Question About Eating Fat
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debodom1962
Posts: 310 Member
I grew up in the age of low fat everything so trying to wrap my head around eating 75% fat is really difficult. I'm doing it and have lost close to 4 lbs in a week. However I have a question that I can't seem to find the answer to. I am at approximately 42% body fat. I had it tested in an air pod last year so it is fairly accurate. It may be a little less now since I've lost some weight but still close enough. So how does my body burn the stored fat if I'm eating about 80-100 grams of fat a day. I'm trying to make sure I eat plenty of healthy fat and not just live on cheese, nuts, and bacon.
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debodom1962 wrote: »I grew up in the age of low fat everything so trying to wrap my head around eating 75% fat is really difficult. I'm doing it and have lost close to 4 lbs in a week. However I have a question that I can't seem to find the answer to. I am at approximately 42% body fat. I had it tested in an air pod last year so it is fairly accurate. It may be a little less now since I've lost some weight but still close enough. So how does my body burn the stored fat if I'm eating about 80-100 grams of fat a day? I'm trying to make sure I eat plenty of healthy fat and not just live on cheese, nuts, and bacon.
Bingo!
My $. 02 - I'd suggest factoring the fat you intend to burn from your Strategic Energy Reserve into your daily macros, which will reduce your dietary fat considerably.
If it were me, I'd ditch most of the bacon and cheese (too much dietary fat) and watch the nuts (carbs), focusing instead on quality protein.
I would also suggest reading through the group's LCD Launch Pad sticky thread. Lots of great info.
A good guidebook like Phinney and Volek's New Atkins for a New You will answer many questions, and if you're diabetic, Richard K. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution is a gold mine!6 -
@RalfLott what is strategic energy reserve? And in your opinion, with the fat that is stored already in my body, what should I be eating. Right now my calories are set at 1298, fat at 101g, carbs at 20g and protein at 65g.
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75% fat is what your body will burn from TDEE. Not how much you eat. You take your calorie deficit from the fat. Often leaving a fat ratio closer to 60%
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debodom1962 wrote: »@RalfLott what is strategic energy reserve? And in your opinion, with the fat that is stored already in my body, what should I be eating. Right now my calories are set at 1298, fat at 101g, carbs at 20g and protein at 65g.
I can't really give you a recommendation. It's crucially important to arm yourself with knowledge up front. I would suggest getting a copy of the New Atkins book and reading through it to get a handle on the ins and outs of using a ketogenic diet for weight loss. Phinney snd Volek's Youtube vids are also great sources of information.
There are handy keto calculators around, such as at ketogains.com, ruled.me, and ankerl.com, which might be useful in helping you set your initial targets.
That said, your protein seems rather low and fat a bit high.
Strategic Energy Reserve is what you carry with you in case of emergency or caloric deficit!5 -
@RalfLott I did get macros etc from those calculators. Not one of them gave me the same reading so I just went with the lowest one. I'll get the book you recommended and try and look at the videos. Sometimes that stuff gets so scientific that I can't understand it all. Thank you for the suggestions.0
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Seeing this post is actually confusing me.
Does this mean you reduce your caloric intake more? Does this mean you adjust your macros for more protein?1 -
@tayusuki right? I was confused before, I am moreso now. Now I don't know if I'm losing weight because my calories are super low (CICO) or because I'm eating high fat. They need to make a "keto for dummies" and simplify it.0
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Seeing this post is actually confusing me.
Does this mean you reduce your caloric intake more? Does this mean you adjust your macros for more protein?
No. This does not mean reduce calories more.
TDEE is how many calories you burn in a day. That would be how many you eat to NOT lose weight.
Let's say it's 2000 and use the macros of 5/20/75
5% of 2000 calories is 190 which is about 47g carbs. You can go lower if you want.
20% of 2000 calories is 400 calories which is about 100g protein. You can go higher if you want.
75% of 2000 calories is 1500 which is about 166g fat.
