Hi! I'm glad to be here! Could maybe use some guidance!

(Chantay) #1

Howdy everyone! I’m really glad that this forum exists! I’ve been lurking about and reading lots of posts, everyone seems so friendly!

My stats: I’m 34, 5’6", 165 pounds. I’ve been doing keto for about two full months now, feel like I hit fat adaptation two weeks ago or so – my appetite plummeted, I just didn’t feel hungry! It was great! Until it went away. =(

The last four days or so my appetite has been back with a vengeance; I went back through my food log, and it was all good, normal keto food. The only thing that differed was a spike in physical activity. I weight lift (heavy weights) four days a week, I usually get about 20,000 steps during the day, I sprinkle in some LISS during the evenings when my husband is playing video games. But then on TOP of that, I did some pretty heavy manual yard labor (dirt is SO HEAVY!). The only other variable is (TMI) shark week. I notice my heart rate starts to climb back up as I move through my cycle, and I’m definitely on the upswing.

I got pretty OCD with calorie counting and the scale, to the point where my husband hid the scale from me because my morning weight would make or break my day. I still track food, though, and I’ve been shooting for 1500-1600 calories a day. 100g of protein, 25g net carbs a day or less, and then filling in with fat as I’m hungry.

Long story short: appetite fluctuations. Are they normal? Should I force myself to stay at 1500 even when I’m pretty sure I would rip the walls down in my house to get to some pork rinds? Should I invest in a cage, and lock all the food in there? =D

(Karen Fricke) #2

Even with you’re activity, protein seems high for your lean body mass. Too much protein will keep insulin levels up and can make you hungrier. Eat more fat.

(Chantay) #3

I can drop protein a bit, but is 1500 cals too high? I know everyone says use sedentary levels to calculate, but holy cow it makes me a ravenous monster normally if I drop under, say, 1300. Obviously the hope is that lower protein means less hunger, but it’s nice to have a guideline just in case. Thank you!!

#4

There are divided opinions on this forum about counting calories. Most folks seem to advice against it, as there is not (or no) much proof for it being an accurate measurement. With your activity level I´d suspect that you´re actually eating too little. Lowering your calories could even damage your metabolism according to folks who advocate for calorie counting.
How about doing an experiment, and keeping your total carbs below 20 and your protein a bit lower and then adding fat to your diet to satiety? You could do a couple of weeks and see how that works out for you? I must applaud your hubby for hiding the scale! Well done hubby :smile:

#5

Great advice from @Siddy. Direct most of your focus towards the carbs. Total may be a bit much for you but definitely get them under 20 net. You are at the high end of protein so it would be good if you could take that down to say 75g. Instead of “filling in with fat when you are hungry” get more fat in to each meal by using fatty cuts and foods. I think this will help level you out a bit.

Do you feel confident with ingredients that you could quit tracking for a while? Could you be sure to be under on carbs? moderate on protein? If you could then not tracking for a while would be good for you I think. Break the obsessive cycle and learn to listen to your body and react accordingly. If you need to measure and track to keep within your carb/protein limits, then maybe stay away from tracking apps and go old school. Weigh and note what you eat with the gram count. So if I were to eat 100g bacon, 1 egg and 50g mushrooms for breakfast say, I would get the info from the packets or google and make a note of the carb and protein count. I am quite repetitive in what I eat so this is not as much work as it sounds! Just a thought. The upshot of this is keeping you away from counting calories if you hadn’t guessed my motivation already! You will notice a natural change in your appetite and satiety that waxes and wanes depending on so many things - mood, exercise, hormones, stress, sleep. What I would like you to try and do is tune into that and work with it rather than trying to make your body and mind fit a macro template laid out on MFP (or similar). Yes, I know you are placing certain restrictions on yourself anyway re protein and carbs but try and allow yourself freedom with the rest and see what happens.

Or not! That is only my opinion and an idea to try. Always… n=1. Calories though? They can kiss my arse!

(Chantay) #6

Thank you so much for the feedback! I’ve got a pretty good feel for what I should be eating, and I’m totally willing to just experiment. I’ll try try three next two weeks at 20g net carbs and 75ish g of protein, and see how things shake out! It’s been really hard to use calculators and be told that I should be at 1300 calories to lose the last few pounds I want gone. What’s the point of losing the weight if you’re absolutely miserable in the process?

