Having trouble balancing macros

(Hannah Conway) #1

I started out eating 20 or less carbs a day and not worried about the other macros. I was going over on my fat to almost 160 grams a day and going over in protein to 120 and because of that I was eating almost 2000 calories a day. Doing that I started gaining weight back. So i tried add veggies like kale and spinnach to reduce calories, fat and protein and then i was going over in carbs. Also for the past week after work ive been coming ravenous, i eat dinner then and im still hungry. Any ideas on how to balance my meals and reduce hunger?? Also besides the initial water loss of 6 lbs i havent lost any weight and its been almost a month :*(

(Scott) #2

How long keto?

Women tend to take a little while to settle in some say stall but that really isn’t it. I lost weight consistently from the start and abruptly stopped at about 25 pounds lost. My wife started at the same time and after the first week had little results. After several weeks or more went by she started constantly losing. I would say keep it simple and watch the scale and tape to see what happens over the course of a couple of months. By simple I mean <20g net carbs, moderate protein and fat to satiety. I would not expect major changes to rapidly occur but over time it can be awesome. My wife and I at just over a year are at a point that we are maintaining within a three pound range without effort, counting or restricting. The bonus is we feel great. Keto is the way we eat now and in the future.

(Joey) #3

@Snolepurd To my ears, your hunger is a telling observation to be taken seriously. If you’re hungry, please eat.

Keto is about changing what you eat, not whether you eat. And it’s not supposed to be punishment, that produces unpleasant hunger pangs. On the contrary. When you’re doing it prudently, you’ll feel full.

The key is to make sure you are really cutting out the extraneous carbs (like bread, rice, chips, sugars, potatoes, and yes, even fruits for the time being until you get fat-adapted). As for veggies, yes, these are healthy complements to your long-term sustainable keto diet, but don’t go overboard at first, because the real key to changing your metabolism is to get FAT-adapted, not VEGGIE-adapted.

So, I’d encourage you to do the following:

1 - Overcome any fear of saturated fats you might have. Trust that the fats will become your new primary source of satiety and energy. Eat as much of them as it takes to feel reasonably full - especially during the early months of transition.

2 - Make sure you stay very well hydrated and fully salted (electrolytes are key - especially during the early weeks/months of transition while you’re losing water weight).

Other than that, as has been shared many times throughout this forum, stay the course and you will be rewarded over time.

Best wishes - and please keep us posted on developments.

(Hannah Conway) #4

I month keto and the scale hasnt moved and my measurements are all the same. Im having a hard time with keeping my proteins down bc theres not much else i can eat.

(Allie) #5

Stop stressing yourself out. Carbs below 20, protein and fat to appetite, and patience. You have to give this a chance to work, it’s not like you can just flick a switch.

(Hannah Conway) #6

Im not doing ANY extra carbs and everything goes in thr carb manager app. I shouldnt be hungry because im eating a ton of fat, protein and calories.

(Joey) #7

Great to hear you’ve got the CarbMgr involved to gather data along the way.

May I ask: When you’re hungry, you eat, right?

And presumably you eat (at a civilized moderate pace :wink: ) until you sense that you’re no longer hungry, correct?

If these are good descriptions of what’s going on, then is it the fact that you feel hunger before you eat that bothers you, or is it the case that your hunger cannot be satisfied no matter how much you eat?

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #8

Best answer. I haven’t counted anything, except keeping my carbs way down below 20.
3 months in, and I’ve lost all the weight I wanted to. So now I can have more keto snacks, fat bombs, keto deserts, etc. I still jump on the scale a few times a week, and if it tries to rise up at all, I’ll just cut back on the keto treats and such.

Easiest way of eating ever :slightly_smiling_face:

(Joey) #9

@FishChris With all due respect, keto is not always the easiest way for everyone. The OP is reaching out with concerns during her initial month.

(Scott) #10

At one month you are not likely fat adapted. There is not much to be gained by changing everything you are doing at this point. Get fat adapted and then after enough time to let your body settle in to your new normal then change one thing at a time over weeks not days. It is starting to look like you are pressing every button in the cockpit of a plane. When it starts you will have no idea which button did it. This isn’t a race, it is a journey, you need to give it time.

(Robert C) #11

Another thing you might think about for satiety is the hyper-palatability of your food and how you react to it.

Over spicing food, too much dairy, butter coffees and fat bombs will keep your carb count low but, may also leave you hungry.

Bacon and eggs, sautéed vegetables, a Ribeye etc. might be a bit more boring but might do the job of curbing hunger too.

(Allie) #12

You’re body is going through a massive change so normal rules (your expectations) do not apply. If you’re hungry, eat. Do not limit calories while you’re body is adapting, and what you think of as “a ton” may not correlate with what your body actually needs.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #13

Okay sorry, it’s hard not to see things from one’s own personal perspective.

That said, I still think the OP could be making things more complicated than she needs it to be. And I think that is often a problem, especially for newbies. Their is SO much science around here, a lot of people get all caught up in it, and thinking it must be some little obscure thing they missed, when in reality, 95% of the whole thing is just keeping your carbs below 20, eating 2 or 3 meals a day until your full. And training yourself to only eat when your actually hungry.

Then relax, and give it time. Fat adaption takes a few to several months.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #14

:slightly_smiling_face: Lol, but in her defense, a LOT of people do this.

Relax, and Keto on :slightly_smiling_face:

(Scott) #15

I will add that I think the biggest positive change I have made after limiting carbs was to eliminate all snacking. I eat a big breakfast, good sized lunch and a reasonable dinner with nothing in between meals or after dinner.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #16

@Snolepurd

This has some great info.

http://pwop.com/download/TheKetogenicDietInANutshell.pdf

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #17

The key is to keep your insulin level as low as possible by avoiding carbohydrate as much as possible. Insulin is the primary fat-storage hormone, and carbohydrate has a pronounced effect on insulin secretion, which is why we say to avoid it. As long as your carb intake is low enough, you can afford to eat enough fat and protein to satisfy your hunger. We advise not eating when not hungry, and stopping eating when hunger is satisfied. This may be a lot of food on some days and not much on others, but over about a week’s time, the food in and the energy out match very nearly precisely. The advantage of eating this way is that, if we have excess fat to get rid of, the body will set our appetite at a level that allows some of that excess fat to be metabolised, all without having to count calories or figure macros.

The feeling of being satisfied is quite different from the feeling of a stomach crammed full of food. For me, satiety comes on a keto diet when my stomach is only half full—there’s plenty of room for more, I just don’t want any—whereas I used to eat pasta to nearly the point of bursting and still be hungry for more.

(Hannah Conway) #18

When im hungry i eat. Im bothered by the fact that i ate a decent dinner and i dont feel full so then i end up eating 2 snacks on top of that. I usually wait 15 minites after im done eating dinner to give my stomach time to catch up but then if im still hungry i will then hit up snacks like sunflower seeds or irish cheddar

#19

Are you using anything that has even “keto-friendly” sweeteners in the ingredients? For some of us, artificial sweeteners or generally acceptable Keto sweeteners, cause a spike in hunger and/or cravings. For whatever reason, nuts and seeds can cause issues for some of us as well.

(Hannah Conway) #20

Wow! I didnt know over spicing food can make you hungry! I usually spice the bananas out of everything i looooove flavor. Also i was trying to do a light lunch so i had 1 fat bomb for lunch. I will cut back and see if it helps. Thanks!!!