eating fat while cutting

[Matthew Shepard]

I'm 18, 5'11,270lbs, and ~ 30% bf currently.

I usually eat 1950-2100 cals per day. I eat around 100 grams of carbs per day, all before 6 pm. I keep my protein around 205 grams per day.

I'm worried about how much fat I'm taking in tho. I eat about 1/2 pound of flank steak per day,beef jerky, cheese, and use regular ceasar dressing on my salads.


Will eating this much fat have any detrimental effect on my cutting? I'm a 270 pound guy and 2000 cals a day creates a pretty big cal deficit for me.Keeping that in mind, will eating so much fat create any problems still?

thanks

[Hort]

Your intake of fats should be about 20-25% per day. They should be "good fats" ie Omega 3's etc. Fatty cuts of meat, too much cheese, etc. will work against you. Your calorie deficit is "average" for your size and is what it should be to lose a healhty 1-2 lbs a week. Provided you are excersizing.

You're heavy for 6'2" and 18, are you muscular or just overweight?

[Falkon]

Originally posted by Hort
Your intake of fats should be about 20-25% per day. They should be "good fats" ie Omega 3's etc. Fatty cuts of meat, too much cheese, etc. will work against you. Your calorie deficit is "average" for your size and is what it should be to lose a healhty 1-2 lbs a week. Provided you are excersizing.

You're heavy for 6'2" and 18, are you muscular or just overweight?

uh, he said he is 5'11", 270 lbs at 30% bf.

That would qualify as a little overweight but the good news is he is looking to improve


In answer to your question, you need to minimize your saturated fat intake and make sure fats you do consume are very healthy. You should still loose some weight because your in a calorie deficity but the saturated fats can be detrimental to your fat loss efforts. Eliminate the cheese or use fat free cheese only. Try to use leaner cuts of meat and I would suggest using a zero calorie dressing like the ones from Waldan Farms you can buy online.

All these ideas will maximize your fat loss efforts. I wouldn't suggest you consume any less than 2100 calories though so be sure and substitute in some healthy foods for what you remove. Natural peanut butter & fresh fish like salmon are great ways to get in healthy fats.

This healthy diet + some cardio and a good lifting routine and you should melt the fat off quickly. Just stay focused! Post your full routine and diet if you aren't getting results and want additional feedback.

[johnnyironboard]

The fat is ok. Cut back on the carbs. Try to include fish and flax oil.

[whutevr]

Your carbs are fine, cut back on the fat and increase your protein to 1 gram per pound bodyweight.

[Matthew Shepard]

Here's the thing. I'm not really down with keto diets....that may be something I try again over the summer tho.

I eat more than 1g of protein/ pound of lean mass.

My carbs are currently at 100g a day, which is next to nothing.

2000 cals a day should create a pretty sizeable deficit for a man my size.

I just like to eat a lot of meat and cheeses because they taste good and keep me fuller, but they contain a lot of saturated fat. I know people on keto eat tons. I would think it would be better to eat saturated fat than carbs....anyone else?

[johnnyironboard]

Originally posted by Matthew Shepard
Here's the thing. I'm not really down with keto diets....that may be something I try again over the summer tho.

I eat more than 1g of protein/ pound of lean mass.

My carbs are currently at 100g a day, which is next to nothing.

2000 cals a day should create a pretty sizeable deficit for a man my size.

I just like to eat a lot of meat and cheeses because they taste good and keep me fuller, but they contain a lot of saturated fat. I know people on keto eat tons. I would think it would be better to eat saturated fat than carbs....anyone else?

100 g of carbs is a lot for someone that gets fat easy. At 18 yrs old and 270lbs you obviously get fat easy. You didn't get so fat from protein or fat you got that fat from carbs. Cut back on the carbs. I'm not trying to be a hard ass I'm trying to help. Don't listen to people that say up the carbs. They don't know what they are talking about when insulin resistance is involved-and that's what you've got.

[Matthew Shepard]

If I followed a 40/40/20 diet I would be eating 270 grams of carbs per day, assuming I ate I gram of protein per pound of body weight.

If I cut the carbs too much more I'm going to be a shade away from entering ketosis....

