- Doesn't fat make me fat?
- How much protein, carbs and fat should I eat?
- How much should I eat to lose or gain weight?
- How does LCHF affect cholesterol?
- Are there any side effects to LCHF?
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No it does not. No it does not. No it does not. Did I by the way say fat does not make you fat? Fat is an energy source, same as protein, carbohydrates and alcohol. Fat in itself does not make you fat. Sumo wrestlers eat a lot of carbohydrates to gain weight and almost no fat at all. That should be proof enough to anyone who thinks fat makes you fat.
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How much protein, carbs and fat should I eat?
- Protein: A general rule of thumb, not to lose muscle, is 1 gram of protein per body weight in kilos or .45 grams per pound. I.e. 80 grams if you weigh 80 kg or 176 lbs.
- Carbohydrates: Less than 20 grams per day is ideal, but if you go slightly above 20 it´s no disaster. Observe the scale.
- Fat: 1.2 or more times protein plus carbs. Since fat is very satiating your body tells you when you had enough. I.e. if you eat 80 grams of protein and 20 grams of carbs, you should eat: 80 + 20 = 100 * 1.2 = 120 grams fat. 120 would be the minimum, but you are welcome to eat more fat if you want to.
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How much should I eat to lose or gain weight?
I recently read a tip at a Swedish LCHF page, which I found to be very much common sense. Being a big fan of common sense I believe the body does not work the same for everyone, so here is a good tip for calculating how much you need to eat to lose weight.
Weigh in before you start this experiment. Eat as you always do. Get a digital scale and measure everything. Don´t try to cut down or be a good dieter. Just eat as normal. After a week, weigh in again and divide total calories with 7. Use that number as mark of how much you should eat to lose weight or gain weight.
Another common sense method. I read of a woman who began with a normal diet for her. Then she cut down a 100 calories every day, until she began losing weight at a rate she found acceptable. It´s all about feeling comfortable and not being hungry 24/7. Achieve that and your weight loss will be a breeze.
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I'm worried about cholesterol. How does LCHF affect cholesterol?
Ancel Keys, the father of the saturated fat scare of the last 50 years, tried to prove that saturated fats and high levels of cholesterol are dangerous. Since he never managed to prove it, he relied on skewed interpretations and straight out manipulation of data - lies. For those interested to find out more about the history of saturated fat and cholesterol, the book Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes is highly recommended.
An example of a recent study evaluating cholesterol and triglycerides is Obesity Reviews' evaluation of 13 randomized studies made between January 2000 through March 2007. A total of 1222 subjects were included in the studies.
RESULTS
HDL: The good cholesterol was significantly higher in the low carbohydrate groups, both after 6 months and 12 months. A high value lowers the statistical risk for heart disease.
Triglycerides: Significantly higher in the low carbohydrate groups at both measuring occasions.
A low value lowers the statistical risk for heart disease.
Total Cholesterol: Slightly higher after 6 months in the low carb groups, but no significant difference after 12 months.
LDL: Higher in the low carb groups at both measuring occasions. Note that with a higher HDL and lower Triglycerides, LDL-particles are transformed into larger and less dangerous LDL.If you are worried about cholesterol I recommend you read Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You by Uffe Ravnskov, MD:
"Did you know the internal production of cholesterol increases when you eat only small amounts of cholesterol and decreases when you eat large amounts?"Ravnskov claims cholesterol and its dangers are a myth.
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Are there any side effects to LCHF?
Yes, there can be. But they are transitional side effects. They pass. For some faster, for some slower. The reason these effects occur is the body goes through a sugar-detox period, switching from a carb-sugar diet to a non-carb non-sugar diet.
Known side effects are:
- fatigue (when the body transitions to glucose production via the liver, the scientific word is gluconeogenesis)
- irritability
- dizziness
- slower thought process
- feeling warm and sweating
- heart palpitation
- strange taste in the mouth
- bad breath (when ketosis* occurs a transitional period can happen with a taste of acetone in the mouth)
However, when you do get back to normal a lot of people feel they are stronger then ever before and have much better stamina. Does this sound like a steep task? It might. But the short term benefits are, in most cases, enough to convince most to stay the course.
*Ketosis = In biology, ketosis is a state of the organism characterised by elevated levels of ketone bodies in the blood, occurring when the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies, which can be used for energy as an alternative to glucose. In plain english: the optimal fat burning state.
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Hi ! thanks for all your infos ! I actually turned to lchf about 3 weeks ago and I was wondering about ketosis in such diet ? I actually had severe extreme hives 2 days ago and some explanations could be too much fat my liver has to deal with, so started milk thistle yesterday as supplement food, 3 times p. day. I've been also recommanded to eat more complex carbs like sweet potatoes.
ReplyDeleteI will go next week for a blood test to see if benefits can already being observed. But so far I am thrilled by such a way to living and eating. I am also experimenting paleo lifestyle but it is more difficult to strictly follow it as dairy are not autorised. I think LCHF is the best way. Glad I found your site ! Keep well
I love reading all these success stories of people who are losing, and have lost weight with lchf. Wish it were true for me! I discovered lchf about a month ago and jumped into it with both feet -- lots of cheese, cream in my coffee, sour cream and butter with my vegetables (no root vegetables!), and a variety of meats. After 4 weeks it looks like I've gained 2 pounds! I'm a 51 yo woman weighing 220 and I'm pretty discouraged and miserable. Do you have any suggestions or advice that might help me figure out what I'm doing wrong? Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteHi.
DeleteIt is hard to tell just from the information you have given.
But if I was to venture a guess, you are most likely overeating.
I did a quick calculation and you need about 1930 kcal per day (depending on your height) to keep your weight. Since you can over eat on LCHF, you need to stay well below that. A calculator you can use is here: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
To keep track of how many calories you eat every day you could sign up at a food diary. One I found is: http://www.mynetdiary.com/
To keep track you will need a digital scale and measure everything you eat. Initially. Once you hit your sweet spot, and start losing weight you can be less rigid with the weighing.
Best of luck.