With that you would maintain current weight. If you want to lose weight you take the calorie deficit from the fat calories because you want to use bodyfat. That's fat. It counts as fat burned that you aren't eating. It's feeding your body in place of food.
So instead of 1500 calories of fat, you could go with 1000 and have a 500 calorie deficit. Do instead eat 111g of fat.
Now, if you set MFP up with 1500 calories and set a 5/20/75 ratio, you will NOT get accurate numbers because you didn't determine the macros from TDEE and then take your calorie deficit from fat only. You simply swap out dietary fat for bodyfat. You DO NOT want to swap out protein for more fat when it's bodyfat you are trying to lose.
Everyone knows the keto ratios of 5/20/75 but they are applying them incorrectly. They are applying them to a caloric deficit. Which causes you to under eat protein and overeat fat.
If you set MFP up at 1500 calories then set grams of carbs/protein/fat as I detailed above to 47/100/111 you will get a pie chart that looks more like the one on the Phinney graphic. It will NOT be 5/20/75 percent of a caloric deficit but it WILL be of TDEE.7 -
Here's another example I like.
It shows a 1:1 ratio in grams for protein and fat for weight loss and a 2:1 ratio for maintenance.
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You're losing weight because your eating lower calories than you did before. You're hopefully not hungry because the low carb high fat combination is keeping you satiated allowing you to more easily adhere to that deficit.
I personally wouldn't pay much attention to that graph. While it is 100% true, in my opinion, MFP does not use TDEE and it is just something else to add to the confusion. It doesn't mean to eat fewer calories than your current deficit set by you and mfp and it doesn't mean to eat less fat. All it is saying is that what you are not eating because of a deficit, is coming from your body fat. That's what you want to occur.1 -
debodom1962 wrote: »@RalfLott I did get macros etc from those calculators. Not one of them gave me the same reading so I just went with the lowest one. I'll get the book you recommended and try and look at the videos. Sometimes that stuff gets so scientific that I can't understand it all. Thank you for the suggestions.
I know it can be confusing! It will all make a lot more sense after you've been at it for a while. Meanwhile, New Atkins is a simplified intro to keto for people who are interested in low-carb diets but don't have a scientific background.
Phinney and Volek also have intro videos at the JumpstartMD YouTube channel. They're divided into very short segments by topic.
If you restrict your carbs, your body will look to fat as a fuel source. The more fat you eat, the less your body will burn from your body fat.
Some of us (uh, me... ) have experienced muscle loss from starting keto without enough protein. My goal weight is 140, and I now eat around 110g of protein per day.
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I know MFP doesn't use TDEE. But it's not difficult to get a fair estimate. Every single one of those calculators gives you your TDEE.
YOU JUST DO THE MATH YOURSELF.
Don't use MFP's generic caloric deficit. If you're using a keto macro calculator you already aren't anyway. Once you know your TDEE based on the calculators already mentioned, subtract whatever calorie deficit you want but take those calories from the fat only.
It's really not difficult at all.2 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Here's another example I like.
It shows a 1:1 ratio in grams for protein and fat for weight loss and a 2:1 ratio for maintenance.
It looks like 2:1 for fat loss and 1:1 for maintenance.0 -
@Sunny_Bunny_ still totally confused. What is TDEE? And the numbers I originally posted came from one of the calculators mentioned. I'll go back and try again, but I tried different ones and none of them gave me the same reading.
@kpk54 most likely I am losing weight because of the decrease in calories and most definitely the decrease in sugar and white products. I don't look so puffy and my belly is shrinking. But all this fat scares me.
@RalfLott that last post. That I understand lol. Thank you. That answered my question pretty good. So I'll decrease my fat some and increase my protein more and see what happens.
I just happen to have the New Atkins For A New You on my bookshelf so I'll start reading through it and see if I can make a little sense of this. I may have more questions.
