The aim of this study was to investigate tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)- and noradrenaline (NE)-stimulated lipolysis in retroperitoneal (RWAT) and epididymal (EAT) white adipose tissue as a means of understanding how low-protein, high-carbohydrate (LPHC) diet-fed rats maintain their lipid storage in a catabolic environment (marked by increases in serum TNF-α and corticosterone and sympathetic flux to RWAT and EAT), as previously observed. Adipocytes or tissues from the RWAT and EAT of rats fed an LPHC diet and rats fed a control (C) diet for 15 days were used in the experiments. The adipocytes from both tissues of the LPHC rats exhibited lower TNF-α- stimulated lipolysis compared to adipocytes from the C rats. The intracellular lipolytic agents IBMX, DBcAMPc and FSK increased lipolysis in both tissues from rats fed the C and LPHC diets compared to basal lipolysis; however, the effect was approximately 2.5-fold lower in adipocytes from LPHC rats. The LPHC diet induced a marked reduction in the β3 and α2-AR, adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) content in RWAT and EAT. The LPHC diet did not affect TNF-α receptor 1 content but did induce a reduction in ERK p44/42 in both tissues. The present work indicates that RWAT and EAT from LPHC rats have an impairment in the lipolysis signaling pathway activated by NE and TNF-α, and this impairment explains the reduced response to these lipolytic stimuli, which may be fundamental to the maintenance of lipid storage in LPHC rats.