3 months in and suddenly starving all the time

(Trish) #1

Looking for insight on this problem please. Relevant info: 56F, 5ft 4in, CW 174. Started back on keto in October. SW 206. Labs in Oct showed an a1C od 5.4. Typical fasting BG is mid 5s. Fasting insulin was 134 which is well within the normal range of up to 170ish but way high for me in that a fee years ago whike doing keto it was in the low 50s. Vitamin D was dangerously low so taking 4000 IU daily. Other sups are omega 3, k2, multi, C, and then mag bisglyc at bedtime. My only Rx is zopiclone at bed for insomnia.
Ive been doing IF TRE keto since October. Use chronometer to log food. I don’t have cheat days (Xmas dinner mashed potatoes the exception) and I don’t eat take out or prepared foods. Nothing labeled keto. All home cooking. My only sweetener is stevia drops in my coffee.

Ok, so the last couple of weeks I’ve been ravenous. And I’m having cravings for pastries and ■■■■■ Wheat and I don’t get along so even a bite of something isnt going to happen.

Any thoughts on why I’m suddenly so hungry? I have lots of fat to fuel off of. My BMI is just under 30.

Thanks for any insight yous can provide.

(KM) #2

Not really insight, but I’ve been feeling the same. My husband keeps a lot of treat foods in the house, and usually that is not a problem at all. The other night I had a big bowl of popcorn for dinner, which is something I haven’t done in at least 6 years, I never even eat it at the movies.

For myself, I’m chalking it up to seasonal depression, lack of exercise, poor sleep, and a lot of anxiety over politics lately. I’m also having trouble with omad, and that’s a new thing too. I just seem to be nibbly all the time.

I am following my usual advice, keep calm and keto on. I’m going to double down on it for a while and go closer to carnivore. Not sure why I have cravings but making absolutely sure I’m full with other, acceptable foods ought to help. Good luck.

(BuckRimfire) #3

Good on ya!

You don’t say what you ARE eating, only what you’re not. Might be helpful to report your actual food logs for the last few days.

I’m not doing keto for weight loss, so I eat as much as I want and my experience is probably not relevant. All I can guess is that maybe you need to bump up your protein or your fat intake somewhat for satiety. Try kicking in a few hundred Calories more of one or the other for a few days to see if it helps?

While your BMI is still not low by conventional standards, you have lost a significant amount of weight. Maybe you’ve crossed a tipping point, or maybe you have some deficiency that took a while to manifest? I’m grasping at straws here…

(Ohio ) #4

I think my hunger issues r to an electrolyte / mineral deficiency. May not apply here.

I consider myself at war with the sensation of hunger. It’s like an obsession. Since it’s not a good idea to eat late, I’m strategically taking supplements at night. Good to know you’re doing keto for other reasons outside of vanity! We need more numbers here.

Seasonal Depression: Grow indoor plants. The bright lights sink your biological clock. When you wake up turn on the lights, do breathing exercises w/ ur plants. Keep in the bright lights until it’s time to go to bed. When you turn off all the lights at night, to me, it feels like instant knock out sometimes.

Makes sense to me.

(Trish) #5

Interesting. Sleep is hit and miss for me and stress is always a thing. Also lots of overtime ATM,so you may be onto something there. Menopause is also a thing, but I was hoping it’d be something I could control LOL

(Trish) #6

Eating mostly steak and ceasar, meat and veg, meat and salad. You may be right though that I just need more. Ive been listening to podcasts while working and dr Fung’s group says 'fat fast" which is basically pick a fatty protein and eat ad lib for a few days, but only that 1 or 2 items. I might try this.

(Bob M) #7

Some people have eaten only bacon for a while. I forget what other fats people tried. The current fad seems to be a “sardine fast” of a few days duration.

(Trish) #8

Ew, no to sardines, but thinking maybe wings. Just bought a 30 pound box for the freezer lol

(Alec) #9

Triple the amount of fatty meat you’re eating and halve the salad/veg. I can guarantee you will no longer feel hungry. I doubt you will finish your meals.

(KM) #10

Oh I just love that! I’ve got the light and the plants, never thought to include them in my breath work this way. Probably positive for all of us.

#11

Since cronometer doesn’t used adaptive TDEE, the macros it gives you are made up using Mifflin St Jeor. You (may) be undereating. If you didn’t eat anything that would beg for that to happen, that’s most likely it.

Your body knows the difference between easy fuel and the type of fuel that it has to work for (fat). Sugars are easy fast available fuel, which is why you crave crap.

