Opinions / Experiance on Low Carb, High Fat, Moderate Protein Diet

dancafc1995

Hi guys so this is my first week at being on a Low carb mod protein high fat diet, according to the scales i have lost around 2 pounds so i know something is going correctly. I honestly do not have a lot of weight to lose as i am 19 years old, 5 foot 9, 158 pounds, im really doing this as i want to shed a bit of belly fat but also change my diet to one that i can sustain and make myself healthier in the long term. This first week has not gone to bad, i seem to be filling up a lot quicker on High fat, Moderate protein and Low Carb, Before this week by the time i reached around 2000-2300 calories i would be hungry for more sweets, biscuits, that sort of thing, but now its like my body knows when it is naturally full. An example of the sorts of foods i have been eating are -
Steaks, Lean meats, Eggs, Fish such as Sardines or Tuna, Full fat mayonnaise, Peanut Butter, Almonds, Walnuts, and Vegetables and salads such as Tomatoes, Iceberg lettuce, Cucumber, Carrots, that sort of thing. Most days i try to keep my carb intake anywhere from 20g to 50g of carbs, Fat usually is around 90g - 120g a day and protein is around 150g - 180g a day. So what do you think guys? is this diet working for any of you, can you give me any tips?, i would appreciate any feedback thanks, Dan also my diary is open.

deansdad101

dancafc1995 wrote: »

Hi guys so this is my first week at being on a Low carb mod protein high fat diet, according to the scales i have lost around 2 pounds so i know something is going correctly. I honestly do not have a lot of weight to lose as i am 19 years old, 5 foot 9, 158 pounds, im really doing this as i want to shed a bit of belly fat but also change my diet to one that i can sustain and make myself healthier in the long term. This first week has not gone to bad, i seem to be filling up a lot quicker on High fat, Moderate protein and Low Carb, Before this week by the time i reached around 2000-2300 calories i would be hungry for more sweets, biscuits, that sort of thing, but now its like my body knows when it is naturally full. An example of the sorts of foods i have been eating are -
Steaks, Lean meats, Eggs, Fish such as Sardines or Tuna, Full fat mayonnaise, Peanut Butter, Almonds, Walnuts, and Vegetables and salads such as Tomatoes, Iceberg lettuce, Cucumber, Carrots, that sort of thing. Most days i try to keep my carb intake anywhere from 20g to 50g of carbs, Fat usually is around 90g - 120g a day and protein is around 150g - 180g a day. So what do you think guys? is this diet working for any of you, can you give me any tips?, i would appreciate any feedback thanks, Dan also my diary is open.

Dan;

I didn't run all the numbers but going on what you provided it looks like you are off to a pretty good start - with one exception, protein.

Your LBM (lean body mass) is ~120 (unless you know it for sure) which at 0.5-0.6/# works out to something closer to 60-70g.

IIWY, I'd drop my target to 65 or so and add the balance to fat.

Assuming you are looking only to LCHF (and not fat adaptation) you'll be fine at 20-50 carbs and combined with reducing (better yet, eliminating) sugar (in all its forms), grains, vegetable oils, HFCS, and "hidden" carbs - you'll be fine.

If you stick to your limits it's likely you will become fat adapted - eventually, but it'll take time (think months, not days) but if you maintain current protein levels or exceed 100 carbs on a regular basis, not likely.

5' 9" @ 158 = 23.9 BMI which puts you in the "normal" range (which is great) but not all that far away from 25 (which is the pearly gates of "overweight".
I'd be more concerned about that "gut" (abdominal fat is a killer) - especially at your age.

You're young, presumably in great health.
Now's the time to stop it in its tracks while you can.
(Trust me when I tell you - it gets harder and harder with every year that passes) - not to mention the negative impact on your body that adds up every year.

khemistrygirl

Your protein seems toohigh. I ran you through a very popular calculator, assuming you are moderately active since you're a 19 year old guy at a normal weight (adjust as needed):
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

It's pretty funny, since when I plug in your numbers a picture comes up that says "Your Protein is Too Damn High!"

Here's what I get when I rework your macros using a few assumptions (please actually fill out the thing to get a more accurate value):

2268 kcal Daily Calorie Intake
40 g Carbohydrates (7%, 160 kcal)
90 g Protein (16%, 360 kcal)
194 g Fat (77%, 1748 kcal)

The above represents a very minor cal deficient and assumes you are working out. Since you are at average weight, you might also consider more toning/weight lifting to bring out definition.

khemistrygirl

also, stop with the lean meats (unless you are just eating through what is left in your fridge). Or put some butter/cheese on it. Lean meats are less useful in keto. Higher fat meat helps adjust your fat grams up (which hopefully results in you getting full and not eating so much damn protein).

dancafc1995

Thanks for the advice guys, so would i be ok to eat around 100g of protein a day?.

deansdad101

dancafc1995 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice guys, so would i be ok to eat around 100g of protein a day?.

Dan;

Maybe.....maybe not (depending on how you define "ok".

If you mean "safe" - the answer is almost certainly "yes".

If you mean "is that the "best" level for me" - no one here can answer that except you (too much variation between individuals and too many personal details we don't know that you do.

Unless you are in training for a 100 marathon or the Mr Wherever BB&WL Crown - 100 is more than enough - BUT, if you truly are at 250 now (per your diary) you probably don't want to make that big of a change all at once (same thing with carbs).

Set your numbers to the model Khem suggested and do your best to be able to reach them EVERY DAY.

When you are able to hit them every day it will be time to re-evaluate and reset the numbers (and you will likely have already seen many positive results).

It will likely take you some time to "learn" how to adjust your menu(s) to do so - that's fine, none of us were born knowing this stuff, we all had to start at square one.

Look at other's diaries for examples of how others do it and DON'T expect it to happen overnight - it takes some time.