Cannot eat enough!

(Nick Eagle) #1

I have been keto + IF for 2 weeks solid. This is my second time keto and everything is going great but I am really struggling to eat enough. I am 6’6" 312 (started at 333) I eat between 1200-1800 calories depending on the day. Around 75-25-5 f/p/c and I feel amazing the weight is coming off skin is great but I worry that I am not eating enough most days. I try to tell myself as long as I feel good I am eating enough. I do not want to eat more just for the sake of hitting a number. I feel so crappy if I overeat. Should I worry about amout or just about how I feel and my progress? (PS… The dudes have saved my life… THANKS DUDES!)

(John) #2

Seems to happen to most around the 2-3 week mark, you will get your appetite back.

(Jim Russell) #3

Eat when you’re hungry. Stop when you’re full. Seems like you’re doing it right. As long as you feel good, keep it up.

(Bob Crawford) #4

That calorie count you have is what I have set at for me, I’m 5’11 and 214 and 1800 calories. Just my guess but I don’t think your eating enough. Keep going and Keto On.

(Jane Reed) #6

One of the things we hope a ketogenic diet will do is normalize the hormones that tell us when we are truly hungry and when we are full. That can take months.

If you are fortunate enough to have your signalling​ back this quickly, don’t ignore it. Eat when you feel hunger, stop when you’re full.

(Ken) #7

You’re currently in a very adaptive stage, as your body adapts to burning fat rather than carbs. The majority of your weight loss has been glycogen depletion. It’s much more important now to focus on the lipolytic adaptation, rather than restricting calories. When you go lypolitic and restrict calories at the same time you actually increase the hormonal resistance withdrawal effects as leptin and insulin resistance drops. Eating lots of fat, to the point of being sated eases and facilitates the adaptation. You have to eat enough to have a leptin response. Worry about caloric restriction in a few more weeks, after you’re more adapted. Once a more normal leptin response reaction is attained, you’ll find that just not eating until you actually have a ghrelin secretion (hunger) fat loss will occur.

When eating plenty of meat and fat, your leptin response should stop your eating, so you shouldn’t overeat enough to feel bad. It that’s what is currently occurring, you’re fine.

A 500 Cal deficient per day results in a one pound fat loss per week. This is normal.

(Alex) #8

Hi - new to forum and to keto
I struggling to break 800 calories a day - I feel full and force myself to eat enough just to get to 800.
I have been keto for almost 4 weeks (also stopped all starches and sugars about 2 months now - finally accepted I was gluten intolerant and said farewell to croissants and crusty rolls with lashings of cold butter;(
Am taking all recommended supplements and lots of vitamins . I eat lots of chia, avo,flax, greens, eggs, coconut oil/cream/milk, protein powders added to chia puddings etc.

I am worried as I know 800 is not good - but I really feel so so full. Will this pass? & it’s ok for a short while or am I going to start having negative side effects? Thyroid, starvation mode and fat storage instead of burning etc etc.

Any advice appreciated

(Carpe salata!) #9

Try to maintain your 60-80g of protein and eat fats when you’re hungry.

That’s about it. You can still eat the butter. :sunglasses:

#10

I’ve been a 3 weeks on keto and I am also struggling with eating enough calories. It was easier in the beginning, but then I realized I was having too much protein. Now I am trying to keep my protein intake around 45-60 g and to eat even more fat and it makes me feel so full and sick. Every day I want to eat less and less and taking into account I am also exercising (boxing/kickboxing/boot camp classes) + brisk walking I often end up with 800-1300 cal deficit, so I am concern that my metabolism is slowing down. I haven’t lost even an ounce (or a fraction of an inch). Also on the days I can eat more I usually already reached my carbs/protein limit and almost everything except for butter or oil contains carbs or protein or both ( and no, I can’t eat plain butter, just can’t). About me: 51 yo female, I need to drop about 15-20 kg/35-45 lbs, end except for exercising 3-5 times a week I am pretty much sedate. Any advice?

(Carl Keller) #11

Keep telling yourself that. Some days I eat 1000 calories when most calculators tell me I should be eating 2200-2400… but I am not hungry, the weight is dropping and I feel great. As long as those three things are happening to you, I would not change much. Eat till you are not hungry. Your body will let you know if something is not right.

(Carl Keller) #12

I am wondering why the fat makes you feel sick? Maybe it’s a response to something dairy, maybe cheese?

There’s plenty of fat to be found besides in butters and oil. You can eat deviled eggs, pork rinds, cheese sticks, macadamian nuts, pecans, salmon and obviously fatty steaks, pork or dark chicken meat. I know you are concerned about eating too much protein but if you need to increase it some in order to get more fat into your diet then maybe it would be better to not worry so much about what the macros tell you until you body gets accustomed to using fat for fuel. If you are feeling sluggish and sick, the macros are misleading you. Just my opinion.

#13

Thanks for the quick response! Fat does not make me sick, too much fat does. Since I was a child I never liked fatty food, so probably I don’t have all needed enzymes for fat, because I am not used to it. I don’t think dairy is a culprit, because I never had a problem with cheese or fat free yogurt in the past.
The food you listed has plenty of fat, but it also has protein (and I discovered that even fatty fish and meat have more protein than fat, I mean in grams). So do you think it’s OK to go above 60 g protein? I read that even you exercise your protein intake should be 0.8-1.2 per kilo of lean body weight, and my assumption it should be 35-50 g for me or maybe even less, so I am kind of afraid to go above 60.

#14

Ok, I’ve just discovered that avocado has not so many net carbs. For some reasons I did not realized it’s not only a good source of fat, but is also a source of fibers. So I ate an avocado and I am good. But still, is it OK not to loose any weight after 3 weeks of keto?

#15

Are you sure this is the right way of life for you? If you really don’t like fat then it’s going to be pretty unpleasant for you.

Depends a fair bit on your height/build but maybe try some extra protein & see how you feel. FWIW I average about 2gm per kilo of lean body mass & I’m doing fine.

Figures given for calories burned during exercise tend to wildly overestimate actual calorie burn so I’d pretty much ignore those. As to your appetite, it’s normal to lose it at first & it usually comes back to a degree but if the fat makes you feel ill then you may continue to struggle.

#16

Well, I can’t say I find the experience enjoyable, but I am willing to tolerate fat if it helps me to lose my own fat :slight_smile: Also I like cheese, fatty fish,olives, olive oil and avocado and leafy greens make cream and butter tolerable.

#17

You may be overdoing the cardio for now. Too much of it can increase cortisol & inflammation - particularly if you are sedentary in between. Maybe take it a bit easier for a few weeks, stick to the walks, until your body adapts to using fat as fuel.

There’s also the fact that you’re female & 51 - our hormones can make weight loss more difficult as we age I’m afraid.

#18

I am pretty short 164 cm/5’4" and as for build it’s complicated - I am prety heavy built in the lower part, but not on top. .

#19

Ok. Well I’m about the same height as you & again, I eat quite a bit of protein though I will add that I’m not trying to lose weight. If you swap out some of your cardio for resistance training you should be able to get away with more protein than you’re currently eating which you may (or may not!) find suits you better. If you gain some muscle you’ll be doing your health & metabolism a big favour. You may just need to be a bit patient - as I’ve said age & hormones are a factor - but if in the end you don’t feel great then It’s probably not the plan for you.

(Omar) #20

Last time I have been there I panicked.

I can not eat and have crazy amount of energy.

I opened a thread here to be advices but nothing made sense.

So I decided to eat carbs to break this state to gain my appetite. and that what I did.

I am not advising the same. I am just sharing my experience.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #21

My experience with Keto - some days starving, some days don’t care about food. Last two days, for me: A lot of rice and crackers. Tomorrow, back to strict keto.