Hi Everyone - I searched for information on this but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for (user error ) For those of you doing low cal low carb, if you track your percentages, can you tell me what they are?

Also, if you ever did low cal that was not low carb, have you changed the number of calories you can eat as a result of doing low carb?

I'm curious because I find myself unintentionally lowering the calories, lowering the fat %, maintaining ~25-30 carbs (often 20-25) and wonder at what point I will have crossed over to not really eating to take advantage of the science behind low carb eating. This last two weeks have been up and down and up and down although I had previously seen some great results when I initially lowered the calories. So, I thought maybe since the fat has been reduced to 50-60% instead of 65-70+% that maybe I was eating too much to be low cal and not enough to take advantage of low carb

or maybe I am just overthinking this

I really am fascinated by what I am aware of with this WOE. I have been fortunate not to suffer from cravings or had withdrawal symptoms so I sometimes wonder if that is why it is a slower process, but am not unhappy with the results and have no plans to stop. I just find it all interesting and hope that somewhere in the search there will be understanding that will contribute to overall success no matter how long it takes.

Thanks,
PecanPie

I've done other low-cal diets. I might be eating slightly less on this one, simply because I'm not as hungry. But both diets shoot for 1200 calories.

I think my fat % is usually around 40-50 these days, sometimes higher.

Carbs are from 25-40.

Personally for me, I don't think there's any metabolic advantage to eating more fat vs protein. I seem to loose at about the same rate, regardless. I've been much higher fat % and have stalled. So nowadays I just eat what I want, as long as I stay low on the calories.

Everything I've experienced to date seems to show that a calorie is still a calorie where my body is concerned. But eating low carb helps to keep my appetite in check.

Once I got used to the reduced # of calories, I feel great eating like this. Oddly enough, I have had IBS for a number of years and low carb alone didn't help it, in fact it got worse, but ever since I cut down on my calories it has disappeared. Very odd!

I don't really know my percentages but I try to keep my calories between 1300-1500 (weekends tend to be a little higher, but never over 1800) and my carbs below 50.

Thanks, Paris and Nancy!

About 10 years ago I lost more tha 50 pounds the old low fat/low cal/starvation way, because I believed the "experts" who said this was the way to go. It was very hard, but I managed it by often reducing my calories below 1000 and aiming for 30g of fat per day. I found I had to convince myself it was "good" to go to bed hungry. Needless to say after about 2 years of this the weight started coming back.

Now I am on a low carb WOL I don't count calories, but I know I am on way more than my low fat diet - and I still lose weight - maybe a bit slower, but as this is a way of life, who cares?. And I don't go hungry any more.

Now I know that some people respond differently in this regard, but one thing I think that is very common, is that subconsciously you tend to drift into a calorie and fat restriction way of thinking - because you have been indoctrinated that this is "healthy" for much of the last 25 years. It is a hard habit to break.

Regardless of the calorie level that works for you, you may find like me that you have to actively seek out healthy fats to include in your diet, or the percentage of fat will drop - leaving you on a sort of high protein/low fat/low carb diet which is not ideal for health or weight loss.

Cheers,

Malcolm

Its not from habit, its from necessity. I just don't lose weight if my calories get too high. Your mileage apparently varies.

I've had to cut my calories too. And in the last 2 1/2 weeks, my ratios have been 25-30% protein, 60-65% fat, and the rest carbs (that's percent of calories). I've been averaging about 100 to 120 grams of fat a day. That's certainly not low-fat in my book. I've been shooting for 1600 to 1800 calories a day, some days it's worked out less, other days it's been a little more, but not over 2000 calories a day. And my scale is being very friendly.

I remember doing calorie restriction in the 70s and 80s at ranges of 800 to 1200 calories. I think that it's a lot easier to lose at higher levels of calories with low-carb. It's working for me and I'm not going hungry like I did back then.