I switched to high fat diet and the pounds started melting off?!

mikehurley4000

Has anyone else realized that a high fat diet helps them loose weight?

I’ve hit several plateaus in my weight loss journey, but now I eat a minimum 40% fat 35% protein and 25% carbs.

I always read about protein protein protein, it’s the most important thing. But high fat low carb seems to work for me?

ahamm002

I would call your diet more "low carb" then "high fat." 35% protein is relatively high. A low carb diet is an effective way for many people to achieve a sustained calorie deficit because carbs (especially sugar) are very east to over-eat.

malibu927

It helps them lose weight if it helps them adhere to a calorie deficit. What you’re experiencing right now is water weight loss from cutting your carb intake. This is only temporary, and if you’re eating the same amount of calories as before you should be returning to the same rate of loss soon.

L1zardQueen

You are still in a deficit though. Nothing earth shattering. I’m happy you found something that works for you.

apullum

malibu927 wrote: »

It helps them lose weight if it helps them adhere to a calorie deficit. What you’re experiencing right now is water weight loss from cutting your carb intake. This is only temporary, and if you’re eating the same amount of calories as before you should be returning to the same rate of loss soon.

This. When people describe "pounds melting off," I immediately expect that it's water weight. It may be from cutting carbs. It may also be a coincidence, since weight loss doesn't happen at a consistent rate. Some people also experience a "whoosh"--they plateau for a while, and then lose several pounds in a short time.

Weight loss happens when you're in a calorie deficit. If eating more fat helps you achieve a calorie deficit, that's great. But there's nothing special about a higher fat diet that in itself would cause weight loss.

mikehurley4000

@malibu927

I’ve been in the same deficit for 3months, so why does the body hold on to more water when there is more carbs then fat in the diet?

notebelow

Sounds like you're creeping in to LCHF or Keto diet - works really well for some people (self included) as your body will turn to the fat for energy over carbs when they aren't readily available.

I've been following this way of eating since February; I'm the lightest I've been in 10 years and still going.

A good resource is the keto subreddit, they've been an invaluable source of examples and encouragement.

AnvilHead

mikehurley4000 wrote: »

@malibu927

I’ve been in the same deficit for 3months, so why does the body hold on to more water when there is more carbs then fat in the diet?

Because a carbohydrate molecule (literally "hydrated carbon") has a molecular structure of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms, with a hydrogen:oxygen ratio of 2:1.

A hydrogen:oxygen ratio of 2:1. Which can also be written as H2O. Sound familiar?

CharlieBeansmomTracey

notebelow wrote: »

Sounds like you're creeping in to LCHF or Keto diet - works really well for some people (self included) as your body will turn to the fat for energy over carbs when they aren't readily available.

I've been following this way of eating since February; I'm the lightest I've been in 10 years and still going.

A good resource is the keto subreddit, they've been an invaluable source of examples and encouragement.

yes it will turn to fat(dietary fat) for energy instead of carbs

nvmomketo

Congrats on your success! I'm a low carber (ketosis level) who loses best when carbs are low. It's a great tool for some people when trying to lose weight or improve health.

I tend to lose faster when very low carb too. Right now I'm losing about 2 lbs a week and a typical day consists of coffee with (1/4-1/3c) whipping cream and a scoop of protein powder, 3 eggs and a tin of mussels, 2 4oz burger patties with cheese and mayo, and a couple of (200kcal) pepperoni sticks (I'm doing a mostly carnivore challenge). The calories are not super low, I'm not hungry, and I've lost about 5lbs since the beginning of the month.

For future reference, low carb is usually defined as being below around 100-150g, give or take a bit. If one is very active, they could be called low carb at a higher carb amount too.

mikehurley4000 wrote: »

@malibu927

I’ve been in the same deficit for 3 months, so why does the body hold on to more water when there is more carbs then fat in the diet?

Carbs raise insulin, and insulin causes you to retain sodium which will result in water retention. When carbs are cut, insulin falls and you lose electrolytes and water weight. The so-called "keto flu" is an electrolyte imbalance - low carbers typically need 3000-5000 mg of sodium a day to replace lost electrolytes. (2300 mg sodium = 1 tsp salt).

