Calorie restriction OR eat to hunger on LCHF?
Katieusa68
Posts: 27 Member
I lost 70 lbs last year with very low calorie/low fat diet. Over about 5 months, while trying to maintain the loss, my weight crept up 8 lbs while pretty consistently eating 1300 calories, low fat and carbs around 150-200 grams. I became increasingly hungry and would cheat about once a week. My cravings were intense. I decided to change my diet. That's when I discovered the LCHF plan about 2 weeks ago. I have lost 6 lbs on the LCHF and would like to lose 5 more lbs and maintain. During this recent 6 lb loss, I have been eating anywhere from 1700 to 2200 calories, eating to hunger, with carbs always less than 50 grams but usually less than 35. I am more than a little freaked out about how much fat I am eating (75%) but I am feeling so satisfied that it helps with the adjustment. I have eaten low calorie for so long that seeing the higher calories is disturbing. I have read a great deal from experts and there seems to be a difference of opinion about using calorie restriction with a LCHF plan. What are most of you doing? Do you just keep up your macro percentages and not worry about the overall calories? Do you restrict your calories? I am just unsure of myself with this process and would invite insight from more experienced LCHF followers.
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We're currently doing an "Ad Libitum April" Challenge (that is eating as much as you want without restriction). Most are finding they still lose even without counting. Personally, I haven't restricted my calories for well over a year. Still losing.
I eat a lot. More calories than you would think I should be able to. I still lose. If you're still losing and eating 1700-2200 calories a day, you probably are the same.
Link to the most recent check-in thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10130774/ad-lib-april-april-8th0 -
This is interesting. I'm eating to a 1200 calorie goal. I still get hungry on low carb but certainly not as bad as I did when I was a carboholic. If I ate to hunger I am not sure what would happen!0
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I do not go around hungry now that I have been HFLC for over 6 months.0
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I set my goal at 1500 frequently eat between 1800-1900 and find I'm still losing0
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I restrict to lose, I eat at maintenance to maintain. When I don't watch, I gain. There's no magic in LC calories, you're either at a deficit or you're not. The question is whether or not you personally are able to maintain that deficit/maintenance without watching the calories, and there is no rule for that. Every person is different and has different factors to account for.
I managed to gain while staying in full keto just by doing things like not measuring how much butter or oil I put in a pan, adding extra coffee when I felt like it. Little things that all add up, but had no direct influence on satiety.0 -
What's a good deficit percentage? I'm at 26% but have no idea if that's good.0
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I have to use low carb in conjunction with good eating habits in order not to have to count calories. The biggies are I eat 2 meals a day (occasionally 3 if I feel hungry) and I don't snack or eat after dinner. This works perfectly in conjunction with eating LCHF because I naturally am only hungry twice a day but it also helps restricts my calories. I can eat indulgent meals that leave me completely full and satisfied but still be eating at a deficit -- like a 700 calorie breakfast & 1,000 calorie dinner. The fewer times a day you eat, the fewer opportunities there are to overeat.
I am able to maintain and lose without tracking if I stick to these rules but I lose more weight when I weigh and measure my food so I do both; count calories and take breaks from counting when it starts to feel tiresome.0 -
My goal is 1700 and that falls into a 15-20% deficit.
My macros are set at 10% carb, 20% protein and 70% fat.0 -
wheatlessgirl66 wrote: »What's a good deficit percentage? I'm at 26% but have no idea if that's good.
TDEE-20% is generally considered a good percentage. I just go with TDEE-500 calories instead of trying to figure out percentages.
I track, but I don't specifically restrict, largely because I don't usually need to. I naturally fall into a deficit when I actually heed my hunger signals and don't just eat because I feel it's what I should be doing. Like @AlabasterVerve, I only eat twice a day, usually, though if my first meal wasn't sufficient, or there's an abnormally long time between my meals, I might snack a little on cheese. MFP is set to a 500 calorie deficit, and I usually come in an extra couple hundred under that, but then I'll have a day or two where I'm extra hungry and end up a few hundred calories over, so it balances out over the weeks (because it's not the individual days that matter, but the averages over the course of the weeks and months).0 -
@dragonwolf Thanks. 20% gets me about 100 calories more, just short of a 500 calorie deficit from my TDEE. I'll try eating a little more protein/fat and see what happens.0
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I think I do want to set a calorie limit and unsure what it should be. I am eating sometimes when I know I am not really hungry but I am craving food and this is driving my calories up over a deficit, I am sure! It's an odd sensation to know I am not hungry but still have terrible cravings. Before doing low carb I was hungry all the time.
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