Do you work out? What are you averaging for your macros normally? Also, did you track prior to Keto? If not and your calories dropped very quickly when you started, you may have hit that brick wall already.

#12

Sometimes we need to eat more… I would raise the amount of meat. Maybe you eat plenty of fat but not enough protein even if it was enough in the previous months. If I am starving, it’s always protein (and I need the right kind too) except my very rare Unsatiable Days but they are singular days.

I can’t help with the cravings, I usually crave textures and I can make any of them on keto now - and if I am filled with some lovely satisfying meat, I don’t want random baked goods anyway. (It’s another matter if I am unable to eat much meat, it happens but there is eggs and dairy items to solve that.)
Even if you want something else than your normal food, make something nutritious and low-carb if possible.

The factors not regarding diet, yep, they may be important too. If you have power over some that may be lacking, change that.

(Harriet) #13

Well, a few things come to mind:

  1. You could be low on micronutrients if you’re eating a highly restrictive diet.

  2. Your calories could be too low.

  3. Menopause.

  4. Possibly thyroid. Menopausal drop in estrogen can cause low thyroid.

I’m coming up on 61, and this year looks to be my official “menopause” year. My appetite has changed, it’s harder to get into ketosis, I don’t have the stamina for exercise I used to, it sucks all the way around. It wasn’t like this even five years ago.

If you aren’t doing so, you should definitely be taking a multivitamin.

If you’re really hankering for pastry type stuff there’s tons of excellent keto recipes in very good searchable database on either All Day I Dream About Food or I Breathe I’m Hungry. The main ingredients for most stuff is a sweetener (even Walmart carries Swerve) and usually almond flour (sometimes a touch of coconut flour). I make treats all the time, mainly for my husband, he’s low carb, not keto, but enjoys them so I’m assuming they’re pretty tasty.

(B Creighton) #14

Adopt a good sleep ettiquette starting with dinner before the sun goes down if possible although overtime can make that hard… in that case take a really big lunch to work. For menopause you might try genistein supps or DHEA supps if you never have. They may relieve some of your symptoms. I just finished my approx 1000 cal fat bomb b4 working out… Then I will have a protein smoothie and then dinner… so no hunger tonight! If you are hungry add in a protein smoothie or fat bomb etc… My fat bomb has raw cacao powder, pb powder, coconut oil, and about 3 gr of GABA. Sweetened with Erythritol/monk fruit. It is a lot like fudge but infinitely healthier. Indeed, I believe it promotes health.

(Bean) #15

Dairy will trigger that for me, even if my macros are spot on.

#16

Hey, 1. are you measuring ketones? 2. What’s your protein intake? Protein can increase BGL and insulin. 3. Any medications or stressors which could be affecting metabolism?

(Bob M) #17

I find it doubtful that protein can increase blood sugar level. Here’s a test where I ate about 160g of protein in a single meal:

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image.jpg890Ă—413 156 KB

It looks like I didn’t consider carbs, but the mussels and shrimp both have minor amounts of carbs.

Would protein increase insulin? I assume so, but I don’t know how long that effect would last, and I have no way of testing that.

Dr. Ben Bikman had a good presentation on WHY this is (insulin goes up, causing blood sugar to go into cells, but then glucagon goes up, keeping blood sugar stable). This MIGHT be that presentation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3fO5aTD6JU

There’s this idea that a certain percentage of protein gets turned into carbs. I have yet to research that, but I’ve seen multiple people say that’s not true.

And I basically show above that’s not true

The test I have not done is a week or so of high fat/low protein followed by high protein/low fat (with a washout period between the two). I plan to do that, but I’d like to have both a CGM and a CKM, and also get some fasting insulin tests done.

#18

Good podcast. On carnivore would be interesting to see if excess dietary protein gets turned into carbs. I do not have the fat storage maybe it would act differently to someone that is carrying extra fat and or how active they are. Good luck on your studying and tests.

(Tracy) #19

Hi @Shallimar. Similar size and age to me. Two things make me hungry , the weather/time of the year and low electrolytes. And bang in winter now I get more hungry, a combination of cold and dark. I don’t often get cold but if I do I now go to warm tea (mint tea or green tea) or an odd time decaf coffee with cream. This keeps me going. When I went back on keto there may be mornings I would be hungry but didn’t want to eat until lunchtime. I found a lick of sea salt helped and would take me to lunch. I’m now taking an electrolyte drink and fast most days for 20 hours. I do find having cheese after my meal helpful too, regardless of what I eat a slice of cheese at the end of it fills me up…plus I really love cheese.