Am I eating way too much?

#1

Hi everyone, I’m in the midst of my third week of keto and have been doing pretty well keeping my macros 75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbs with usually no more than a variance of a few %. I have been feeling great! Satiated but not bloated, clear head, sleeping more regularly, etc. my only concern is that sometimes I feel like I am eating a LOT. Like too much. I am a 5’7 female around 130-140 lbs (I choose not to weigh myself) and some days I’ll end at 1400 cals, 1700 cals, or 2300+ cals like today!! I’m trying to listen to my body and some days I naturally IF and some days I am just too hungry. I’m lightly active and young but I come from a background of calorie restriction so I’m worried that my BMR is super low and I’m going to gain fat. Anyone have any helpful insight? Should I try to not eat so much? Thanks :slight_smile:

Ps: my net carbs are almost always under 20g, I’ve had a few days where I ended around 25-30g though

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

It took a few weeks for my satiety signalling to really kick in, until one day I Ioaded up my plate, got halfway through, and had to put the rest away for later. It was so weird having food on my plate and not being able to eat it. Hang in there! You want to be giving your body an abundance of calories, so you are fine.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #3

Not at all. 1400 is probably a bit too low for you. 1700 seams fine. It’s all about eating to satiety.

I don’t really worry about calories, but as I do track my macros, I always know my calories too. I was around 1600 average during fat adaptation. I’m 5’2 and was about 136 at the time. And I liked to vary my calories with a low day (1200) and a high day (2000).

Currently I’m averaging closer to 1400 and I’m now fat adapted and have dipped below 130. For instance, I’m ending today at 1444.

Sounds like you’re doing fine. Just keep listening to your body. You will find that your appetite decreases over time. But then, for some unknown reason you’ll have a day or two where you’re ravonous. Even though you may not understand why, your body is telling you it needs more fuel at these points. Don’t fight it. Give your body what it wants. Who knows what healing process are taking place during those periods that demand extra fuel.

(Chris W) #4

I would say on the little you have provided you are not eating enough.
I don’t like percentages, they can skew your macros.
Just taking some guesses at weight and age you are in the 1700-2200 range so your higher days are more like what you should be eating.
Eat when you are hungry, eat like it counts if you are IF and never leave the table hungry. Hunger signals in the first 6 weeks tend to be all over the map but I would flow with it.
Having a low BMR will not result in you gaining fat if you are in increasing your intake to a more normalized one. It will be quite the opposite if you give it a little time, but you need to become better adapted first so just be patient. Also you are fairly small already so don’t expect whopping loss or always loosing your body will do as it does not as you would like.

KCKO

(Ashley) #5

Honestly I don’t worry about calories, I eat til full. Pretty much it, some days I’m 1200 some days I’m 1800 but I have a lot of fat to lose so mines partly depleting my own fat stores.

(Alec) #6

What that lot above said. You are fine and eat if hungry. That’s it! Easy.

(Kaiden) #7

They are also mapped into a type of graphical representation that involves a circle made of different colors. I won’t name this type of chart, as it shares its name with the Food Like Disease Agent it resembles.

Just looking at such a chart can trigger cravings.

(Marfi) #8

Forget about calories! You’re only in the early weeks yet… eventually your body will tell you what it needs. I’m around 4 months in and cannot believe how “not hungry” I am… and after living with a binge eating disorder, it’s like a miracle. Relax, and KCKO :slight_smile:

#9

I’m pretty early on myself, but from what I’ve seen and my own experiences that seems like pretty ‘normal’ eating type of patterns to my eye?

I think it’s always important to remember having a regular intake of refined carbs all day every day was most likely abnormal. :smile:

(Jane ) #10

Calories DO matter
I know it sounds crazy but I am active yet gain weight on 1300 calories and up. It is just my personal metabolic rate. When I am sure I am under 1000 calls per day, I lose weight.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #11

That’s because reducing your calories to those levels has placed your body into starvation mode and reset your MBR, meaning it now takes you fewer calories just to maintain your weight, let alone lose. If you keep restricting calories to this level, you will lower it even further, and it will become unsustainable.

You CAN fix your metabolism, but it would require eating a lot more.

#12

I felt this way when I first started keto too, for me, I think it was just my fear of letting go of everything I thought I knew about nutrition and diet. It’s been six weeks for me now and I have found my rhythm and my weight has followed suit. I am still amazed when I get on the scale the day after “all those Brazil nuts I ate yesterday”, yet the scale is either stable or a few pounds down the scale. My advice would be to eat without restraint when you are hungry not when you feel hungry.

#13

This really helps, thank you <3