low carb / high fat diet success anyone ?

obmckenzie

I'm down 15lbs and the husband is down 25lbs since Jan 1. I love LCHF. I'll probably never go back to the "recommended" full carb amount. I expect to probably stay LC forever. I love the feeling of LCHF. I'm so much more alert. So much more energy! The clear skin and better sleep totally helps too.

Best thng, don't even miss that sugary stuff!

Natmarie73

So what amount of carbs would be considered to be "low carb"?

yarwell

So what amount of carbs would be considered to be "low carb"?

Less than 130 grams perhaps, as that is below a suggested amount used by the brain. Or less than 100. Less than 50 is probably best called "ketogenic" although that number could be as low as 20 for an individual.

Maybe less than 30% of calories.

Very subjective, in other words.

Lettee4

i've been eating low carb, high fat for 13 months now. i usually aim for under 30g carbs in a day, and try and get over 70% of my energy from fat. best thing ever, i cant even imagine eating differently now. i feel great and i've lost a heeeeap of weight too

allysteven880

I have also tried low Carb, high protein and moderate fat in my diet plan. iIt works for me to get fit.

vanguardfitness

Nothing like trying to squat and deadlift on a low carb diet. Quite the experience.

If you're doing 5 reps or less there is no difference. Although if you're attempting to do widow makers, good luck on low carb

Scubanana7

Bulletproof coffee is great. Sometimes I add cinnamon or unsweetened quality cocoa...or both! It is such an easy great breakfast!

ge105

I've been following Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint Diet. My husband lost 45 pounds about 1 1/2 years ago and has kept it off. I'm down 10 pounds in 1 1/2 weeks which has been pretty easy to follow. My hardest part is flavored creamer in my morning coffee has been replaced with half and half. I say do whatever works for you :-)

Ditto, Sissons work is awsome. Lost 35-40lbs- no counting or weighing. Im not sure exactly how much I lost because I quit weighing myself when I was heavy. Also, I had a weakness for french vanilla coffee creamer before. Love it black now- most things are too sweet for my taste these days.

helendennis

I've been following a low carb diet for 3 months now and I've lost around 9kg!

After the first tough couple of weeks the plan got much easier to follow and very rarely find myself craving carbs any more

I do miss chocolate though!

ladymiseryali

I've been keto-ing since July. I'm down 30 lbs! If that's not success, then I don't know what is.

juliesummers

Can someone explain to me (or link me to a forum about) Bulletproof coffee and the supposed benefits?

finnegandiet

This diet looks very Interesting.
I am taking in about 1400 Calories per day but very high in Carbs. I have been cutting the fats out
This certainly seems a more fun way to do things!
Anyone on the LCHF diet or curious about adopting it add me!

yarwell

Can someone explain to me (or link me to a forum about) Bulletproof coffee and the supposed benefits?

http://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-coffee-recipe/

Just a fat delivery vehicle really, for those on high fat diets.

195to135

ANOTHER QUESTION, within my question, do you eat during a certain "window" timeless ? Like, . I read have BP coffee in am, then don't eat your 1st meal until 12 or 1, eat up until 7pm, then fast. True ?

I do Keto and its hard to get started but I feel it was worth it.
I eat anytime I want, was doing 20 grams carbs and have upped it too 40 grams just because I'm working out more and have discovered I love whipped cream, I'm not a coffee drinker so idk about BPC or about the timing you're asking about and I never fasted aside from when i'm sleeping.
I eat as soon as I wake up before going to the gym then on and off all day and finish the day off by snacking before bed.

I'm 5' tall and most days end between 1300-1600 net calories though some days i'm as high as 2000 calories and Jan's numbers were -
Jan 2nd, 2014 - Feb 1st, 2014 -
13 pounds lost and down 7 inches overall.

amandahelton

Interested in this...following it

sevencallmemom

It's not for everyone, but it's the only thing that has ever worked for me.

ETA: I eat at least 2500 cals/25ish carbs per day

pagepiercekuepper

I have tried low carb before, but I find it difficult to give up certain things (like brown rice or a bit of sweetener in my tea). I am curious, though, because I am still debating if it is a WOE that I should just commit to, will you gain weight if you add regular carbs back in-like a sandwich or a bowl of cereal?

195to135

I have tried low carb before, but I find it difficult to give up certain things (like brown rice or a bit of sweetener in my tea). I am curious, though, because I am still debating if it is a WOE that I should just commit to, will you gain weight if you add regular carbs back in-like a sandwich or a bowl of cereal?

I gain a few pounds of water weight every time I carb up but as long as I don't go crazy over my calories the water weight is gone after a few days. I don't do cereal and if I want a sandwich I make cloud bread my carb cravings come in the form of chips so take advantage of my carb up days to enjoy them :happy:

Keliandra

Started LCHF on Jan 16, when the docs told me I'm diabetic. I eat 20% carbs (90g or less) 20% protein (90g or less) and 60% fat (120g). As of this morning's weigh in, I have lost 9.4 pounds. I haven't been hungry, I have more energy, I sleep better. My forearm measurement is down by 1/2". I tried Medifast for a year, spent a lot of money and lost 65+ pounds. I couldn't maintain it; it was just too hard for me. I also did low fat with moderate protein and high carb, and that didnt work either.

As for the diabetes, I take 20 units of insulin a day now, and between that and the lowered carb intake, my fasting BG is down over 75 points.

I also supplement with fermented cod liver oil (2 caps/day) and phytosterols (4caps/day).

I hAven't tried the bulletproof coffee. I like mine. 3 Tbs of nestle creme brulee and 2 Tbs of heavy cream. I prefer the cream from raw milk when I can get it, but will use store bought when I can't.

I do what works for me. Every body and metabolism is different, and what works for one person, may not work for another.

4MissRose

I did low carb for 3 weeks and lost close to 10lbs. It was okay, I find that it curbs your appetite. Then, I stopped denying myself of carbs and I gained it back... and then some. So it's not for everybody, but you can get results. It's a long term lifestyle and you have to ask yourself if you're up for this particular ride or if another method would be more sustainable for you. I'll always choose cake over steak, low carb is not for me!

ChoiceNotChance

Bump to follow.

arussell700

Lmao you are definitely right about that. By the 6th rep i start to feel light headed

algwynt

what is bulletproof coffee

tennisdude2004

I'm on my first week of this. Choose it bc I like nuts, coconut oil, then found out about bulletproof coffee (yum) and just wondering if anyone else has tried it, and how your macros worked out. There is a group on here but not very active.
I actually am doing quite well with it. No cravings for sweets & I used to have a killer sweet tooth. I baked & iced a cake tonite for the family & wasn't tempted to lick the spoon, beaters, or have any icing that got on my fingers ! Seems great so far ! PRETTY SURE it's due to the fact I'm eating & drinking 100g of fat/day. Around 50carbs,(1500cal) which I fear might be too many, but I don't want to go any lower than that. It's way better than where I was....and the scale has started to move, water weight I know. Anyone else tried tried this ?

Hi a couple of sites I've found useful for dieting advice and fitness are.

www.marksdailyapple.com
www.nerdfitness.com

Tie those in with MFP and for me its a great combination.

Good luck.

determined2bfit

following...

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Is bulletproof coffee nice? Never like the thought of putting butter in coffee

Just make sure to use unsalted grass fed butter. Salted is kind of ewwwww

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Oh bulletproof is sooo rich, of course, I like unsweetened dark coco with mine, some people don't. To those who do hflc, is it a big deal to be over on fat ? Chicken wings were going to happen tonite macro wise, I could've absolutely fit it in - but would've been 6 over on fat grams. Do you ever do that ? Is 100fat grams & 55 carbs going to work together ?

Everyone is going to have different levels that work for them. For me, I have my macros set to 1700 calories which comes out to the following:

Fat: 65% (123g)
Protein: 20% (85g)
Carbs: 15% (64g)

This is MY personal sweet spot that makes me feel my best when I eat this way with my macros being similar to these numbers, give or take a small margin on either side.

