This is a repost, I posted it originally in newbie and it was suggested I ask the question here.

"I have "done" low carb many times over the years and I always fell off the wagon (okay, maybe I jumped), in part due to no bread. Not that I have to eat bread all the time, but a caesar salad without croutons is just wrong, as is a softly poached egg without toast. Now I have found the Protein power comfort cookbook and they have bread recipes, so I am good to go.

I have finally decided it is time to lose the 60+ pounds I gained when I quit smoking 7 years ago. So today is my first day on protein power, I have been recording my food intake on fitday, and I am a little alarmed about the number of fat grams I have consumed so far today. My calories are 1820, fat grams 143., carbs 39.9 grams (probably inaccurate, I think it's lower, I didn't create a custom food for my homemade meatloaf), and the protein is 97.7 grams. Do the fat grams sound high?

Thanks in advance....."

So, 71-71% of calories was fat. there are many on these boards who eat even higher percentages (80%) and swear by it.

I think most PP/Atkins/Paleo types eat in the 60-75% range, you are probably right in line. If you work out or are very active, you might want to up the protein a bit. You could even double the protein and be at 65% fat at the same number of calories.

Sometimes we just have to play around with what works best. But don't be afraid of eating too much fat. Get your blood work done from time to time - I can practically guarantee your lipid panels will improve within a few months.

This has been good advice... It's great that you are tracking your fat.

Now just keep an eye on the weight loss. If it comes, then there's no need to change anything.

If it doesn't (or slows down at a later date) then you know that you can cut just a bit of fat and you will kick start it again.

The goal is to eat as much as possible while losing the fat so that you can have somewhere to cut from should you need to in the future.

If you cut too drastically right now with no real need to, it will only make things harder for you.

I have to disagree as to the reason for high fat ratios being in order to have somewhere to trim. We eat lots of fat because it's good for you. It's good for your adrenal system, your nervous system and satisfies your energy needs. If you read PP, and I suppose you are reading it if you're in this forum, Dr. Eades teaches that it's the accompanying carbs that cause dietary fat to be made into body fat. He states that if you have fat without the carbs, your pancreas doesn't even know you ate the fat and it's the pancreas that is the organ that controls the blood sugar and hence weight gain. I have simplified it grossly but I believe it follows the science in the book.
So, we eat fat because it's good for us and no other reason.