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Low carb/high fat diet while on a college meal plan?
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getsyl693
Posts: 2
Hey everyone! I recently decided to try changing the way I eat to low carb, high fat. Although, I am a college student and live on campus and therefore eat at the dining halls. I often find I don't have time for breakfast in the dining halls, so I have greek yogurt usually in my room, so I only eat lunch/dinner at the dining hall.
I have been researching a lot on the keto diet and see that many people have incredible successes while on it. Today was my first day actively trying and I ate 60g carbs and 76 grams of fat. I struggled to eat that much fat. I plan around eating 1350 calories a day and working out 4-5 times a week. For breakfast I had a yogurt, lunch was a big salad with veggies, chicken, bacon, cheese, and dressing, dinner was grilled chicken with cheese, hot sauce, and ranch with broccoli and butter and I snacked on 2 tbsp peanut butter and an apple. I feel like it's so hard to find fatty foods that aren't filled with carbs too. My school loves to serve sandwiches and pastas and subs.
Does anyone have an suggestions on how I can up my fat intake while eating in the dining halls on a college campus?
I have been researching a lot on the keto diet and see that many people have incredible successes while on it. Today was my first day actively trying and I ate 60g carbs and 76 grams of fat. I struggled to eat that much fat. I plan around eating 1350 calories a day and working out 4-5 times a week. For breakfast I had a yogurt, lunch was a big salad with veggies, chicken, bacon, cheese, and dressing, dinner was grilled chicken with cheese, hot sauce, and ranch with broccoli and butter and I snacked on 2 tbsp peanut butter and an apple. I feel like it's so hard to find fatty foods that aren't filled with carbs too. My school loves to serve sandwiches and pastas and subs.
Does anyone have an suggestions on how I can up my fat intake while eating in the dining halls on a college campus?
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Replies
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I am new to this low-carb lifestyle myself and probably have no place advising, but it seems that your macros are off for this kind of dieting. Most of the research I've done on keto diets suggests you set your macros at around 5% carbs (depending on your stats about 24 grams), 30% protein, 65% fat. I happen agree with most people that eating at a deficiency alone will help you lose weight, but it you are crippled with controlling your blood sugar (aka the difference between starving in-between meals or not), these kind of diets can help. The best advice I can give you, as a novice myself, is follow a meal plan. Personally, I choice an Atkins-like approach over keto (5% carbs, 60% protein, 35% fat) as the increased protein accompanied by snacks of “good” carbs helps keep me satisfied. If you’re only source of food is what is in the dining hall, if possible, take a look at the schedule in advance and plan accordingly. Although, in my own experience, it is difficult to follow restrictive diets when someone else is preparing your food.
I think you might really benefit from reading articles like: http://cavemanketo.com/configuring-mfp/
Also, search for specific groups on here that can provide a lot of support.
If you find yourself willing and able to preplan your own food even to a small extent, check out http://www.skinnytaste.com/2007/07/low-carb-recipes.html for good low-carb recipes.
If all else fails, just keep in mind “good carbs vs. bad carbs” (http://www.theketogenicdiet.org/good-carbs-vs-bad-carbs/) and you should be able to make conscious decisions in the dining hall.
Be sure to remember that every body is different, therefore there is no cookie cutter diet. Make sure to stick with a diet plan for a while before switching and make minor tweaks (as need be) along the way to suit your body’s needs. Also, keep in mind that unless you are making this a complete lifestyle change, chances are fairly high that you will gain any weight back after ending the diet. As long as you do your research on all aspects of your choice “diet,” you should do fine. Wishing you good luck!0 -
A better way to figure your macros would be to use 1 gr of protein for each pound of lean body mass that you have so let's just assume that you need 100 gr of protein a day. 100 gr protein X 4 cal/gr = 400 calories from protein.
Then figure no more than 10% of your calories from carbs so 10% X 1350 = 135 cals from carbs.
Calorie count now is 400 + 135 = 535 leaving (1350 - 535) = 815 cals from fat or about 82 gr of fat per day.
So your fat count was about right, your carb count was very good and you didn't list your protein for the day.
Of course, YMMV.0 -
Eating 60g of carbs will not *likely* get you into keto. You're eating too many carbs to then be able to eat more grams of fat.
At the end of the day, when in ketosis you generally aren't as hungry (or in my case, eating just because you feel like it), which results you in eating less which results in less calories.
I'm not as familiar with keto eating as I am Atkins/low carb...but I don't know of people on keto that eat apples, especially when you're just starting out. Using Atkins as a guide...typically you introduce fruits like berries first.
1. Breakfast- what kind of yogurt? Full fat yogurt or the fat free/low fat stuff? Take a look at the sugars in there. Even greek yogurt has a lot of carbs for someone starting out keto/low carb diet. Try having some hard boiled eggs on hand or even left over chicken/beef, etc. Do you have an actual stove? If not, you can microwave your eggs or buy an egg cooker (which sounds so silly but honestly I usually broke half the eggs while trying to boil them on the stove). Add in some spinach and cheese.
2. Your lunch looks pretty good, but what kind of veggies? This might help you: http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/low-carb-vegetables.html
Also, what kind was your dressing? Ranch is a good fall back option doing a low carb since some viniagrettes have higher amounts of sugar if the nutrition info isn't right there for you. I also stay away from 1000 island dressing since the carbs can add up quick, especially if you use a couple of tablespoons.
3. The peanut butter and an apple aren't going to work as a snack. Apple is a no at this point, and peanut butter can also vary in the number of carbs are in the peanut butter. It's a great snack, but not if you're eating a lot of calories in bacon, cheese, and full fat dressing.
4. At the end of the day, if you plan on eating 1350 cals, then stick to that and it really doesn't matter how you eat those. If you're feeling full and aren't struggling with hunger then great. Do you have access to nutritional info? Trying to log calories while having to guess on serving size or the exact brand could be difficult.
I wanted to add that I do eat low carb and thinking back, this would be very difficult to do eating on campus alot since there's the sub station, the pasta station, the pizza station, the grill with burgers/sandwiches, and then the salad bar. You could have a burger with no bun, eat just the toppings off a pizza, or see if they have the lettuce to do a lettuce wrap sub. People will argue that while doing low carb you don't have to worry about calories, and overall I've found this to be true that since I kept myself in check on the carbs, that overall my calories is lower but that doesn't make it a bacon free for all either. This could be a benefit if you are on able to get nutritional information.0 -
Oh hunny, good luck! I hated college for that reason. Once I got an off campus apartment it was so much easier. It is hard to weigh portions when you are standing in a line with 50 other kids. My advice would be to aim your calorie intake for the day lower than normal. So say you should be eating 1400, maybe try to do 1200. That way you have 200 extra calories to flirt with knowing that you arent able to measure and weigh appropriate amounts.
It is definitely a sucky situation, but it seems like you are on track to knowing what are healthier alternatives and that alone will help!0 -
Good luck. If you find an answer that works please post. Both my daughters are having a hard time with trying to eat normal carb amounts in college. As stated before LOTS of pasta and bread at the dining halls.0
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Thanks everyone!
When I posted this, it was my first day and I hadn't done enough research.
I aim to hit 10% max carbs, 70% fat, and 20% protein each day
And so far so good after the first day0 -
I did LCHF in university. It was very easy. Not sure about your school, but we had about 6 or 7 dining halls, and all of them had plenty of selection. It's so doable if your dining hall has a decent amount of meat, veg, and fruit options.0
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My daughter is living on campus. First off its important to understand your meal plan.
My DD goes to UW Whitewater and can eat at any hall, has "dining dollars" that can be used at any hall or campus cafe, and also "purple points" she can use at restaurants and the local Sentry grocery store. She is a freshman and was recently diagnosed as lactose and gluten intolerant. She met with the campus nutritionist early on to get assistance with her diet plan. This has helped her to know what to track and what nutrients she may lack due to her diet. She tracks everything on MFP to be sure to stay properly nourished.
Be sure to use the resources available to you on campus - you already pay for them in your tuition!0
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