Can't seem to get away from high protein and now feeling fatigued and sluggish and no more weight loss

#1

Apologies in advance for the long post:

So I’ve been following Keto for about 6 weeks now and have lost about 7 pounds. Based on my keto strips I keep going in and out of keto.
After posting some initial inquiries on here i was advised to stop worrying about macros and the app and just eat fat until satiety and watch carbs carefully which was the best advice I received, it took the stress away from tracking and I was happier eating more food and feeling full feels so nice after years of CICO.

I seem to have however plateaued in my weight loss on the scale ( i know i shouldn’t be following it ) but i am not really noticing any more changes in my body in pictures either…I have a lot of weight to lose so not sure if expecting it to continue coming off like it initially did is even feasible.

Weight aside I’ve recently started feeling sluggish and fatigued to the point where I’m nodding off…which is strange because initially when i first started I had so much energy and felt great.

Wondering if i should go back to really tracking everything i eat in detail again? This is an example of what i ate yesterday:

Breakfast: two eggs cooked in kerrygold butter, two slices of bacon, guacamole and tea with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream

Snack: Two cups of coffee with 2 spoons of half and half (just realize that it has carbs!)

Lunch: grilled gyro chicken on top of lettuce tomatoes and onions with tzatziki sauce

snack: a piece of masala chicken thigh (cooked indian style in tikka masala)

Dinner: cauliflower rice cooked in oil topped with two pieces of indian curried chicken thighs and an almond butter coconut oil fat bomb.

I did track the above and this is what my macros came out too: I"m using the carb manager App

17g carbs (my app says i should only be at 13g)
110g Fat (supposed to be at 94g)
67g protein (supposed to be at 58g)
1,308 calories

I was so full after eating lunch that i couldn’t even finish it. I was however very hungry before my second snack…I know we’re not supposed to snack but what do i do when i can’t even finish lunch but get hungry in a few hours before it’s time for dinner??

so here’s the million dollar question:

what do you guys eat to stay satiated, without going over your protein allocation? I feel like that may be holding me back from losing more weight but i have a demanding career in NYC and do not have time to pack lunches with two kids…i do manage to cook breakfast and dinner every night though.

I struggle with salads because of the carb counts in veggies and i just can’t eat a burger everyday, and most meals i can think of include meat or eggs, both have protein.

Help!

#2

I had exactly the same experience, I still have in fact. Been doing keto for close to a year and sometimes I get “afternoon crashes” (nodding off) after I eat a rich meat lunch, sometimes I feel lively and energetic.

I’ve read up a lot on protein, insulin, gluconeogenesis etc. From what I’ve gathered the research isn’t very reliable and nobody knows for sure. But my takeaway was not to worry too much about high protein. I think my afternoon crashes (rare as they are) are mostly due to lack of sleep or too little/too much exercise.

As for weight loss - after the initial drop (mostly water) it’s unreliable. Sometimes you go down a bit, sometimes up. I’ve noticed you eat the same way I did a year ago - cauliflower rice, almond this and that, onions, tomatoes etc. Very fancy. Gradually though I noticed I’m eating more and more simply, just roast some fat pork and eat it with a bit of mustard and pickles. Or a steak with a very small portion of some green beans and pepper. Or a roasted duck, again with a bit of green leafy veggies.

That’s my advice to you - eat simply, mostly eggs, fat meat and a little bit of veggies (preferably the green leafy type). Eat twice a day if you can, 3x max, to keep the insulin spikes as infrequent as possible. Forget about dairy and snacking on nuts and seeds. Forget about fancy keto cakes and ice cream and such nonsense. Don’t bother with keto strips and macro tracking.

Just this - after waking up try to go without breakfast as long as possible. Then have big breakfast (I always have eggs and bacon). Then try to go through the day without eating and have a big chunk of fat meat and some veggies in the evening. And try to do that for a few months. The weight should start dropping.

