Low Carb High Fat Diet - can someone please help?

Hi everyone,

I started a Low Carb High Fat lifestyle (end of October 2013) and I am really loving it (lost about 2+ kilos so far ). I was 64.6 kilograms. There is one thing that is confusing me. I would really appreciate it if anyone else who is low carbing can help me please?

What is confusing me is the ratio of protein is stated as '1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day'.

I weigh 61.8 kilos and am 5 foot 2 inches.

Is anyone able to calculate for me how much protein I can have a day. I am calculating it at 61 grams of protein a day which doesn't seem to be enough!

Thanks so much

Protein - common recommendation is at least 0.91 g/lb/day (2 g/kg/day), of LBM, goal weight, or current weight. therefore as you weigh 61.8kg currently you would want about 124g of protein a day.

You have to take lbm, age, and activity level into account too.

Already mostly done. In fact, the common recommendation is already "more" than safe according to this:-

http://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

...there is simply no empirically substantiated reason to think we need more than 0.82g/lb of protein per day.

"The only people that may actually need more protein than 0.82g/lb are people with unusually high levels of anabolic hormones. Androgen or growth hormone users definitely fall into this category, but I don’t exclude the possibility that some adolescents do too. If you reach peak testosterone production while still growing (in height), your unusually high levels of growth hormone and testosterone might increase your protein requirements. Or not. There’s no research to support it. Those rare individuals with amazing bodybuilding genetics could also qualify, but unless your father happens to be a silverback gorilla, you are most likely just like other humans in this regard".

So the OP has 0% body fat?

She's 62 kg. Probably around 25-30% bf, give or take. That gives about 42 kg lbm. That gives about 80 g protrin a day for 2g/kg lbm/day as you state.

That is not what I stated... I'll quote what I stated above again. I based my recommendation on current weight.

Protein - common recommendation is at least 0.91 g/lb/day (2 g/kg/day), of LBM, goal weight, or current weight. therefore as you weigh 61.8kg currently you would want about 124g of protein a day.

Agreed. I based mine on the OP asking " how much protein I can have a day" and therefore opted for the max, I have no issue with your stating that "she can get away with less protein".

ETA clarify. (within the recommended guidelines, as you also said)

Yeah 1700+ may be too many calories for you given your stats. Depends on your activity level though. And it's hard to say how accurate that number is if you're not weighing.

I suggest just logging as consistently as possible AMD trying to keep it under 1500 if you're not very active. If you're not losing over time you may have to shoot a little lower.

I tried this method LCHF, and gained 12 lbs in just under 2 months. I understand the science behind it so wondering if someone has some practical info for me to apply. I obviously went very wrong somewhere.

The Diet Doctor has great guidelines for LCHF eating including a section on how to lose weight for those who are having problems. If you liked the diet and felt good eating it perhaps something there will help.

There's also nothing wrong with counting your calories while eating a LCHF diet either -- I know a lot of people still have to in order to get down to as low a weight as they'd like to.

http://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight

OP here is the formula...

Macronutrient goals should really not be based on percentages, but on grams which vary depending on your size and activity levels.

We would recommend, as a rule of thumb, the following:

1g of protein per lb of LBM as a minimum target

The balance can fall where you wish, taking into account performance, satiety and adherence.

Note: the above protein minimum assumes that you are on a deficit, are undertaking moderate exercise and do not have a significantly low or significantly high body fat percentage. It also assumes that you have no pre-existing medical condition that would require a lower intake.

At a very low body fat percentage or with highly intensive workouts a slightly higher amount of protein is recommended.

Conversely, at a very high body fat percentage or with no or little exercise, a slightly lower amount of protein is acceptable.

When you have determined the minimum grams of protein and fat, you can calculate the corresponding percentages based on your calorie target to input into MFP. Protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram and fat has 9 calories per gram. Note that MFP only allows 5% increments so you will need to pick the one nearest your desired target.


For example, say someone is 150 lbs with a BF% of 20% on a 2,000 calorie target. Note, a 20% body fat means that someone has a 80% lean body mass (LBM) as LBM is everything except fat (muscle, water, organs, tissue, etc). Their macros in grams would be:

Protein: 1 x 150 x 0.8 (LBM) = 120g x 4 calories = 480 calories divided by 2,000 (calorie target) = 24% - round up to 25%

To change the MFP settings go to My Home -> Goals-> Change Goals-> click Customize and update the macros.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets