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People new to the concept of Traditional Diet are usually shocked to see how much fat is consumed on a daily basis.
Mind you, this discussion does not include factory fats like transfats, interesterified fats, or rancid and usually genetically modified vegetable oils like corn, canola, and soy. These types of fats are cheap, industrially processed, were never consumed in ancestral cultures, and are in no way healthy!
Rather, the fats that are prominent in Traditional Diets are those lipids that have nourished long-lived, degenerative disease-free cultures for centuries: butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil, lard, tallow, and cod liver oil.
The best part is that making these traditional fats a primary rather than a shunned part of the diet produces an easy weight loss experience that is maintained without starvation or periodic fasting rituals. It also avoids short term weight loss with a nasty rebound to weight gain that is even harder to take off than before such as what happens on the high carb DASH Diet.
Let’s examine some of the best scientific evidence that supports what our ancestors already knew: healthy fats don’t make you fat and that high-fat low carb is the easiest way to lose weight and keep it off.
Compelling research on this subject was conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health. The research was presented at the 2003 conference of the Association for the Study of Obesity.
Researchers divided 21 overweight volunteers into three different dietary groups. The first group was assigned to a low-fat, high carb diet, and the second group to a high-fat low carb diet. Both groups consumed 1500 calories per day for the women and 1800 calories per day for the men – definitely not a starvation diet.
Finally, the third group ate high fat low carb but was allowed an extra 300 calories per day.
It is important to note that the second and third groups eating high fat low carb ate a whopping 65% of their calories as fat with only 15% protein and approximately 20% carbs. The misguided USDA dietary guidelines recommend 45-65% carbs, double or even triple the amount of the study participants!
The researchers were able to keep tabs on what the participants were eating because all the food was prepared for the study so cheating or deviation from the meal plans was minimized as much as possible.
At the conclusion of the study, the people in the second group lost the most: 23 pounds. The first group eating low-fat, high carb lost the least – only 17 pounds.
The third group eating high fat, low carb along with the additional 300 calories lost 20 pounds – more than the low-fat group eating fewer calories!
If this study excites you, it should. What it suggests is that not only will a high-fat Traditional Diet help you lose weight, but you won’t have to starve yourself to do it.
Not all calories are created equal!
Also, fat is the most satiating of all the macronutrients and keeps blood sugar steady for long periods of time. Thus, a high-fat diet is the easiest to stay on because it reduces sugar cravings significantly and you don’t feel deprived and hungry all the time.
Want to High Fat Low Carb It? Do This
If you’ve never eaten high fat low carb before and want to try it for yourself to get off the dieting yo-yo ride for good, get to a healthy weight and just eat Real Food the way our ancestors did, try following the high fat low carb approach that authors Sally Fallon Morell and Dr. Mary Enig suggest in Eat Fat, Lose Fat.
Other high fat low carb options include the 21 Day Bone Broth Diet or the Zoe Harcombe Diet.
Follow a 2500 calorie a day meal plan for two weeks. You will likely lose weight slowly but surely doing this – continue beyond two weeks as necessary until your ideal weight is achieved.
The suggested macronutrient breakdown for the 2500 calorie high fat low carb plan is based on the Traditional Diets of our healthy ancestors: 10 percent protein, 30 percent carbohydrate, and 60 percent fat. Note that it’s not a keto diet or even Paleo.
This approach is not just theoretical to me as it is very close to what I have followed myself for over 13 years. Â It has successfully kept me at my college weight with no dieting or deprivation and only a moderate amount of working out (running too much can be counterproductive with free radical damage) even after three pregnancies and progression into middle age.
The 30% carbs can include or exclude grain-based foods. There are traditional cultures that ate them, and a few that did not. I choose to eat them as I feel better, have more energy and maintain my ideal weight more easily when I do. Wading through the smorgasbord of Traditional Foods to determine the mix that is best for you is very important.
If you find that you don’t lose or need a more stringent approach to get rid of those stubborn last few pounds, introduce a small amount of calorie restriction, but not enough to trigger binge eating – 2000 calories per day with the same macronutrient breakdown until you achieve your ideal weight.
Delicious, satisfying meal plans are outlined in Eat Fat, Lose Fat if you desire specific suggestions to keep you on track.
