low carb, high fat

dancinrascal

Anyone have any opinions on this way of eating/success stories? I've tried veganism, vegetarianism, high carb low fat, high protein, and low carb low fat. The one that was the best was low carb low fat, but it was too low in everything! The reason why I was wondering about low carb high fat is because I gained weight eating high carb (no grains but LOTS of fruit). Thanks all!

dancinrascal

anybody?

magerum

Honestly I see the best results with counting calories while eating a balance of everything. Hit your minimums in protein & fatvand let the rest fall where they may. Less stressful too.

fadedflower79

I just started a ketogenic style diet and trying to balance at 65%fats 25%protein and 10%carbs. I have lost 6 lbs in one week but I also take a multivitamin and a fiber supplement.

princessputz

I eat low carb high fat (yes my diary is open) the last few days haven't been so great but hey no ones perfect . I've had zero success just merely counting calories. I eat around 50-60% fat 30-40% protein and the rest are carbs. Usually I average about 30-40 net carbs (carbs less fiber). If you don't have any type of metabolic disorder you may not have to restrict them so much, try eating lots of lean protein, non starchy veg, no grains, berries (if you must), cheese, nuts etc.

I highly recommend it, it works for me, 55 (or so days) and I've lost 34 lbs! Feel free to creep my profile for progress photos, diary or even friend me.

Good luck!

Melampus

When I first started out on MFP I just started logging and trying to make my calorie target. What I found is that I could make some quick wins to reduce the total calorie count by reducing some of the carb rich foods I was eating, for example by eating less breakfast cereal, not having big plates of pasta etc. I did not increase either the amount of fat or the amount of protein I ate in abolute terms and was able to lose weight without being hungry. Of course, reducing carbs while keeping the others the same means that fat supplies a bigger proportion of my energy than it did.

I have since done some reading in low carb diets.

fadedflower79

I am like princessputz, counting calories has never worked for me. I had 1200-1600 calories every day for two months with exercise and lost only 5 lbs. It was beyond discouraging.

If people are insulin resistant simply counting calories wont always work. I know I needed to seriously avoid sugars (even from fruit) and watch my carbs. By doing this my body will use my fat reserves for energy instead of glucose. When I eat carbs/sugars, it basically stops glucagon from working. Glucagon stimulates breakdown of glycogen stored in the liver. So the way I understand it, if we are eating sugars and carbs, we are never impacting our stored fat.

Several people also follow a keto style diet to "starve" breast cancer and to limit or avoid seizures for people with epilepsy. Just make sure you get 20 carbs a day from veggies! My food log isn't the best to follow, I need more lean proteins and carbs from veggies and not from my coffee creamer...

Pumpitusa

I agree with magerum Ive tried almost everthing and that is the best and safest.Use these tools makes it easy.

dancinrascal

thanks everyone!!

PrimalSiren

I lost ALL of my excess weight doing this. I started out at 180 lbs in October 2011 and by May 2012 I was at 130 lbs. I didn't count calories one time during this time. It was easy and effortless, but then again I can't eat wheat or gluten. I still eat this way for the most part and I LOVE it. I've upped my carbs a bit and shifted my macros to accamodate my heavy lifting schedule. I've maintained my weight since the initial loss effortlessly and without the need to count calories. Now that I've shifted my goals from weight loss to muscle gain I've had to watch my calories and increase the amount I'm eating to keep my gains with lifting steady.

ktully93

Bump to follow.

chrisdavey

I just started a ketogenic style diet and trying to balance at 65%fats 25%protein and 10%carbs. I have lost 6 lbs in one week but I also take a multivitamin and a fiber supplement.

Hate to tell you this but that is not fat loss. That is water weight fluctuations.

Lower carb is a good idea for insulin resistant people. Keto is not a requirement.

And going into ketosis forces your body to uses fat as fuel. This does not necessarily mean it is from stored fat seeing as how your dietary fat intake is increased. As well as this, you need to take into account exercise performance. Any sort of anaerobic actitvity will primarly use glycogen for energy. Try going a week on low carbs and then do a low rep, heavy weight workout. Then do the same thing but refeed the day before with high carbs/low fat and see what the difference in performance is.

astrovivi

I just started a ketogenic style diet and trying to balance at 65%fats 25%protein and 10%carbs. I have lost 6 lbs in one week but I also take a multivitamin and a fiber supplement.

Hate to tell you this but that is not fat loss. That is water weight fluctuations.

Lower carb is a good idea for insulin resistant people. Keto is not a requirement.

And going into ketosis forces your body to uses fat as fuel. This does not necessarily mean it is from stored fat seeing as how your dietary fat intake is increased. As well as this, you need to take into account exercise performance. Any sort of anaerobic actitvity will primarly use glycogen for energy. Try going a week on low carbs and then do a low rep, heavy weight workout. Then do the same thing but refeed the day before with high carbs/low fat and see what the difference in performance is.

^^ THIS ^^

witchy_wife

I tend to follow a keto diet, I have PCOS and find when I eat carbs, I find it so so difficult to stick to a calorie goal. Even things like carbs from fruits and starchy veg kicks off my cravings. It's not impossible for me to lose weight with a low cal diet, just it feels very tough and like hard work for the results I get.

Yes, when you start eating low carb you lose a lot of water. It's not unusual to see between 5-10lbs in your first week or so. If you did it for a week then started eating carbs again that weight would mostly go back on. I think to have success on this diet you have to think in the long term.

Losing weight doesn't come from low carb, it comes from reduced calories, as with all diets. But for me, eating a keto diet really helps stop cravings for junk and fast food, the food I eat fills me up and keeps me feeling satisfied. So all this helps me to stick to around 1600-1800 calories a day (a level that I lose weight at).

Some people have lost a heck of a lot of weight following this kind of diet. It can work very well for some people, but it certainly isn't needed to lose weight for everyone. I really wish I was one of those people who can eat porridge and fruits and throw in the odd pizza or cupcake and still manage to stay within my calories and lose weight. But I am not, it seems whenever I eat things like that I just start craving more and more, it's like someone flipped a greedy switch!! And I can try and ignore the cravings but I just end up feeling miserable. So for me, I think a keto style diet will be a long term part of my life.

witchy_wife

Oh and with regards to exercise, I feel fine exercising on a keto diet, however I am not an athlete or training for any competitions lol.

I do weight sessions with about 15 mins of high intensity cardio after, three times a week, and manage to add some weight most weeks. And then twice a week some more steady cardio such as walking (normally between 5-10 miles) or an hour swimming. For this, my keto diet has been sufficient. Perhaps I would have better results if I was taking in plenty of carbs, but for me that mean a constant struggle with my diet. The way I am working is fine for me, I am losing weight and not feeling like my diet is a huge struggle and feeling miserable.

Maybe once I am closer to goal I might try doing carb re-feeds before my workouts for a better workout, I don't know. At the moment this is working well for my weight loss.

lhourin

Works for me. Got my 6-pack back by eating reallllllly high-fat, and my bloodwork is much better than it was when I was also very lean but ate a more typical low-fat/high-carb diet. If you look at the science of how insulin works and what raises it and what that does to a body, it's sort of a no-brainer (though I was into the calories in-calories out dogma, thought "low-carbers" were totally crazy, and high fat would kill ya for years...it took an initial jolt of "Wtf??" and then a LOT of research to change my very ingrained thinking, but the numbers don't lie.)

learnerdriver

When I first started out on MFP I just started logging and trying to make my calorie target. What I found is that I could make some quick wins to reduce the total calorie count by reducing some of the carb rich foods I was eating, for example by eating less breakfast cereal, not having big plates of pasta etc. I did not increase either the amount of fat or the amount of protein I ate in abolute terms and was able to lose weight without being hungry. Of course, reducing carbs while keeping the others the same means that fat supplies a bigger proportion of my energy than it did.

I'm doing this, but also trying to up protein. keep aiming for 100

TheVimFuego

I did ketogenic for a bit, went well to start then my body told me I was stalling ( energy dips, no great fat loss on not many more calories than I'm on right now and doing well) so I switched back to everything in moderation.

I'm glad I did it as I think I was intolerant of carbs and needed a reset, I could never go a few hours without needing to eat back then now I can go through the day and, in fact, just have.

