I have been reading a lot of threads about how much protein and lower fat has helped rid the fat faster. I have not had "great" succuess with Atkins yet. I am eating 1800- 1900 calories/day, 124 oz of water but my fat % is high at 75%. My protein is only about 24%. Can someone give me a few examples on how to bring the fat down?

Thank you,
Gilta

Actually your ratio is about normal for this diet. Most of us shoot for 70 to 80 percent fat.

Fat is your best friend on this diet. It is inert, thereby not effecting your insulin levels, and it controls hunger.

Take a look at some of the other mentors Journals to get an idea of how our ratios pan out.

NO!

You've got Atkin's down perfect, Gilta, why would we want to help you sabotage yourself?

Fat is what your body needs. Fat is going to make you thin. At 24% protein you are getting your minimum requirement and then some - sure you could increase it somewhat, but not at the expense of eating less fat.

Basic biochemistry 101: Food is stored as body fat only in the presence of insulin. Insulin is excreted by the pancreas when glucose is present in the blood stream. Excessive carbohydrates in your daily menu will be converted to glucose, causing insulin to be released and excess glucose will be stored as fat. What happens when you take carbs out of the equation? No glucose is produced, no insulin is released and no fat can be stored.

The flipside of this is that insulin doesnt work alone - it has a polar opposite hormone called glucagon. Glucagon and insulin cannot work at the same time. Glucagon is present only in the absence of insulin. Glucagon is responsible for the breakdown of fatty acids from your fat cells for use as fuel. You can only have this happen in the absence of insulin.

Carbs effect insulin
Protein effects insulin and glucagon
Fat effects nothing.

Fat is metabolically neutral.

Once you have satisfied your protein requirement you want the bulk of you daily nutrition to come from FAT - for the above reasons. Fat will fill you up and satiate your hunger. It is calorie dense so a little goes a long way.

If you're having trouble losing body fat then look for possible stallers - processed foods (puddings, jellos, pre packaged LC frankenfoods), under eating, a history of yo-yo dieting.

And keep in mind that slower fat loss is safer and more likely to be permanent fat loss - a quick fix this isn't. It's for life.

Nat

Gilta, Agonycat and Nat are right. I also try to get most of my daily requirement from fat. I use butter and other fats to help me along. Hang in there and you will finally see what they mean.
Donna

Hi Gilta,

I brought my fat% down from 75% to 50% by relying on boiled, stewed, and grilled meat, eggs, and fish and by eliminating mayo and cheeses. now it is 50% fat, 45% protein and 5 % carbs, just like in atkins sample induction menu, on p. 133 of dandr. I do eat chicken skin and fat on my pork chops, I only reduced fat from frying and my salads are no longer floating in oil and veggies in butter. also, eating enough protein should bring your fat % down, because meat itself is not that fat, it's the mayo and butter in sauces that make meat dishes high in fat. nuts are also a tremendous source of fat, so I had to let these go for a while. I also said goodbye to my sugar free chocolates, they are pure butter and coconut oil.

best wishes

mila

Thank you for everyone's advice. I guess I am doing this right, but not losing very much. 10 lbs in 7 wks isn't much. I have another 50 lbs so I thought I would lose it faster. I do not use butter and oil too much.

Yesterday
124 oz water
2 hamburgers
2 slices cheese
2.5 cups lettuce
2 slices ham
2 tbsp blue cheese
4 slices bacon
2 eggs scrambled with 1 tsp of olive oil

I exercise 3 x/week. I just wanted to lose 2 lbs/week and I just don't seem to be doing that. I lost 5 lbs on the induction, but only 5 lbs in 5 wks.

Gilta

Gilta, if I remember correctly, you've been losing inches on the
Spring Countdown haven't you?

Also, looking at your menu, have you been using www.fitday.com to calculate your calories? A general rule of thumb is 10 - 12 times your body weight a day in calories - MINIMUM. This is to fulfill basic metabolic funtioning - to make sure you're body doesnt think it's being starved. You may be under eating - a common cause for slowed loss.

Check out these threads:

Eating enough
BMR
Fat is your friend

Nat

Natrushka,
I am using Fitday again. I stopped for a while. I am eating about 1900-2000 now. I am down to 14 carbs per day. I am losing inches, I guess I should not complain. I just thought it would come off a little faster.

I will keep my calories up to at least 1900, carbs around 15 - 20 and fat 60-70%. I will keep going and I appreciate the support.

Gilta

Gilta, if you are losing inches then there is not stall or plateau going on. I'd rather lose inches than scale weight - no one's going to know how much I weigh - but they sure as heck are going to see my butt as I walk down the street.

Nat

here here! nobody noticed my change in weight, but a bunch wondered what the story was, where's that spare tire you used to carry faithfully? and, why do you look younger? boy, you look happy! you got some new clothes, eh? (nope, those were the old ones I got to wear a couple times on those less bloated days last year when I could get them on and actually button them and could ignore the mild to moderate pain.)

your body knows just what it's doing, and it may have just figured it would rather lose inches since you are exercising. you probably gained a 3 pounds of muscle at the same time as you lost 8 pounds of fat, therefore you got more compact but 5 pounds lighter.

I eat between 10 and 14 percent of my body weight, and about 70% fats. I love butter and eat much more beef than chicken or fish. I absolutely thrive on sausage, salami, pepperoni, hot dogs. I get some turkey and ham, fish and chicken, but not as much.

I thought I read in Atkins DANDR that if someone wanted to go lower fat, that they would actually lose weight slower. I'll have to go look it up, now.

keep it up! you may take a while to throw all the fat off, but you'll have enjoyment throughout.

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments. Maybe I am being impatient. I just want it off now! I know it took years to put on, so I guess it will take years/months to get off.

I will keep doing what I am doing and hopefully I will be able to post, I AM FINISHED LOSING! Noticed I didn't say LCing....

Thanks again,
Gilta

Gilta,

I just plugged in the menu you gave and I only made it 1195 cals

Perhaps there is more you are eating. Drinks other than water?
The numbers

Fat 78 58%
Carbs 19 6%
Protein 109 36%


Protein looks OK. Upping the fat will do no harm.

Hope the blue cheese is Stilton. Go on spoil yourself have another slice