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Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on my carb intake as I am trying to lose fat. I've read some of the stickies about carbs etc. but can't see anything about not eating carbs after, say, 5pm, which is something I've heard about before as a strategy to lose weight.

I was just wondering how much of a difference cutting out carbs in the evening makes when losing fat? I ask because I find it difficult to find meals that are just protein based that actually fill me up long enough. If I add some carbs to them such as rice or pasta then I feel much fuller. I don't eat too much, maybe just a handful, but am I affecting my fat loss by doing this?

Any advice would be great :D

Thanks

You feel fuller when you have carbs but it's because you are still addicted. You equate that full feeling with comfort. Go for at least 3 weeks with virtually no carbs. Have bacon and eggs for breakfast with coffee. You can have some cream in it. Have a handful of nuts for a snack. Have another coffee if you want. At lunch, have meat and a salad. Have some more nuts in the afternoon. For supper, have a different meat or fish and some cooked veg, preferably green. In the evening, have a snack but it should be something like a piece of turkey, berries in heavy cream, a warm glass of turkey broth, etc. My wife like a fruit smoothie but I think it's too many carbs for you right now. Eat simple food like this for 3 weeks, then if you want, you can slowly reintroduce grains or more fruits.

You have to give it enough time to break the cycle. Once you have, a small amount won't hurt but it's a call you will have to make. If you find you are slowing down your fat loss, get more strict.

Are you eating fat with your evening meals or just lean protein (chicken, fish, etc)? Instead of adding carbs, you might just want to add more fat. Oh, and Stuward's advice, obviously.

Also I found that, since eating a low carb diet I don't get "full" I just feel nourished. I eat lots of fat and protein with some high fibre veggies.

You can also go much longer withought food after a low carb, high fat/protein/fibre meal.
As well, if you chew your food allot around 20-30 bites you can eat soo much food lol, I'm talking pounds of Ground beef!

Don't worry about the cholesteral.

Thanks a lot guys :)

When I eat meat at mealtimes it's always lean - chicken, fish, lean beef etc. I thought that vegetables counted as a carb source, is that wrong?

I'll give those tips a go :) Do oats count as a carb source? I was going to have oats in the morning to fuel my cycle ride into work!

Lean is not required. You need the fat for energy and nutrients. Veg are carbs but high in fibre. Fibre doesn't count as your body doesn't use the calories and it doesn't affect your insulin. Just be careful with high starch veg. Potatoes and corn should be avoided right now and veg like pumpkin, etc should be light. Oats are carbs, one of the better grains but still a grain. Don't eat it right now. You need to get off the carbs as fuel cycle. Use fat for fuel. Bacon and eggs will fuel your bike ride into work. Really, give it 3 weeks.

If you're not full then just eat more good things, not a "handful" of bad things.

Thanks again guys. The problem I'm having (as you've identified) is breaking the cycle of how I've eaten before! I have a couple more questions about this way of eating (I'm sorry about this, I've never done it this way before!).

1. By eating a lot of fat, won't I end up just keeping fat on my body? I exercise 5 times a week, so that's not a problem, but I don't fully understand why I should cut out carbs but fat is ok.

2. I've read that low carb diets can lead to a state of ketosis where my muscles start to break down etc. I really don't want this, as I want to shed fat but also maintain muscle.

Again, sorry for all the questions, I just want to get all this straight in my head.

Thanks again.

Fat in your diet doesn't equal fat on your body. Most dietary fat is metabolized for energy, unless there is a lot of carbs around.

Carbs stimulate insulin production which in turn (way over-simplified here) leads to fat storage.

So carbs in the diet lead to fat on the body. The only time that I've lost fat it was through low carb eating.

Ah, so as long as I keep myself active and exercising, the fat I eat will get used for energy first?

It's not so much the activity as the hormonal response. Without the insulin, fat is not stored. You only get insulin from eating carbs.

Don't worry about ketosis. You will naturally increase your protein levels to more than compensate for burning protein as fuel.

The quality of the fat is important. Avoid any man made fat. If a caveman couldn't press the oil out of a vegetable, don't eat it. This leaves you with Olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, nuts, avocado, meat and fish. These will naturally be high in monounsaturated and saturated fats. Make sure to get Omega 3 from fish on a regular basis.

Should there be a "load"-day ? (day where eating carbs)
Also what do you think about flaxseed oil, its rich in omega 3

ALA, the omega 3 fat in flax oil, has only about 1/10th the value of EPA and DHA found in fish oil, maybe less. Take fish oil.