AquaFitQueen

I tend to follow a keto diet, I have PCOS and find when I eat carbs, I find it so so difficult to stick to a calorie goal. Even things like carbs from fruits and starchy veg kicks off my cravings. It's not impossible for me to lose weight with a low cal diet, just it feels very tough and like hard work for the results I get.

Yes, when you start eating low carb you lose a lot of water. It's not unusual to see between 5-10lbs in your first week or so. If you did it for a week then started eating carbs again that weight would mostly go back on. I think to have success on this diet you have to think in the long term.

Losing weight doesn't come from low carb, it comes from reduced calories, as with all diets. But for me, eating a keto diet really helps stop cravings for junk and fast food, the food I eat fills me up and keeps me feeling satisfied. So all this helps me to stick to around 1600-1800 calories a day (a level that I lose weight at).

Some people have lost a heck of a lot of weight following this kind of diet. It can work very well for some people, but it certainly isn't needed to lose weight for everyone. I really wish I was one of those people who can eat porridge and fruits and throw in the odd pizza or cupcake and still manage to stay within my calories and lose weight. But I am not, it seems whenever I eat things like that I just start craving more and more, it's like someone flipped a greedy switch!! And I can try and ignore the cravings but I just end up feeling miserable. So for me, I think a keto style diet will be a long term part of my life.

This x's a million!

I have pcos, IR, and binge eating disorder. At the end of the day it IS about calories, but for me a big part in keeping calories under control is keeping cravings far far away and being full. The more carbs I eat, the harder it is to stick to calorie goals. This is not a personality defect, I have severe hormone issues with the PCOS.

I do not recommend my way of eating for anyone other than myself, but I have had pretty amazing results. In the past 5 days I have lost 6 inches off of my waist....and smaller clothes is just as rewarding as lb loss.

Too many people assume if something works for them then it MUST work across the board. This is false. Everyone needs to work out what their body needs to succeed.

mrdexter1

I just started a ketogenic style diet and trying to balance at 65%fats 25%protein and 10%carbs. I have lost 6 lbs in one week but I also take a multivitamin and a fiber supplement.

Hate to tell you this but that is not fat loss. That is water weight fluctuations.

Lower carb is a good idea for insulin resistant people. Keto is not a requirement.

And going into ketosis forces your body to uses fat as fuel. This does not necessarily mean it is from stored fat seeing as how your dietary fat intake is increased. As well as this, you need to take into account exercise performance. Any sort of anaerobic actitvity will primarly use glycogen for energy. Try going a week on low carbs and then do a low rep, heavy weight workout. Then do the same thing but refeed the day before with high carbs/low fat and see what the difference in performance is.

by my eleventh day on less than 20 carbs and well into ketosis eating 66% protein 33% fat and 1800 cals i had the energy of a bull and was able to train to the limit ... Re fed on sunday ( 3000 cals, 400 carbs ) and my workout monday was in a much lesser league , so i d have to strongly disagree based on personal experience.
Cant wait to be back in full ketosis as i love the feeling of wellbeing, the warm muscles and the dramatic weight loss and cant for the life of me see anything but disadvantage to using a normal restrictive diet and counting calories on everything everyday and feeling hungry as its a sure fire way to "go off the rails" .

I seem particularly suseptable to the "beta- hydroxybutyrate" ( BHP) which is probably why i so enjoy the keto diet and i d suggest anyone doing keto and in full ketosis (sub 20 carbs) that is not benefitting as should be is eating the wrong type of fats or have their macros out.

Lupercalia

I just started a ketogenic style diet and trying to balance at 65%fats 25%protein and 10%carbs. I have lost 6 lbs in one week but I also take a multivitamin and a fiber supplement.

Hate to tell you this but that is not fat loss. That is water weight fluctuations.

Lower carb is a good idea for insulin resistant people. Keto is not a requirement.

And going into ketosis forces your body to uses fat as fuel. This does not necessarily mean it is from stored fat seeing as how your dietary fat intake is increased. As well as this, you need to take into account exercise performance. Any sort of anaerobic actitvity will primarly use glycogen for energy. Try going a week on low carbs and then do a low rep, heavy weight workout. Then do the same thing but refeed the day before with high carbs/low fat and see what the difference in performance is.

