Anyone Doing Low-Carb High-Fat?

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  • sallyaj
    sallyaj Posts: 207 Member
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    I have just started LCHF and I am kind of clueless as to what to eat. I originally was doing low carb but my protein was through the roof, way to much in my opinion. My body stalled and I stopped losing weight for almost a full month. I am also not sleeping well even though I go to bed around 11pm. I am hoping this change will help me positively.

    Hi, if you google LCHF, the first link that comes up is doctor Andreas Eenfeldt's beginner's guide. He makes it really easy!

    Good luck! I have lost 7 pounds in 13 days, and I am never hungry.
  • sallyaj
    sallyaj Posts: 207 Member
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    I do low carb, high fat, high protein and do well with it....but my guts are rerouted so they can handle the high fat intake because I only absorb about 20% of the fat that I eat. Make sure you are drinking ALOT of water so you don't get kidney stones.

    :)

    I forget exactly what my percentages are but I think last time I checked they averaged 15% carbs, 60% fat, 25% protein.

    I am doing about that fat but less carb more protein. I am adding five g carb a week and lowering protein accordingly each week until I figure out my maintenance level.

    You look great in you pic. I hope i have such good results!
  • sallyaj
    sallyaj Posts: 207 Member
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    I've been on a very low carb diet and in ketosis for 9 months. I am healthier than I have ever been. My diabetes is under control without medication. My total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides all dropped and my HDL went up. My A1c went from over 8.0 down to 5.7. I have a Dr. appointment tomorrow and I'm expecting the A1c to be even lower. Increasing my fat macro has given me even better control of my blood sugars. My doctor wants me in ketosis until I reach a healthy weight. That is still a long way off but I'm a lot closer than I was 9 months ago.

    Are there issues with a low carb/moderate protein/high fat diet? Yes: Better skin, better sleep, no bleeding gums, no sugar cravings, healthier hair, no feeling of deprivation, less aches and pains, no acid reflux, very little gas, no bloating, no swollen ankles, all the bacon I want... I could go on but that might get discouraging for some.

    Laura, this is amazing! That you are off your diabetes medication is a lifesaver.

    I too am sleeping better, my brain feels alert and happy, no gassy stomach, also I used to have very itchy inner ear canals and that has gone away too.

    And I am losing half a pound a day! I feel like sharing this "secret" with the world!!
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    Also note that WebMD is going after the bogeyman of low carb, high protein. Almost no one doing low carb eats "high protein". Primal, Paleo, Atkins, Ketogenic, etc diets focus on low carb, moderate protein and high fat. And yes, it should be what you do for the rest of your life since your body is actually genetically programmed to respond best and be healthiest on such a diet.

    Humans are predators, not grazers. Our bodies evolved over 2 million years to eat meat and foraged vegetables, roots, fruit and nuts.

    You beat me to it. Atkins is a high fat diet, he probably just didn't dare call it that in the midst of the low fat craze. People would have freaked.

    I do very well on this because it makes me not hungry all the time and almost completely kill binge cravings. That's all I need from it. Bonus if it makes me healthier somehow, but in the end for me it's about appetite control.
  • primal7
    primal7 Posts: 151 Member
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    I have been eating a high fat, low carb for several months now. I feel a lot better, I eat close to what EricCowperthw posted.I do the Paleocentric Nutrition
    I completely stay away from all grains! I eat only grass fed, organic, and good fats. Nothing is processed. I eat seasonal only for my area.
    I eat JERF (Just Eat Real Food)
    If I can not pronounce it I do not eat it. I try to keep it down to only one or two ingredients on the label.
    My inflammation has gone down and I do not have the cravings to eat every two hours that is produced by eating grains.
    I eat about 10% carb, 50% fat, 40% protein.
    It took some time to get my body to become a fat burner from a sugar burner. When this happens you will start to lose weight.
    Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    I have found that a single drink, either vodka/soda or red wine, a day doesn't impact my ability to stay in low carb or lose weight. Given that the anti-oxidants in red wine are good for the heart, and that moderate amounts of alcohol are good for you, I've opted to keep red wine and vodka in my diet.

    About Type II diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.

