Its funny you posted this, i just went through this yesterday! I am trying to get my diet straight and have been stalled for a bit, my trainer told me to up my cals and see if the helps. Alot of times we eat way too low and its no enough for our bodies to fuel us through the day. I did the whole BMR and TDEE thing yesterday and they said i should be eating 2100 cals! Im around 1600 now, so it is quite a bump but im gonna give it a gonna see if it helps. Alot of people i talked to on here told me it really helped them and they are losing steady. Just something to think about, if ur interested look for the post that says roap map something i think it was posted by helloitsdan and he explains how to get your cal allotment.

I believe its under general diet help.

I know! I think its because most of our lives we were told you had to eat super low cal to lose weight!

Can i ask, have you always done low fat low carb? Im trying to decide which is better, high fat or low. I dont want to eat alot of bad fats! Lol

My MFP 'limit' is 1700 calories and I'll take that with a pinch of sodium. I don't subscribe to the 'create a 500 calorie deficit and you WILL lose 1lb fat' theory.

I am usually around this naturally if I eat my usual 2 meals a day and don't snack. I've no idea what my weight is because I don't monitor it. The clothes tell the tale for me.

I'm a big fan of dietary fat (at least 65% of calories, not grams) and I've been upping this lately and feeling better for it, not that I was particularly lacking energy before.

I guess it's a case of tweaking and finding what works for you.

In the absence of excessive carbohydrate or protein I have no hesitations in upping the fat if I feel the need and to hell with any calorie limit. I often chug coconut oil just to keep the fires burning. Those calories are going to have to work really hard to end up in fat tissue, ain't going to happen.

Also bear in mind that if you are in ketosis then a large chunk of your daily energy needs are being met by your fat tissue being liberated (always a nice thought) so the whole MFP calorie deficit thing is rendered even less accurate.

Just my take on it, I have embraced the dietary fat, it did take a while to really convince my 'but eating fat is bad!' mindset.

I think a large chunk of dietary fat is not only beneficial for weight management but for maintenance and fuel for the body. For me, anyway. I go with the theory that we have evolved to eat naturally occurring fat.

Once you read up on the science (good and bad science) and the studies the whole dietary guidelines that we have been fed (food pyramid, healthy whole grains, 5 a day, cholesterol fear, fat fear, etc) are shown to be a huge mistake and one which we are collectively paying for in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, inflammation, gut problems, etc.

And again, I digress

I shall get off the soapbox now and fry up some bacon

Not saying my way is the only way but that's my take on it.

I am a shift worker, &since upping my fats &lowering my carbs, my energy levels have increased & fatigue is a thing of the past, I even have energy for work outs on work days
The scale is not showing a massive weight loss but my clothing size has definitely dropped.. Also my cravings have gone, so no mindless overheating or snacking whilst cooking

Just stumbled on this. DietDoctor is one of my fave websites!
http://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight-part-2-of-17

Just stumbled on this. DietDoctor is one of my fave websites!
http://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight-part-2-of-17

Diet Doctor is a good 'un ... Check out Caveman Doctor too, I got this tip from the Abel James 'Fat Burning Man' podcast (well worth a listen).

The guy behind the Diet Doctor has some good YouTube videos presenting at various health symposiums, worth a look.

I like the fact he calls the 'low fat' diet a fad ... it's true

This ^^^^^
Thanks for the knowledge and suggestion for Videos. I have been a low to mod carber since March.

Last week I did good... MFP says I should have about 1750 but I set it to 1700 and have been around 1750 for about a week. But I am a pretty big girl and I havent seen a huge dip on my scale... :sad:

I personally change day to day, but seem to average around 1700-3000 cals a day during the week, and weekends are sometimes as high as 4000-5000. I've had the odd day in there as well where I've eaten as much as 8000 cals in a day (mostly protein and fat, only 100 cals of that were carbs)


First and foremost, eat your fats. As others have said as long as you are eating natural fats you'll be fine on low carb. Some people find it hard at first, but eat as much of the fat as you can on all your meats. Eat things like chicken skin, chicken fat, beef and pork fat, bacon, use olive oil, coconut oil, real butter, etc.

Up your calories, but do so by eating more fat and not just more food. Keep your carbs low and your protein moderate to high. Again the key with low carb is that you are eating HIGH FAT. It's really not hard to get those extra fat calories in once you start though. I get rougly an extra 120 calories a day just by melting 1TBS of coconut oil into my coffee in the morning, and since it's 100% fat I'm not introducing anything that will prevent or stall my low carb fat loss. Also remember:

1g of fat is 9 calories
1g of protein is 4 calories
1g of carbs is 4 calories

So once you get started you really don't have to take in that much more fat to up you calories.


As a side note, this seems to be more common in women, where you all will undereat because the media and friends and family have told you for so long that you need to eat less. My wife is under doctors orders to eat at least 1500 cal a day and she's having a tough time accepting that. I have to force her to eat sometimes, and am using things like the coconut oil in coffee trick to get more calories in her. At this point she can't even conceive another child because her calories are too low.

I know! I think its because most of our lives we were told you had to eat super low cal to lose weight!

Can i ask, have you always done low fat low carb? Im trying to decide which is better, high fat or low. I dont want to eat alot of bad fats! Lol

Interesting that I was going to post about this very subject. I too have this question about high fat or low. I've only been doing the low carb thing for a short while and the amount of fat is frightening to me. My carbs are below 30g and my fat has been around 80g. I'm on 1200 calories so are these the numbers I'm supposed to have?

These are my numbers too, and I've been losing about 2 lbs. a week. It seems to be working. When it stops working, I'll mix it up.

The only fats I'm eating are Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, and whatever fat is present in the protein I'm eating (chicken, fish, free-range beef, and pork when I'm going a little crazy)

Other than that, it's been salad and green veggies, and I'm keeping the fruit to raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.

For the first two weeks, I was at about 20 carbs per day. I'm up to 50 carbs now and happy there.

I'm never hungry -- don't get the munchies. But I know it's time to eat when I start yawning or feeling sluggish.

Is this happening to anyone else?

I know! I think its because most of our lives we were told you had to eat super low cal to lose weight!

Can i ask, have you always done low fat low carb? Im trying to decide which is better, high fat or low. I dont want to eat alot of bad fats! Lol

Interesting that I was going to post about this very subject. I too have this question about high fat or low. I've only been doing the low carb thing for a short while and the amount of fat is frightening to me. My carbs are below 30g and my fat has been around 80g. I'm on 1200 calories so are these the numbers I'm supposed to have?

These are my numbers too, and I've been losing about 2 lbs. a week. It seems to be working. When it stops working, I'll mix it up.

The only fats I'm eating are Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, and whatever fat is present in the protein I'm eating (chicken, fish, free-range beef, and pork when I'm going a little crazy)

Other than that, it's been salad and green veggies, and I'm keeping the fruit to raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.

For the first two weeks, I was at about 20 carbs per day. I'm up to 50 carbs now and happy there.

I'm never hungry -- don't get the munchies. But I know it's time to eat when I start yawning or feeling sluggish.

Is this happening to anyone else?

YES! In the past, I would just eat to eat... now I know I am out of fuel because I start yawning, stuttering and just can't think straight. As soon as I eat - it goes away! Amazing how I can read my body's signals now and never could before!

BTW, until you guys let go of "fats are bad," you're not going to be able to do low carb correctly. Please don't go low fat on low carb. Your body will not enjoy it in the least. If I have learned anything from watching tons of videos and reading about low carb - fat is GOOD FOR YOU. We've just been brainwashed to think otherwise!