LCHF Info

NOTE: Before you start any diet you should consult your doctor and nutritionist to make sure that diet is right for you.

LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) is a popular diet option in Sweden.


Getting Started with LCHF -taken from http://www.alltomlchf.se/grunder/

Getting started with LCHF is simple. You do not need to count calories or measure and weigh food. You'll never go hungry but you eat until you are satisfied.
The principle behind LCHF is to avoid eating carbohydrates such as bread, rice, pasta and potatoes and instead eat protein and fat. The fat should preferably be a natural animal fat - it can be found in meat, fish and real butter. You should avoid all kinds of light products and all that is sweet.

If you want to eat a strict LCHF diet you should try to stick to foods that contain no more than 5% carbohydrates per 100 grams. Look at the contents and consider also how much is 100 grams. For example, milk with 100 grams equal one cup, and as you could drink a few glasses of milk has quickly been relatively high in carbohydrates, although milk itself does not contain such a high carbohydrate content (5% for fullfet standard milk). Many people usually try to stick to a maximum of 20 grams of carbs per day if you stick to a strict LCHF diet i.e. if you want to lose weight.
It is important to eat enough food and enough fat. Eat until you're full! If you are hungry between meals - eat a snack such as a few slices of cheese with butter or a piece of brie cheese. It is common that one is very hungry the first time when you remove the carbs from your diet. Do not worry about it but eat without thinking about how much it is. Hunger Feelings stabilize after a while when the body is accustomed to.



How much should you eat? - taken from http://www.alltomlchf.se/grunder/hur-mycket-ska-man-ata/

How much to eat varies from person to person. Here are a few rules of thumb you can follow when you're new to LCHF. One should not at all think about how many calories you eat each day which is a very big difference from the traditional calorie counting diets.

Of the energy (calories) to consume a day should be the distribution of fat, protein and carbohydrates to be approximately:

75% Fat
20% Protein
5% Carbohydrates

Fat: The bulk of the energy in food come from fat. The fat should preferably be a natural animal fat, alternatively, coconut oil, canola oil or olive oil used. It is essential to take in enough fat, usually people eat too little fat and too much protein.

Protein: about 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Some tend to indicate 0.5 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight - the lower figure if you are extremely overweight, and higher if you exercise a lot.

Carbohydrates: Many people who eat LCHF in order to lose weight tend to stay under 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. It is often said that more than 100 grams of carbohydrates per day is considered as low-carbohydrate diet. However, it is individually how much carbohydrate tolerance, so you have to feel one's way.



The refrigerator and pantry -taken from http://www.alltomlchf.se/grunder/i-kylskap-och-skafferi/

When you eat according to LCHF there are some things that are good to have at home in the refrigerator and pantry. Other things you should preferably clean out the cupboards and give away to those who still eat starchy foods.

Good to have at home:
Full fat dairy products 40% cream, sour cream, whole milk
The meat of various kinds as beef, pork, chicken
Real butter
Seafood
bacon
eggs
Vegetables that grow above ground such as lettuce, cucumbers, cauliflower
Avocado
nuts
Coconut fat and canola oil
Mayonnaise and other fatty sauces with low-carb
Clean out the cupboards:
low fat
all margarine
all that is sweetened with sweeteners
all grain products - pasta, rice, cereals, porridge
all bread
all semi-finished soups, sauces
sweets and cakes



Conversion Disorders/Symptoms - taken from http://www.alltomlchf.se/grunder/omstallningsbesvar/


When the body will change from carbohydrate to fat running operation, you can experience a lot of postmenopausal like symptoms. It is important not to give up. Symptoms are usually over within a few days or a week. Sometimes it may take longer, up to a couple of months.


If you previously had eaten large amounts of simple carbs the symptoms from the shift in diet can become severe if you completely stop everything at once. Then you can begin to gradually wind down on carbs to ease transition problems. There are those who argue that you get over the symptoms faster if you stop with the carbs instantly, a gradual transition means that you will never enter into ketosis - the conversion of body fat to use. This varies from person to person, and here you get to know your way.

The most common conversion symptoms are:  Fatigue - weakness, sweat, difficult to concentrate, bad breath, metallic taste, headache, palpitations, constipation, and leg cramps.

Some tips:
It's very common for many people to experience lack of energy after a few days and if this occurs it's best to just endure. The feeling when it goes on is incredible, many feel as though as they can not carry on.

Constipation can often be improved by increasing the amount of fat in the diet. It is also important to drink enough water. It is also important to remember that when you take the carbs away you don't have to take go to the bathroom(#2) as often as you did before you removed the carbs.

Cramps in the legs is common in the early stage and can get better if you take magnesium supplements. Many will also be helped by drinking more water. Seizures are possible due to the start of peeing a lot and thus you lose a lot of minerals in the body. This usually wear off after a while.


LCHF for Beginners
There are alot of helpful and informative websites and blogs about the LCHF diet in Swedish, though that doesn't help most of the people who aren't Swedish speakers. I found a website in English with great information about LCHF for beginners by the Diet Doctor. If you're curious on how the diet works and getting started on the diet it's a pretty interesting page to read. Here's the link http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf