Getting hungrier after 7 months on keto - Keto burnout?

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hunger
ketoburnout
#1

this might be the wrong section for this but basically i have been on keto for 7 months. i lost 40 pounds and 7 percent body fat. and lately i just feel uncomfortable. i think it is keto burn out? i just feel out of sorts and hungrier. i tried shifting my macros, changing my activity levels, and well nothing seems to be working!
i haven’t really felt like eating carbs but just feel like i have flatlined. i don’t want to necessarily lose more weight and I definitely don’t want to feel as cruddy as i did as a sugar burner.

anyone else gone through this? what did you do to make it through?

(Allan L) #2

Dr Stephen Phinney discusses this topic. As you lose weight your body has less fat reserves so you have to up your oral fat to match you calorific requirements. Check out his youtube video’s for more info.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #3

There’s really nothing to add to Allan’s post, except that continuing to eat fat to satiety makes the process automatic. As he points out, Dr. Phinney’s lectures go into this in detail.

(Liz ) #4

I also felt a shift at the 7 month mark, I’m not done losing weight but I did lose 35 pounds then my hunger returned. I’d eat a nice fatty dinner with an appropriate amount of protein and an hour later I’d be hungry again. Not at all what it was like the first 6 months of Keto where sometimes I couldn’t even finish dinner. So I eat more food, fatty cheese or bacon, doesn’t take much. It’s more protein than I thought I needed but hey, my body said eat so I did and I did feel better, so. Anyway, I hope you figure out what might make you feel better.

#5

cool, that’s what i instinctually what i wanted to do. i threw in an extra avocado today and extra salt. seems a little more tolerable.

@allan which phinney lecture? if ya have a link, would appreciate it!

(Liz ) #6

Yeah I’m still getting used to the idea of trusting my body’s signals because for years and years it LIED TO ME. Here’s hoping it’s telling the truth now!

(Adam Kirby) #7

My wife has also experienced this, along with a long weight loss stall. I wonder if there are leptin issues that can arise after a sustained time with low carb…

(Todd Allen) #8

A deficiency of one or more minerals, vitamins or other micronutrients might cause this. This is more likely when one habitually relies on a small number of foods for the majority of their diet.

(Allan L) #9

Right at the beginning of this youtube video. He talks about increasing your intake as your weight decreases, offset against the decrease in your requirements as you lose weight.

As Paul says, eat fat to satiety.

#10

thanks so much!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #11

Just quoting the good Dr. Phinney!

If he and I weren’t almost the same age, I’d want him for my grandpa. I just look at that face and that mustache and go, “Awwww!”

(Bacon for the Win) #12

I don’t think it lied to you as much as it was tricked by the crappy foods we were told to eat.

(KB Keto) #13

This was my first thought too. You just need to eat more if you are hungry, listen to your body essentially. The whole calories in/calories out thing is so much more complex than that so if you are afraid that eating more calories will cause rapid weight gain… you can rest assured that it wont (unless you start shoveling carbs down your gullet that is).

I have personally found that I have had the best success when I mix in lower calorie days (Keto coffee IF) with very high calorie days and some fasting (once every week or 2 for 24 to 36 hours) - however, if you are hungry, fasting isnt what your body wants so dont try to force that.

#14

Been Keto for 6 months, actually below my target weight now and don’t want to lose any more. Type 2 diabetic, want to maintain keto lifestyle so don’t have to worry about BS.
That being said, at 7 months are you getting bored with the food, thus eating less? Started tracking everything I ate, and immediately figured out I dropped below as I was not eating enough. Track all that you are eating, and sometimes you will need to force yourself to eat a little bit more to keep from getting hungry later
I also do a 24 hour fast once a week, feels like it resets my relationship with food and makes me realize I am not truly hungry sometimes when I think I am.
Good luck, cannot tell you if there might be some science behind your hunger, just test out some different ideas to see what might be happening. Test, test, and then test some more.

(Allie) #15

Just more fats needed. I don’t track / count anymore, just eat when hungry…

#16

that 24 hour fast weekly sounds like a good way to reset my sense of hunger. i do IF but am trying to mix it up as well.

@Shortstuff adding an avocado a day helps lots

@KBDelight many thanks. just recently stopped forcing myself to do IF when actually hungry for a meal earlier.

#18

damn it, i finally stress ate carbs all night. phooey… after all this time… so disappointed in myself.
i ate a whole pepperoni pizza, 2 chocolate donuts, and a bunch of tortilla chips.

i guess i will see if i can OMAD or fast to get back on the horse. i don’t feel sick yet but will see what happens tomorrow!

maybe extra workout fasted to burn off some glucose? blaaargh!

(VLC.MD) #19

Disgusting !

But I sympathize with you.

Sloppy Keto led me to a Sugar “episode”

So I fell out of ketosis from eating nuts in the evening (as much as I wanted). Then a week of poor meal prep. Add a dash of stress and another week of poor meal prep and I ended up eating some crappy sugar carbs (Hallowe’en leftovers). Not very Very Low Carb MD like :frowning:

Do I give up Keto ?

No. Skipped breakfast, cheese only for lunch, and Cesar salad for dinner. Time to tighten up !

I hope you are back on track ! I am :slight_smile:

#20

I got back on track but it has been pretty hard. I let things slip every week and a half. Very frustrating.
Ever since I hit my goal weight, it has been much more difficult.

So i just think i need to eat more in general and sleep more.

So glad you got back on track as well!

(Lynne Hurley Perry) #21

I agree with the alternating between feast and fast. When it is your time to feed you feed. You want to keep you metabolism revved up.