Otherwise, if you are already following an eating approach that is high fat low carb, you can track your macronutrient profile yourself to stay within the suggested framework.
Reach Weight Loss Goals Faster with Coconut Oil
To ensure that you reach your weight loss goals as quickly as possible, it is recommended that you consume coconut oil before each meal to serve as an appetite suppressant. This article on using coconut oil for weight loss outlines exactly how much coconut oil to take for your body weight and how to best take it for optimal appetite control purposes. Using bone broth for weight loss can help too.
In addition, a daily cod liver oil supplement, ideally that is fermented, is suggested to ensure adequate intake of the fat-soluble vitamins and omega 3 fats prized by ancestral societies. Here are the suggested dosages from Dr. David Levi, Naturopathic Physician.
Have you had success losing and/or maintaining your ideal weight with high fat low carb? Please share your experiences in the comments section.
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Sources and More Information
2003 Conference of the Association for the Study of Obesity
Eat Fat, Lose Fat
How Vegetable Oils Make Us Fat
Doctor’s Orders: Your Family Needs Cod Liver Oil
When Coconut Oil May Not Be Right for You
MCT Oil: The Coconut Oil Dregs
Cod Liver Oil: Myths and Truths of an Ancient Superfood
Cod Liver Oil 101 (plus Video How-to)
How to Best Swallow Cod Liver Oil
Hi Sarah! Yep, I think that most people are still stuck in that “fat phobia” mindset and avoid fat at all costs! I know some of my girl friends who look at fat like it’s a radioactive hazard ha ha. But it’s true that you NEED to eat fat in order to lose fat, primarily to “teach” your body to use fat as fuel instead of carbohydrates. Is that right?
I’ve been on LCHF diet for about 2 years now. Before that I tried all kinds of versions of low-carb that have all ended in failures, due to many mistakes that lots of low-carb dieting people make. They put low-carb in the first place, before natural, healthy, etc. I was consuming lots of Atkins and other brand low-carb bars (my pantry is still full of them for whatever reason, though some are several years old) that now horrify me when I read the ingredients. I was eating grain-fed meat, store-bought eggs, etc. Inevitably, I felt bad and eventually went back to your typical American diet. Two years ago I decided to approach the matter seriously. I read many books on the subject, understood physiology and biochemistry, and started from scratch. It took a while to get used to this diet and health benefits didn’t come at once, but they did and this is why I am still eating that way. My diet now is extremely simple, I eat lots of eggs (I even got my own chickens, so the quality of my eggs is outstanding, my hens are healthy and happy, and also very adorable), I eat lots of grass-fed beef (including all the organs I can find) from local sources, I have my own broiler chickens. The only difficulty I have is finding good quality dairy. I live in NC and travel to SC occasionally, so can get raw milk in SC, but none of the raw milk I can find is GMO-free, they all supplement their grass-fed cows with GMO grains, so I drink milk sparingly. I try to buy organic, and if I can find, grass-fed, organic, or even better (which I almost never can find) grass-fed, organic, raw dairy products. I still can’t get rid of the habit to drink coffee (with lots of heavy cream, which unfortunately I can only find in ultra-pasturized form, even though it’s organic). I am looking for ways to limit coffee consumption, but so far I have failed, I just find coffee with heavy cream very satisfying (or maybe I just love the cream in it). One thing I noticed is that I have completely lost any cravings for sweet or starchy foods. I eat grains very infrequently (like rice), don’t eat bread at all, just don’t like it anymore, very rarely eat dark chocolate. I don’t use sugar substitutes and I think it may be the secret. My husband uses sugar substitutes and still craves carbs. I do crave fat and lots of fat now. It tastes so immensely satisfying, I have never enjoyed any carb foods as much as I enjoy fat foods now, it’s like my body is telling me that I am doing the right thing. I think my diet now probably consists 70-80% of fat (no vegetable oils or any garbage like that), and 20-25% protein with very occasional carbs like green vegetables, or even more infrequent rice or potatoes. My blood glucose is stable, I usually have no more than 2 meals a day, sometimes even one. I think in terms of calories I eat a lot less as well, and again, I have never been limiting myself, those are just natural adaptations of my body. I almost quit drinking wine, though I used to have at least a glass every day. Again, it just happened naturally, I don’t like the taste as much anymore. I am 5 feet tall and now weigh about 105 lbs and keep this weight effortlessly (I do exercise and prefer strength-training). I do want to get down to about 97-100 lbs, but it might be just my twisted ideal that I am not meant to reach, since my body seems to be enjoying my current weight. I got rid of lots of minor health issues, some of which I’ve had since childhood. The main thing that I like about eating that way is that now I feel like a healthy animal feels in nature about food. I eat when I am hungry, eat to satisfaction, I do not make a cult out of food, and treat it only as a source of nutrients and energy, therefore I only eat what will provide me with the most nutrients and energy, and incidentally my body agrees with me that the most nutrient and energy-dense foods also taste the best.
