How did you cure your appetite?

#1

I’m having issues with appetite again. It seems that unless I take an extreme approach and limit myself to one good (like an egg diet), my appetite stays out of control. I’ve read people here struggling with having ENOUGH appetite. To those who have an appetite like that, or at least very controlled appetite - what do you feel the cure was for you? What changes did you make outside of just staying low carb? What foods are you eating that are most satiating, while staying within calories that you’re progressing with?

#2

Carnivore pretty much killed my appetite and hunger. I am not very experienced yet, I imagine it will raise to some acceptable levels but it always act in that direction and I lose food addictions and troublesome desires. It’s like a cheat code, seriously… But we are all different, obviously. Still, lowering carbs or eliminating food groups is often useful, even if one already do keto.
As I am not the type who want to eat this strict all the time, I experimented a bit and I can add tiny plant matter and carbier days and these effects stay with me for a while. Very low-carb most of the time is enough for me. Ketosis wasn’t.

We have different times too. Sometimes we are hungrier, it’s normal, I think…

Most satiating food, this is individual but for me:
Fatty meat is the best, hands down. NOT chicken. Chicken thighs seem to be useless alone despite they aren’t very lean (with skin, of course).
Other fatty protein works for me too. Fatty meat is too satiating to me but I need variety anyway…
As long as I avoid plants and much added fat and cream (not like I could eat much of them without plants though whipped cream has chances), I won’t eat too much.

I exercise too, that helps a lot to me but others experienced the opposite.
I probably can’t do a low-calorie diet even on carnivore, no matter what. So if I would try to live on, say, 1400 kcal, it would be a fail. But why wouldn’t I want to go that low? (I have such days but inevitably have way over 2000 kcal ones too, it’s how I work. even on carnivore but now I go for eating as much as I possibly can, I need it now, without appetite and almost no hunger and way too easy satiation… and I do have “need for food” signs even if I don’t feel hunger).
So even the best, most satiating woe may not help if the energy intake is very low. I can go lower and ever but still not as low as many other short women. I am very patient anyway.

(Vic) #3

It took about 6 months for me to get over the sugar addiction. After that things became easy.
Meat and fish are most satiating for me.
Veg amd dairy leaves me hungry.
Keto carnivore works for me. The dairy i can keep under controll. The veg and fruit not so much. It makes me over eat and makes me sick, so I stay away from it.

(Laurie) #4

Yes, fat seems to do it. Make sure you’re getting enough fat with each meal. If you’re still hungry, have something you can grab quickly, such as precooked bacon, or a high-fat cheese such as mascarpone, Cambozola, or Boursin. (Some ketoers like to eat butter by itself.)

This is what I do. My calories are still pretty low.

(Gregory - You can teach an old dog new tricks.) #5

What are you eating in general while trying not to be limiting? What does a typical meal look like?

When I started out, I ate mostly meat, eggs and dairy. A lot of variety without counting calories.
Ketosis is guaranteed, so no need to check ketones. Satiation is guaranteed also until you start adding in a lot of fruit and vegetables.

#6

Eggs, steak, ground beef, pork, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, green beans. Added fats are not often, but butter, and mayo as added fats. I really don’t feel much satiation from fatty stuff. I tend to feel more satiety from a larger piece of lean meat rather than a smaller piece of fatty meat. Therefore, I won’t add much butter or mayo to dishes. I’m wondering if it takes awhile of adding fat before the satiety builds up?

I’ve mentioned in another thread that I did get quite lean (9% body fat), but have since gone up, with the increased appetite. I wonder if my body is fighting back from my weight set point. I’m wondering what I can adjust in my diet to get over this hump.

(Susan) #7

I had to eliminate all artificial sweeteners from my life to over come appetite control. I learned this early on in my Keto journey; the days that I had anything with sweeteners in, it made me more hungry, so the key for me was eliminating them. I have had them rarely since (but it is more for a special day like Mother’s Day, my birthday, etc).

I keep my carb count as low as possible as well. I am not a carnivore, but I keep my carbs under 10 normally for the day.

#8

I know someone who works that way… So it’s possible.

Type of fat matters too but I probably couldn’t get satiated without a big amount of protein. Adequate is enough, once I tried it but I usually have high fat and high protein. Using the right items, it’s not too high calorie in average.

So that’s a possible culprit, not enough protein. People use so various calculations to figure out their protein intake and they sometimes really try to keep low especially ketoers… Old beliefs die hard even if they are wrong.

(Jack Bennett) #9

I find eggs very filling. It’s hard to eat more than 4 or so. Ground beef or steak are also filling.

Protein shakes are easy to eat (drink) quickly but also deliver along a lot of satiety a short while later. I usually add Greek yogurt to my protein shakes.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #10

People’s need for protein is rather variable. You will be hungry if you are not getting enough protein. So try getting more, and then add fat until your hunger is satisfied. You will have to experiment to find the right ratio of protein to fat to suit your needs. One thing, though, is to avoid deliberately stinting on the calories on a ketogenic diet, because the body will still hang on to its fat store, if it thinks a famine is going on (and reduced calories are the signal for that). If you get your protein right, it shouldn’t take that much fat to satisfy you.

I found that it took a few weeks, however, before my insulin dropped enough for my brain to start sensing my appetite hormones properly, but once it did, I was highly surprised at how much less food it took to satisfy me.

#11

Ephedrine, preferably in the wonderful ECA stack with caffeine and aspirin. Only thing that can wipe my appetite, including when I do PSMFs which can make a normal person ravenously out of control. I’ve never found a single combination of anything food or macro related tweaks that stops it. I can go all day long no prob without eating… but once I eat the floodgates are open!

#12

I go as low- no carb as I can daily. I also eat plain, simple food. By that I mean I eat some protein, some fat and some veg.
I find I want to eat a lot more if my dishes have many ingredients, I happen to love casseroles, but I want to overeat just because they’re delicious. When I keep my choices very simple and uncomplicated it’s much easier. I’m one of those people who eat meat and fat to a certain amount and then my throat closes up and I can’t ingest another bite without wanting to retch.

#13

I certainly am never low on protein. Sometimes in the 200g range (I’m currently around 145lbs. I’m thinking of lowering this to more of a 1.2g per lb of bodyweight, staying 5% carb, and the rest fat, and seeing how this affects my appetite.

@lfod14 I’m played with Ephedrine & caffiene. At one point, the appetite suppression I got from it was insane. I would use to to aid 72 hour fasts. This was before I switched to keto. Now, even with it, the appetite suppression is quite subtle. Even after having cycling off it for a good while. You sound a lot like me that once I begin eating, the appetite opens up. Therefore, playing with OMAD ends up hurting me, because I can go over m daily calories easily in one sitting, and seem more inclined to do so if I haven’t ate all day.

@Abi34 I find limitation is a bit helpful too. I found this with eating nothing but eggs and fat for 4 days. However, I got completely sick of eggs (rare for me) for the next 4-5 days, and my appetite grew once introducing other food.

#14

For me, nothing really fixes the hunger issues. I found that lemon water helps a bit in getting me to my fasting goals. I can go a bit longer by if I can suppress the heartburn associated with an empty stomach. Also, I have a weight loss Dr that led me to keto. Her initial keto diet has 2 cups of leafy greens per day. Eating a lot of low carb greens can trick my stomach into not being in starvation mode. (I can’t say not hungry because I never really get there) I am only 11 months in though so maybe it just takes a couple of years. I have hope though. I take a carb day about once a month. On this last one, I ate significantly less than prior to keto. I was shocked. I, however, have always used social pressure to limit my eating and never felt full until I was physically stuffed. Good luck and I would love to know if you ever find a solution.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #15

I upped the meat and fats. Bacon added to things seems to really satisfy my body so I don’t get hungry between feedings.

#16

Enough fats & enough protein does the trick for me 99% of the time.

The remaining 1% (which happens every other month where there is a day I just feel like eating without fasting), I drop out from OMAD and just eat whenever I want but staying within my carb limit. Seems to work as usually back on OMAD the day after. So if you do intermittent fast, perhaps stop for a few days.

Finally may need to adjust (reduce) your carb limit. I found in the past that when I keep staying at the higher end of my carb limit, the “restless mouth syndrome” starts to get activated :sweat_smile:

#17

Chemically, coffee stops my hunger.

With food I usually put down the fork somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd steak, or 3rd and 4th beef rib. There is no way I could eat more in that meal.

Initially the trick was to work out the difference between hunger and cravings. Cravings are more difficult to control and only seem to amplify if they are fed. Hunger goes away if it is fed.

#18

Removing all sweeteners and eating nice tasting, high quality protein with lots of variation from different types of shellfish, oysters and different types of fish did it for me.Cooked with lots of butter and coconut oil.

(Flying Saucereyes) #19

I’m still working on it. I’ve been mostly keto for 18 months. Lately, setting a protein goal and hitting it daily has helped me a lot. I put gelatine in my morning coffee. So does making sure I have my electrolyte drink every day. When I get hungry I ask myself did I take the electrolytes? Usually once I remember to have it the hunger goes away. I’m currently trialling a product made from hops that is supposed to release into the small intestine. It’s too early to say if this really works. So far it seems to help but can cause some nausea and I do worry about using something like that repeatedly over the long term.
Avoiding sweeteners helps. Xylitol is not too bad for me but Maltitol and sucralose give me carb cravings.
By far the worst to awaken the appetite monster is any high carb food. One mango or 1 cup of white rice will cause me trouble for three days up to a week later.

#20

Bacon could be the answer to many problems!