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LCHF diet advice

A

algarvedave

Active Member
Messages
30
Location
Portugal
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Diet only
Having been on LCHF diet for over 6 weeks could anyone with more knowledge than me please give me advice as to whether I am doing things correctly.
After a little experimenting and swopping and changing some foods and menus around my fats, carbs and protein intakes this week have been as follows:
Monday - fat 182g, carbs 33g, protein 198g
Tuesday - fat 187g, carbs 29g, protein 163g
Wed - fat 142g, carbs 37g, protein 181g
Thurs - fat 137g, carbs 40g, protein 188g
Today - fat 196g, carbs 30g, protein 222g

Fats and protein seem very high, could this cause me a problem in some way? I am tall and thin (60 kgs) and I have ramped up my fats and protein intake to try to maintain or even increase my weight but are these too high?
 

If you go to the wwwbloodsugar.com website, there is a nutrition calculator which factors in height, weight, activity levels, etc and then gives suggested macro nutrient breakdowns.
 
I must be being stupid, but I've read every page on wwwbloodsugar.com and I can't see any nutrition calculator?
 
Thanks @Phdpaul. There doesn't seem to be a low carb option switch, so it's recommending 180-200g of carbs a day, when I'm aiming for under 50g
 
I've just done a bit of googling and found this...keto-calculator.ankerldotcom seems very useful.
 
The problem is they all assume weight loss is desired or weight maintained. I want to increase my weight a little so obviously I need more calories from extra protein but am I over doing it by having over 180g per day and could that cause me problems? Also will such a high fat intake cause problems?
 
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Do you have T2D? If so it sounds like your insulin is low? D.
 
lindisfel said:
Do you have T2D? If so it sounds like your insulin is low? D.
Click to expand...
I am trying to put on weight as well, I believe it is very difficult for some of us to put on weight from fat and protein alone and we may have to find a method of getting some carbs in our food without peaking our blood glucose. There is no problem here for the overweight, they may well be able to zero carb! Many do not believe that all calories are the same. D.
 
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I had been doing LCHF for some months, seeing lower BG and weight at first, then lower BG and no weight loss, and then I put on three pounds, so I have been trying fasting which seems to have started the weight loss again.
I think that if you eat more frequently - that is the opposite of my fasting then you might find it easier to gain weight, also to have snacks - but it might take some time for it to take effect. Starting to eat LC is quite a shock for the metabolism, all sorts of things will be readjusting in the first few months.
 
My impression on first read is that your protein intake seems to be a bit high. Running long term with excess protein is harmful, and can give rise to kidney stress, I believe a good rule of thumb for LCHF is 1 gm per kg of body weight per day,

Using protein to increase weight is not a magic formula. It actually requires mucho strenuous exercise to make the protein turn into muscle that gives the weight gain. Increased fat is normally recommended if you are going into keto as lo-carb compensation, and the reduction of carbs below 50 gm/day(*) is normally needed. The increased fat needs less energy spent to up the weight, and I use this to control my weight. I have been in the range 66 to 68 kg consistently for a year now.
(*) = each of us differs in what threshold intake of carbs will succeed in getting to keto mode. It is a curious conundrum that eating saturated fats can lead to weight loss but many here find dairy sat fats tend to put on weight more than non dairy.Whole milk products are recommended for LCHF now.
 
I have never had to put on weight but mine has stabilised.


Your thinking is not far out!
It all depends what type of protein and saturated fat you are having. The balance is finite, and you can only find out by testing and experimentation.
Dairy is better and obviously the full fat of butter, cream, yoghurt and some cheeses should help.
If you are eating every three to four hours to prevent hypos or you are eating too many carbs, then add a little more cheese as a side to help.
The amount of low carb portion can help as well, I know it can be too much and it can be too much bother, but until you find that you are happy with what you eat and get less symptoms, the more confident you will become.
It is daunting and a pain but worth it when you get that clear headed feeling and the energy.

Have you tried fasting?
 

Originally when I was finally told by a doctor that I had RH he advised me to eat smaller meals every 2 hours which was really sort of what I was doing already in the hope that it would keep my blood sugar levels at a sufficient level to avoid a hypo. My carb intake was probably quite high although I never drink cola or fizzy drinks I have a sweet tooth so got through a fair amount of biscuits, cake and chocolate.
Then I found this forum and started LCHF.
I then read one of your posts where you explained that you didn't snack between meals and that you also fasted.
I tried this when I first started my LCHF diet around 6 weeks ago but found too many period in a day where I felt I needed more food, more energy so I stopped it.
I now eat 3 larger meals and sometimes have small snacks in between, usually full fat greek yogurt or a few nuts.
As I don't eat meat, only fish, most of my protein is from eggs and dairy, lots of cream, greek yogurt, cheese and 2 low carb whey protein shakes per day. I eat salmon, tuna steak or other oily fish at least once per day. I have butter or olive oil on almost everything I eat.
I feel that by upping the proteins and fats to a high level I will not continue to lose weight as I did in the first two weeks.
As I am 6ft 4ins and only 60 kgs I get very concerned about weight loss.
My other concern is energy levels - most days my legs feel heavy and I feel lethargic.
 
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Did you check your blood glucose levels when you fasted?
Despite the hunger, did you feel better as you were constantly in or near normal levels?
The longer your blood levels are in normal range, your symptoms should dissipate.
When in normal levels range you should go into ketosis, which gives your body a rest from production of insulin, and other hormones that affect our blood levels. it also gives your hunger pangs a rest, the longer in ketosis the pangs will go away.
Mine only went after a longer fast, when I first started doing very low carb.
What you are eating is good, I couldn't do without my meat, but there is alternatives to most foods to keep as low carb as possible.
Try and get rid of the cakes, biscuits and carby stuff.
I found that my body just doesn't like them!
It is about finding the balance.
It is about getting your health right.
It is about testing and experimentation.
Six weeks is not a really long time in sorting out how to control the condition, but I think your intelligent enough to get this right.
Don't forget you are working against nature and your body in this.

Keep asking and keep posting.
 

Thanks.
I have got rid off the sweet stuff a while before I started LCHF over 6 weeks ago and to be honest I don't miss it. The only thing I miss is beer.
My blood sugar levels are great, no spikes no crashes no hypos but I thought I would feel better than I do energy wise with the high fats and high protein I am eating.
I was having around 25 gm of carbs per day but have moved this up a little to around 40 in the last few days.
 
It sounds unscientific (and is), but I use my blood and urine test results to see how my body is reacting to what I feed it, how I feel. In early stages I measured to get an idea, but now if I were having oily fish, I would add avocado and as much veg and salad as I want, or I would have a bowl of 6 different nuts, 4 different berries, 2 or 3 spoons of Greek yogurt with seeds. Just my way.
 

Hi. I eat a lot of salad and low carb veg with my oily fish and dairy etc and eat a few nuts through the the day.
I restrict the amount of nuts though so as not to elevate the carbs.
 
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