How do you eat 80% fat?

[juliekem]

I have been browsing the forum this am and realised that I am not eating enough fat and probably too many carbs, However, I don't know how to eat 80% fat. I eat two eggs scrambled and fried in a knob of butter with a slice of ham for breakfast, a large salad with hm coleslaw for lunch and a dinner without potatoes etc followed by cheese and Fin crisp sourdough crackers for supper (they are only 3g carb each.)I snack on cheese and usually have a sugar free jelly (or a few berries) plus two good dessert spoons of the thickest cream I can get at some point during the day. How can I improve this?
I am not losing weight and my blood readings hover between 7.5 and 10! I also still feel hungry most of the time and all the internet sites devoted to low carbing say I should not feel hungry.

 

[DeejayR]

Nobody says you HAVE to eat 80% fat and I certainly don't. You have listed the food you eat for its fat content but what about veg? I fill up on bucketfuls of steamed green veg with as much fat as I can justify without my dear wife rebelling. I'm hardly ever hungry now, but I am a greedy snacker, so I prowl around looking for the smallest snack with the least sugar threat.
Have you tried belly pork casserole?

 

[AloeSvea]

Yes, I am wondering about the 80% fat stipulation too. You poor thing trying to go for that figure! No wonder you are finding it hard.

I am a simple creature when it comes to maths and pie charts and so on and like the 50%/50% that I discovered with the paleo way of eating LCHF. This means half the meal plate is protein and fats, and the other half vegetables - and some fruit - and that works a treat for me, and yeah - I don't go hungry. 50/50 makes it simple to keep an eye on when changing to a whole-food low-carb diet (which I did last year a couple of months after diagnosis), and after a while it becomes second nature and easy to adopt in all aspects of your life, is what I found. I eat lots of salad and a far greater range of and more veg than I did pre-diagnosis and pre-paleo/LCHF. What kind of food you want to cook and eat is a very personal choice for sure.

But eating the skin on a chicken, the crackling in a pork roast, for example, and a handful of nuts a day along with cheese and butter, and cooking in coconut oil would ensure plenty of healthful fats in your diet for sure. (I eat cheese and butter and full-fat greek yoghurt, which is not a paleo thing, but I am not a hard-liner, and many, me included, tolerate those dairy fats well.)

Like DeejayR I don't portion control either. That is the beauty of LCHF/low-carb/whole-food/paleo etc diets - it seems to right one's appetite/fullness levels, and it really is possible to lose weight and keep good control of one's blood glucose levels while eating as much as you want.

 

[Larissima]

Unlike DeejayR and AloeSvea, I do have to exercise portion control even on LCHF. That is not to say that I am constantly hungry, but I could eat considerably more (and have done so in the past - had a BMI of almost 40 at diagnosis). I do, however, completely agree with the half-plate veg/salad advice, and aim towards eating whole, unprocessed food whenever possible.

I have found that some fatty foods tempt me to eat more: good cheeses, cream sauces or dessert. Others, like coconut oil or avocado (added to proteins), have the opposite effect of leaving me satiated for a good number of hours.

Also, about eating huge quantities of veg - it's different for different people. I try not to stuff myself silly even on lettuce, as overstretching the stomach can lead to increases in BG (so-called Chinese restaurant effect, as described by dr Bernstein). So, ultimately, I would advise everyone to eat to their meter, as I am trying to do.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Where did you get this 80% figure from. I don't think I have ever seen it before.

 

[juliekem]

Where did you get this 80% figure from. I don't think I have ever seen it before.