THIS.

I started out eating a very low carb diet (I have PCOS and am insulin resistant), and was in ketosis for some months. My weekly weight loss was good, but it wasn't anything spectacular or beyond what is normal for anyone counting calories and exercising. I was losing around a pound and a half each week after I got past the initial big losses of the first month or so.

When I started lifting heavy, which was about three months later, I found I could not do it on that very low carb intake. I was miserable and had to force myself to go to the gym, which was really unlike me. I adjusted my carbs up a notch and all was well. As I've lost fat and continued with the lifting, my insulin sensitivity has really improved to a great degree. I still can't eat carbs with abandon like healthy people can, but I have found that now I can tolerate about twice as many carbs as I could in the initial stages of my epic fat loss quest. Hooray for a bit of fruit and sweet potatoes!

AquaFitQueen

When I started lifting heavy, which was about three months later, I found I could not do it on that very low carb intake. I was miserable and had to force myself to go to the gym, which was really unlike me. I adjusted my carbs up a notch and all was well. As I've lost fat and continued with the lifting, my insulin sensitivity has really improved to a great degree. I still can't eat carbs with abandon like healthy people can, but I have found that now I can tolerate about twice as many carbs as I could in the initial stages of my epic fat loss quest. Hooray for a bit of fruit and sweet potatoes!

This is where I hope to end up. With a balanced semi low carb diet and heavy lifting. Right now though I am sedentary due to disability and super low carb is the best way to reduce weight to fit into BMI charts so I can get my hips replaced. All of the research I have read in the past month about low carbing and ketosis actually advises higher carbs for those working out at regular intervals.

Snow3y

Low carb for what? low energy? Just eat normally, with a deficit if wanting to lose

mjschumacher100

Going low carb or keto is crazy unless you are using it as intervention for some kind of metabolic or medical issue. If you're at 50% body fat then fine, if you have ADHD or autism then fine but otherwise don't do it. Yes you can lose significant weight in the short term but you won't sustain it, much will be water weight and your energy levels will die.

One reason low carb works is that many crappy foods/calorie dense are also high in carb so people think it's the lack of carbs that result in weight loss when actually it's just the cutting out of a ton of calories.

Everyone is different, some can eat more carbs than others but to go to either end of any spectrum is crazy. It's not sustainable and you'll have wasted a ton of time and feel like crap.

Eat sensibly, in moderation, don't limit yourself to specific food groups, don't treat 'treats' like something special, just eat them, make sure you're in a decent macro and calorie range and all will be fine.

People like to complicate things, many people like to push things on the basis of hype and often for money.

It's all very simple, don't do anything extreme. Don't eat like a pig. Enjoy all foods no matter how 'unhealthy' others think they might be. Keep within a calorie range that suits you, get some exercise every now and again and be happy. Oh, and sleep.

LilMissDB

by my eleventh day on less than 20 carbs and well into ketosis eating 66% protein, 1800kcal

That's a LOT of protein! Nearly 300g/day. Even if your lean body mass was 100kg (which I'm thinking is generous for most people), it would still be 0.47g nitrogen/kg! There's no way your body can cope with that, maximum protein utilisation sits at around 0.3g nitrogen/kg. Maybe something to think about.

gombolyu

I am in maintenance mode for about 6 months eating around 2.000 kcals a day. I eat moderate carbs (100 net) higher in fat and protein (higher carb days time-to-time). I am still loosing weight. I eat my breakfast in the afternoon and my dinner after midnight as I feel good.

When I went down with my carb intake I felt terrible for about 10 days, but I counted on that. Sometimes I felt weird about my fat intake as all my friends eat low fat, but this seems to be working for me, so I dont worry anymore. I feel good. No cravings. I am healthier, and no more headaches.:) I had even 3 days migraine attacks before.

It is also true that I try to eat clean.

diamier

Honestly I see the best results with counting calories while eating a balance of everything. Hit your minimums in protein & fatvand let the rest fall where they may. Less stressful too.

