I’ve been doing keto for 1.5 months. Main goal was to just feel better as I don’t have medical issues. I quickly dropped weight and became fat adapted. I don’t need to lose much weight as I’m 6’3” and am down to 198 now but looking to decrease body fat. I felt many of the positive side effects ie appetite suppression, increased energy, etc but it seems like that has now tailed off. My keto coffee isn’t suppressing my hunger as it did before and my energy levels are bouncing around but in general I’m more lethargic. I’m taking supplements and just ordered Mg. Is there anything else I’m missing? I almost feel like I’m not eating enough. Typical day is a keto coffee and keto lunch and dinner. Think tonight I’m going to eat a BIG keto meal and over indulge on keto foods to see how I react. Any other thoughts or comments?
Feedback
My energy level during workouts did not come back to pre keto levels until three months in. We are all different and times will very. Your body is likely still making adjustments.
If you don’t feel you have weight to lose and are burnt out maybe you need more fats.
My belief is that since homeostasis is our body’s ulitmate goal, increasing ghrelin (the hunger hormone) is a natural response to steady weight loss. Our body simply does not want to give up all of its fat because fat is our emergency reserve of energy and it makes perfect sense that the body will defend it by trying to encourage us to eat more.
What helped me get the idea of really, really looking forward to my next meal, out of my head, was trying to incorporate a few feasting days into my week. By feasting I mean eating until I am almost full. I might have typically eaten what I thought was 50% of my stomach capacity during my low calorie days and felt zero hunger a half hour later but bumping that up to about 80% of my stomach capacity seems to push my hunger reset button.
Thanks for the feedback. I know I’m still early in the game but found it odd that the positive side effects that I was feeling were starting to go away a little bit. My hunger is still curbed, just not like it was a few weeks ago. With that being said, I know it’s smart to keep it simple and if you are hungry, eat! I should stay focused on how I feel and not what the scale says and even though the scale isn’t showing weight loss, I can easily be increasing lean body mass. I like the idea of a couple “feast” days during the week. I’ve had some big dinners along the way and woke up in the morning not hungry at all. I would love to just stick with my keto coffee in the morning and just increase what I eat at lunch and/or dinner. I’ve also been working out but nothing agressive and I seem to be slow to recover from that. Once again, I’m sure its my body still acclimating.
I can honestly say I’ve never done this. I always and I mean always eat until I’m full. If I’m not full, I eat more. Had lunch yesterday of a lot of ham and some cheese. Was still hungry, so had a sausage and some meat sauce with spaghetti sauce. For dinner, had fake lasagna and was still a bit hungry, so had a minor amount of 85% chocolate.
The only time I eat less than when I’m full is at a restaurant. Then, I’ll leave the restaurant and go home and eat more.
For me, it took some practice to understand the difference between full and satiated. From my experience, I can be satiated without being stuffed and being full to me, means a few bites shy of stuffed.
For example, I can eat a 12 oz ribeye and a cup of vegetables and wish there were more, but a half hour later, my hunger signals tell me I am fully content. But on those days that I feast, it might be a 16 oz ribeye, 2 cups of vegetables and a few fried eggs that finds me pushing my limit. It’s the second meal that keeps food out of my mind the longest but it’s not a great meal for losing weight which is why I don’t do it often.