Includes 17 Fat Fast Recipes
01/28/13 Recipes updated and modernized by Dana Carpender, now formatted for easy printing.
 Fat Fast Cookbook by Dana Carpender
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Life In The Low Carb Lane
A Fat Fast (also called the Atkins Fat Fast), as outlined by Dr. Atkins in Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, is a tool that low carbers who are metabolically resistant can use to get themselves quickly into ketosis. Ketosis means that our bodies are using stored fat for energy. The fat fast is also used by many low carbers (myself among them) to break a weight loss plateau or as a means of forcing themselves to get back on track when they have gone off-plan. I’ve included 17 quick fat fast recipes near the end of this article.
Simply put, an Atkins Fat Fast consists of a 3 or 5-day cycle in which you consume just 1,000 calories a day. 90% of those calories should come from fat. (a Fat Fast should not be extended beyond 5 days because it is deficient in protein.)
Dr. Atkins states that eating 4 or 5 mini-meals is better for getting our bodies into ketosis than eating one large meal while doing a Fat Fast. During a Fat Fast you may consume either four 250-calorie mini-meals or five 200-calorie mini-meals. Consuming these small meals frequently throughout the day actually works better than complete fasting.
Dr. Atkins mentions cream cheese and macadamia nuts as the “perfect” Fat Fast foods. Ten ounces of cream cheese would be an entire day’s food allotment; divide the cream cheese into five 2-ounce servings. You could also opt for 5 ounces of macadamia nuts split into five 1-ounce servings and consumed throughout the day.
That’s not a lot of food. I find that when I do a Fat Fast I think about food constantly. I don’t obsess about food because I get hungry (surprisingly, I do not get hungry), but simply because I can’t have any – at least not any that I really want. A Fat Fast makes regular strict low carbing look absolutely luxurious.
I’m going to be completely honest here: I hate, loathe, and detest doing a Fat Fast. I get very grumpy because I get frustrated. My family says that I don’t, but that just makes me think that they don’t notice the difference because maybe, just maybe, I’m a pretty grumpy person all the time. It’s either that or the kids are ignoring me in the same way they do when I tell them to clean their rooms or do their homework. Or perhaps they simply value their lives and know when to keep their mouths shut. The survival instinct is very strong in my brood.
(***Note: “But I was doing the Fat Fast!” is not a legitimate legal defense for mayhem or murder. I know this is true. I’ve checked.)
OK, I know what you want to ask me: “If a Fat Fast is so incredibly awful to get through, why do you do it, you stupid woman?!?” (Well, you might not say the “stupid woman” part because you are ever so polite, but I know you’re thinking it.)
Why? Because it works for me. If I am not in ketosis when I start a Fat Fast, I am when it’s over. If I am having cravings to beat the band and hanging on by the skin of my teeth, when the Fat Fast is over the cravings are G – O – N – E and I’m perfectly happy to go back to munching on chicken legs and salads. If I’ve hit a plateau and stopped losing weight, my weight loss is jump started.
I’ve done a Fat Fast a half a dozen times in the last three years, and each time I have lost between 5 and 8 pounds during the three-day cycle. After I go back to eating normal low carb, I gain 2 to 4 of those pounds back, but have always ended up with a net loss for the 3-day period of between 2 to 4 pounds. (Your experience may be different from mine. The only way to find out for sure is to try it.)
Of course, a lot of people don’t even consider doing a Fat Fast to get into ketosis or to break a stall because they can’t stand the idea of subsisting on plain cream cheese and/or macadamia nuts for 3 days. I don’t know about you, but I would be more likely to be able to cut off my big toe with a dull paring knife than I would be able to gag down 10 ounces of plain cream cheese. My throat closes up at the very thought. And I don’t particularly like macadamia nuts, either.
Well, I don’t have to choke down plain cream cheese or eat macadamia nuts, thank goodness. You don’t, either. Dr. Atkins lists several alternatives in his chapter on a Fat Fast, and although caviar and avocados don’t appeal to me, you may very well like them.
I have also developed a list of alternative food choices for a Fat Fast, which I’ve listed below. Some of them don’t quite come up to the “90% of the calories from fat” parameter, but they come close enough and have worked for me.
Fat Fast Ideas And Recipes (Atkins Fat Fast Menu)
There is one further plus to a Fast Fast which I haven’t mentioned. There is very little food preparation involved. None of the ideas or recipes listed below will take you more than 5 minutes to prepare.
- Serves: 1
- Serving size: 1 cup
- Calories: 210
- Fat: 22g (92.4% calories from fat)
- Saturated fat: 0g
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Coffee with Cream
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup coffee
- Brew a cup of your favorite premium coffee
- Add heavy cream
- Serves: 1
- Serving size: 1 serving
- Calories: 146
- Fat: 12g (78.2% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: trace
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 8g
- 4 slices cooked bacon
- Make your bacon your favorite way – you don’t need to drain the fat.
- Serves: 1
- Calories: 243
- Fat: 23g (83.2% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 5g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 6g
- 1 ounce cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 10 drops liquid sucralose — or sugar-free sweetener of choice to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Serves: 1
- Serving size: 1 celery rib
- Calories: 204
- Fat: 20g (85.5% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 5g
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 1 large rib celery
- Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Serves: 1
- Calories: 199 Calories
- Fat: 16g (74.0% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 10g
- ½ ounce pork rinds
- 2 ounces sour cream
- Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Serves: 1
- Serving size: 1 serving
- Calories: 223
- Fat: 18g (72.7% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 13g
- ½ ounce pork rinds
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
- Blend parmesan into sour cream and use as dip for pork rinds.
