Current food plan(testing if i can stick to rigid plans) gives me around ~30g fat per day.
Pretty precise with weighing etc, but due to errors in labeling/calorie bombing/variation of products etc we're not 100% accurate but none the less my numbers are stacking up around.

Calories: 1805
Fat: 31g total
Sat: 7g (most accurate as labeled products list sat, but rarely mono/poly...grrr)
Poly: 4g(Mackeral on non training days, other wise its 3EPA fish oils - i may increase this to 6 or swap to linseed, not sure yet!)
Mono: 3g (No suprise, not cooking in oils and nuts/avocado/other sources arnt in my diet)
(you see the 4+3+7 = 14, so we've got a deficit of fat which is poly or mono from products such as bread/soya mince/chicken/turkey/mackeral etc)

Carbs: 184
Fibre 44g

Protein: 200g

Anyhow i noticed nigee mentioned serum triglycerides with regaurds to low fat/high carb intake(and inactivity!) mine falls into that low fat bracket.
However activity is 2x cardio(45mins) and 3x weights a week, otherwise its sat at a desk/watching tv/sleeping for the most part(excluding other lifes events...chores/shopping etc).

Wondered everyones thoughts on such a low fat diet, for my lifestyle and your reasoning for why it may/may not be so great etc.
I will be trying to high fat/low carb diet in a few weeks, to see how my body responds.
Look forward to your responses,
Thanks.

My posts are all my opinion and based on current knowledge/understanding.

I keep my carbs low to moderate so I need more fat in the diet to make up the numbers. Personally, I couldn't function on that low a fat content, would make me feel lethargic. I'm now taking in 70gms fat and my skin feels great, got more energy, plus because theres so much fat I can really vary my sources and get a lot of goodness from Flax, nuts, olive oil, fish oil caps, whole eggs etc.

Gonna up it pretty soon, see where that takes me

Peace be the Journey!

That's 44/41/15 pro/carb/fat split.... why is fat soooooooooo low???? Are you a carb burner??

Outside of your training you will be burning a lot more fat than you seem to be offering into your diet. As above, I'd be a mess on that little fat daily, I have probably twice that for breakfast! What is your skin, energy levels and mood like??

Be conscious of the fact that as you hit 10% fat in the diet, you reduce your absorption of fat soluble vitamins, hit 5% or lower for too long and you die....

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ORIGINAL: Tony Barnes

That's 44/41/15 pro/carb/fat split.... why is fat soooooooooo low???? Are you a carb burner??
I've no idea, i can only say that i do love carbs and find that fatty meals just seem to 'hit the spot'. I'm left feeling very hungry after them, a slice of toast usually helps or some other form of carbs.



Outside of your training you will be burning a lot more fat than you seem to be offering into your diet.
Potentially yeah, however wheter my diet has led to overall change in my RER is unknown. I do plan to try a hit fat/lower carb(avoiding ketosis!) approach hopefully soon although ill need to have a 'transitionary period' i think? i've yet to look into suddenly flipping from high carb/low fat to low carb/high fat. Enzymes could be down regulated and i could feel like crap if the change is sudden perhaps? Ill need to look into it, any knowledge on this?



As above, I'd be a mess on that little fat daily, I have probably twice that for breakfast! What is your skin, energy levels and mood like??
Skin seems fine, hands a bit rough from weight training but thats pretty normal. Energy levels seem great too, although i do occasionally get a bit tired around ~6hours after waking, but that wears off an hour or 2 later and i'm fine. Mood is good, upbeat and generally a happy bunny!


Be conscious of the fact that as you hit 10% fat in the diet, you reduce your absorption of fat soluble vitamins, hit 5% or lower for too long and you die....
Yeah i have wondered what effects it may be having, i dont think id be comfortable with following such a plan long term however my cut will end in a few days. Ill probably reintroduce more fats to increase calories gradually and monitor my mood/energy levels etc as i go into a calorie balance and then onto a surplus.

After that ill be bulking for 2 weeks or so, then i think i may try 1 week where i lower my carbs to around ~100g(avoiding ketosis) and see how i function for that time period.
Just trying to gauge my RER i suppose, in a fairly basic way

My posts are all my opinion and based on current knowledge/understanding.

Seems like very low cals for all that cardio!

When I was mildly anorexic I was doing 2x 45min cardio sessions a day and taking in 1500cals. I was like a stick! Is this just for the final stages of your cut?

I personally have quite a lot of fat in my diet, especially on a cut. I love nuts, peanut butter etc...maybe more than I love carbs.

I'm a wizard of the word, that's what you heard
And anything else is quite absurd

ORIGINAL: AlasTTTair

Seems like very low cals for all that cardio!

When I was mildly anorexic I was doing 2x 45min cardio sessions a day and taking in 1500cals. I was like a stick! Is this just for the final stages of your cut?

I personally have quite a lot of fat in my diet, especially on a cut. I love nuts, peanut butter etc...maybe more than I love carbs.

Oooh sorry, i mean 2x cardio and 3x weights PER WEEK. So 5 exercise sessions a week, although i will be doing an extra one on sunday before my "celebration" meal just to help load up all those carbs into the muscles instead .

I do love fats, avocado/nuts/seeds etc however there so calorie dense and seem to offer very little interms of satiety that i'd rather a slice of toast or an apple(this is actually amazingly filling i find!).

Will be interesting to see how i handle a high fat/low carb diet, i suspect hunger will be a huge problem.

My posts are all my opinion and based on current knowledge/understanding.

So what's the plan then mate? When your 0.4lbs come off, is it back to bulking? If so, why the 1800cal diet?

I'm a wizard of the word, that's what you heard
And anything else is quite absurd

Odd you don't find fats keep you full... what have you been eating them with? Sats/omega 6 + refined carbs = big insulin response = quick dip in energy levels.

Apples are good and filling because of pectin levels IIRC.

At least it doesn't sound like you're getting any particular ill effects from low fat at the minute. It may be that you are just a complete carb burner

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ORIGINAL: AlasTTTair
So what's the plan then mate? When your 0.4lbs come off, is it back to bulking? If so, why the 1800cal diet?

After the BBQs, meals out and partys die down a bit i'll be able to see whats left when the dust settles.
However the general plan is to find my maintenance calories(by raising my calorie deficit on this cut gradually, by the addition of some good fats which shouldnt be to hard. 1 large peanut has around 400kcals right?

After ive establish maintenance and got a good idea of energy levels/performance during training etc. I will then be adding calories further(more fats!) slowly making the transition to a high fat/lower carb approach to see how i feel on that for a week or 2(depending on the severity of the feelings, this may be aborted early!).

Once i can roughly say if i prefer fat and carb diet, ill be following a calorie surplus of 200-400kcals a day monitoring weight gain and timing carbs to give me maximum energy in the gym etc.
Occasionally (perhaps every 2-3weeks) ill cut for varying periods of time(1-7days) and hopefully this will achieve efficient fat loss(as the adaptions to long term calorie deficits won't kick in as much) therefore achieving good low bodyfat levels and a general increase in lean body mass.

Of course, it may go horribly wrong and leave me fat and muscleless...but im trying to read up on everything i can regaurding similar approachs(UD2, Zig zag diets etc) aswell as educating myself of the metabolism/everything i can get my hands on to avoid any pitfalls.

My posts are all my opinion and based on current knowledge/understanding.

AlasTTTair Forgot to mention, the 1800kcal seems to be required with my current exercise regime/lifestyle to achieve weight loss.
A very slow rate of it infact(due to lower fat levels now), lighter bodyweight(156.4lbs today(putting me at -0.6lbs relative to my signiture goal of 157lbs bodyweight) and sedetary life style.

Id rather avoid a high cardio/high food intake as cardio could effect my overall goal regaurding muscle growth(still looking into this though!).

ORIGINAL: Tony Barnes

Odd you don't find fats keep you full... what have you been eating them with? Sats/omega 6 + refined carbs = big insulin response = quick dip in energy levels.

Apples are good and filling because of pectin levels IIRC.

At least it doesn't sound like you're getting any particular ill effects from low fat at the minute. It may be that you are just a complete carb burner

My fat contain meals are very occasional, my main one is a large salad + Mackeral OR large salad+lean fish + 3x epa fish oils and 1 cod liver cap.

I've tried adding fat sources to breakfast(nuts/seeds for example) and they didnt seem to have much of an effect on keeping me full. Of course, they should slow gastric emptying but my rather unscientific tests didn't reveal any significant differences...so in the "real world" they just caused calories to fly up instead!

Yeah apples rank quite high on the satiety ladder it seems, although i do tend to dodge fruit on cuts also!

Regaurding carb burning/fat burning, my diet has probably affected my RER greatly however i'm looking forward(i think ) to trying to high fat/lower carb diet to see how it affects my energy levels.

Ideally id be comparing two calorie deficit diets, with varying %'s of carbs/fat, but this may not be the case as id quite like to start a bulk soon. Anyhow, i should be able to get a good idea of what i prefer which is my main aim.

Right now im in a huge "diet research phase, trying to get a good idea of what works for me so i can establish a long term plan.
Tonnes of research and discussions to get a good overview of what effects my diet tweaks have also.

I always assumed carbs were not my bodys preference, as i was always a chubby kid and my diet was based around carbs with fewer fats...but calorie surplus/deficits win longterm no matter what the %'s are so its hard to say.

A trainsmart test is tempting, but i wonder if my current diet will have caused an RER change leading to a misleading result? Hm

My posts are all my opinion and based on current knowledge/understanding.

It's my understanding that if you eat more carbs you become more of a carb burner, hopefully Nige can clarify this.

30g fat is a bit too low for my liking, with that low an intake my skin would suffer.

With that intake I'd aim for at least 40-50g.

Anyhow your at the end of diet so you won't be eating like that for long.

1800cals is quite a low intake with that level of exercise but at 157lbs it maybe required. I take it your not a particularly tall guy with that bodyweight.

I'm tall mate, 6ft 2.
Just used to weight 220lbs of blubbah, quit numerous times etc etc. Only been training consistently for a 2-3 months really, i keep falling off the wagon .
So yeah 1800kcals, and it doesnt leave me losing much at this weight (along with a sedetary life style!).

RER will change depending on what you eat, if you saturate glycogen stores completely your RER can move much closer to 1.0.

My skin seems fine, my hands are rough from the barbells even though i wear gloves but i think thats pretty normal.

I felt like crap training today but i think its a result of interuppted sleep, calorie deficit, hard training and low bodyfat levels really. Cant wait to get back into a surplus...
2 days to go!

My posts are all my opinion and based on current knowledge/understanding.