Eating between

(Jeff Nail) #1

So on keto are you not supposed to eat between meals?

#2

Correct.
I’m not sure of your particular situation, but most folks are somewhat insulin resistant, and if you’re overweight and/or pre-diabetic, you’re likely quite insulin resistant. The primary metabolic action of keto is the dropping of insulin so that we can regain insulin sensitivity and access our fat stores for energy.

Eating spikes your blood sugar, which creates an insulin response. Carbs in particular spike your blood sugar but it will generally go up after eating unless you’re eating pure fat (which doesn’t generally cause blood sugar to rise, so no insulin response).

If you’re new to keto, you should make sure to eat enough at each meal so that you’re fully satisfied (in the beginning this might be a lot of food!) but watch your protein and carb levels to make sure that you’re staying within the recommended guidelines. Generally folks find that they are just less hungry over time so they start naturally tapering down to 2 meals/day. This is great since it means just two rises in insulin each day and it allows your system to gradually become more sensitive to insulin.
In the beginning, before you’re fat adapted (can take around 6 weeks), it’s best not to try to limit your food - just track your protein and carbs and don’t snack.

Lots more info on the newbie thread, and there are many good videos and podcasts that explain it better than I have!

(Jeff Nail) #3

Thank you, yes I’m a big guy and also insulin resistant and borderline diabetic 2

#4

I say, if you’re hungry eat something fatty and try to only eat in window time frames (IF). At least that works for me. When I first started and was getting fat adapted, I ate when I was hungry, and still mostly do but generally don’t eat anything after 8pm and don’t eat again until the next day after noon

(Jeff Nail) #5

Thanks

#6

I’m a big guy too – 6’5", started at 650 pounds. I am a T2 diabetic. After 18 months of restricted calorie keto, I’m now down over 180 pounds and no longer need insulin or metformin and typically have blood glucose readings under 100.

I snack a lot less than I used to, some days not at all. Most of my eating is still out of habit. That’s the beauty of keto for me – I’m no longer ravenously hungry all the time.

(Jeff Nail) #7

How long did it take for you to get fat adaptive

(CharleyD) #8

Shamelessly swiped from Dr Fung’s blog, but I think illustrates the problem:

fasting-between-meals

(Jeff Nail) #9

Lol

(Michelle) #10

At the beginning and still occasionally (I am only 2 months keto) I need a snack. First I try a spoon of MCT oil or a spoon of coconut oil. If I’m truly hungry that helps.