Thank you for trying to help me everyone. I really want to succeed at this for health reasons. I am T2D (diet controlled) autoimmune Hashimoto's, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, IBS, and just general joint inflammation overall. After 10 days, I will say I do not feel as inflamed and I trying to keep dairy to a minimum to further help that.
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Here's a different way of looking at it.
TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Which is how much your body burns every day to run your organs, and your work, AND your exercise. Total calorie burn for your daily life. Most keto calcs have this. Find it. Generally 500cal deficit will get you (supposedly) about a lb per week loss. 250cal deficit will get you a half pound. Find that TDEE figure and subtract your deficit of choice. That is your daily intake.
With this number make your carbs, protein, fat this:- Carbs are a ceiling in grams.
- Protein is a range (based on your height/weight/activity level.
- Fill the rest of your calories with fat.
So the base of what you eat is a carb limit and a protein range (so you don't lose as much muscle-all weightloss will take some, this isn't specific to keto). What's left is fat.
We'll do my TDEE based upon ankerl.
So the section in red shows my TDEE. If I want to lose 1lb per week, I subtract 500cal from it. What's this 500 come from? Supposedly 3500cal deficit is what it takes to lose a pound. Divide that by the days of the week, you get 500cal deficit per day. Anyway,
So according to what I inputed into the calc, if I want to lose 1 pound per week, I need to calculate my macros based upon a calorie intake of 1568 cal which is 50g carbs, 100g protein (or a little higher. It's ok to go a little over), and 106g fat.
If I do eat more protein, I'll eat a bit less fat to compensate.
Of course, every 10 or 15lb, you need to recalculate the TDEE, as smaller bodies need fewer calories over time.
HTH.5 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Here's another example I like.
It shows a 1:1 ratio in grams for protein and fat for weight loss and a 2:1 ratio for maintenance.
It looks like 2:1 for fat loss and 1:1 for maintenance.
My mistake. 2 parts protein to 1 part fat is correct in fat loss mode. Equal parts for maintenance0 -
There are different ways you can set this up for fat loss.
You can choose to be meticulous and figure every calorie and gram using calculators and macro percentages as I detailed above or you can use the simpler 2:1 ratio and limit carbs to whatever you want below 50g.
In a Chris Masterjohn video shared on another link he suggests eating 1g of protein per pound of ideal body weight.
How about this.
If MFP gives you a 1200 calorie goal, set carbs to 30g, protein to 120g and fat to whatever you have left.
It doesn't get simpler than that2 -
baconslave wrote: »Here's a different way of looking at it.
TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Which is how much your body burns every day to run your organs, and your work, AND your exercise. Total calorie burn for your daily life. Most keto calcs have this. Find it. Generally 500cal deficit will get you (supposedly) about a lb per week loss. 250cal deficit will get you a half pound. Find that TDEE figure and subtract your deficit of choice. That is your daily intake.
With this number make your carbs, protein, fat this:- Carbs are a ceiling in grams.
- Protein is a range (based on your height/weight/activity level.
- Fill the rest of your calories with fat.
So the base of what you eat is a carb limit and a protein range (so you don't lose as much muscle-all weightloss will take some, this isn't specific to keto). What's left is fat.
We'll do my TDEE based upon ankerl.
So the section in red shows my TDEE. If I want to lose 1lb per week, I subtract 500cal from it. What's this 500 come from? Supposedly 3500cal deficit is what it takes to lose a pound. Divide that by the days of the week, you get 500cal deficit per day. Anyway,
So according to what I inputed into the calc, if I want to lose 1 pound per week, I need to calculate my macros based upon a calorie intake of 1568 cal which is 50g carbs, 100g protein (or a little higher. It's ok to go a little over), and 106g fat.
If I do eat more protein, I'll eat a bit less fat to compensate.
Of course, every 10 or 15lb, you need to recalculate the TDEE, as smaller bodies need fewer calories over time.
HTH.
I think this may have helped me as well, so thank you for breaking it down like this!
I do have a question based on this info though; my TDEE is calculated at 1807. ( I am hoping to lose the remaining 27# to goal). If I had MFP set at 2# loss, keeping what you said in mind, id be eating 807 cals a day based on that note of 500 cal deficit for every pound desired to lose.
Now I'm clearly not going to function on 807 cals a day, regardless of my fat intake I'd think.
So my question is this, Should I adjust my goals then, is 1# per week I more realistic with the amount I want to lose? Which brings me back to around 1307 cals a day. MFP calculated 1200 cals for me, so just adjust my own macros based on the 1307 and I should still see a deficit- right?......
Maybe I am just talking out loud trying to process. I have read a lot of things and just trying to make it simple as possible for longevity.
_Current plan per MFP: 1200 cals, Carbs %5/ 15 g,( I still hit 20 right around 20 or less some days), Fat 75% /100 g, and Protein 20%/60g. I walk 5-6 days a week for a total of about 5-6 miles daily.
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@baconslave you rock. That I understood almost 100%
@Sunny_Bunny_ yes that made it much simpler lol.
Do you remember Charlie Brown when his parents would speak and all you heard was "waa waa waa". That's what my brain has always heard if it pertains to science, calculations etc. I'm a math whiz and I read everything I can get my hands on, but science stuff, lost. Thank you for breaking it down!3 -
RhiannonBecks wrote: »baconslave wrote: »Here's a different way of looking at it.
TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Which is how much your body burns every day to run your organs, and your work, AND your exercise. Total calorie burn for your daily life. Most keto calcs have this. Find it. Generally 500cal deficit will get you (supposedly) about a lb per week loss. 250cal deficit will get you a half pound. Find that TDEE figure and subtract your deficit of choice. That is your daily intake.
With this number make your carbs, protein, fat this:- Carbs are a ceiling in grams.
- Protein is a range (based on your height/weight/activity level.
- Fill the rest of your calories with fat.
So the base of what you eat is a carb limit and a protein range (so you don't lose as much muscle-all weightloss will take some, this isn't specific to keto). What's left is fat.
We'll do my TDEE based upon ankerl.
So the section in red shows my TDEE. If I want to lose 1lb per week, I subtract 500cal from it. What's this 500 come from? Supposedly 3500cal deficit is what it takes to lose a pound. Divide that by the days of the week, you get 500cal deficit per day. Anyway,
So according to what I inputed into the calc, if I want to lose 1 pound per week, I need to calculate my macros based upon a calorie intake of 1568 cal which is 50g carbs, 100g protein (or a little higher. It's ok to go a little over), and 106g fat.
If I do eat more protein, I'll eat a bit less fat to compensate.
Of course, every 10 or 15lb, you need to recalculate the TDEE, as smaller bodies need fewer calories over time.
HTH.
I think this may have helped me as well, so thank you for breaking it down like this!
I do have a question based on this info though; my TDEE is calculated at 1807. ( I am hoping to lose the remaining 27# to goal). If I had MFP set at 2# loss, keeping what you said in mind, id be eating 807 cals a day based on that note of 500 cal deficit for every pound desired to lose.
Now I'm clearly not going to function on 807 cals a day, regardless of my fat intake I'd think.
So my question is this, Should I adjust my goals then, is 1# per week I more realistic with the amount I want to lose? Which brings me back to around 1307 cals a day. MFP calculated 1200 cals for me, so just adjust my own macros based on the 1307 and I should still see a deficit- right?......
Maybe I am just talking out loud trying to process. I have read a lot of things and just trying to make it simple as possible for longevity.
_Current plan per MFP: 1200 cals, Carbs %5/ 15 g,( I still hit 20 right around 20 or less some days), Fat 75% /100 g, and Protein 20%/60g. I walk 5-6 days a week for a total of about 5-6 miles daily.
With "only" (I realize this is subjective) 27# to go, 1 pound/week is the maximum I would aim to lose. and after losing 7-12 of that, .5lb/week would be my maximum.3
