Hi all! I am new here and I have a serious question. I LOVE the low carb/high fat diet. It helps me feel satisfied and undeprived. But, I am also a calorie counter. With exercise I net 1250 calories a day. My question is, is calorie counting important in the low carb diet or is there a certain limit I shouldn't exceed? I am 5'7" and currently 132 pounds, lightly active. I sure appreciate your help!

I never count calories and when I was in the weight loss phase, a friend counted my daily calorie average as around 4000 a day. These days, I guess it would vary. Some days I probably dont do more than around 500, others well - who knows???? Yesterday I had a major binge day and must have done at least 3000????? I had around 40g of carbs tho!!!! Today, I'm simply not hungry and have eaten hardly anything - a small bag of nuts 40g and 100g of brie. Its 6pm here and I'm not sure if I'll eat anything else today????

Jo xxx

Thanks Jo!

See what the others say tho, we're all different

Jo xxx

I counted calories for a while, until I realized that counting carbs was enough. If I keep my carbs under 20g, I am automatically cutting calories.

Okay thank you. I just don't want to end up consuming more calories than I'm burning and end up gaining from it. Proteins are not always low in calories :/

The key here is really eating enough fats. Fats leave you satisfied and it's very easy to stay lower on calories if that is what you are shooting for. I can eat plenty of protein but my body knows where there are too many carbs or too much fat. I usually binge if I eat too many carbs (no satisfaction) or eat and eat if I just eat protein without the proper amount of fat.

Insulin tends to scoop up sugar in your blood and turn that into stored energy - fat! If you dont eat carbs you dont produce much insulin and therefore you dont store fat

Jo

I tracked for one month last year.

January: avg calories 1800, avg carbs 32: maintained

February: avg calories 1850, avg carbs 22: lost 4 pounds

So I don't care about calories any more!

Wow, thanks everybody I am concerned that I'm taking in too much fat, almost 80 grams a day. Is that too much or about right?

Our bodies use either fat or glucose for energy. You need to get into ketosis - fat burning, which low carbing will do. Then the fat you eat and the fat you have stored will be used for energy. So its how many carbs you eat that is what you need to concentrate on. Keeping them under 20g to start with.

I dont actually know how many grams of fat I eat a day, but I like to think that my body tells me when I've had too many - I feel full and almost sick. and that stops me I guess, altho I have reason to believe that any surplus goes thru unabsorbed

I'm sure someone will be along with the correct amounts, but I suspect it depends on how active you are etc

Jo xxx

Thanks so much!

It's not one-size-fits-all. I do well at 70% fat, which, at 1850 calories a day, is 144 grams.



Proportions are more helpful. Like when I do 70% fat, 15% protein and 5% carbs. That works great for me!

Track everything for a while and soon you get a feel for when you are at your best.

I couldn't agree more! If you feel that way, you are probably on the right track and eating the right number of calories. I'd suggest not worrying about calories unless you run into problems. If you have an idea of the number of calories and the grams of fat/protein/carbs you eat on a daily basis, it can help other members advise you if you have questions.

I have similar stats to yours and I probably eat 1100 (sit around doing nothing days) to 1600 (work and school days) calories per day and 70-100 g of fat/day. Everybody is different. The important thing is that I "eat to hunger." That is, I eat fat and protein until I am full, but not overly full. Letting go of hunger has been the best part of low carb for me.

Just be aware that at 132 pounds you may not lose much (depending on your body type). You will certainly feel better on low carb regardless of weight loss!

You all have been so helpful! Thanks so much! I love this forum!