Low carb high fat diet?

[Gymaholic]

Hi all, I have been thinking about low carb and high fat diets lately for fat loss. By low carb I mean less tahn 50 grams a day (excluding fiber) and also sticking to unsaturated fats.  Would to hear your experiences / thoughts. Cheers.

[B_Eden]

Wouldn't recommend it unless you're doing it very short term to make weight for a sport. To maintain performance in the gym and thus retain muscle on a weight loss diet it is generally recommended to hit your daily minimums for protein and fat and fill up the rest of your caloric intake with carbs. As far as I know there is no actual conclusive evidence to show that low carb diets are better for fat loss when compared to a high carb diet of equivalent caloric intake. Many people experience what they believe to be rapid fat loss which in reality is glycogen depletion and the associated water loss; it will not be maintained long term and you will look "flat".

Higher carb diets have actually been shown to increase fat burning hormones (leptin, T3, etc), and saturated fats have been shown to be essential for testosterone production.

As for experiences, I've done the whole lo carb diet thing, and all it did was make me grumpy, lethargic, and week.

That said, some people love it for the satiation benefits and seem to function just fine on low carb diets.

[Pseudonym]

Check out the Anabolic Diet. I tried that for a long time and really liked it. Lots of Greek salads with olives, feta, sundried tomatoes, etc - so it felt quite healthy.

I'm not sure I got much leaner on it, but with less carbs I looked a lot harder and drier. (Carbs make me look quite soft.)

[2fierce]

High fat diets (anabolic diet), Its becoming popular with elite athletes. The purpose I am lead to believe is that you prime your body to burn fat for energy, which in turn pulls in stored body fat for energy as well. The first 5-9 days you feel really tired. This is tunning your body to use fat as its primary source of energy. Your carbs need to be as low as 20-30g per day. If you go over this limit your body will switch to burning carbs. 

I have been on a high protein/ fat diet for 8 weeks at a time, then switch back to carbs for 2 weeks then back to high protein/ fat diet. You will become leaner, but not ripped. I flucate between 10% -12% bodyfat while following this routine. Making modest gains in size and strength. When you switch back to carbs you need to eat unprocessed carbs. 

The anabolic diet is not for everyone, if you cannot comitted to it fully (that is sneaking in cheat meals) do not try it. You will be disappointed in your results. You need to try different approaches to nutrition and training. How else are you going to learn what best suits your body.

 

[B_Eden]

High fat diets (anabolic diet), Its becoming popular with elite athletes. The purpose I am lead to believe is that you prime your body to burn fat for energy, which in turn pulls in stored body fat for energy as well. The first 5-9 days you feel really tired. This is tunning your body to use fat as its primary source of energy. Your carbs need to be as low as 20-30g per day. If you go over this limit your body will switch to burning carbs. 

I have been on a high protein/ fat diet for 8 weeks at a time, then switch back to carbs for 2 weeks then back to high protein/ fat diet. You will become leaner, but not ripped. I flucate between 10% -12% bodyfat while following this routine. Making modest gains in size and strength. When you switch back to carbs you need to eat unprocessed carbs. 

The anabolic diet is not for everyone, if you cannot comitted to it fully (that is sneaking in cheat meals) do not try it. You will be disappointed in your results. You need to try different approaches to nutrition and training. How else are you going to learn what best suits your body.

 

I think you mean ketogenic not anabolic

[Pseudonym]

No he's right. Someone decided that the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet wasn't catchy enough, so they rebranded it as The Anabolic Diet.

http://stronglifts.com/anabolic-diet-101-the-definite-anabolic-diet-guide/

[ngapuhi strong]

Check out the Anabolic Diet. I tried that for a long time and really liked it. Lots of Greek salads with olives, feta, sundried tomatoes, etc - so it felt quite healthy.

I'm not sure I got much leaner on it, but with less carbs I looked a lot harder and drier. (Carbs make me look quite soft.)

ditto couple days eating bread and the like and i look softer then a mallow puff

[2fierce]

Anabolic diet, may suggest anabolic results. I prefer high protein/fat nutritional plan. Diet has a certain stigma to it. A lot of people associate diet with lossing weight. I feel slugish when I switch back to carbs for a while.