Well thank goodness I don't have to eat so much fat! I really don't like it. I do eat tons of veg and salad but on the diet I have outlined I do not lose weight and ever since the New Year my bg has been up and down like a yo-yo. Two things happened - I had a nasty flu which lasted 2 months and because my bg had improved so much, just before Christmas my GP halved my Metformin dose to 1g a day. I have since persuaded her to let me increase it to 1.5 g a day but I am still getting readings of 9 or 10 in the morning even if my bg at bedtime is 7. last year my nightly bgs had gone down to 6.2 etc and my morning readings were about 7. I am not eating differently to when I had got them down (I was eating the Fin Crisp crackers then too) so I am at a loss as to what is going on. I am not going to the gymn twice a week any more due to my husband developing AF when he exercised - however, I walk daily and do a lot of gardening............
If anyone can see what I am doing wrong please tell me because I have reached the point of giving up and just going on more and more medication.
p.s. I snack on nuts too and have even made my own peanut butter

 

[msmi1970]

Hi Julie,

How long have you been on LCHF? It took about 4-6 weeks before I lost most of my cravings.

Also, maybe don't start with the 80% fat target.

You need to embrace the mindset that you only eat when you are hungry, so if possible forget about the 3 meals + 2 snacks parameter.

We are all different & there are no strict rules. You have to experiment & adjust. Be patient as this is a change in lifestyle & not a temporary diet.

Start with maybe 50gms of carbohydrates per day (from vegetables), add some protein (with the fat intact) like fish, chicken, eggs (possibly 1gm per kg of your body weight) & healthy fats (butter, olive oil, coconut oil) to satiety. Stop when you feel full. It is not about volume. It is about bringing your sugar levels back to normal & not feeling hungry. Eat real food. Avoid processed food.

This may not work for everyone. During the initial 4-6 weeks, whenever I felt peckish, I just had a tablespoon of butter. Maybe you could try heavy cream or cheese as you do now (I'd be wary of nuts, as they are addictive). This is a temporary measure to help fight the cravings & not something to consume in unlimited amounts.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!!

Mo

 

[juliekem]

Thanks for this - I do have one more problem tho - I rarely feel satisfied but live in almost perpetual hunger and I do try to drink a lot of water to fill myself up.
I could eat another full meal right after I have had one (hence the suppers - I can't sleep if I am hungry.) I think this is because I trained myself to eat to the clock and ignore hunger feelings due to having severe migraines up until I had the menopause. Missing meals was a major trigger for me and I had to eat every 5 hours (max) during the day and leave no more than 10 hours overnight to avoid waking up with a migraine. This condition was so severe that I lost jobs because of time off sick and ruined many family holidays.
I think that I must eat too much - I certainly do not lose weight and recently I have been fasting (i.e. trying to eat very low calorie) 2 days a week but my weight is quite stubborn.

 

[msmi1970]

Metabolism is mighty complicated & there will always be many other differing factors from individual to individual.

I have struggled with weight issues for over 35 years. Default approach was low calorie and/or exercise which made me feel good but also made me ridiculously hungry & was murder on my knees. It was never sustainable due to my lack of "willpower" & because I felt I was "genuinely hungry".

In 35 years, I have never tried Low Carb High Fat until last year. Honestly, it was like a eureka moment. You can't starve your body. You need to feed it the right foods, in sufficient quantities when your body asks for it.

I lost 5 stone in about 8 months without a lick of exercise. It has not been all plain sailing but certainly easier than anything i have ever tried. & when my metabolism slowly fixed itself, i no longer mistake cravings for hunger, as i no longer have cravings. I am now trying to tackle my habitual snacking issue as that has slowed down my weight loss.

 

[sanguine]

You may be confusing % weight and % energy. Carbs and protein provide around 4 kcal/g, fat 9 kcal/g. A low carb diet containing no more than 50 g carbs will provide only around 10% of daily energy requirements from carbs, the rest (90%) is from protein and fat (and maybe a bit of the right kind of alcohol).

 

[vintageutopia]

It's a balance. I am still learning how to work my food choices to most benefit my blood sugar, but I don't have to think about it nearly as much as I used to. Like you, I struggled with increasing my fats at the beginning too, but now it is just part of my meal routine. Be patient with yourself and remember that this is a journey.

I have also found that when something isn't working for me anymore like it used to, it is time to re-evaluate and start from the basics. The LCHF has been a gradual journey for me. First, I started restricting carbs, but as I restricted them more, I started adding more fat. I don't eat 80%, but I do shoot for 70-75%. If what you are doing isn't working, stop, go back to the beginning and try again.

Some people say that they do not have to watch calories or log their food and it works for them. I am not that person and I have to do both. Lots of great advice here, though. The overall theme is to work the plan to fit YOUR needs...it looks different for everyone.

Good luck!!!

 

[Ian DP]

My diet is around 80% fat. I follow Dr Bernsteins 'Diabetic solution' book diet, but have found Dr Trudi Deakins 'Eat Fat' book very informative ( http://www.xperthealth.org.uk/low-carb-living ) and both are very similar. Dr Trudi Deakin is a NHS / x-pert health dietician advisor, she is on 83% fat diet.
My understanding, and certainly my experience, is that the more fat you eat the more sustainable your energy levels become and thus the need to eat between meals diminishes. I never now need / want to eat / snack between meals, indeed I could easily skip a meal and it would not bother me in the slightest.... But I don't, simply because I want to sustain weight.

The best way to establish what your 'fat' content / % is, is through a web app like myfitnesspal. This will also tell you your carb and protein percentages plus your vitamin and other mineral daily amounts.

A typical day for me is as follows:-
Pre breakfast snack (to stop my BG levels rising on waking). Sliced almonds, pumpkins seeds, pine nuts, milled linseed mixed with double cream.
Breakfast. 2x fried eggs, mushrooms and tomatoe fried in coconut oil with bacon, with a Bullet proof coffee (30g coconut oil, 30g butter, spoon double cream all mixed with coffee).
Lunch. Rib eye steak with salad (incl avocado, tomatoe, cucumber, olives) and plenty of real mayonnaise
Dinner. Cheese salad with plenty of real mayonnaise

Lunch / dinner is often mixed around. I often have lamb chops, or pork chops, or salmon.

I always choose fatty cuts of meat, and fry them. Always fry in coconut oil.

 

[writter]

My diet is around 80% fat. I follow Dr Bernsteins 'Diabetic solution' book diet, but have found Dr Trudi Deakins 'Eat Fat' book very informative ( http://www.xperthealth.org.uk/low-carb-living ) and both are very similar. Dr Trudi Deakin is a NHS / x-pert health dietician advisor, she is on 83% fat diet.
My understanding, and certainly my experience, is that the more fat you eat the more sustainable your energy levels become and thus the need to eat between meals diminishes. I never now need / want to eat / snack between meals, indeed I could easily skip a meal and it would not bother me in the slightest.... But I don't, simply because I want to sustain weight.

The best way to establish what your 'fat' content / % is, is through a web app like myfitnesspal. This will also tell you your carb and protein percentages plus your vitamin and other mineral daily amounts.

A typical day for me is as follows:-
Pre breakfast snack (to stop my BG levels rising on waking). Sliced almonds, pumpkins seeds, pine nuts, milled linseed mixed with double cream.
Breakfast. 2x fried eggs, mushrooms and tomatoe fried in coconut oil with bacon, with a Bullet proof coffee (30g coconut oil, 30g butter, spoon double cream all mixed with coffee).
Lunch. Rib eye steak with salad (incl avocado, tomatoe, cucumber, olives) and plenty of real mayonnaise
Dinner. Cheese salad with plenty of real mayonnaise

Lunch / dinner is often mixed around. I often have lamb chops, or pork chops, or salmon.

I always choose fatty cuts of meat, and fry them. Always fry in coconut oil.

wow that's an easily 3000kcal diet! how don't you get fat with that?

 

[Kristin251]

I too find I need to portion control. I could eat lots more than I do but I would be bigger than a house. I eat 80% fat, 15% protein and 5% carbs. I get most of my fats from mono/plant fats. Saturated fats I keep low, they tend to make me hungry and crave more. Also large meals too, I eat three small meals and a few small snack. As said stretching the stomach raise bs as well as hunger for me. I'll give you my meal plan so you can see it is very healthful and balanced.

BF: either 1/2 avocado with celery OR a lettuce wrap with mustard mayo and a piece of deli turkey
lunch: lettuce wrap or finely chopped greens with scallions radish and a pinch of onions topped with 2 oz protein and Evoo or mayo and 1/4 avocado chunked.
Dinner: same as lunch
Snacks: a few olives, pecans, pistachios or pumpkin seeds. Lettuce or raw veggies dipped in flavored mayo ( I like mustard, horseradish or hot sauce mixed with mayo)

LCHF DOES NOT mean high protein. Excess protein makes me ravenous especially without enough fat.
Bernstein also recommends meals should not exceed 300 cals ( I think that's right) or will raise bs. LCHF does not mean stuff your face lol, it means have normal to small meals without many carbs and eat healthy fats only to satisfaction. Over wring and high calorie meals make me hungry. My mantra is LC, moderate protein ( I eat 4 oz a day ) and enough fat to satisfy.

Just an FYI, avocado has been a miracle on my blood sugar and hunger. I eat it with all meals and even snacks sometimes. Very satisfying.

 

[JenniferG]

I find it easier to do it this way. This is what works for me.

Figure out how many grams of carbs and protein you need to eat each day.

I like to eat 20g net carbs per day and 90g protein. For me, the 20g net carbs along with non-excessive protein (90g) keeps me in a healthy ketosis. 20g x 4 + 90g x 4 = 440 calories of carbs + protein per day. Then figure out how many calories you'd like to eat each day (that satiates you). What satiates me is 1600. So 1600 = 440 = 1160 calories of fat. 1160/9 = 129g of fat.

So then I figure out the percentages after I calculate all that: 5% carbs, 22% protein, 73% fat.

This percentage of fat could be higher.. very easily 80% if 1600 calories isn't enough for you each day. I can see how someone might eat even 90% fat. And one way to do this is just by adding lots of butter & olive oil to everything I guess.

But most importantly is eating the right amount of carb grams and protein grams that is appropriate for your metabolism, then figuring out the fat after. These numbers should remain constant (e.g. in my case 20g carb, and 90g protein), while fat % is variable.

I use an app on my phone to track everything. Total carbs, net carbs, protein grams, fat grams, calories, blood sugar, medications, exercise, etc.

 

[chalup]

Yes it can't be said enough that that percentage is percentage of calories. Fat has way more calories than carb or protien gram for gram. You don't need to eat butter and coconut oil with a spoon. Just using those to cook and eating higher fat foods like cheese and avocado and nuts is enough to get it up there.

 

[ExD]

I saw a recipe for a pudding called 'coffee cream chiffon' which I used to enjoy. It consisted of whipped cream with a teaspoon of instant coffee and sweetener to taste - thats all. I used to eat it by the dishful but now I find its too rich for me.
I can only eat about half a restaurant sized meal before I feel full - but my husband says he never, ever, feels really full after a meal, and always has 'room for more'. I think appetite is indevidual to us and can't be altered much at all. Do stop beating yourself up and enjoy eating what you fancy, with the thought always in the back of your mind, that sugars and foods that convert into sugars are not a good idea. The notion that we should eat huge amouts of fat has come about because when LCHF first came out everyone thought it was impossible to lose weight whilst eating fats - they were wrong (although if I eat too much fat I do put on weight). We are all different so we have to find our own level.

 

[Ian DP]

wow that's an easily 3000kcal diet! how don't you get fat with that?

A little more than 3,000kcal per day and my weight is stable at 13 stone and has been for over 2 years now (I am 6'-2") with a bmi of 22. I would like to put on half a stone, but just can't do it with very low carbs, no matter how much fat I eat. Fat alone definitely does not make you fat.

 

[writter]

A little more than 3,000kcal per day and my weight is stable at 13 stone and has been for over 2 years now (I am 6'-2") with a bmi of 22. I would like to put on half a stone, but just can't do it with very low carbs, no matter how much fat I eat. Fat alone definitely does not make you fat.

I am not sure you actually need all that fat.
By the way, you eat alot of double cream and it has considerable carbs in it.

 

[4ratbags]

It is great to see how others work out their calculations ect.