Atkins & Low Carb eaters, a question please...

belle713
belle713 Posts: 30
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I've been doing Atkins for about 2 weeks. It's going really well... I'm losing a significant amount of weight and not feeling deprived at all. In fact, I feel fantastic. My question is about getting the numbers where they should be.

I'm staying right at 20 carbs a day and TRYING to eat around 1,500 calories. It usually winds up being closer to 1,100 though. Now that i've started swimming again, that probably won't be enough but I'll work on getting it up a bit. The problem is the fat. How many grams of fat should I be consuming per day? It's been between 70-80 grams which seems REALLY high. I'm losing weight, but won't I drop dead of a heart attack if I keep doing this? Everything I read about Atkins says don't pay attention to the fat grams but that's a bit hard to overlook. I'm going to buy some tofu which should help me bring that number down a bit. Also, switching to more chicken, less red meat. What other low/non-carb foods are there that would be a healthier alternative to help me get the fat grams down?

Thanks in advance!!

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    Listen to the diet. Dietary fat =/= body fat. But if you want, just eliminate the processed meats. Also, using red meat is going to be helpful as it's higher in calories. It's more important to get your calories so it's fueled correctly. When you start swimming, 1500 probably wont even be enough.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Firstly you won't drop dead of a heart attack, have your blood cholesterols etc done if you're concerned but in general the low carb dieters have good (low) Total/HDL ratios which means low risk of heart issues.

    It would be the wrong way to approach it to eat lean proteins to reduce fat - if you think you need more calories then with carbs off the agenda and adequate protein at 80-100g or whatever then the rest has to be fats and oils.

    Have a look at what Tommy does - http://www.eatlowcarbhighfat.com/ - he eats more grams of fat than grams of protein, with minimal carbs.

    If I read your info correctly you have a shed load of calories of fat on your body that you can use to fuel your daily living, so I wouldn't be pushing the food intake up for the hell of it.
  • belle713
    belle713 Posts: 30
    Thanks, I'll read that website. I just called my Dr's office and he's going to refer me to a Nutritionist since I don't know what I'm doing!! I've been excited that I'm able to stay at 20 grams of carbs and losing lots of weight but when I sync'd my UP band to MFP, it showed me different numbers like cholesterol and sat fat... which were THROUGH THE EFFING ROOF! It scared me a little
  • CashierCantin
    CashierCantin Posts: 206 Member
    Are you purposely trying to eat more fat? I ask only because I never tried to get my fat percentages up, I just ate fats vs trying to reduce my fat. So instead of using light mayo, I used full fat. Instead of light ranch dressing I used full fat etc. I didn't go "WOOHOO!! Ladle me up some lard" LOL
  • belle713
    belle713 Posts: 30
    Are you purposely trying to eat more fat? I ask only because I never tried to get my fat percentages up, I just ate fats vs trying to reduce my fat. So instead of using light mayo, I used full fat. Instead of light ranch dressing I used full fat etc. I didn't go "WOOHOO!! Ladle me up some lard" LOL

    LOL sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I meant I might have to get my CALORIES up from 1,100 closer to 1,500 now that I'm swimming... burning approx 1,500 calories/day 5 times a week.

    No, the point of this post is I'm trying to get my fat grams DOWN. I was seeking lower fat, low (or no) carb foods.

    Must be all the endorphins from my swim, sorry if I was unclear.

    Yarwell, thanks for that website!! Wow, incredible story and I think i'll find some good info there, as well. :)
  • kgoodman0108
    kgoodman0108 Posts: 158
    I've been bouncing around with low carb since February... after trial and error I've finally found what works best for me. I'm currently eating 20-35 carbs per day, and always at least 100g of fat. I am for 65% of my calories to come from fat, preferably 70%. My calorie goal is 1600, and my macros are set at 10% carbs / 25% protein / 65% fat.

    I keep my fats high by eating lots of unsalted butter, coconut oil, fatty cuts of meat, etc. I've recently discovered "fat bombs", and they are addicting!

    EDIT: Eating more fat (such as butter and coconut oil), will help you get closer to your calorie goal. When I first started I was afraid of eating fat, and consumed too much protein. I barely lost any weight because of that. Too much protein converts itself into glucose, which is the same thing carbs are. Fat helps to keep you satisfied, and can also put you into ketosis (something Dr. Atkins suggests).
  • CashierCantin
    CashierCantin Posts: 206 Member
    But what are you eating that your fat is so high? That is what I was trying to ask LOL

    Don't use low fat options if you're watching carbs...best stick to full fat items.

    Eating full fat is not harmful if you're in the absence of carbs. Your numbers will be high when you first start. When starting Atkins, the books states to get your blood tested before you start, and then 6 weeks after. I did Atkins for 8 years and my numbers were EXCELLENT. Its scary to wrap your mind around the concept if you're used to watching calories.

    Sounds like you're off to a great start. Its depending on what your fat grams are made up before we can give you pointers on how to lower them. You can do leaner cuts of meat (turkey, chicken, fish) but don't be afraid of the fat. Just don't slop a bunch on thinking you have to. :)
  • belle713
    belle713 Posts: 30
    I've been bouncing around with low carb since February... after trial and error I've finally found what works best for me. I'm currently eating 20-35 carbs per day, and always at least 100g of fat. I am for 65% of my calories to come from fat, preferably 70%. My calorie goal is 1600, and my macros are set at 10% carbs / 25% protein / 65% fat.

    I keep my fats high by eating lots of unsalted butter, coconut oil, fatty cuts of meat, etc. I've recently discovered "fat bombs", and they are addicting!

