What happens if I don't eat much fat?

[oldnewmummy]

Just had two weeks of a strict low everything (!) diet and come off it because, although I lost 4kg, I felt like crap. So I thought I'd give low carbing a go.

It sounds like the main reason for the fat is to stave off hunger, but if I'm not hungry is it still necessary?

[HappyBungleBear]

Low carbs makes your breath stink! Just so you know.
I managed to eat only eggs and bacon for 5 weeks - lot loads of weight. Got very bored. Sadly I now can't look an egg in the face anymore!
I've found best way to get thinner is:

1. Be happy and positive (hard sometimes I know)
   
2. Exercise (although I hate going, I love aerobics and feel great after)
   
3. Eat normal food with a good range of everything in (keep an eye on calories)
   
4. Just be sensible. You can't spend the rest of your life not eating fat/carbs etc... try and find a sensible food plan that you can continue for ever (obviously with the odd McDonalds/Chocolate Muffin/Whatever You Fancy chucked in every now and again!

[oldnewmummy]

I'm not planning to go out of my way to avoid it, but if I'm not hungry and not tired do I need to actively include it? Or do I HAVE to eat fat to burn fat?

[WillieWaggledagger]

fat helps to send signals to the brain that you are satiated (theory is that carbs, or excess thereof, can block these signals) - look up ghrelin/leptin hormones if you want more details. as you've discovered a 'low everything' diet is unsustainable as you feel crappy. once over the hump of your body switching to fat-burning you should feel great, so it's a much more sustainable way of eating. i've eaten like this for over 2 years now

as kotinka says it's you're primary source of energy when you're low carbing. you shouldn't be eating nothing but bacon and eggs, that sounds madly unhealthy! you should be adjusting the proportions of macronutrients from (majority) carbs:protein:fat to (majority) fat:protein:carbs. the carbs should come from green vegetable sources and some dairy if you're eating it.

low carbing should not make your breath stink if you are drinking plenty of water, certainly not once you're in the swing of it

you don't want to overdo the protein as it can increase blood sugar, resulting in insulin release, due to gluconeogenesis

many people find that when they stall while low carbing for a few months, increasing fat intake can help restart weight loss (rather than decreasing fat, as you might imagine), so make of that what you will

however, i did find that when i was trying to lose weight there was a limit to the amount i could eat and still lose weight. if it was low carb, i wouldn't put on weight, but i wouldn't lose it either. presumably i was meeting my energy requirements and didn't need to dip into body energy stores. however, increased food intake also often meant increased carbs, so difficult to say whether there was too much fat being consumed too...

during the first couple of weeks of low carbing however it's best not to worry too much about the quantities you're eating, because you wnat to get into the swing of low carbing without succumbing to the carb cravings. your appetite and 'fullness' signals should adjust quickly and you can worry about portion sizes and tweaking your macronutrient intake later (if indeed it ever becomes necessary)

[oldnewmummy]

Thanks guys, I guess play it by ear. My body must be wondering WTF is going on at the moment. I'm trying to gradually increase everything except carbs over the next few days so it's not too much of a shock to the system.

(Interestingly I did lose 6 stone in 7 months on the low everything diet back in 2010 and felt great, but whether it's because I'm older/not as fat this time around my body really didn't like it.)

[Mamtothree]

i kept my carbs to under 40g a day and I ate no potatoes, bread, pasta, rice or any chocolate/biscuits etc.

ive lost nearly 3 stone and i'm a size 10 again for the first time in years

i got this book from amazon for under £3 and it changed my life:-

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0091917336/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[Mamtothree]

what ive found out is that if your carb intake is low, you body still needs energy and takes it from your body via the fat.

Ive also found that products that are low in fat are often high in carbs/sugar so its better to have full fat milk/mayo/cheese etc.

eg, low fat mayo has about 10g of carbs per 100g whereas full fat mayo has about 1g of carbs per 100g.

My father and I have switched to full fat products as we've read that as long as they are naturally occurring fats (ie, not in processed foods) that they are good for our bodies.

My Dads cholesterol has always been above average but he's been low carbing and switched to full fat about 6 months ago. he checked his cholesterol level last week and its gone down to 4.4...the lowest its ever been.

I used to have two slices of toast and a cuppa for breakfast at around 8am. I was then hungry by about 11.00
I now have a boiled egg, omelette or a kipper or something and its gone 12 before I'm hungry.

I honestly dont look at calories or anything low fat any more. Trans fats are the bad ones and I avoid them but I go for butter now instead of oil/margarine

[sueh95]

That's great Mam - how long did it take you to get there?

[BecauseImWoeufIt]

Coming a bit late to this - but what is your issue with fat? Fat is what makes your food taste so lovely

So butter, olive oil, cheese, cream - what's not to like?!

[pingufan]

Hiya, Im on the Terri Ann 123 plan off facebook which is high protein but low fat. She recommends at least 250g of meat at lunch & tea plus snacks every 2 hours of 50g ham, chicken etc. Plus her protein shakes for breakfast or a snack. I will be honest and I don't always eat the snacks as I'd prefer to eat when I feel hungry rather than every 2 hours just for the sake of it.

The admins on there say that if you don't eat every 2 hours it can impede weight loss but surely that can't be true?

Is this too much protein? My weight loss has been fairly slow 6lbs in the first week and a further 8lbs over the next 5 weeks so making 1st in 6 weeks.

Everything else is meant to be low fat (yoghurts etc) and entering my menus into MFP shows my carbs are usually around 50 - 60g a day.

I'm now 13st 10 and only 5'2 so still loads to lose.

Its just so painfully slow and I'm wondering if I should be tweaking anything. Some others on this plan are losing loads and I'm getting a bit disheartened although I feel quite comfortable and all the sugar / carb cravings have passed.

Any ideas?