like an awesome order! I love Mountain Rose Herbs. Hubby and I are getting into tea drinking right now and I need to order some from them. My local store has ridiculous prices, too.
Also try Garden of Life, they make a good Coconut Oil. Mountain Rose Herbs is nice, but their postage is high.
Thanks,
Deborah
Is coconut oil okay to use if you have high blood pressure?
As far as I know, yes, coconut oil is safe to use if you have high blood pressure. But if you are concerned, you and your doctor can monitor your blood pressure after introducing coconut oil to your diet to confirm this.
Hmm, when I was growing up in the islands, the natives always told us never to use coconut oil internally. I’m confused about all the buzz about this “new” superfood. Can someone please give me more info on the downside (I have lots of info on the good properties) so I can figure out why we were always told to avoid it (except we were told to use it everywhere externally – hair, skin even as an awesome floor wax).
Thanks.
It’s quite possible they had been told coconut oil causes heart disease. For a few decades in the 20th century, coconut oil was regarded as a downright dangerous food because of its high saturated fat content. This was obviously based on misinformation and faulty studies, but the message was pervasive and many people avoided coconut oil like the plague.
That is why they stopped using the coconut oil in movie theater popcorn. Wish they would put it back to that.
Me too! I know a few people who sneak in their own coconut oil popcorn though. 😉
That was palm oil, not coconut oil that several place would fry and pop popcorn with.
It is truly amazing stuff!
I’m wanting to incorporate more coconut oil into my diet. Do you have a suggestion for recipes and substitutions? Also, when mentioning taking coconut oil before/with meals, how do you eat it? I don’t think I could just swallow a spoonful of hard coconut oil.
Thanks for the information.
For the most part, I cook and bake with coconut oil, which helps get a lot more of it into my diet without much effort. To take it before a meal, I just add it to hot tea or coffee so it melts and is easier to take.
I just eat it off the spoon. It actually tastes good and coconut oil will melt at skin temperature. My biggest problem is fighting off the cats. They want some too.
LOL! I have to shoo away my cats and dogs when I use coconut oil as a moisturizer!
give your cats a teaspoon of coconut oil it is good for them too!!gets rid of parasites and helps their kidneys!!!
Good idea! My cats and dogs LOVE eating coconut oil.
I too use Coconut oil, and I love it! I have no problem taking it straight from a spoon, but I understand not everyone is fond of that. It actually taste amazing. However, for those of you wanting to know how to use it, I cook with it in every meal I pretty much make. If I cook for the family I use a couple of tablespoons and if it’s for me, I use a couple of teaspoons. For anyone that uses Pinterest, there are tons of recipes with Coconut oil, there are even people who have sites dedicated to everything coconut. Don’t be afraid of coconut oil, it is medicine.
Coconut oil really is surprisingly easy to incorporate into daily cooking once you get the hang of it. I sincerely wish society as a whole would go back to using coconut oil in baked goods instead of modern industrial oils–it would make a tremendous difference!
I recently started taking coconut oil supplements. The recommended dosage was 9 a day with food. I started with 6. I started having heart palpitations all day long. I quit taking the coconut oil and the palpitations stopped. I’m wondering if I should have started with a lower dose. Any idea what causes this? Maybe aside effect from of the yeast dying off? Thanks!
I’ve read of a few individuals who have heart palpitations after eating coconut oil (perhaps because coconut oil can boost thyroid productions, which can raise your heart rate). However, the amount of coconut oil in softgels is very small. There is a possibility that something in the supplement was causing as reaction as well.
I read that you would have to take 45 pills to = 3.5 tbsps of coconut oil. I’ll pass on the pills but i’ve been swallowing my oil! Feel so much better!
Did anyone know this? Extra Virgin Olive Oil isn’t worth the money if you are going to use it to cook. The minute you get it up to a warm temperature, everything that was good in the oil, simply evaporates to nothing. It no longer has any beneficial elements. Use the oil your salads, but not your frying pans.
Good point. My chief concern with any olive oil is whether it is actually 100% olive oil at all. There have been a lot of concerns that most olive oils (extra virgin or no) contain other unhealthy vegetable oils: http://www.foodrenegade.com/your-extravirgin-olive-oil-fake/
That’s why I always make sure to buy from trusted companies that offer only pure olive oil.
Hi I’m on a bit of a mission to drop a couple of kilos. I’ve been trying to stick to a 1200 per day calorie intake. If I include coconut oil I’ve noticed it really ups the calories – my question is, does the metabolism burning effect negate the extra calories – should i even count the energy (calories) from the coconut oil I’m consuming (approx 2 tblspns per day)? Thanks!
Hi Sally, your calorie intake is very low, barely enough to run your basic bodily functions (depending on your size). That alone will slow your metabolism significantly, because your body perceives this kind of calorie restriction as starvation (your body doesn’t know what diets are, but it does know what famines are, and they are really the same thing!). So my first thought is that upping your calories is a good thing!
Your body needs energy for thyroid and metabolic health. Otherwise your metabolic rate just slows down to compensate and you end up needing to eat less and less calories to lose weight, while your body starves for the energy it needs to perform optimally.
As a side note, I’ve always noticed that adding coconut oil to my normal diet never seems to cause weight gain, even when it adds to my total calorie intake. I’ve noticed many others say they’ve experienced the same thing, though I’m sure not everyone does.
Listen to your body and see how it responds. Calories in vs. calories out can be a useful tool, but it should never overshadow your own biofeedback.
the thought of 3 Tablespoons of coconut oil at 130 each is a whole meal. I am trying to loose 40 lbs and this number scares me to try this!
Actually, coconut oil is only 100 calories per tablespoon. I would recommend replacing some of the normal fat in your diet with coconut oil to make a more even exchange, and make the change slowly so you can see how it’s affecting your body. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. 🙂
I’m a big fan of coconut oil too and I appreciate you spreading the good news! Besides everything else, it’s delicious!
Thanks, Lesli!
We’re just beginning to incorporate coconut oil into our diet. I have all the symptoms of a thyroid problem and my Dr. can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong. I’ve tried taking a teaspoon and drinking it in tea, but it just gives me nausea and I feel sick sick sick the rest of the day and it gives me the runs later! Ack! I have never been a “low fat” eater, but do you think I’m having problems digesting the coconut oil?
You could be. What kind of coconut oil do you use? I’ve known some people to have problems digesting extra virgin coconut oil and do better on refined expeller-pressed coconut oil.
Extra Virgin. I’ll try using refined (I have that too!) and see if that makes a difference.
Let me know how it works out!