Irresponsive to Low Carb/High Fat

Diet and Nutrition
1

Lately, the Low Carb/High Fat trend has been disappearing and we are now seen a shift towards higher (if not 90’s high) carb diets. This is all well and good since I think people, in general, are seeing better results during fat loss phases through higher compliance rates, better workout intensity, better mood, improved muscle retention and during caloric restriction periods (did I miss any?).

I have experimented with higher carb diets myself and can vouch for the benefits I listed above. However, I feel that higher carb diets have a more direct effect on my fat loss process. I honestly feel that I drop fat faster when I replace fat calories with carb calories. Whenever I try the low carb/high fat approach, losing fat takes forever and it stalls quickly. It’s almost as if my body could not handle high amounts of fat properly. I find this very confusing since, from what we all know and all things being equal, a lower carb diet would yield faster fat loss since one would be keeping insulin on a shorter leash and so forth.

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if someone has an explanation for it.

2

If all things are controlled and you honestly feel better doing the LF?HC approach go for it.

Personally, my body all around for fat loss like HF/LC. I’m not gonna sit here and argue the science of it, because for you the reverse seems to be true.

BTW- I can lose weight very easily on any diet, that said it was near effortless to get very lean for myself using a HF/LC approach

3

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
If all things are controlled and you honestly feel better doing the LF?HC approach go for it.

Personally, my body all around for fat loss like HF/LC. I’m not gonna sit here and argue the science of it, because for you the reverse seems to be true.

BTW- I can lose weight very easily on any diet, that said it was near effortless to get very lean for myself using a HF/LC approach[/quote]

When you did this (referring to the HF/LC part), what were your approximate ratios (P/C/F)?

4

[quote]wswnsc wrote:

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
If all things are controlled and you honestly feel better doing the LF?HC approach go for it.

Personally, my body all around for fat loss like HF/LC. I’m not gonna sit here and argue the science of it, because for you the reverse seems to be true.

BTW- I can lose weight very easily on any diet, that said it was near effortless to get very lean for myself using a HF/LC approach[/quote]

When you did this (referring to the HF/LC part), what were your approximate ratios (P/C/F)? [/quote]

60-65% fat, 10-20% carb, rest protein. I’d say most days were 10-15% carb… though I ended up doing very high fat, high carb on the weekends, lower protein. Not by design, I just still wanted to be able to eat some junk and not have to worry about covering my protein.

5

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:

[quote]wswnsc wrote:

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
If all things are controlled and you honestly feel better doing the LF?HC approach go for it.

Personally, my body all around for fat loss like HF/LC. I’m not gonna sit here and argue the science of it, because for you the reverse seems to be true.

BTW- I can lose weight very easily on any diet, that said it was near effortless to get very lean for myself using a HF/LC approach[/quote]

When you did this (referring to the HF/LC part), what were your approximate ratios (P/C/F)? [/quote]

60-65% fat, 10-20% carb, rest protein. I’d say most days were 10-15% carb… though I ended up doing very high fat, high carb on the weekends, lower protein. Not by design, I just still wanted to be able to eat some junk and not have to worry about covering my protein.
[/quote]

Ok, so you were higher in fats than I originally would have thought. Two questions:

  1. What was your ballpark BF% when you started this? Now really hung up on the number - just trying to get a refernce as to your starting point.
  2. How long did you do this?
6

[quote]wswnsc wrote:

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:

[quote]wswnsc wrote:

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
If all things are controlled and you honestly feel better doing the LF?HC approach go for it.

Personally, my body all around for fat loss like HF/LC. I’m not gonna sit here and argue the science of it, because for you the reverse seems to be true.

BTW- I can lose weight very easily on any diet, that said it was near effortless to get very lean for myself using a HF/LC approach[/quote]

When you did this (referring to the HF/LC part), what were your approximate ratios (P/C/F)? [/quote]

60-65% fat, 10-20% carb, rest protein. I’d say most days were 10-15% carb… though I ended up doing very high fat, high carb on the weekends, lower protein. Not by design, I just still wanted to be able to eat some junk and not have to worry about covering my protein.
[/quote]

Ok, so you were higher in fats than I originally would have thought. Two questions:

  1. What was your ballpark BF% when you started this? Now really hung up on the number - just trying to get a refernce as to your starting point.
  2. How long did you do this?[/quote]

Wish I had taken those measurements. All I can say is I dropped about 10-12#s, my abs were the leanest they had been since late HS/early college, nothin jaw-dropping mind you.