- Serves: 1
- Calories: 191
- Fat: 15g (69.4% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 8g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 7g
- 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 1 large rib celery
- Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Serves: 1
- Serving size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 205
- Fat: 22g (94.5% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- ¼ cup heavy cream — whipped
- sugar-free sweetener — to taste
- vanilla — or other extract, to taste
- Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Serves: 1
- Calories: 129
- Fat: 12g (81.1% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: trace
- Protein: 2g
- 2 ounces sour cream
- ½ cup sliced cucumber
- Slice cucumbers
- Add cream cheese
- Serves: 1
- Serving size: 1 serving
- Calories: 234
- Fat: 25g (90.4% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: trace
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: trace
- Protein: 6g
- 2 tablespoons canned tuna in oil — or minced chicken or canned chicken
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon celery — minced
- Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Serves: 1
- Calories: 217
- Fat: 22g (88.7% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 1g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 6g
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- salt and pepper — to taste
- Boil eggs, let cool, crack shells and separate yokes from egg whites.
- Mix yokes with mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.
- Serves: 1
- Serving size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 92
- Fat: 8g (81.7% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: trace
- Protein: 2g
- 2 tablespoons of sour cream
- 1 teaspoon sugar free peanut butter
- Splenda (to taste)
- Combine all the ingredients.
- Serves: 1
- Serving size: 1 serving
- Calories: 205
- Fat: 22g (94.5% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 12 fluid ounces diet soda — chilled
- Ad ¼ cup heavy or whipping cream to a can of diet soda (any flavor).
- Serves: 1
- Serving size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 246
- Fat: 22g (87.8% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 5g
- ½ 4-serving package sugar-free gelatin
- ½ cup sugar-free whipped cream (whipped before measuring)
- Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Serves: 1
- Serving size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 209
- Fat: 22g (92.3% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- ¼ cup heavy cream — whipped
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- liquid sucralose — a few drops, to taste
- Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Serves: 5
- Serving size: 1 serving
- Calories: 207
- Fat: 21g (88.7% calories from fat)
- Trans fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: trace
- Protein: 4g
- 1 4-serving package sugar-free gelatin
- ½ cup boiling water
- 4 ice cubes
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- Dissolve the gelatin completely in the boiling water, then add the ice cubes to cool it down and to thicken it.
- When the ice cubes are melted, pour the gelatin mixture in the blender and add the cutup cream cheese. Whirl it around until the ingredients are completely blended. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl.
- Whip the four ounces of cream, then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.
- Divide the mixture into 5 equal portions, cover each with plastic wrap, and put them in the refrigerator to chill.
- Fat Fast Cream Cheese Jell-O Chunks(Someone sent me this idea, too, but I’ve misplaced their name).
- 10 ounces cream cheese, cut into 20 equal squares (Not softened!)
- 1 small packet sugar free Jell-O, any flavor
Pour the dry gelatin powder into a small bowl or onto a salad plate. Set aside.
Roll the 20 cream cheese squares into balls. Roll each ball in the dry gelatin mixture. Place the coated balls on a plate, cover them with plastic wrap, and put them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat them
Each Fat Fast serving is 4 balls.
Do you have any favorite Fat Fast tips, tricks or recipes? Please let us know below or email comments@CarbSmart.com.
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Further Reading:
Atkins Fat Fast Really Is As Awesome As I Thought by Dana Carpender
Can You Do The HCG Diet and Atkins Fat Fast At The Same Time? by Dana Carpender
Update: Slow Burn Workout Goes Well On My Fat Fast by Dana Carpender
Fat Fast Cookbook by Dana Carpender
Introducing CarbSmart’s Fat Fast Cookbook:
- Are you having trouble losing weight, even on the Atkins Induction phase?
- Have you lost weight successfully on low carb, but hit a plateau or started to regain weight even though you’re still following your low carb diet?
- Are you looking for a way to add more healthy fat to your low carb diet?
- Are you interested in jump-starting your weight loss the low carb way?
Learn more about CarbSmart’s Fat Fast Cookbook.
Back to Life in the Low Carb Lane by Di Bauer – CarbSmart Magazine’s editor offers her view of low carbing and helpful tips to make low carbing easier and more productive.
Back to CarbSmart Magazine – the online resources for hundreds of articles supporting the low carb dieter, diabetics and people reducing their sugar intake.
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like the recipes.. good job..
Yay! Thanks!
I have been on Atkins for 5 days now and haven’t lost 1 lb or anything yet!!! please help. This is what I normally eat
Eggs and meat or meat and cheese
2 cups of salad and 1 chicken leg
meat and veg
coffee no vream or sugar lots of water and gren tea
I also exercise 3 times a day
I meant 3x’s a week
When you say “1 chicken leg” are you meaning a drumstick or a leg-and-thigh quarter?
And are you adding butter, oil, etc to your food? Because a low carb diet should not be a high protein diet, it should be a high fat/moderate protein diet. I have done far better since I started limiting my protein to about 80-90 grams per day and getting 75-85% of my calories from fat. Jimmy Moore has written about this, too.
Dana, got your Fat Fast book and also downloaded and read Carbsmart magazine, LOVE THEM BOTH!!! Day 2 of my fat fast and so far so good. I thought I read somewhere that after 5 days on the fast you do 2 days of ?? Something and then resume low carb diet. What was the 2 days??
Jackie Eberstein, who was Dr. Atkins’ right hand for thirty years, says that when people have a lot of weight to lose and are badly metabolically resistant, she puts them on a rotation of five days fat-fasting, 2 days of Atkins Induction. They continue the 5/2 rotation until they’ve lost all they need to lose, or can’t handle it any more, whichever comes first.
I think the longest I’ve fat fasted without a break was 8 or 9 days. The longest I know of in a clinical trial was 10.
I like the concept but I think I’d be really tired of cream cheese/peanut butter after a day or two.