Sticking to 10-15% fat for total calories

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  • ConwayJosh
    ConwayJosh Posts: 36 Member
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    Well, that was odd I woke up and my fitness pal changed my goals with to higher fat and lower protein lol
  • StevefromMichigan
    StevefromMichigan Posts: 462 Member
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    Sneaky *kitten*!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    ConwayJosh wrote: »
    Well, that was odd I woke up and my fitness pal changed my goals with to higher fat and lower protein lol

    It might be the universe trying to tell you something :wink:
  • ConwayJosh
    ConwayJosh Posts: 36 Member
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    ConwayJosh wrote: »
    Well, that was odd I woke up and my fitness pal changed my goals with to higher fat and lower protein lol

    It might be the universe trying to tell you something :wink:

    Yeah, I can't even trust an app to do its job.
  • Ryansworld84
    Ryansworld84 Posts: 83 Member
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    What I do is guarantee my protein needed, one gram per lb of lean body mass, and get around 20 to 30% in healthy fat then fill the rest with carbs.

    That seems to work well for me.
  • ConwayJosh
    ConwayJosh Posts: 36 Member
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    What I do is guarantee my protein needed, one gram per lb of lean body mass, and get around 20 to 30% in healthy fat then fill the rest with carbs.

    That seems to work well for me.

    That method works for many people, it's absolutely a viable option.

  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,217 Member
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    I think I may give this a go. I've been quite successful on my cut so far with fairly low carbs (80g - 100g) but my last couple of workouts have felt quite brutal. Energy levels are tanking and even with reduced volume it feels like my tank is running empty too soon. I'm going to reduce fats by half this next week and use those calories for carbs. I'm only about 10 pounds away from my target now, so shouldn't have to sustain low fat for very long.
  • ConwayJosh
    ConwayJosh Posts: 36 Member
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    joeydahatt wrote: »
    ConwayJosh wrote: »
    jflongo wrote: »
    The most import thing is you hit your calorie mark every day, plus enough protein. Other than that just don't go too low on fat, i would stay at least at 15% or so. Just look at Keto diets and others. Some eat super high fat %'s, high protein %, and almost no carbs, while others do it differently. You can throw %'s all around, just make sure you hit your calorie mark and protein.

    The particular issue with low carb is that it depletes glycogen and has been shown at best to maintain muscle and is inferior in that regard to higher carb diets

    The issue with high carb diets is more one of insulin sensitivity. With carbs being the most easily utilized nutrient high carb diets tend to increase fat storage because the energy being produced so easily and quickly isn't needed and gets stored as fat for later use. Once glycogen stores are full the additional glucose is going to cause increased insulin which is going to bind it to store as fat. Glycogenesis is not limited to just carbs and the liver is going to synthesis what it needs for energy no matter the source. While I'm never in ketosis I do keep my carb intake relatively low which increases insulin sensitivity which in turn reduces fat stores if you're not in a large caloric surplus. Under 200 grams seems to work best for me. Also try cycling carb intake, higher on weight training days and lower on non weight training days. This is the key recomping and actually building muscle while in a weekly caloric deficit.

    https://youtu.be/tbutiVOebro
    You're right to some degree, excess carbs to some point are going to go through a process and be stored as fat. When fat is consumed it largely just gets stored as fat, the difference is excess carbs have to go through a process after a period of time if not used but fat just gets stored. Broderick also covers the hormonal effects (anti catabolic and in higher quantities anabolic) when consuming carbs and this doesn't happen at all with fat consumption and to a much smaller degree protein. People can lose insulin sensitivity over time and if I remember correctly it is appropriate to have times of lower carb intake to help resensitize insulin response. I posted the video if you wanted a more in depth answer from where I heard a majority of this information.
  • ConwayJosh
    ConwayJosh Posts: 36 Member
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    jseams1234 wrote: »
    I think I may give this a go. I've been quite successful on my cut so far with fairly low carbs (80g - 100g) but my last couple of workouts have felt quite brutal. Energy levels are tanking and even with reduced volume it feels like my tank is running empty too soon. I'm going to reduce fats by half this next week and use those calories for carbs. I'm only about 10 pounds away from my target now, so shouldn't have to sustain low fat for very long.

    If you're not already doing it upping sodium consumption can also help with energy levels provided no medical issues exist. Depending on activity level 3-5 grams of sodium may be helpful. Just in case anyone says anything if no medical issues with sodium the kidneys can process over 20 grams a day which by no means do I recommend but 3-5 should be beneficial
  • gogetemrogue
    gogetemrogue Posts: 80 Member
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    Aren't you finding it difficult to meet your protein target without going over on fat? I imagine you are having to consume a lot of protein powder to accomplish these macro goals.

    But seriously, you need to eat a proper amount of dietary fat to maintain healthy brain function. You don't want to skimp out on maintaining the most important organ in your body. No brain = no lift.
  • ConwayJosh
    ConwayJosh Posts: 36 Member
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    Aren't you finding it difficult to meet your protein target without going over on fat? I imagine you are having to consume a lot of protein powder to accomplish these macro goals.

    But seriously, you need to eat a proper amount of dietary fat to maintain healthy brain function. You don't want to skimp out on maintaining the most important organ in your body. No brain = no lift.

    Hovering between 10-15% or 27-42 g per day doesn't seem to be causing any issues and as long as I'm consuming at least 10% there's not supposed to be any issue according to meta analysis from Dr. Mike. My last meal of the day is 2 scoops of casein protein and most of my meals have chicken breast. I normally consume some healthy fats from almonds or other healthy fat sources.
  • gogetemrogue
    gogetemrogue Posts: 80 Member
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    ConwayJosh wrote: »
    Hovering between 10-15% or 27-42 g per day doesn't seem to be causing any issues and as long as I'm consuming at least 10% there's not supposed to be any issue according to meta analysis from Dr. Mike. My last meal of the day is 2 scoops of casein protein and most of my meals have chicken breast. I normally consume some healthy fats from almonds or other healthy fat sources.

    I can enjoy some nicely prepared chicken, but if I had to eat chicken for every meal that isn't protein powder...I'd rather be fat. Thank god you don't actually have to eat like this to lose weight!

    Dr Mike himself said that you don't have to cut out "junk food" entirely, you just have to eat a little bit less of it. Furthermore, you seem to be willfully ignoring that he said "as long as you eat 10%" of each macro, you can fill in the other 70% with any macro you want.

    So you might not be killing yourself on your diet of chicken breast, casein protein, and minimal healthy fats, but if eating like this causes you to binge later on, or destroys a previously-healthy relationship with food, I can only say I'm sorry, but I tried. Sustaining this lifestyle is the #1 key to losing weight and keeping it off. Unless you can imagine eating like this forever +/- calories for maintenance/bulk/cut, etc. you are likely not helping yourself by eating like this.
  • ConwayJosh
    ConwayJosh Posts: 36 Member
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    ConwayJosh wrote: »
    Hovering between 10-15% or 27-42 g per day doesn't seem to be causing any issues and as long as I'm consuming at least 10% there's not supposed to be any issue according to meta analysis from Dr. Mike. My last meal of the day is 2 scoops of casein protein and most of my meals have chicken breast. I normally consume some healthy fats from almonds or other healthy fat sources.

    I can enjoy some nicely prepared chicken, but if I had to eat chicken for every meal that isn't protein powder...I'd rather be fat. Thank god you don't actually have to eat like this to lose weight!

    Dr Mike himself said that you don't have to cut out "junk food" entirely, you just have to eat a little bit less of it. Furthermore, you seem to be willfully ignoring that he said "as long as you eat 10%" of each macro, you can fill in the other 70% with any macro you want.

    So you might not be killing yourself on your diet of chicken breast, casein protein, and minimal healthy fats, but if eating like this causes you to binge later on, or destroys a previously-healthy relationship with food, I can only say I'm sorry, but I tried. Sustaining this lifestyle is the #1 key to losing weight and keeping it off. Unless you can imagine eating like this forever +/- calories for maintenance/bulk/cut, etc. you are likely not helping yourself by eating like this.

    I actually love chicken and I don't eat it every meal but most and I use plenty of spices and fat free cheese to give some flavor and thankfully I'm only going to be in a deficit for another 2.5-6.5 weeks. I followed a phasic structure of how to build the habit of eating healthy which was about 3-4 months getting used to shopping for healthier choices and eating at certain times during the day.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    ConwayJosh wrote: »
    Hovering between 10-15% or 27-42 g per day doesn't seem to be causing any issues and as long as I'm consuming at least 10% there's not supposed to be any issue according to meta analysis from Dr. Mike. My last meal of the day is 2 scoops of casein protein and most of my meals have chicken breast. I normally consume some healthy fats from almonds or other healthy fat sources.
    Dr Mike himself said that you don't have to cut out "junk food" entirely, you just have to eat a little bit less of it. Furthermore, you seem to be willfully ignoring that he said "as long as you eat 10%" of each macro, you can fill in the other 70% with any macro you want.

    ^ It's been mentioned several times on this thread that those extra calories will be allotted to carbs when reducing fat that low. "You can fill in the other 70% with whatever you want." Some people want carbs. Or a larger deficit.

    There are a lot of other protein sources out there that are very lean, besides just chicken and protein powder.
    Certain cuts of pork, fish, greek yogurt, etc etc. can also be quite low in fat.

    It's really not that difficult phase out higher fat options for cutting, and reintroduce them when your diet is over and you need to increase calories....
    Like I mentioned upthread, fat can be manipulated in a way that you will hardly even notice it's gone. It's typically low in volume, unlike carbs. To me that is very appealing. And it's simple.