NK - May 2013 Version

In his book, Dr. Phinney recommends 1.5-2.0g/kg reference weight for protein grams. Dr. Phinney also covered that in the Long Term Stalls podcast. However, in a Fat Burning Man podcast, at 16:53, Jimmy Moore mentioned to Abel James that Dr. Phinney leaned more towards 1.0-1.5 grams per kg of reference weight.

Reference weight is the appropriate weight for your height as described in a height/weight chart. Although it doesn't need to be exact, it is important to use the weight that is closest to correct for you with the formula because overeating protein can interfere with weight loss. So use the right weight even if you have a higher intermediate goal weight. You can check your frame size for a better estimation of the right reference weight for yourself. Frame size is described here.

The formula looks like this: (reference_weight/2.2)*1.5 = daily protein grams.

For example: Your ideal weight is 150 pounds...

(150/2.2)*1.5 = 102g protein a day.

Use the 1.5-2.0g/kg from the published book as your start point. It is much easier to start at the high end and tweak down if needed than the reverse. If you are coming from a very low calorie plan you probably need the extra protein to rebuild lost muscle mass anyway.

Most of your calories should come from fat.

50g total carbs (not net) or less.

According to Dr. Phinney, an obese person burns about 30kCal per kg of weight and a moderately active adult close to their correct weight burns 35kCal per kg of weight. He attributes the difference, 30 to 35, to an obese person being more sedentary than a person at the right weight for their body.

From page 207 of The Art and Science of Low Carb Living:

"As an aside, the casual reader might protest that these energy expenditure numbers look pretty high. But for anyone that has worked with obese humans in a metabolic research ward, 30kcal per kg of actual body weight in the sedentary obese and 35 kcal/kg in the post-obese moderately active adult are actually quite conservative expenditure values."

For example: You are fat, your goal weight is 150 and right now you weigh 225.

225lb current calorie expenditure --> (225/2.2)*30 = 3068
150lb goal weight calorie expenditure --> (150/2.2)*35 = 2386

How much should you eat? I don't know but it is probably not as little as you think. As you can see from Dr. Phinney's clinical experience, you don't need to starve yourself to lose weight. An obese person that is burning ~3,000 calories a day can lose weight eating 1800 to 2000 calories a day unless there are health issues that come into play - thyroid, adrenals, et. al.

There are many health risks related to eating very low calories, like loss of lean body mass and metabolism down regulation, and it is hard to stick to a plan with very low calories. Very low calorie plans frequently result in binges which will wreck your efforts at NK. Start high and work down as needed but go down slowly. Panic is the enemy of success.

Macro ratios are a great tool to help you keep an eye on what you are doing but they can be very deceptive. 15% protein at 1500 calories is very different from 15% at 3000 calories. You can have great looking macros that are hiding terrible real numbers. Don't get stuck on macro percentages. Always check your protein grams to make sure you are eating to your goal.

Do you weigh in daily or weekly? Totally up to you! I weigh in daily because I like the constant feedback. *BUT*, if you choose to do daily weigh-ins you have to accept that daily weights are a snapshot in time only. They are interesting data points but that is all and they are meaningless without the context of time. In other words, weigh-in daily if you want but pay attention to the trend not the individual snapshot of weight.

You should measure yourself periodically. Knowing that you are losing inches can help keep you from wildly tweaking what you are doing when what you are doing is working even if the scale is saying otherwise. And it feels good to know you have lost inches.

Consider your own health condition and any Rx meds but... low carb is not a low sodium way of eating or living. You must get your sodium in or your body will suffer. It might suffer silently for a long time before it finally breaks. Or it might express itself as agonizing leg cramps. Those cramps are caused by dehydration and/or a potassium deficiency but if you are a low sodium consumer then your sodium deficiency is contributing to your potassium loss and dehydration. The body excretes potassium if it is forced to conserve sodium because you are not getting enough. That is how important sodium is to your body. Phinney advises 5 Grams of sodium daily. That is a lot of sodium. Fear not! Unless you are going out of your way to eat low sodium you are probably getting 2 to 4 grams in your food every day. A little extra use of the salt shaker will fix up most people just fine. It is worth taking a look at how much sodium you are getting if you use a food logger. Table salt is not one for one on sodium grams. If you've been a casual low sodium person then you should pay careful attention to what you are eating and dun your former salt eschewing ways.

The body will cannabalize LBM for potassium if it has to. So, low sodium -> sacrifice potassium -> rob lean tissue for potassium -> poor LC results.

Join in the conversation any time. Feel free to ask any questions you have. We are all happy to help you. Lurkers are welcome too.