Anyone here doing high protein, low fat/carb?
Ms_J1
Posts: 253 Member
It seems like everyone who low carbs does the high fat. Is there anyone here who does low carb, low fat, high protein? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Atkins. I did it myself for 16 months. But as of five months ago, my doctor's orders are a low carb, low fat, and high protein diet for me and I was just wondering if anyone else here is on the same type of diet. I'll be the first to admit that it sucks too because it takes a lot of juggling and creativity to find ways to eat a variety of high protein foods that aren't meat and that are also low carb AND low fat, especially low in saturated fat (I miss full fat cheese!). But I'm making it work and have even lost 80 lbs living on chicken, tuna, mushrooms, fat free cheese, and Quest protein bars.
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Sounds like the Dukkan diet I did last year for a while. It wasn't too bad. Their oat bran pancake was good. I enjoyed eating lots of fish, egg white omelets and buffalo chicken. My biggest problem was getting in enough calories every day. Protein is very filling and without the fat, low Cal. That's why I switched to Keto. Good luck!0
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You won't find too many. Are there some? Sure. But, your energy needs to come from somewhere and the majority of that can't be protein. The majority needs to come from carbs or fat. If you're doing low-fat AND low-carb, you should be under close doctor supervision and have a lot of weight to lose. The second one is very important because you'll still be doing a high-fat diet, in the eyes of your body. Since you're not eating the fat, your body will use the stores it has on you. You need a lot of fat to pull from because your fat can only release energy so fast. Something needs to make up the deficit between your TDEE and your intake.
Right now, for example, I have a TDEE of about 2,650 calories. The available fat stores on my body can provide a max of around 1,000 calories. That means, I need to consume at least 1,650 calories a day. Even if I tried doing that as a 75% protein / 20% fat / 5% carbs split, I would end up with 310g of protein a day. That's too much and can be damaging. I'm just not fat enough to go low-fat and low-carb. If I had more fat, I could have a larger deficit and eat fewer total calories.
The other reason you see many of use eating high-fat / moderate protein / low carb is because it's sustainable. It's less of a diet and more of a way of eating for life and health. You can't live forever on low-fat and low-carb. Eventually, your body runs out of the reserves it needs to keep you going on that sort of plan. At this point, weight loss is a bonus for me. I've got about 20 lbs I would still like to lose, but I am not in a rush to get to the end. I'm satisfied eating as I do and losing weight at whatever rate it happens to go off (of course, the fact that I continue to lose weight at about 1 lb/week helps there).0 -
You won't find very many people doing low fat, low carb, high protein, because it's potentially very, very dangerous. Why is your doctor suggesting low fat and low carb? Without a very compelling reason, detailed instructions about doing it safely, and close, knowledgeable, medical supervision, I'd get a second opinion, pronto.
Protein is building blocks, not fuel. Carbs and fat are fuel. Without sufficient fat and/or carbs, you run a very high risk of a condition called protein poisoning, or "rabbit starvation," and malnourishment (you need a certain amount of fat in your diet to absorb nutrients properly). Symptoms include diarrhea, headaches, fatigue, food cravings that can only be satisfied by protein or carbs, and even death. Too much protein, especially in the absence of carbs or fat, is very, very hard on the liver. Studies have shown that the body can only handle about 365g of protein per day safely, on average. Since protein only has 4 calories per gram, that's only 1460 calories.
Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson wrote this on one of his travels (emphasis mine):The groups that depend on the blubber animals are the most fortunate in the hunting way of life, for they never suffer from fat-hunger. This trouble is worst, so far as North America is concerned, among those forest Indians who depend at times on rabbits, the leanest animal in the North, and who develop the extreme fat-hunger known as rabbit-starvation. Rabbit eaters, if they have no fat from another source—beaver, moose, fish—will develop diarrhea in about a week, with headache, lassitude and vague discomfort. If there are enough rabbits, the people eat till their stomachs are distended; but no matter how much they eat they feel unsatisfied. Some think a man will die sooner if he eats continually of fat-free meat than if he eats nothing, but this is a belief on which sufficient evidence for a decision has not been gathered in the North. Deaths from rabbit-starvation, or from the eating of other skinny meat, are rare; for everyone understands the principle, and any possible preventive steps are naturally taken.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16779921
http://www.medbio.info/Horn/PDF files/rabbit starvation.pdf0 -
I am on a low carb / high protein diet my doctorr prescribed me and it has been working great. But I don't do low fat.0
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I agree. But I'd add that I likely wouldn't get a second medical opinion - but an opinion from someone with more nutritional understanding than most MD's. Honestly, most personal trainers I know have better nutritional education than most MD's.You won't find very many people doing low fat, low carb, high protein, because it's potentially very, very dangerous. Why is your doctor suggesting low fat and low carb? Without a very compelling reason, detailed instructions about doing it safely, and close, knowledgeable, medical supervision, I'd get a second opinion, pronto.
I also want to add: If this low-carb/low-fat diet is also low-calorie (under your BMR) then it's absolutely dangerous and requires constant ongoing medical supervision.0 -
My high protein, low everything else diet is under the supervision of my primary care physicians, a surgeon, and a nutritionist. All three work in coordination with each other.
At first (and hear me out because I have since corrected my attitude), when I read everyone's responses to my question, I was a little annoyed at all of the warnings and pieces of advise you all offered. But then it dawned on me that if it weren't for the fact that I did have a lot of weight to lose (126 lbs), that I still have a lot of weight to lose (45 lbs), and that I can now only eat 3-4 oz of food at a time (I had 80% of my stomach removed), I wouldn't be on this diet either. And up until now, after reading all of your responses, I always assumed a high protein, low carb/fat diet was just another mainstream diet variation. It never occurred to me that low-carbing isn't just for people who are losing weight - it's actually a lifestyle. A high protein diet is definitely not a lifestyle. I will eventually increase my fat and decrease my protein when I hit maintenance.
The reason for the high protein is because everything that I eat has now been downgraded to very small portions. So even though it is a high protein, low carb/fat diet, I'm not consuming dangerous amounts of protein because I can only eat so much in a day. I average about 100 grams of protein, 30 grams of net carbs, and 20 grams of fat.
Thanks for all of your responses. Now I know why I can't find more people with diets similar to mine - on a 2,000 calorie, high protein (50-55%), low everything else diet, the protein would be way too much. It does sound crazy when put into that perspective.0 -
Right. No one here is picking on you. And, if you're under doctor's supervision and have special medical needs, then you and your medical specialists know way better than any of us about what is right for your situation.
Now, I have seen people do high-protein low fat&carb diets for short term rapid weight loss (also very low calorie as well).
I eat a lot of food (about 2k calories a day). Eating even 50% of that as protein would be too much for my body to handle. Eating 50% of 800-900 calories a day is a very different thing.0 -
Right. No one here is picking on you. And, if you're under doctor's supervision and have special medical needs, then you and your medical specialists know way better than any of us about what is right for your situation.
Now, I have seen people do high-protein low fat&carb diets for short term rapid weight loss (also very low calorie as well).
I eat a lot of food (about 2k calories a day). Eating even 50% of that as protein would be too much for my body to handle. Eating 50% of 800-900 calories a day is a very different thing.
Thanks, Frob! I always found my high protein diet disconcerting because it goes against everything I have read about protein and its effect on the liver when consumed in high quantities. Listening to you guys though, reminded me that I'm consuming so few calories and because I'm consuming so few calories, "high protein", in my case, isn't really high protein - it's maintaining an adequate amount of protein by sacrificing carbs and fat.
It all makes sense now! I learn something new every day. I need to tell my nutritionist to stop calling it a "high protein" diet.0 -
Ideal Protein is low carb, low fat, high protein. You can find the forums in the message boards.
I am (and many other people) are on this diet and getting results.0 -
Ideal Protein is low carb, low fat, high protein. You can find the forums in the message boards.
I am (and many other people) are on this diet and getting results.
Found them! Thank you!0 -
I eat a lot of food (about 2k calories a day). Eating even 50% of that as protein would be too much for my body to handle. Eating 50% of 800-900 calories a day is a very different thing.
This is why I hate percentage-based ratios, particularly for determining "high" or "low" whatever. The percentage of something means very, very different things depending on calorie needs.
Another good example is something like a 5/25/70 c/p/f split. For a petite, sedentary woman, that 5% carbs may mean 10g (and a 30/30/40 split may be more sustainable and still be considered "low carb"), while for a male cyclist, that could be 200g and he'd still be in ketosis (because he's burning it all off constantly).
The percentages themselves, to me, are largely meaningless, especially if you don't know a person's caloric intake, and that's not even getting into the more vague "high this" or "low that," without any numbers at all.
/rant
And OP, no worries. We try not to pick on people (not in a mean way, anyway), especially in the closed groups. We just want to make sure you're healthy and safe. :flowerforyou:
It's good to hear that you're under good guidance. Too many people are just told vague things and they have to fill in the blanks. Hopefully the group recommendations help you out.0 -
This is pretty-much where I am most-days (the 5/25/70 split) ...This is why I hate percentage-based ratios, particularly for determining "high" or "low" whatever. The percentage of something means very, very different things depending on calorie needs.
Another good example is something like a 5/25/70 c/p/f split. For a petite, sedentary woman, that 5% carbs may mean 10g (and a 30/30/40 split may be more sustainable and still be considered "low carb"), while for a male cyclist, that could be 200g and he'd still be in ketosis (because he's burning it all off constantly).
... yet I've had people accuse me of NOT being low-carb, because they only look at my total carbohydrate intake, and see days with 120, 150 or even close to 200g of carbohydrate (because I have days where I'll spend 7 hours doing 15,000 feet of climbing on a bicycle...) Yet I check my ketones on a regular basis to ensure I'm in ketosis.
As Dragonwolf says, it's not *just* about ratio or amounts, etc., - it's about the individual, what they are doing in terms of overall calories, exercise, etc., and what they need to fuel themselves properly and still meet proper nutrition and their overall goals.0 -
I think I read someplace years ago that the threat of kidney damage while on an "atkins" or a "low carb / keto" type diet only existed when a person only ate protien?,, is this correct or a myth, Seems I recall that the diets were safe when there was fat and protien eaten together?,, just askin0
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Ideal Protein is low carb, low fat, high protein. You can find the forums in the message boards.
I am (and many other people) are on this diet and getting results.
Just no, not unless you are under Dr Supervision.0 -
I think I read someplace years ago that the threat of kidney damage while on an "atkins" or a "low carb / keto" type diet only existed when a person only ate protien?,, is this correct or a myth, Seems I recall that the diets were safe when there was fat and protien eaten together?,, just askin
Low carb/low fat and high protein diet can do that for you.0 -
I think I read someplace years ago that the threat of kidney damage while on an "atkins" or a "low carb / keto" type diet only existed when a person only ate protien?,, is this correct or a myth, Seems I recall that the diets were safe when there was fat and protien eaten together?,, just askin
If you're just eating protein, then you're not doing Atkins or keto, which are both by definition LC/HF.Ideal Protein is low carb, low fat, high protein. You can find the forums in the message boards.
I am (and many other people) are on this diet and getting results.
Just no, not unless you are under Dr Supervision.
A. The OP is under doctor supervision.
B. The quoted response isn't saying that LF/LC/HP is ideal, but that the program, named "Ideal Protein," follows that ratio.0