Please experiment go higher on fat, lower on carbs - try to keep protein consistent.....then raise or lower depending on how you feel after a week.

You will know when you have the sweet spot because you will be sleeping well, full of energy and the scale will be moving all at the same time.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Nothing like trying to squat and deadlift on a low carb diet. Quite the experience.

I've had no problems.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I recently started to carb cycle, what are things that you guys eat on low carb meal plans?
[/quote

Protein - chicken, steak, eggs, pork, fish, seafood
Carbs - lots of vegetables and minimal fruit
Fat - coconut oil, bacon fat, self rendered lard, beef tallow, ghee, grass fed butter

Dragonwolf

Balanced diet always better . CARBS + FAT + PROTEIN the way it should be all year round.

Just because it's not balanced the way you balance it doesn't mean it's not balanced. Also, it's not always better. If I did what people like you consider "balanced," then I would struggle to stay even at maintenance calories, and would have to count calories religiously to keep from gaining weight. Losing weight on it has proven to be impossible without going to the extremes only an anorexic would go to (I'm just south of 6 foot, 1200 calories, plus high intensity exercise and no eating back calories is not realistic, nor healthy, nor sustainable), and drove me to the brink of an eating disorder, all because my body's insulin levels run a little high and it's high enough to keep the body from utilizing fat stores in a even remotely reasonable caloric deficit. For someone like me, the usual (USDA) recommendation of 200g+ (or 50% of calories) of carbs is very much unbalanced.

Also, low carb does not equal zero carb. Like the others on this board, I still eat carbs (75-100g, gross, for me), I just get it from low-sugar/low-starch fruits and vegetables, primarily, and some incidental carbs from things like yogurt/cottage cheese, or other foods that have a little in them.

A balanced diet isn't necessarily a diet that includes some of everything. It's one that provides your body the fuel and micronutrients it needs to perform optimally -- this can be done in the total absence of carbs (see also: the Inuit traditional diet), which means it can also be done with a relative handful of carbs, enough to have a few servings of vegetables, which (combined with high-quality fat and protein sources) can provide all the micronutrients a body needs.

Nothing like trying to squat and deadlift on a low carb diet. Quite the experience.

I do it just fine, and I know a few people who do it in full keto, as well, powerlifting at least. If you're not fully fat/keto adapted yet, it's probably worse (just like a runner switching forms - it will take a while to "retrain" the body), but it works just fine.

Is bulletproof coffee nice? Never like the thought of putting butter in coffee

Wut?! Coffee is bad enough without putting butter in it!

It's no different than putting creamer in it, really. The only difference between butter and (real) cream is that the butter has less water, sugar, and protein (hell, butter is made from cream). And yes, if you like coffee, it's actually really good. You blend it up so the fats emulsify, and the drink becomes the consistency of cappuccino.

OP - Like someone else commented, I follow the Primal Blueprint and have had good success with it. I've had the following successes from it:

Lost 15lbs so far, and losing weight without fighting - my weight loss is far more modest, because while the diet is helping, I've got PCOS with hyperinsulinema, so, my insulin still runs too high, even with low glucose levels, to really drop weight. This is still a work in progress, but this diet should allow me to go off the meds once I get to my goal weight (I'd rather stick to a particular way of eating than take meds every day). However, this WOE has made it so I can lose weight, even without being absolutely perfect in all of my eating and exercising. Prior to this, if my weight moved at all (which it didn't, despite being in a calorie deficit and working out), it would fluctuate between the same 5lbs or so, and never went under a particular weight.

Fewer cravings and more easily able to turn down food - I used to be one of those that couldn't really pass on free food, especially if it was things like cookies or cupcakes. Peanut butter cups (or anything, really, that has the chocolate and peanut butter combos) is still my kryptonite, but I no longer feel the need to eat the donut, or cookies, or whatever else someone brings in to the office

Not always hungry - When I was eating higher carb (MFP's default macro ratio, only slightly tweaked for more protein), I was ravenous all the time and couldn't go more than a couple of hours without needing to eat. Even at the max amount I was allotted (2000 calories), I would feel like I was starving and exercising to "earn more calories" would just make it worse. Now, I have to be more careful about getting enough calories, because I'm not hungry as often, and it's not the sugar-crash type of hungry (can't focus, can't talk right, dizzy, etc), but an actual stomach hungry that doesn't need attention right away (so instead of "must eat NOW!" it's "hey, I'm getting hungry, when's dinner? In 20 minutes? Okay, cool.").