And yes, hubby gets mad props for realizing the scale and I weren’t playing nice together. :smile:

(Chantay) #7

Thank you so much for the response! The tracking was definitely a little unhealthy at one point, so I could probably use to take at least a break from it. I don’t eat until dinner time (PCOS is one of a myriad of problems, and IF really helps), and I’m pretty sure I’ve got a good grasp on which foods I can eat without going overboard. We eat a ton of green veggies, lots of good fatty cuts of meat, and I’m no longer shy about butter and salt (omg broccolini doused in butter, doesn’t get better!!) I may just try tracking only carbs for a while, see if I can reset my horrid relationship with calories.

I’ve also added some slight magnesium and potassium supplementation, and making sure to get broth with lite salt twice a day - with the workouts and the insane hot weather, I’m worried I’m sweating out too much of the good stuff!

#8

Your plan sounds great! Hope you’ll update on how you’re doing in a week or two?
I think that if you were to deprive yourself any more, it could only lead to weight creeping up again afterwards. You want to be able to live with your diet long term (In my opinion), and not just survive for a few weeks. You go girl!

(Chantay) #9

I have a reminder on my calendar to check in two weeks from now! Might be back sooner than that for moral support, though! :heart:

(Jackie) #10

This is just my two cents as I’m new to keto since 2/1/17. This is from my personal experience. I was doing OMAD for many weeks. The weight was coming off and I was feeling good. Then, out of nowhere, last week I was RAVENOUS! I was eating everything keto I could get my hands on. I just went with what my body seemed to want.

That’s what this is all about for me…learning to listen to my body. With the week of feasting, I figure I’m at least switching things up and I’m back to IF 18:6 or 20:4 this week.

(Chantay) #11

Thanks for this – it’s so messed up that my body was screaming “FEED ME” and all I could feel was guilt for giving it what it said it wanted. It’s hard to know, logically, that something needs to happen, but then still have to battle the strange emotional side of it. My body does some amazing stuff (generally anything I ask of it), and I need to learn to love it and treat it right! And if it says it’s hungry, I’m gonna damn well feed it!

#12

You might get some insight (and/or stronger footing) after reading this article from Dr. Jason Fung:
https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/fed-fasted-state/

(Siobhan) #13

Yes appetite fluctuation is normal especially with increased exercise and physical activity. It even fluctuates day to day!
That is why I dont recommend counting calories on keto. With very low carb and high fat it is much easier to listen to what your body wants and needs.
So keep <20g of carbs per day, 1-1.5g of protein per kg of lean body mass, and fat to satiety.

Another thing though is you may have been dehydrated ir low on electrolytes after sweating. Ill get random hunger when low on salt too.

Anyway, stop counting calories and listen to your body. Your bodys circunstances change day to day.
Do you refill the gas in your car the same amount every time? No. It changes depending on what you did and where you drove and when. How do you tell how much you need? Fuel gauge. Body needs? Hunger.

Also yes recommendation for protein is 1-1.5g per kg of lbm because thats all the bulk of people need to maintain and grow sufficient muscle. Extra protein is converted to glycogen (sugar) for storage and thus spikes insulin. Bad!

(Chantay) #14

That was a great read, I love Dr. Fung! Thank you!!

(Chantay) #15

This is a great analogy, thank you! I’m trying to just pay attention to signals and respond accordingly, and ignore the calorie counts in my app (I track food so that I can keep an eye on carbs, but the unfortunate side effect is seeing calories at the same time.)

Anecdotally, as a woman, the idea of shifting away from dietary “standards” has been so difficult. You have to eat low fat. You have to do a bunch of cardio. You have to eat nothing but salad. You need to track your calories like a damn bookie tracks the odds. Even though I’ve been low carb for over a year (keto levels for a couple of months) and I KNOW the “standards” are garbage, it’s SO HARD to just throw the hand brake and reverse course.

I’m trying to let go of calories. I’m trying to not care about the scale. It’s a process, though, not just a flip that gets switched overnight. Some days I do much better than others.

Thanks for all the support, ladies! I really appreciate it. :smile: :heart:

(Jackie) #16

Great article!! Thanks for sharing :smile:

#17

Luckily we don’t have to fit to any norms that someone else has told us we have to. Once upon a time (not so very long ago) women were not supposed to go to school, (my grandma had to learn to read and write in hiding), we were not supposed to work outside the home (until the patriarchy decided there was lack of workforce during a war), we shouldn’t wear pants, say our meaning or fart… Women were even forbidden in church during menstruation because we were dirty… wait… whaaaaat???
So… when some guy decided we should all eat what he was eating… like the good girls (and boys) we were raised to be, we shifted to low fat, high carb.
Were we right, or should we re-consider??? That’s really up to each one of us to figure out for ourselves.
Me?? I’ll do as I please and THAT is not hard :sunglasses: