Increasing Fat Intake While reducing Protein
fdhunt1
Posts: 222 Member
Have been reading blogs regarding weight loss stalls and increasing fat intake while reducing protein to kick the stall. Has anyone done this and to what degree of success?
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Replies
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How much fat per day are we talking about?0
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If you are getting inadequate amounts of protein, your body will take it from muscle or other tissue. You'll break the stall, on the scale, but it will come at the cost of health. Depends on how low you're going on protein, but it doesn't really matter. Protein is almost never the problem.2
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Thinking about trying fat fasting ( max 1000 cals/5 small meals mostly fat) to break the plateau but also to lower my glucose levels which are hovering around 102 fasted in the morning.0
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I was thinking of dropping my protein from 140g/day to around 70g/day.0
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I think, and this is only my opinion based on my own n=1, that changing macros or calories over a few days can help with a stall sometimes. For me, a change seems to help for some reason. It isn't always a calorie reduction though. Sometimes eating more seems to proceed the scale moving.
I think 70g is approaching low for someone who is losing or active. I know some do find they have lower BG from lower protein, but morning BG is probably more to do with the dawn phenomenon. Apple cider vinegar or alcohol at night can help that in some people. IF seems to help some people too. So does exercise. Metformin too.
Gluconeogenesis is mainly demand driven. Protein intake will affect it to a small degree. If you aren't eating enough protein, the body will use lean tissue instead. I have read the theory that the glycerol backbone of fats will be used to make glucose in those who are fat adapted so fat could make BG too - I do not believe it is proven though.0 -
I would not reduce protein. It is way too important and the scale is really not helping you on the journey. For instance: Scale thinks I'm starting to stall yet clothes I couldn't fit into to start the month are fitting.... Reduce the fat and carbs while hitting protein and mix in some cardio and strength workouts and it will happen for you.0
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I wouldn’t. I started keto with the belief that protein must be limited and fat must be very high. I did indeed lose weight really well. Unfortunately, it was mostly muscle and bone density. I was staying around the 70g that was at the high end of so many keto groups recommendations for women. It wasn’t nearly enough. I cannotvtell you how much I regret getting such terrible advice back then.
I would never drop below 100g protein a day. That’s the absolute minimum I would be comfortable with but there is zero reason to think that protein would interfere with fat loss.
Many people think it does because when they increase protein the scale weight loss slows or stops. Maybe that’s just because they stop losing muscle and bone???
I also stopped losing weight when I increased protein and reduced fat, but it was only then that I finally began losing significant fat instead of muscle.
The second photo shows what I lost eating about 70g protein and very high fat. Sure I lost 25 pounds. It just wasn’t fat...
Then I doubled my protein and reduced fat and finally began to get the body I wanted even though I actually gained weight. All of this without exercise.
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@Sunny_Bunny_ Would you mind sharing your macros? I know, I know, every body is different- I just like a little frame of reference. I struggle to get my protein that high, without supplementing with whey protein powder.0
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(Sorry- didn't mean to hijack with the above) - There are lots of Keto groups who are all about high, high fat, fat bombs, Bullet proof whatever. Your body doesn't need extra fat in order to burn body fat. It DOES need adequate protein. Try dropping your fat a bit.1
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If you are trying to burn stored fat, it doesn't make any sense to me to increase fat consumption...in theory, you already have plenty of fat for your body to use as base material for ketone production...and you want your body to metabolize fat, not muscle...so increasing protein and reducing fat intake makes more sense to ensure fat is metabolized and muscle tissue is not used for fuel.5
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Guys .. Many are getting the concept of the Keto diet all wrong, the High Fats at the start of the diet is to help adapt the Body at first to switch the body from Glucose energy consumption into a Fat fuel stored using machine instead. So your fat intake will probably start high at first but as time goes by and that is if you are sticking to the program without cheating your body will start adapting after 2 weeks or 4 everybody is different but after 4 weeks you won't have to consume that much fat and your protein levels would be about the same around the end or it can become higher depending what exactly your activity level is or over all goal is in the end. At the start of a Keto diet is always suggested to go 70% fat to 25% Protein and 5% carbs but once you are a month deep or so those number will change so you will have to read your body.. if you are stalling could be simply you are consuming too much of something so you need to evaluate your caloric diet and bring it down a notch. Hope you find this Helpful as I once was in the same situation. If all else fails for you the best way to break a plateau is to Fast 48 hours and guarantee you will be back to fat burning mode.4
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That is a great point made by @AnointedBlue The ultimate goal is really to get the body into the fat adapted stage. Once that happens all the great stuff starts happening. It's the first few weeks of the strict keto that gets you to round 2. Websites do a poor job of explaining this. Everyone is different but the last thing I'd want to be doing is eating a bunch of fat long term when there is things like chicken I could be getting my calories from.0
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Protein is the only macro you cannot make yourself (except certain specific fatty acids that can come from fish oil or flaxseed oil). Your body can make glucose and your body can make fat, but it cannot make protein, nor can it make lean tissue.
Bottom line: Do not decrease protein. If anything, you need to eat less fat.2 -
This is a very helpful discussion. I am a keto noobie (4 weeks). I am down 9 pounds, but it is difficult to know whether this is attributable to keto or the fact that I am eating fewer calories given the satiety gained from the fat intake. At the same time, I've increased both the intensity and frequency of my workouts to prep for ski season. I am trying to determine when to begin decreasing fat and increasing protein (i.e., when/how to know that my body is fat adapted). I've had a resting metabolic assessment done at the gym and will go over results w/my nutritionist next week. She noted preliminarily that fat burning was obvious from the data. My blood work should also be done by that time. Needless to say, if my cholesterol numbers are unsatisfactory I'll be making major diet adjustments.0
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@suzskis
I look at it this way:
Keto is the plan
The plan made me eat less carbs which fixed my blood sugars
My fixed blood sugars allowed me to live again and go after exercise
This then made my exercise capacity go up while my calorie intake went down from feeling full
2 months in the body changed to fat for primary fuel and I started focusing more on lean mass vs fat mass than caring about what the scale number said of which protein is key.
6 months later was it Keto, cutting calories or all the exercise I could now do? Don't know for sure but I believe in cause and effect and what I do know is none of this would have been possible if I didn't start the Keto diet.
The RMR test will give a clear indication that you are fat adapted and give you pretty accurate calorie numbers. Next up I'd suggest getting a body scan. It will give the breakdown of lean mass vs fat mass. The nutritionist can then help you to eat for the best possible results.1 -
This is a very helpful discussion. I am a keto noobie (4 weeks). I am down 9 pounds, but it is difficult to know whether this is attributable to keto or the fact that I am eating fewer calories given the satiety gained from the fat intake. At the same time, I've increased both the intensity and frequency of my workouts to prep for ski season. I am trying to determine when to begin decreasing fat and increasing protein (i.e., when/how to know that my body is fat adapted). I've had a resting metabolic assessment done at the gym and will go over results w/my nutritionist next week. She noted preliminarily that fat burning was obvious from the data. My blood work should also be done by that time. Needless to say, if my cholesterol numbers are unsatisfactory I'll be making major diet adjustments.
I think you should be at your ideal protein intake from the get go. Keto is usually moderate protein while at maintenance, and a bit higher while losing.
For example, if your goal is 100g of protein when at maintenance, then your protein goal should be at least 100g while losing (a bit more may help prevent lean tissue losses somewhat). At maintenance, your calories might be 2000kcal, with 400kcal being protein (as you know, there is 4 kcal in every gram of protein) which is 20%. If you were losing weight with 1200 kcal, then 400 kcal protein would be 33%, and at 1600 kcal protein would be 25%.
All that to say that I would get your protein to where you want it now. Don't worry about eating more fat while losing - let your body fat stores be used for energy instead.
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