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Type 2 Low carb and full fat or low carb low fat?

paula121s

Well-Known Member
Messages
178
Hi,

This is my first post so please be gentle ! I think I'm getting confused! I've got the carbs and cal book which says low carbs and low fat, but I have another which says low carbs and full fat!! I realise there are going to be differences between books but it's very confusing. I have been very low carbs for a couple of weeks but my bg is still around the 9-10 level.
 
Low carb full fat is what you want. As you reduce carbs you need to increase fat to compensate. Fat does not increase blood sugars.
 
When you say you are very low carbs .. how low is low for you ?
 
Hi and welcome!

Your profile doesn't mention whether you are type 1 or type 2 (or one of the others) or whether you are on any medication.
Sometimes it makes quite a difference.

As for your question about full or low fat... I have just spent a few days on low carb low fat, and i've been tired, cold, crabby, crotchety, and generally feeble feeling. Then last night i had a decent low carb higher fat meal and rapidly felt a lot better.

Now, there are a lot of different factors at play (do you want to lose weight? Are you 'fat adapted' yet? Are you physically active? Etc. Etc. ) but you may need to fine tune your fat intake to suit your body and your lifestyle.
 
During the time I was eating according to Atkins it was very noticeable that the amount of fat was important - too low and it stopped weightloss. The same amount of carbs - even the same foods, with less fat and weightloss slowed or stopped.
You will notice that many foods which are labelled low fat have higher percentages of carb, so are going to make low carb difficult.
 
newly diagnosed type 2 , then try go lower than 100 grams of carbs a day, or if that doesn´t bring blood glucose low enough , then go lower like under 50 grams in a day.
when one goes so low in carbs one need fats to feel satiated, the higher fats is usually not a problem on very low carb, as people many times seems to loose weight much faster than before , and some have to raise their fat intake a lot.. to keep weight on.. But some women especially have to also keep an eye on the fats not to gain weight...

carbs are what raises blood glucose ,and proteins if eaten in very high amount like more than the body needs are also converted to glucose by one liver .. Most do need around 0.8-1 gram of proteins pro kg bodyweight a day So if like 100kg one would need around 80 grams of protein a day .

1 egg is around 7 grams of pure protein
 
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Hi. Low-carb, Higher-fat. You need some fat to provide enough energy if needed thru ketosis and it doesn't make you fat. It also slows any carb absorption reducing sugar spikes
 
I think LC low fat would be very hard. Like others have mentioned it will probably leave you feeling unsatisfied and also probably heighten the carb cravings. Higher fat certainly helps reduce the carb cravings.

While I am biased because I choose high fat with low carb , the more I really think about this topic lately I think the more it makes sense to me. Many low fat food options that exist today have only been in our food supply chain for what the last 100 years maybe? How long have the real fats in Whole Foods been available? A lot lot longer!
 
Thank you all for your reply. It does make sense. I am type 2, I had been trying to manage on diet alone but have been put on metformin about 6 weeks ago. I have had the usual unpleasant side effects and would like to stop taking them. I am overweight. I struggle to lose weight as I have mobility problems. So I need to try to get a handle on this!
 
I have mobility problems also so I found that as well as LCHF I had to restrict calories as well in order to lose weight.

John

Edit to add Vince Gironda ( the Iron Guru) was recommending the LCHF diet back in the 60's 70's for body builders and for those for whom low calorie diets didn't work.
 
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Hi. Do ask the GP to swap you over the Slow Release (SR) Metformin - it's much kinder
 

It depends on your ultimate goal.
I did low fat, and calorie counted, to lose a lot of weight, then the Newcastle diet, which is 800 calories for 8 weeks, so by definition low everything.
But I wanted to have a shot at reversing my diabetes.
If you want a maintenance diet, lchf seems popular for many on here, but it seems to be a diet for life.
 
There is a difference between full fat and high fat. I eat full fat products, but watch my total fat intake so dont put on weight and, hopefully, will lose some.
 
Interesting stuff... I'm quite happy (now!) with low carb high fat. But is lclf a reasonable alternative for people who for whatever reason can't tolerate a high fat diet? Do you need fat or carbs for energy or will lean protein do trick? Is satiety the only reason why high fat is needed with low carb?
 
Protein can provide energy requirements but it will be broken down into glucose raising BG, I think you would also end up constipated quite quickly eating almost all protein.
 
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