Clear skin - I chalk this up as much to cutting out most grains as to low carb, but it's part of the WOE framework I use, so I'll include it. I've had acne since I was a teenager, and nothing I did would do a thing about it (my step dad, at one point, threatened to make me wash my face three times a day, and he had me go to the doctor and get a prescription for tetracycline). Switching to this WOE has resulted in my skin clearing up significantly.

Less dry skin - the extra fat, and better absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins (including the all-important for skin, Vitamin E) has resulted in skin that's nowhere near as dry. My elbows and knees used to be horrible about drying out, and would get cracked and scaly-feeling from being so dry. Since going LCHF, I haven't had that problem, even in the cold, dry winters here that are notorious for drying skin out.

Fewer headaches/migraines - This was a big one, and one that was an almost overnight difference. I used to get chronic headaches, to the point that I took Ibuprofen more consistently every day than I did vitamins (and if I didn't take it at the first sign of the headache, it'd turn into a migraine). By the end of the first week on my new WOE, I had gone from 800mg+/day to zero.

More stable mood - Both in day-to-day stuff and in overall general mood, this has helped. I'm more able to handle things and less likely to get dismayed or anxious about things (particularly little things). I'm less likely to get stressed over little things, as well. I also don't have to be neurotic about calories, which takes a lot of pressure off, because I'm more likely to sit around 1700 calories, instead of my max (to still lose weight) of 1900-2000 (I'm at a weight where I can afford a 2lb/week deficit).

More base energy - I don't do things like run marathons, so I can't speak for that type of stuff, but I no longer feel (mentally) exhausted after a typical day at work, and can do my workouts without having to drag myself to them. I feel good after my workouts and have been able to recover pretty easily from them.

Better sleep - Barring the outside influence of my son waking up, I generally fall asleep more easily, and stay asleep through the night. I don't toss and turn so much, and I don't have to drag myself out of bed if it's before 9am (I'm not a morning person, so I won't say getting up is easy, but I can get up earlier if/when needed without feeling like a zombie).

I use the usual base formula for protein - 1g/lb LBM, which amounts to around 130g. I try to get at least 100g on a daily basis, since I've found 130g to be hard for me to hit. I aim for no more than 100g of carbs, and then fill the rest in with fat (sits around 130g, as well), it ends up being something like 15%c/25%p/60%f (current setting on MFP, with 75g of carbs set).

As for the foods that I eat, it's largely whole foods. Breakfast (if I eat it) is either scrambled eggs and uncured, low-nitrite (haven't gotten my hands on nitrite-free yet) bacon, or Primal Egg Coffee (a variation on BPC that includes eggs; no, it's not eggy, it's emulsified like BPC). Lunch is generally leftovers from dinner. Dinner is usually a protein and vegetable -- for example, today I plan on making taco salad, so it's hamburger (with my own spices), bibb lettuce, roma tomatoes, carrots (if I have any), maybe some celery, some cheddar cheese, and sour cream. Some days it's steak and sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli with butter, lettuce-wrapped hamburgers, or bacon-wrapped chicken breast, or whatever else we come up with for protein, and whatever vegetable we feel like eating. I don't usually want snacks, but I'll sometimes eat strawberries when they're in season, or I'll have a kiwi, banana, or orange with lunch, or I'll munch on some nuts (especially if I know I haven't eaten as much as I should).

Also, I have no intention in going back to eating "normally" when I get to my goal weight. Eating "normally" is what got me to where I am in the first place. This state of lower carb is my new "normal" and works for me for both losing and maintaining weight. That's what matters for any diet that you do - it should be "diet as a noun" or way of eating, not "diet as a verb."