Does low carb have to mean low fat?

[Defren]

Hi everyone, can anyone tell me how much protein and fat I am supposed to eat, I still don't think that I am eating enough fat and that that is the reason my weight is not shifting as it should, also I do fill up on protein, thanks, Deb x

Hi daideb,
Have you tried doing one of xyzzy's graphs? (if you've no idea what I mean then that'll be a no). Last time I did one I was at 13% protein, 8% carb and 79% fat and was told that the protein was a bit low. It's the carb that affects your weight, so if you can let us know what you eat in a day then we might see if we can give you the numbers.

I think it's supposed to be

65% fat
25% protein
10% carbs

Stephen or Steve will be able to say for certain, but this is pretty much what I aim for, even if I don't always achieve the fat content.

 

[Defren]

Can I ask a question relating to the thread please?

I have been a low carb / high Fat person for nearly two years now but didn't really want to lose much weight just keep my levels low which I have been doing. I think I have been overindulging on the cheese and peanut front and now would like to lose about 10lbs. I have cut out the peanuts (for the last 2 weeks) but I don't seem to be losing any weight. I have calculated my carbs as being between 10g and 20g a day (depending on which veg I eat and I only eat them with supper). I have bought the ketone strips but have not managed to turn it even a small amount of purple. Do you think I should try only eating protein for a few days or is there another solution... I feel very well - just a tad to plump!

Any suggestions?

If you are only eating 10-20g of carbs a day then you will be in ketosis. It will depend how long you have been on this regime. By two weeks you should be keto adapted, just try to drink around 2L of water a day and you should see the weight go.

 

[Truffle]

Thanks Defren I will up my drinking (hadn't thought of that) and perhaps do a bit more exercise - not my favourite thing.

 

[borofergie]

Can I ask a question relating to the thread please?

I have been a low carb / high Fat person for nearly two years now but didn't really want to lose much weight just keep my levels low which I have been doing. I think I have been overindulging on the cheese and peanut front and now would like to lose about 10lbs. I have cut out the peanuts (for the last 2 weeks) but I don't seem to be losing any weight. I have calculated my carbs as being between 10g and 20g a day (depending on which veg I eat and I only eat them with supper). I have bought the ketone strips but have not managed to turn it even a small amount of purple. Do you think I should try only eating protein for a few days or is there another solution... I feel very well - just a tad to plump!

Any suggestions?

No. Don't up the protein, too much protein is probably why you haven't got "purple".

I lose weight most efficiently when I cut out dairy (although it still comes off if I drink huge amounts of cream, just at a much lower rate).

If you want to turn your strips purple:
1) Eat less carbs
2) Eat less calories
3) Don't get more than about 18% of your energy from protein (15% would be better).
4) Spread your protein equally between meals
5) Do some high intensity exercise to empty your liver.

Remember, over 2 weeks, weighing scales are a terrible indicator of fat loss.

I'd try sticking to meat, veg and eggs for a couple of weeks.

 

[Defren]

Thanks Defren I will up my drinking (hadn't thought of that) and perhaps do a bit more exercise - not my favourite thing.

Exercise is not strictly needed for weight loss, more for keeping fit and active. The water uptake should make quite a difference. Fingers crossed.

 

[lucylocket61]

Do I have to eat protein at every meal or can I just have a salad or plate of veg sometimes? I find chewing meat a challenge (TMJ) and am getting a bit fed up of cheese and eggs and milk.

I have, however, got a lovely bit of salmon for tea

 

[borofergie]

65% fat
25% protein
10% carbs

Stephen or Steve will be able to say for certain, but this is pretty much what I aim for, even if I don't always achieve the fat content.

I think 25% protein is too high.

I think you should stick protein at 15% (if you eat more than about 18% it'll just get converted to glucose) and then vary the amount of carbs and fat.

