The Effect Of Calorie Intake On Keto Diet?

[pdmjoker]

I’ve been on a Keto diet for a few weeks now, and progressing well in terms of weight loss, but I have a query about the effect of calorie intake…..

I gather that if “conventional” low-fat low-calorie diets are adhered to, then after a while the body somehow becomes more efficient and does what it used to do but on fewer calories. Weight loss stalls and the dieter is in a worse position than before since they must maintain a low-calorie diet just to avoid putting on weight.

Question: If someone doing Keto doesn’t eat sufficient calories (ie: fat) will they also experience their body becoming more efficient and finding themselves in a similar situation?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Safi]

I think it's never a good idea to calorie restrict on a long term basis - it will probably lead to a lowered/more efficient metabolism in the long run whatever your macros. I have days when I'm not very hungry so I don't eat much but I have other days where I'm famished & eat plenty which seems a pretty natural way to eat if you think about it. That's just my two cents - I'm sure you'll get differing opinions

 

[Guzzler]

I suppose it boils down to whether you beleive the calories in calories out (CICO) theory.

 

[bulkbiker]

Question: If someone doing Keto doesn’t eat sufficient calories (ie: fat) will they also experience their body becoming more efficient and finding themselves in a similar situation?

As with everything its complicated....
The theory, which seems correct to me, is that once you have switched from fat storage to fat burning any "lack" of intake is supplemented by the body's stored fat so even if you don't eat as much the body can access your fat stores for the "extra" calories required.
This is why people say they are running on the doughnut they ate 10 years ago.
This is all down to changing your insulin triggers and why fat intake is so important on a ketogenic way of eating. So you can't really "under eat" on keto unless you already are thin and don't have much fat stored. However there is a probable downside in that there maybe a limit to how much stored fat can be released for energy on a daily basis. So if you under eat enough and can't make up the extra from stored fat then you may well get into a caloric deficit which could in turn lead to a bit of metabolic slowdown.
Before all the anti fasters jump on this... the fasting mechanism is slightly different as when no intake happens as well as accessing fat stores the metabolism increases slightly to allow extra energy to be used to get food which is the "high" that some fasters experience on the second or third day of fasting.
Those are the theories that make most sense to me and are mainly from Dr Fung with a bit of Richard Morris (one of the 2 keto dudes) thrown in. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Resurgam]

My doctors were always putting me on low calorie low fat diets - one even tried to get me to do 600 calories a day and I felt close to death - I might well have been.
I have always eaten quite a bit less than most people - I will have to do an assessment of just what I eat over the next week as I have (at last) got an appointment to see the nurse about my 'problems' of a defunct thyroid and diabetes - neither of which are any trouble at all.
I think that the dieting is responsible for me now needing to eat early and late in the day, rather than having - for instance lunch and dinner - my internal mechanisms are set to go into panic mode at the slightest hint of privation - though I suspect it is better for me not to eat rather than have a small meal, as that rings the 'oh no not another diet' alarm.

 

[pdmjoker]

Thank you peeps for the replies - both informative and helpful!

@bulkbiker Only just realised who you are with in your avatar photo! Gosh, you look like Jason Fung!