    EDIT: Eating more fat (such as butter and coconut oil), will help you get closer to your calorie goal. When I first started I was afraid of eating fat, and consumed too much protein. I barely lost any weight because of that. Too much protein converts itself into glucose, which is the same thing carbs are. Fat helps to keep you satisfied, and can also put you into ketosis (something Dr. Atkins suggests).

    I'm in ketosis (yay!!). I guess I just need to surrender to the plan and ignore the scary high number of fat grams. I'm going to get frequent blood work to make sure everything looks good but the scale is making me happy so I'll try and enjoy the weight loss and pray for the best! :)

    Thanks so much!! And congrats on your success!
  • belle713
    belle713 Posts: 30
    But what are you eating that your fat is so high? That is what I was trying to ask LOL

    Don't use low fat options if you're watching carbs...best stick to full fat items.

    Eating full fat is not harmful if you're in the absence of carbs. Your numbers will be high when you first start. When starting Atkins, the books states to get your blood tested before you start, and then 6 weeks after. I did Atkins for 8 years and my numbers were EXCELLENT. Its scary to wrap your mind around the concept if you're used to watching calories.

    Sounds like you're off to a great start. Its depending on what your fat grams are made up before we can give you pointers on how to lower them. You can do leaner cuts of meat (turkey, chicken, fish) but don't be afraid of the fat. Just don't slop a bunch on thinking you have to. :)

    I'm eating eggs (yolks too), laughing cow light, regular cheddar, lean beef, salmon, chicken, tuna, atkins shakes, My Fit Foods low carb meals once a day, etc...definitely not slopping on extra fat...other than the full fat cheese. Which I should probably cut out. I only added it because the calories were too low without it. I was around 700 before I started eating cheese. It's hard to make the numbers all work but ultimately, the most important number is the carbs and i've been successful keeping it at 20, so far. :) Thanks!!!!
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
    Some low carbers report higher levels of LDL initially. There are several theories about why that happens but in the long term when their weight stabilizes their LDL goes down. The more important and often overlooked change to your cholesterol numbers is the Trigs/HDL ratio. Generally people do see improved HDL and significant drop in Triglycerides. This also is a good sign that the LDL that you do have is the large puffy harmless type vs the small dense particles that penetrate your artery walls and cause inflammation. I understand where you're coming from, it was hard for me at first to get over the big fat scare that I was taught most of my life. Bottom line is that a high fat low carb diet will not cause you to drop dead of a heart attack.

    For me my HDL is lower then I want it but my trigs went from 174 to 74.
  • belle713
    belle713 Posts: 30
    Some low carbers report higher levels of LDL initially. There are several theories about why that happens but in the long term when their weight stabilizes their LDL goes down. The more important and often overlooked change to your cholesterol numbers is the Trigs/HDL ratio. Generally people do see improved HDL and significant drop in Triglycerides. This also is a good sign that the LDL that you do have is the large puffy harmless type vs the small dense particles that penetrate your artery walls and cause inflammation. I understand where you're coming from, it was hard for me at first to get over the big fat scare that I was taught most of my life. Bottom line is that a high fat low carb diet will not cause you to drop dead of a heart attack.

    For me my HDL is lower then I want it but my trigs went from 174 to 74.

    Ok thanks. My cholesterol and triglycerides have always been really good... shockingly so, considering my weight. We'll see what happens with those numbers. Will be curious about that. :) AMAZING drop in your numbers... so weird!!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    biggestsmall.jpeg

    Biggest Loser calorie diagram - exercise exceeds food intake for maximum demand on fat reserves.
  • kgoodman0108
    kgoodman0108 Posts: 158
    I've been bouncing around with low carb since February... after trial and error I've finally found what works best for me. I'm currently eating 20-35 carbs per day, and always at least 100g of fat. I am for 65% of my calories to come from fat, preferably 70%. My calorie goal is 1600, and my macros are set at 10% carbs / 25% protein / 65% fat.

    I keep my fats high by eating lots of unsalted butter, coconut oil, fatty cuts of meat, etc. I've recently discovered "fat bombs", and they are addicting!

    EDIT: Eating more fat (such as butter and coconut oil), will help you get closer to your calorie goal. When I first started I was afraid of eating fat, and consumed too much protein. I barely lost any weight because of that. Too much protein converts itself into glucose, which is the same thing carbs are. Fat helps to keep you satisfied, and can also put you into ketosis (something Dr. Atkins suggests).

    I'm in ketosis (yay!!). I guess I just need to surrender to the plan and ignore the scary high number of fat grams. I'm going to get frequent blood work to make sure everything looks good but the scale is making me happy so I'll try and enjoy the weight loss and pray for the best! :)

    Thanks so much!! And congrats on your success!

    Yay! Best of luck to you! :flowerforyou:
  • JodiSW
    JodiSW Posts: 193 Member
    I don't worry about the fat and I just had blood work done and my cholesterol ratio is amazing. The total number is in the normal range but my ration of HDL/LDL is more than ideal and my triglycerides are extremely low. For the past few months I've probably gotten 90% of my carbs from vegetables (I slip sometimes, mostly with wine, ha!). I eat a lot of grass fed beef, drink bone broth - which is incredible by the way - and eat fish and eggs. I eat some chicken but am not a huge fan. MFP thinks my fat is high but I feel great. Research ketogenic diets. There's a lot of information about it. I came to low carb trying to drop that last 20 lbs and find it works very well managing my sugar addiction and binge behaviors. I also don't have that afternoon slump that I used to get. Best of luck!

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