But you may have just lost fat a bit faster too.

Try the Low Carber Daily MFP group for more info and support.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

AnvilHead

mikehurley4000 wrote: »

@malibu927

I’ve been in the same deficit for 3months, so why does the body hold on to more water when there is more carbs then fat in the diet?

Maybe an explanation by a biochemist will make more sense to some people. From his post in the Aspartame thread: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/39419611/#Comment_39419611

Sugar are saccharides and are also known by their more scientific name of carbohydrates. Most scientific names have actual meaning and carbohydrate isn't an exception. All carbohydrates share the same basic chemical make up. They are carbon (carbo-) that is hydrated (-hydrate). So all carbohydrates (all sugars) have the molecular formula of carbon plus water times some number x so CxH2xOx.

For example glucose is C6H12O6.

This is aspartame.

1200px-Aspartame.svg.png

Also can be written as C14H18N2O5. Not a sugar. It has nitrogen, it has a lot more carbon than it has oxygen and fewer hydrogens than an equivalent sugar.

How about maltose? C12H22O11. Yes, that is a sugar.

How about starch. Starch is a bunch of sugars linked together (also known as a polysaccharide) and with each link a water molecule is subtracted. So starch has the formula of (C6H10O5)x which if you notice is just C6H12O6 minus one water for the linkage times the number of C6H12O6 molecules linked together.

So now, in theory, you can answer for yourself if something is a sugar by just looking at its molecular formula.

But yeah, all carbohydrates are sugar. Be they in the form of a potato or pasta or table sugar its going to end up the same after digestion. Something you'd never think if you just read online articles and CNN editorials which seem to act like sugar and carbohydrates are two completely different things for some reason.

So when you cut carbohydrates from your diet, you're cutting out a significant amount of water since every carbohydrate molecule is about half carbon and half water.

mikehurley4000

@AnvilHead @nvmomketo

Thank you!! Appreciate the info. I’d be interested in trying Keto, maybe once I have the low carb on lockdown I’ll push it more into Keto territory

marty_smith

notebelow wrote: »

Sounds like you're creeping in to LCHF or Keto diet - works really well for some people (self included) as your body will turn to the fat for energy over carbs when they aren't readily available.

I've been following this way of eating since February; I'm the lightest I've been in 10 years and still going.

A good resource is the keto subreddit, they've been an invaluable source of examples and encouragement.

I reached my best weight in 10 years by calorie counting. I was still eating carbs to the same ratio as before. Each to their own!

nooshi713

No. I have the opposite experience. I easily blow my deficit eating fatty foods like peanut butter, nutella, avocado, cheese, ice cream and certain red meats. Hmm, 4 tbsp nutella or tilapia with a huge pile of veggies? The second choice fulls me up way more.

lemurcat12

I find weight melts off when I have more than a little to lose and have a deficit. I also find I can keep a deficit easily using a variety of different strategies, but slightly higher protein (30-35%), slightly lower carbs (30%), and moderate fat (30%) is what worked best for me when I first started (since I was at low calories, 1200, the higher protein was basically what was needed to hit my .8 g per lb of goal weight goal).

I'd say that your macros are low carb (25%), high protein (35% is high, especially if you aren't super low cal), and moderate fat (I'd consider 25-40% moderate fat).

When I tried LCHF, I did around 50% fat, and many do more (keto is usually more).

Anyway, it's likely the higher protein that is satiating, or simply finding a way of eating which you enjoy, which is great. Making the deficit easy to keep is definitely key.

tennisdude2004

mikehurley4000 wrote: »

Has anyone else realized that a high fat diet helps them loose weight?

I’ve hit several plateaus in my weight loss journey, but now I eat a minimum 40% fat 35% protein and 25% carbs.

I always read about protein protein protein, it’s the most important thing. But high fat low carb seems to work for me?

Glad you are finding success with a LCHF diet. It’s a great tool for helping achieve a calorie deficit!