How Low Carb is LCHF?
Tommy Runesson on strict LCHF
How low carb is LCHF?
Eating a low carb high fat diet has been very popular in Sweden since about 2008. But how low carb, and how high fat? There are no generally agreed exact levels.
This is a debate that flares up repeatedly. Some people think that only ultra-strict low-carbers should be allowed to use the term LCHF (people eating below 10 – 20 grams or carbs per day, for example). Others, who eat a more liberal form of LCHF – with a bit more carbohydrates – feel that strict LCHF is too extreme, and that they should use another term.
To me the answer is clear: No one has the exclusive right to decide what the concept LCHF means to others, exactly how many carbohydrates can be included. One has to accept that others choose to eat LCHF in their own way.
Some people need to eat very few carbs for a maximum effect. This includes many people with big weight issues, diabetes (mainly type 2) and food/sugar addiction, for example. One example is Tommy Runesson, pictured above, who lost more than half his body weight when starting on a strict LCHF diet many years ago, and still sticks to a strict variant.
Others – less carb intolerant people – do great on a more liberal LCHF. A third group of healthy, lean, active people may not even need to eat low carb at all, as long as they mainly eat unprocessed slow carbs.
My definition
Here’s my view on different levels of LCHF:
- Strict LCHF <20 gram carbs per day
- Moderate LCHF 20-50 grams per day
- Liberal LCHF 50-100 grams per day
The above numbers discount the fibre – you can deduct them from your carb counts. But don’t be fooled by the label “net carbs” on processed products. That’s usually just a way to trick you and I’d go so far as to suggest not eating anything with the words “net carbs” printed on it.
In addition, one could possibly add the concept “exercise-liberal LCHF” that Jonas Bergqvist coined. He argues that people who exercise a lot and eat large quantities of calories daily may also eat more than 100 gram carbs per day and still be mostly in fat-burning mode. This too could be called LCHF.
You can of course also eat more carbs than 100 grams and still be inspired by LCHF ideas and LCHF recipes.
Who needs strict or liberal LCHF?
The fewer the carbs, the stronger the impact on weight and health. A stricter diet will generally produce a stronger impact on weight and some health markers, such as blood sugar and blood pressure.
Some people are more sensitive to carbohydrates than others and need to keep a strict LCHF diet for best results. Others – the lucky ones – may eat larger amounts of good carbohydrates and still remain lean and healthy. This is something to be thankful for as it makes life easier.
More
LCHF for Beginners
How to Lose Weight
Diabetes – How to Normalize Your Blood SugarMore health and weight success stories
Ate a High-Fat Diet – Lost 200 lbs
LCHF Deadly in the Long Run… or Not?
Great Cholesterol Numbers After 4 Years on an Ultra-Strict LCHF Diet
Not that I count calories but I believe the maths is a simple as: take a 2,500 calories per day diet, replace as little as 100g of carbs with around 42g of fat to remain isocaloric but potentially change the percentages from LFHC to LCHF.
The ones I see most often assuming LCHF to always mean very-low or even zero-carbs are those who try to build this as strawman or even an argumentum ad absurdum by holding up then shooting down a ridiculously extreme example... those same people who say things like "I think it is unwise/unsafe to remove an entire food group from your diet" -- although strangely enough, they never made this same cry about "low-fat" diets.
As I see it, percentages are more meaningful than absolute grams of carbohydrate :-)
100g of carbs will likely have a larger effect on a 50 kilo person as compared to a 100 kilo.
But for me it is not so much about numbers but rather the approach... focus on the quality of the foods, eat unprocessed food, prepared mostly at home, source your ingredients locally. Do these things and the ratios etc.. tend to look after themselves, I find
I don't intend to spend my life counting calories, grams of carbs, fat and protein. Maybe these are useful metrics to collect now and then, to figure out what works best for you, but I don't see that as a lifelong, sustainable, or satisfying way to eat, personally.