Yeah, I see it less stressful too. You're not limited with foods and in my opinion, you can loose weight at the same pace and be in better mood if you balance the foods and follow a normal healthy diet. It's just simplier.

mazdauk

Going low carb or keto is crazy unless you are using it as intervention for some kind of metabolic or medical issue. If you're at 50% body fat then fine, if you have ADHD or autism then fine but otherwise don't do it. Yes you can lose significant weight in the short term but you won't sustain it, much will be water weight and your energy levels will die.

One reason low carb works is that many crappy foods/calorie dense are also high in carb so people think it's the lack of carbs that result in weight loss when actually it's just the cutting out of a ton of calories.

Everyone is different, some can eat more carbs than others but to go to either end of any spectrum is crazy. It's not sustainable and you'll have wasted a ton of time and feel like crap.

Eat sensibly, in moderation, don't limit yourself to specific food groups, don't treat 'treats' like something special, just eat them, make sure you're in a decent macro and calorie range and all will be fine.

People like to complicate things, many people like to push things on the basis of hype and often for money.

It's all very simple, don't do anything extreme. Don't eat like a pig. Enjoy all foods no matter how 'unhealthy' others think they might be. Keep within a calorie range that suits you, get some exercise every now and again and be happy. Oh, and sleep.

Very sensible advice.

I've lost all my weight just by sticking to the MFP calorie recomendation (including eating back my exercise calories). I don't spend hours in the gym, but I do lots of small bits which add up - 20 min workout before breakfast, walk to and from work and at lucnhtime, 25-40 min workout at home before dinner in the week, longer walks at weekends.

If you're going to exercise (which I recomend both for health and to give you some extra calories) you will need carbs. Rather than cut them (unless you have a particular medical condition), weigh them - a 75g pasta portion looks tiny when you weigh it out dry, but it is actually enough if you bulk it out with plenty of veggies, lean protein(or oily fish like salmon, sardines etc.) etc.

If you eat a varied diet including ALL food groups (including healthy fats from nuts etc.) within your calorie goals thew eight will start to come off - set your target for about 1lb a week, invest in a food scale and you'll be pleased with the results.

witchy_wife

Honestly I see the best results with counting calories while eating a balance of everything. Hit your minimums in protein & fatvand let the rest fall where they may. Less stressful too.

Yeah, I see it less stressful too. You're not limited with foods and in my opinion, you can loose weight at the same pace and be in better mood if you balance the foods and follow a normal healthy diet. It's just simplier.

It's simpler or less stressful in your opinion. For me personally, eating a diet that has more than around 100g of carbs a day really increases my hunger and causes me to crave more higher carb foods. So while I agree that what you suggest may work for *most* people, it isn't always what works best for *all* people. If I am hungry all day and spend my time thinking about food and wanting to eat bread, pasta or even sweet potato (all which cause me to want more food and set off a horrible hunger where I can seriously eat all day) then that kind of diet is not simple or less stressful.

I find nothing complicated or stressful with my keto diet. It's quite the opposite actually, not feeling hungry all the time or constantly craving food is really quite wonderful after spending years miserable on a reduced calorie, reduced fat diet.... trying and failing to lose weight.

I certainly don't believe that everyone should do it, I think the amount of people who actually benefit from a keto diet is quite small. But for some people, it can be extremely beneficial if the regular "just eat healthily and stick to your calories" kind of diet makes life extremely hard work.

witchy_wife

If you're going to exercise (which I recomend both for health and to give you some extra calories) you will need carbs.

Just to reply to that part of your post, I exercise 5 times a week and eat usually between 15 - 20g of net carbs a day. While your body adjusts you can feel very low on energy, but the myth that you can't exercise if you don't eat plenty of carbs is simply not true.

Maybe I would be able to work out a little longer, lift more weight, work at a higher intensity if I ate more carbs? I don't really know. Maybe I would be able to do more. But I do plenty enough for me and am sure there are people doing lots of exercise on very little carbs so to just say to do exercise you need carbs is not strictly true.

lhourin

If you're going to exercise (which I recomend both for health and to give you some extra calories) you will need carbs.

Not really. But if you want to eat them, eat them! Jeez.