On this basis a 160g diet looks like this:
25% Carb
60% Fat
15% Protein

at ketogenic diet looks like this:
5% Carb
80% Fat
15% Protein

So somewhere between 60% to 80% of your calories should come from fat. Depending on how much carb you can tolerate.

 

[Truffle]

Thanks everyone.

I will try your suggestions borofergie and will hopefully finally see the 'colour purple'.

Thanks Lucy - might have salmon for Tea!

 

[borofergie]

Do I have to eat protein at every meal or can I just have a salad or plate of veg sometimes? I find chewing meat a challenge (TMJ) and am getting a bit fed up of cheese and eggs and milk.

I have, however, got a lovely bit of salmon for tea

You can get protein from vegetable sources, but animal sources are better, because they have a higher protein density, and the proteins are more complete (they contain all the amino acids that you need to function properly).

An alternative would be protein shakes, but it's much better to get your essential nutrients from whole food.

You really don't need to each that much protein. Don't bother counting it, your appetite is finely tuned to make sure that you get enough without having to worry about it.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Oh and does low carb have to be low fat? No, not if you are trying to lose weight, if you just cut the carbs and increase the fat as Stephen will tell you fat has more calories than carbs so all you will do is up the calories and you will not lose weight, just read the amount of low carbers who are still struggling to lose weight after low carbing for some time, their posts are here on the forum for all to read.

 

[googlegoss]

I am not counting calories, just carbs. Am way over my daily calorie intake a lot of the time but so far have lost 13lb. Intend to keep eating this way, the people on this low carb forum are fab and really helpful and you just seem to want to put a damper on all the good things that "low carbers" have achieved.

 

[Paul1976]

Oh and does low carb have to be low fat? No, not if you are trying to lose weight, if you just cut the carbs and increase the fat as Stephen will tell you fat has more calories than carbs so all you will do is up the calories and you will not lose weight, just read the amount of low carbers who are still struggling to lose weight after low carbing for some time, their posts are here on the forum for all to read.

That's odd,I cut the carbs drastically,increased my dietary fats and eat more calories than I used to and I've dropped nearly 5 stone in 6 months.

 

[diadeb]

Thanks to everyone for their advice. I am following Atkins Induction and eat between 10-20g carbs per day but after 2 weeks I have only lost 2 pounds, according to the bathroom scales. I really don't feel any thinner, eat about 1000-1550 calories and drink at least 2 litres fluids. Admittedly, I have just been told that my Levothyroxine needs to be increased but I would have thought that I would have lost a little more weight than I have. If I keep the portein down to about 15% and carbs at 5% then how do I get 80% from fat?. I know of course thta there is fat in foodstuffs but I am having trouble increasing tha fats without increasing the calories and of course Atkins says that there is no need to measure anything but carbs, thanks, Deb x

 

[Defren]

65% fat
25% protein
10% carbs

Stephen or Steve will be able to say for certain, but this is pretty much what I aim for, even if I don't always achieve the fat content.

I think 25% protein is too high.

I think you should stick protein at 15% (if you eat more than about 18% it'll just get converted to glucose) and then vary the amount of carbs and fat.

On this basis a 160g diet looks like this:
25% Carb
60% Fat
15% Protein

at ketogenic diet looks like this:
5% Carb
80% Fat
15% Protein

So somewhere between 60% to 80% of your calories should come from fat. Depending on how much carb you can tolerate.

Thanks, I knew you would put me right.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

I am not counting calories, just carbs. Am way over my daily calorie intake a lot of the time but so far have lost 13lb. Intend to keep eating this way, the people on this low carb forum are fab and really helpful and you just seem to want to put a damper on all the good things that "low carbers" have achieved.

it seems that many others agree with me. Hasnt there just been a report published somewhere that says that low carb diets work well for weight loss in the first 6 months and then stall? Perhaps due to the excess calories, I dont know but it happens. Even Dr Richard Bernstein teaches portion control, I am not aware that I read anywhere in his book the Diabetes Solution that it was OK to eat as much fat as you like.