    A year ago I suffered from what is often called Metabolic Syndrome and ate what is called the Western Diet (55% carbs, lots of whole grains, corn, wheat, etc). That is, I was overweight (body fat % over 30, obese), had hypertension, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, low HDL and high fasting glucose (like I was an undiagnosed Type II diabetic). Today I am moderately healthy and headed for good health. Here's the numbers, if folks are interested

    Height: 5'8"
    Value: Dec, 2011, Dec, 2012, Desired
    Weight: 218, 191, 175
    Body Fat: 31%, 26%, 20%
    Cholesterol: 283, 228, < 200
    HDL: 24, 41, > 41
    Chol/HDL: 11.8, 5.6, < 4.0
    Glucose: 135, 107, < 100
    Hemo A1C: N/A, 5.6, < 6.0
    BP: 144/90, 114/70, 110/70

    Still working on cholesterol numbers and weight, but as you can see I truthfully don't suffer from Metabolic Syndrome anymore. I sleep well, feel good, am physically active regularly, eat well, etc. My doctor told me that she would have diagnosed me as type II diabetic in 2011 had she been my doc at the time. She calls me a type II diabetic in remission and believes that she will call me "cured" in 12 months.

    This is the impact of a low carb diet and regular exercise for me.
  • starvinkevin
    starvinkevin Posts: 331
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    The only prob with this diet is that Im constipated a lot.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    For more nonsense, see Mark's Daily Apple (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/) or Gary Taubes (http://www.garytaubes.com/)

    Fixed
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,108 Member
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    The only prob with this diet is that Im constipated a lot.

    Fiber. High fat diets will do that if you don't make an effort to get 20-30g of fiber a day. Try avocado and nuts. Or a supplement.
  • Valerie_Malone
    Valerie_Malone Posts: 59 Member
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    I am supposed to be on a low carb diet, due to having a poor doctor's visit a week and a half ago. I started off strong, but the past couple of days I fell off. Been really stressed with my Statistics class and taking my final, I know it's a poor excuse, but I'm done with the class and starting a new class and going back to low carb eating. I also have my husband supporting me and getting after me when I eat bad.
  • bkr45678
    bkr45678 Posts: 62 Member
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    I usually end up being at 34/32/34 F/C/P. Today will be 56f 120c 126p. My carbs come from fruit/veg/dairy/ and my whole grain cereal. Works for me! I make sure I get 22 grams of fiber in there as well.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
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    The only prob with this diet is that Im constipated a lot.

    More veggies will solve the problem. Veggies are naturally low in carbs. :smile:
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 798 Member
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    45% fat for me/ 25% protein/ 30% carbs.

    It works really well for me. I'm in maintenance, and it's how I prefer to eat anyway. I just fell into it naturally.

    That is such great news! It's hard to wrap my brain around the fact that this is working for me. How much weight did you have to lose?

    Things that are too good to be true usually are. Just wait until you slip up one week and eat "normal" . You'll gain all the weight back so fast your brain won't be able to wrap itself around that either. It's not how the human body is designed to operate and it has horrible long term results across the board. It's great for a crash diet to drop 10 lbs before a vacation, not so great if you want to be an active healthy adult and learn how to properly take care of yourself.
  • cinbol
    cinbol Posts: 27 Member
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    http://www.webmd.com/diet/high-protein-low-carbohydrate-diets

    Please read this.

    Many people are not aware of the strain in puts on your body to eat SO low in carb, as your diary suggests.

    I can't argue most of this but can tell you that eating LOW CARB/HIGH Fat has dropped my cholesterol WITHOUT meds in just under 3 months! My total was 239 and now 172 - the biggest drop was my triglycerides from 181 to 79! So while there may be other things to keep an eye on Cholesterol ( for me anyway) was not an issue - in fact it helped me get off the meds!
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    Things that are too good to be true usually are. Just wait until you slip up one week and eat "normal" . You'll gain all the weight back so fast your brain won't be able to wrap itself around that either. It's not how the human body is designed to operate and it has horrible long term results across the board. It's great for a crash diet to drop 10 lbs before a vacation, not so great if you want to be an active healthy adult and learn how to properly take care of yourself.
    Before the advent of agriculture about 10,000 years ago, what do you think humans ate? Before the advent of industrialized food about 100 years ago, what do you think humans ate?

    10,000 years ago, they ate protein and fat and nuts, fruits, roots and veggies they could hunt and forage. Humans didn't begin eating grains until somewhere around 8000 BC, although humans as a species existed in some form for the past 2 million years. From 8000 BC to 1900 AD humans ate very limited amounts of grains, vegetable oils and refined sugars. In 1900 the average American ate a mere 5 lbs of sugar a year, for example. Today, the average American consumes 40-50 percent of their calories from grains (bread, cake, pasta, HFCS and the list goes on) and about 150 lbs of refined sugars annually. Do you really suppose that the typical American diet is how the human body is "designed to operate"?