[johnnyironboard]

Originally posted by Matthew Shepard
If I followed a 40/40/20 diet I would be eating 270 grams of carbs per day, assuming I ate I gram of protein per pound of body weight.

If I cut the carbs too much more I'm going to be a shade away from entering ketosis....

You need 20 g of carbs or less for 3 to 5 days to get into ketosis. Do what you need to do.

Good luck.

[Falkon]

Yes decreasing the carbs could be very beneficial. You can still get enough complex carbs in to give you sufficient energy.

I consume an average of 2 - 3 complex carb servings each day. For breakfast I may have 40 grams via raw oats, for lunch I may have 40 grams via brown rice, etc...

Eat lots of green veggies and such as well and don't worry about those carbs as its mostly fiber and will just keep you feeling full.

[Matthew Shepard]

Sorry guys, My post wasnt too clear.


I don't want to go into ketosis. I just want to follow a conventional cutting diet.

I eat 2k cals & 100g of carbs per day. I'm just wondering how much all this saturated fat will effect my diet. I mean since my carbs are so low I need to get the cals from somewhere else ( protein and fat). right?

[Brosef]

100g of carbs and 2000 cals? That isn't 40%, at the most that is 20%.

Johnyironboard, it seems that you aren't too clear about carbs and their uses. They do release insulin, insulin that is necessary to help amino acids enter cells. Carbs and proteins combined stabilize blood insulin levels and decrease body fat. Without enough carbs, protein cannot fulfill its full task. A balanced diet of carbs and protein will improve digestion and make it easier for nutrients to be absorbed, in addition to providing your body with essential vitamins and minerals, which can harm your results when they are lacking. Sure, too many bad carbs are bad, but not enough carbs won't produce good, safe results. If you eat often, your blood sugars and insulin levels stay low. When you don't eat enough carbs, everytime you do eat them they will create an insulin spike. Making sure to eat a balanced diet of plenty of low-glycemic carbs is the best plan; eating too much or too little will hinder the results.

So, Matthew Shepard, make sure to eat more than 100g of carbs per day. Or better yet you can try carb-cycling, see how that works for you. A diet where you always consume low amounts of carbs is very poor in my view..you will become extremely tired, depressed, and without proper motivation to exercise properly. I calculated your daily fat intake to be 80-90g, is this correct? It seems to be about 45% of your diet...A bit high, which is another reason you may want to up the carbs, for fat has less chance of being used for energy so it is more than likely stored. Also, are you sure that 1950 cals per day isn't too much of a deficit? With your lean mass of @190lbs, plus your exercise plan, it seems a bit low.

[Matthew Shepard]

I didn't mean to imply that I was doing a 40/40/20 diet, but when that guy said 100g of carbs was too high I just wanted to show him how high they'd be if I were on a 40/40/20.

A lot of people have told me to cut the carbs down next to nothing. I'm not even sure what to do anymore, now I'm more confused than when I posted this.

[johnnyironboard]

Originally posted by Evgeniy
100g of carbs and 2000 cals? That isn't 40%, at the most that is 20%.

Johnyironboard, it seems that you aren't too clear about carbs and their uses. They do release insulin, insulin that is necessary to help amino acids enter cells. Carbs and proteins combined stabilize blood insulin levels and decrease body fat. Without enough carbs, protein cannot fulfill its full task. A balanced diet of carbs and protein will improve digestion and make it easier for nutrients to be absorbed, in addition to providing your body with essential vitamins and minerals, which can harm your results when they are lacking. Sure, too many bad carbs are bad, but not enough carbs won't produce good, safe results. If you eat often, your blood sugars and insulin levels stay low. When you don't eat enough carbs, everytime you do eat them they will create an insulin spike. Making sure to eat a balanced diet of plenty of low-glycemic carbs is the best plan; eating too much or too little will hinder the results.

I started working out in 1981. You were born in 1986. I've forgotten more than you know. If what they taught in text books worked then everybody would be above average not just a select few.

[Brosef]

Originally posted by johnnyironboard
I started working out in 1981. You were born in 1986. I've forgotten more than you know. If what they taught in text books worked then everybody would be above average not just a select few.

I love how age plays an important factor in knowledge. I was just stating my own theory, please feel free to state yours, it would benefit me just as greatly.

Originally posted by johnnyironboard
100 g of carbs is a lot for someone that gets fat easy. At 18 yrs old and 270lbs you obviously get fat easy. You didn't get so fat from protein or fat you got that fat from carbs.

What is the knowledge behind this? Fat will make anyone fat, just as protein will. Carbs aren't the only judging factor in fat storage. It's the excess of anything that is stored as fat. Why would being 18 and 270lbs mean that one gets fat easily? If cal intake is maintained, how will they get fat easily, when there is no excess for the body to store? Carbs are needed for energy in anything that the human being does, so when it has no carbs, it breaks down muscle and protein. How does a big lack of carbs and a big amount of fat make one skinny? I just don't like extremely low carb diets for a long time because a balanced diet of protein and carbs is the better option. So why suffer and struggle to eat 60g of carbs a day, not giving your body the much needed energy it craves? But if you like it, then there is no one stopping you choices.

[johnnyironboard]

Experience means a lot pal. I've probably tried everything you are going to think about in the next ten years. Just think about this:

1. If you stop eating all protein you will get a deficiency that would eventually lead to death.

2. If you stop eating all fat you will get a deficiency that would eventually lead to death.

3. If you stop eating eating carbs nothing bad would happen.

Our evolutionary history favors eating protein and fat. Think about this as well:

20,000 years ago when did people eat fruit? Answer: the two weeks out of the year it was ripe. Same for vegetables. Meat and fish were the only dependable year around food sources.

[Brosef]

Originally posted by johnnyironboard
Experience means a lot pal. I've probably tried everything you are going to think about in the next ten years. Just think about this:

1. If you stop eating all protein you will get a deficiency that would eventually lead to death.

2. If you stop eating all fat you will get a deficiency that would eventually lead to death.

3. If you stop eating eating carbs nothing bad would happen.

Our evolutionary history favors eating protein and fat. Think about this as well:

20,000 years ago when did people eat fruit? Answer: the two weeks out of the year it was ripe. Same for vegetables. Meat and fish were the only dependable year around food sources.

Of course, because the body doesn't store protein for energy does it? Like I said, however, when it has no carbs, it will use that protein for energy. To contradict your own statement, would that not create a protein deficiency? If you stop eating carbs, nothing bad may happen in the beginning, but what will happen in the future, when you have severely decreased all the necessary minerals and vitamins? What will happen when every time you eat any carb, the body will creat a much bigger insulin spike and store as fat every little gram of carbs it can get? What will happen when you get off your low-carb diet and pack on pound after pound because your body will now store everything it can? What will happen when you get confused and start this low-carb diet again because you packed on a large amount of pounds after stopping it?

20,000 years ago, how long did people live? 20,000 ago, were fruits the only sources of carbs? 20,000 years ago, did humans not try to eat any sort of grass/leaves/etc. they could to store all those carbs for future uses, like winter? I don't seem to see your theory that the body needs no or extremely little carbs to survive. How does our history of evolution not favor carbs, then, but protein and fat?

[speda1]

Matthew,

Since you are not doing keto you should probably eliminate the cheeses and fatty dressings. The beef jerky is ok.

I don't think anyone here has any evidence to suggest that 40-40-20 is the optimum ratios for cutting over any other high protein, moderate carb, moderate/low fat ratio.

I think 100 grams of carbs/day is fine, but you'll have better success if you also reduce your fat intake to 30% or lower and make sure that most of that is coming from EFA's/monounsaturated fats.

[Superdude87]

Let's keep it simple.

When cals burned > cals eaten, you lose weight.

Eat a balanced diet. Just make sure you don't eat too much of any one nutrient. A 40/40/20 is great. Don't eat crap food. Use common sense. Keep the proteins to meat, dairy products (not too much cheese), protein powders (if you use them). Carbs should come from complex sources (rice, whole wheat bread, ect...) and fats should be healthy fats (natural peanut butter, nuts, flax oil, ect...).