Oh and for the umpteenth time I AM NOT ANTI LOWCARB I am anti evangelical selling of low carb there is a big difference, you seem to forget that I have lost over 4 stone and sustained that weight loss for over 2 years now, plus reduced my HbA1c from 12.9% to the 5%'s where they have remained for over 3 years. I did it by low carbing but I didnt eat loads of fat especially saturated fats. There is more than one way to skin a cat and there is more than one way to control diabetes and lose weight.

 

[sterling]

Reflecting upon my low carbohydrate diet, I take the view that it takes the addition of fat to make carbohydrates taste nice. Baked potatoes need butter and cheese. Mashed potato needs milk and butter. Cereals need milk. Pasta needs cheese. When I cut carbohydrates, a loss of fat disappears as a consequence of so doing. The fat that is added into the diet may very well be less than the fat that was added to the carbohydrates.

 

[Terminator 2]

Reflecting upon my low carbohydrate diet, I take the view that it takes the addition of fat to make carbohydrates taste nice. Baked potatoes need butter and cheese. Mashed potato needs milk and butter. Cereals need milk. Pasta needs cheese. When I cut carbohydrates, a loss of fat disappears as a consequence of so doing. The fat that is added into the diet may very well be less than the fat that was added to the carbohydrates.

I like your train of thought :thumbup:

 

[xyzzy]

I'd like to do these graphs but got no idea where to start. Help? :?

Hey Googlegoss and anyone else.

The thread with the doughnuts and pies mmmmm is here http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30311&hilit=doughnut&start=75

If you would like one then the idea is to pick a pretty average day and list out what you've eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner plus a rough guess at tea and coffee etc.

So I can work things out I need to know either how many grams of carbs you ate in each individual foodstuff OR simply the weight in grams of each individual foodstuff. If you specifically choose low fat versions of things please let me know also try and remember as much as possible so if you fry something in a knob of butter then mention the butter etc.

As you can tell by my lack of posts am a bit busy at the moment but I will do it for you when I get a mo.

To keep on topic; just coming up to a 4 stone loss in 6 months on low carb. There have been several frustrating plateau periods one lasted 4 weeks. I read somewhere if you hit a plateau then try altering your carbs / day so maybe go VLC for a bit or up your carbs for a bit (but obviously keep your BG's safe). I average around 1800 to 1900 calories a day and do around 60g carbs per day. My breakdown is roughly 15% carbs 65% fat 20% protein. I can see you can do low carb, low fat , normal protein for a while as that will probably give you quite rapid weight loss in fact maybe too low in calories to be healthy if you're not careful. In the long run to actually maintain a stable weight then something would have to give as you will need to consume enough calories to stop yourself fading away to nothing. Based on RMR which makes a good guess at working out how many calories a person needs to maintain weight then even a 1300 - 1500 calorie intake regime would mean the average person would over months continually lose weight and end up sub 8 stone(ish).

 

[borofergie]

Reflecting upon my low carbohydrate diet, I take the view that it takes the addition of fat to make carbohydrates taste nice. Baked potatoes need butter and cheese. Mashed potato needs milk and butter. Cereals need milk. Pasta needs cheese. When I cut carbohydrates, a loss of fat disappears as a consequence of so doing. The fat that is added into the diet may very well be less than the fat that was added to the carbohydrates.

Fat tastes nice period. Fatty meat tastes nice (ribeye steaks, roast chicken, lamb chops), so do butter, eggs, cheese and cream.

There is a reason for this. It's evolution telling you to get your energy from fat.

 

[sterling]

Fat tastes nice period. Fatty meat tastes nice (ribeye steaks, roast chicken, lamb chops), so do butter, eggs, cheese and cream.

There is a reason for this. It's evolution telling you to get your energy from fat.

Just imagine zero-carb potato crisps. With most of the carb removed, the salt and fat would be yummy. If only they could put all of the carbs into a little blue bag.