    Oh, and for your information, after losing 27 lbs, I ate cookies and mashed potatoes during Christmas (very moderately, but I did) and gained 5 lbs. Which I then lost over a 2 week period after New Year's. That is hardly gaining it all back.

    If you are going to attack this nutritional aspect of a Primal lifestyle, at least be factual, please.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Things that are too good to be true usually are. Just wait until you slip up one week and eat "normal" . You'll gain all the weight back so fast your brain won't be able to wrap itself around that either. It's not how the human body is designed to operate and it has horrible long term results across the board. It's great for a crash diet to drop 10 lbs before a vacation, not so great if you want to be an active healthy adult and learn how to properly take care of yourself.
    Before the advent of agriculture about 10,000 years ago, what do you think humans ate? Before the advent of industrialized food about 100 years ago, what do you think humans ate?

    10,000 years ago, they ate protein and fat and nuts, fruits, roots and veggies they could hunt and forage. Humans didn't begin eating grains until somewhere around 8000 BC, although humans as a species existed in some form for the past 2 million years. From 8000 BC to 1900 AD humans ate very limited amounts of grains, vegetable oils and refined sugars. In 1900 the average American ate a mere 5 lbs of sugar a year, for example. Today, the average American consumes 40-50 percent of their calories from grains (bread, cake, pasta, HFCS and the list goes on) and about 150 lbs of refined sugars annually. Do you really suppose that the typical American diet is how the human body is "designed to operate"?

    Oh, and for your information, after losing 27 lbs, I ate cookies and mashed potatoes during Christmas (very moderately, but I did) and gained 5 lbs. Which I then lost over a 2 week period after New Year's. That is hardly gaining it all back.

    If you are going to attack this nutritional aspect of a Primal lifestyle, at least be factual, please.

    Pot meet kettle

    The broad spectrum revisited: Evidence from plant remains. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 June 29

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC470712/?tool=pubmed
  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
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    Yep, 40-50% fats, try to get 30% protein and the rest is carbs.

    Fats aren't bad.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats-full-story/

    Eating this way completely normalized my triglycerides from over 400 and my HDL >50 and LDL is approaching normal and my VLDL is normal. Carbs, with grains in particular cause my tryglicerides to go way high. I have cholesterol tests mostly every three months (since I refused statins) and have done so since the early 2000's. It was pretty easy if a bit time consuming to see what works for my levels. Side bonus to it is that it has been relatively easy for me to maintain as it is not VLC and I am satisfied and not hungry.
  • LauraDotts
    LauraDotts Posts: 732 Member
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    The only prob with this diet is that Im constipated a lot.

    More veggies will solve the problem. Veggies are naturally low in carbs. :smile:

    I am currently dealing with this problem. I have not had a problem with constipation until about a month ago. I've done a lot of reading regarding low carb, keto, paleo diets and constipation. Fiber is not the answer. Based on what I've read supplementing with more fiber can actually make it worse. The issue is the lack of sugars is starving out the good flora in the tummy. The answer is probiotics. I just ordered some. If you eat dairy, add yogurt or kefir into your diet. If you don't eat dairy, raw sauerkraut adds good bacteria into your stomach.
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    The broad spectrum revisited: Evidence from plant remains. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 June 29

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC470712/?tool=pubmed
    Well, I could write a huge long post about why this one study doesn't prove what you think it does. But, instead, I think I will go back to my life that works well for me.
  • sallyaj
    sallyaj Posts: 207 Member
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    The only prob with this diet is that Im constipated a lot.

    More veggies will solve the problem. Veggies are naturally low in carbs. :smile:

    I am currently dealing with this problem. I have not had a problem with constipation until about a month ago. I've done a lot of reading regarding low carb, keto, paleo diets and constipation. Fiber is not the answer. Based on what I've read supplementing with more fiber can actually make it worse. The issue is the lack of sugars is starving out the good flora in the tummy. The answer is probiotics. I just ordered some. If you eat dairy, add yogurt or kefir into your diet. If you don't eat dairy, raw sauerkraut adds good bacteria into your stomach.

    I take a tsp of coconut oil in my coffee every day. I don't usually have a problem if I do this.

    On the rare occasion, I'll drink Smooth Move tea (avail in health food stores).

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