Why I eat a low fat diet (and a 1400 calorie day)

Day 35 of my weight loss journal, for Bikini prep 2023

After seeing the meals I’ve been posting, I got this question on instagram that I wanted to answer here. Maura asked, why do you keep your fat so low?

Great question! I know it’s very trendy to eat a high fat diet, but high fat foods have never appealed to me. I find low fat foods to be so much more satiating, and enjoyable. But, this is what I shared with her:

I have three reasons! And this is just my experience and not meant to be advice.

• I am prioritizing carbs and protein, because I like the carbs for workouts, and I like the protein for building muscle. So, with limited calories, there really isn’t much left for fats.
• Second, higher fat foods are so energy dense. At 9 calories per gram, the volume of food I get to eat suffers! I am really looking to have max volume of foods.
• And lastly, I’m from the 80’s and have ALWAYS preferred low fat foods. Oils, butters, etc have never been part of my diet.

Technically, a low fat diet is a diet that is 30% or less of your total calories. So, if I’m eating 1400 calories, I would keep my fat around 46 grams, which is pretty close to what I normally get.

What about hormone health?

The biggest criticism I get about eating a low fat diet is that it could negatively impact hormones. There isn’t any evidence that a diet at 30% fat is a problem. The only problems may start happening if fats are below 15%., which would be around 20 grams of fat. Even by not adding any fats to my meals, my full day has always been more than 20 grams of fat. So, in a nutshell, I’m not worried about hormone health.

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My Meals

𝟏𝟒𝟎𝟔 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝟏𝟑𝟐 𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧, 𝟏𝟎𝟐 𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐬, 𝟒𝟗 𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐭

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭: 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬.
1/2 cup egg whites
1 scoop banana foster protein powder
40 g banana mashed
sugar free syrup

𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡:
Miracle noodles with nacho cheddar popcorn seasoning
5 ounces chicken, cooked on a skillet
1 cup broccoli slaw, also cooked on a skillet
𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐞:
1 scoop CSE cake batter protein powder
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon almond butter
2 tablespoons almond milk
1 teaspoon sprinkles

𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫: Had some dinner guests over last night from church, so I made sourdough bread. Too hard not to eat this stuff! But, I counted it with my meals! 100 grams sourdough bread, 4 ounces shredded beef, and lots of salad with 2 tablespoons Bolthouse ranch dressing.

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