Sarah,
Thank you for this post. I’ve been eating WAPF diet for a few years now, but have extra 10 lbs or so. I thought I did low carb, but based on this I think it may not bee low enough. How do you measure? Any rules of thumb? Can you provide some examples of your meals? THANK YOU!!!
Great article and very timely for me. Thanks so much!
Assuming my math is correct, this comes to 187g carbs/day. While much lower than SAD, this isn’t anywhere close to being a ‘low carb diet’. Why are the carbs much higher than say, primal blueprint. Which days weight loss usually happens below 100g, with faster loss below 50g (temporarily)
Why so little protein?
When someone has a significant amount to lose, hoe do they adjust the numbers as they make progress?
It’s low carb, but not ultra low carb like a Paleo diet. I personally am not suited for that type of eating genetically. Also, lots of protein can be very problematic as protein is metabolized like sugar when you get to these large amounts recommended by many popular diets today. Nora Gedgaudas has some very good writing on that subject.
So as one loses weight, do they keep their numbers the same?
I’ve been on LCHF for almost 5 months and have reversed my T2 Diabetes,
I would like to recommend readers here look into BPC Bullet Proof Coffee
Coffee ,Coconut oil,and Whole whipping cream. I have it every morning and if keeps me satiated through out the day – Happy to see this LCHF way of nutrition on your Site. !
Bulletproof coffee is a very dangerous approach to morning routine especially for women. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/bulletproof-coffee-causes-weight-gain/
Hey! I have noticed eating HFLC helps my blood sugar a ton. I have hypoglycemia. My only worry with your ratios is how little protein I would be having. Have you heard of anyone having energy or blood sugar issues with such low protein? I would be doing the 2,000 calorie version which only allows 50g of protein. Is this enough? I am used to 100-140 a day. I am 5’5 and 145 lbs. Thank you!
100-140 grams of protein per day is far far too much!
When you said 10% carb, 30% protein and 60% fat, how exactly do you measure? By quantity? By calorie? Also how do I keep track for calories? If I fry two eggs with coconut oil for example how do I know how much calorie I consumed?
There is much help these days for overweight people. How about those who are underweight and struggle to gain weight (and keep it)? What would you recommend them to do?
Carbs are very important for those who tend to be too thin. I remember when I was on the GAPS diet eating no potatoes or grains, I lost weight like crazy even though I was eating soooo many calories.
Great article! I have been eating LCHF for several weeks and have found that I’m not nearly as hungry as I used to be. I struggle to eat 1300 calories a day (big change for me!) But I’m not losing weight. Do I need to bump my daily amount to 2000-2500 for the weight to come off? By the way, I feel better than I have in years with this way of eating.
Be sure you are eating adequate calories for your size … you didn’t mention how tall you are and bone density, but 1300 calories a day seems too little. So glad you are feeling so good eating with a traditional macronutrient profile!
Thanks for responding! I am 5’8; weight 205 lbs (down from 268) and don’t know my bone density but would consider myelf large boned. I”m trying the coconut oil before each meal but am having nausea and am really struggling to get to 2000 calories, much less 2500. Any resources to refine what I’m doing? Even with the stomach upset, I love eating this way; the chronic inflammation in my hands, feet, and knees is gone, my rosacea is gone; and my skin has cleared up. This reminds me of the way my LIthuanian immigrant grandparents ate when I was a little kid in the early ’60s…go figure!