#3

your eating too many carbs. theres the vegetables, the cream, the almond butter etc, tzatziki sauce probably has a ton of carbs if you arent making it yourself out of unsweetened yogurt

tracking macros is kinda dangerous if you get into the idea that a few grams here and there matter, theres just no way to be accurate by going off labels and templates. its extremely unlikely that even IF your calculations based on what enough you have are correct that the problem is 9 grams of protein or 4 grams of carbs

my suggestion is to abondon tracking macros, cut out any unnessecary vegetables, lose the sauces and almond butter an go from there. if hungry eat eggs bacon salami sardines mackeral salmon or a rib eye or something.

(Lonnie Hedley) #4

Weight, height, male/female, age? Your calories look low. Your fat looks low.

Are you snacking out of habit or because you’re hungry? If it’s the latter, then you need more fat a meal times.

#5

I’m 175lbs and 5’5" Female
I snack because i’m hungry not out of habit, i prefer not to eat it takes up too much time lol

I’ve tried not eating breakfast or eating as late as possible and interestingly enough i did lose weight on the scale the next morning, problem is some mornings i wake up hungry so i eat.

I get full super quick when I eat, especially at lunch…so i’m not sure adding more fat to the meal is really going to help, my problem is that i get hungry in a few hours again, for example I’ll eat lunch at 130pm and by 430-5ish i’m hungry again so that ends up being a snack since I don’t eat dinner until closer to 8pm.

(Lonnie Hedley) #6

I’m taking a guess you’re female. As a male, I feel I’m not entirely qualified to provide advice. There are lots of women here that will give you better advice than I’m able to. KCKO

(Brian) #7

Curious what happens if when it’s snack time, you just get a big glass of water or maybe unsweetened tea? Does that do anything for the hunger monster or does that do nothing?

You’re definitely in the habit of grazing which makes me wonder if you’re really still running on what carbs your system can manage to get a hold of. (?)

(Crow T. Robot) #8

If you are getting hungry, you might need more protein, not less. Cut out the sneaky carbs in sauces and things. Eat more beef (or lamb if you can’t eat beef) – chicken is not as nutritious and satiating. Go for heavy whipping cream instead of half and half. If you are not spiking your blood sugar, and are not hyperinsulinemic, you probably need to listen to your hunger signals and eat more protein (with fat – about 50/50). My guess is your are malnourished and have been restricting calories, which has lowered your metabolic rate, also leading to sluggishness and fatigue. It’s counter-intuitive, but you might need to eat more now to lose more weight later.

keep us posted

#9

Thanks everyone, so the plan is to cut out the half and half and use heavy cream in my coffee, focus more on fatty meats and cut out all the fancy stuff like sauces, cauliflower rice, fat bombs etc.

still stumped on what to do for lunch but maybe just pepperoni rolled up with cheese is what i need. what about egg salad from delis? is that a no no since there;s a good chance there’s soybean oil in the mayo? I guess having a burger patty with cheese without the bun with some avocado and ranch is something i should continue eating.

Thankfully its BBQ season so i’ll be grilling a lot of salmon, pork and pesto crusted lamb chops (can’t help it with the fancy dinners)

(Crow T. Robot) #10

I wouldn’t touch it, personally, but that is more because of the fact that store-bought mayo is made with soybean oil and other industrial seed oils, which are probably quite toxic. Homemade mayo is easy and delicious – all you need is a stick blender and jar.

#11

Sorry meant to say soybean oil not sugar!

(LeeAnn Brooks) #12

Do you like tuna? A quick easy lunch is a can of tune packed in oil with two tablespoons mayo. I add dill relish. Super easy tuna fish. You can just eat by the spoonful or scoop into Romain lettuce leaves. Add some cheese and olives as a side. Yum yum.

#13

Great Idea, thank you!!

(Crow T. Robot) #14

Be careful – the oil is most likely cheap, unhealthy seed oil. Better to go for water-packed and add your own healthy fat.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #15

The one I buy is extra virgin olive oil.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #16

Dr. Phinney adivses people who are feeling stuck to first cut the carbohydrate and second increase the fat. I agree with people that you have probably been eating more carbohydrate than you realized, so the changes you mention are good. Also, getting hungry between meals is a sign that you are not eating enough calories, so I would advise finding ways to increase your fat consumption, since fat is loaded with calories and doesn’t stimulate insulin production. The body is more willing to part with excess fat when it’s getting more calories, so restricting calories can be self-defeating.