At the end of the experiment 7-site caliper reading was 9.x% BF .

I did it for at least 8 weeks, maybe 12 at most, I don’t really recall, I started the experiment as a way to show some people that fat doesn’t make you fat, in the process I realized I could eat till satisfied, not count calories, keep carbs to 50-100g most days and get leaner.

I also did it to see how my blood work would turn out, granted I didn’t have a pre-test to compare.

7

[quote]wswnsc wrote:

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:

[quote]wswnsc wrote:

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
If all things are controlled and you honestly feel better doing the LF?HC approach go for it.

Personally, my body all around for fat loss like HF/LC. I’m not gonna sit here and argue the science of it, because for you the reverse seems to be true.

BTW- I can lose weight very easily on any diet, that said it was near effortless to get very lean for myself using a HF/LC approach[/quote]

When you did this (referring to the HF/LC part), what were your approximate ratios (P/C/F)? [/quote]

60-65% fat, 10-20% carb, rest protein. I’d say most days were 10-15% carb… though I ended up doing very high fat, high carb on the weekends, lower protein. Not by design, I just still wanted to be able to eat some junk and not have to worry about covering my protein.
[/quote]

Ok, so you were higher in fats than I originally would have thought. Two questions:

  1. What was your ballpark BF% when you started this? Now really hung up on the number - just trying to get a refernce as to your starting point.
  2. How long did you do this?[/quote]

Not JF, but I’m pretty close to the same percentage breakdown.

As far as BF%, I’d say 12ish; there’s photos in my hub (clearly I have a long ways to go). I’ve been eating that way in some form or another for 8 or 9 months. It brought me back from depression-induced weight loss. Since February, I’m up almost 40 pounds.

8

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
If all things are controlled and you honestly feel better doing the LF?HC approach go for it.

Personally, my body all around for fat loss like HF/LC. I’m not gonna sit here and argue the science of it, because for you the reverse seems to be true.

BTW- I can lose weight very easily on any diet, that said it was near effortless to get very lean for myself using a HF/LC approach[/quote]

No need to discuss the science of it, I think we are all pretty much clear on it. Your experience with HF/LC backs it up and I think this approach works for most people. In my case, it doesn’t seem to work quite as well, although I have given variations of this approach several honest tries. However I was hoping to learn more about the reasons why higher carb work better for me.

9

[quote]eaboadar wrote:

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
If all things are controlled and you honestly feel better doing the LF?HC approach go for it.

Personally, my body all around for fat loss like HF/LC. I’m not gonna sit here and argue the science of it, because for you the reverse seems to be true.

BTW- I can lose weight very easily on any diet, that said it was near effortless to get very lean for myself using a HF/LC approach[/quote]

No need to discuss the science of it, I think we are all pretty much clear on it. Your experience with HF/LC backs it up and I think this approach works for most people. In my case, it doesn’t seem to work quite as well, although I have given variations of this approach several honest tries. However I was hoping to learn more about the reasons why higher carb work better for me. [/quote]

without knowing full details, it could be a host of factors that is not the fault of a HF/LC diet per se, though it very well could for you.

10

And yet again, “finding out what works for you” reigns supreme!

11

[quote]eaboadar wrote:

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
If all things are controlled and you honestly feel better doing the LF?HC approach go for it.

Personally, my body all around for fat loss like HF/LC. I’m not gonna sit here and argue the science of it, because for you the reverse seems to be true.

BTW- I can lose weight very easily on any diet, that said it was near effortless to get very lean for myself using a HF/LC approach[/quote]

No need to discuss the science of it, I think we are all pretty much clear on it. Your experience with HF/LC backs it up and I think this approach works for most people. In my case, it doesn’t seem to work quite as well, although I have given variations of this approach several honest tries. However I was hoping to learn more about the reasons why higher carb work better for me. [/quote]

Plenty of discussion left on the science, but it would all be hypothetical. I’m on HF/LC for other reasons, and it treats me just fine for fat loss. But I have friends who do not succeed in losing weight on a HF/LC diet. They initial lose that water weight and then just stall, and do better on a higher carb calorie restricted diet.

Anyway, it isn’t just you :slight_smile:

–Me

12

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
BTW- I can lose weight very easily on any diet, that said it was near effortless to get very lean for myself using a HF/LC approach[/quote]

IMO…it is much easier to keep my LBM on low carb restrictions than the other way around.