On this episode of The Ask Prof Noakes Podcast we look at our portion sizes on the LCHF diet and discuss how this affects weight loss. Portion control and not overeating are two vital issues to consider on the LCHF Diet.

Portion control and not overeating are two vital issues to consider on the LCHF Diet. Sonja submitted her question via our website and she says that she is still struggling to get her portions sizes right on the LCHF diet.

She eats in the morning, generally skips lunch and then eats supper. She also does not eat between meals. Sonja is currently losing more or less 2 kg a week. Is she on the right road?

Prof Noakes: That is brilliant Sonja! That is the sort of weight loss which is really good. How much you lose in the first 2 weeks tells you if you’re going to lose a lot of weight on the LCHF diet and losing 2 kilograms, that’s a lot.
The best loser we have had lost 80kg in 27/28 weeks. So he was averaging about 3 kilograms a week. Most people lose about 1 or 1½ kg’s a week. So 2 kg’s is really good.

The biggest loser on the LCHF diet

What that tells you Sonja is that your brain is working correctly. It is telling you the right number of calories to eat. Many women struggle to lose weight on the LCHF diet because their brain doesn’t quite get their portion sizes right, and they continue to over eat calories.

So they don’t lose weight. Either they don’t lose or they lose less than they hope to. But in your case, your brain is working perfectly. So just keep doing what you’re doing. And don’t worry about portion sizes, your brain will tell you how much to eat. It also tells you how much protein and fat to eat – in my opinion, once it gets right.

What’s interesting Sonja, would be to ask you if you had ever dieted in the past? Because it seems to me that people who diet a lot in the past, damage the brain (in a mild way – of course it’s going to correct itself) and so they don’t get their portion sizes right when they adapt to the LCHF diet.

That is because their brain has been in starvation mode for so many years that once they start eating this LCHF food they can actually over eat.

Sonja you are doing very well, so just keep going!