Hi all - I have a question about if it’s ok to let yourself be hungry and wait to eat (as you adjust to IF for example) or if you should eat when you feel hunger (because otherwise you could slow metabolic rate). I’m pretty new to Keto so was eating when I felt hungry for the last few weeks, but as I start to incorporate IF I am curious if waiting to eat past the point when your stomach growls is ok or if it could cause a slow down in metabolic rate. Thanks!
Hunger during IF - slowing metabolic rate?
CarlKeller
(Carl Keller)
#3
If you are experiencing great hunger during IF, it’s likely you are not fat adapted. Fat adapted means your body can use body fat for fuel in the absence of fat in your stomach. This usually takes 3-5 weeks for some and much longer for others.
Hunger is often confused with “it’s the time I normally eat so my body expects food soon” and it can also be a mental product of what we see, smell or hear etc… The one hunger to fear the most is the one where your body is screaming for food and not getting it. Skipping a meal and going hungry here and there is not a big deal. I don’t think your metabolism will slow that much as long as you don’t go extremely long periods without eating.
My suggestion is, to either stop fasting for a week or two and keep eating plenty of fat and protein (while staying under 20 net carbs per day) and try IF again, and/or try a lesser version of IF and try a 16/8 eating window. That being where you fast from dinner to lunch the next day… then maybe try a 24 hour fast or longer if you choose.
KNHVT
#4
I am always hungry when I am fasting and I have been Keto since January of this year. I read all this about people not feeling hunger and wonder about myself, but that’s just the way it is. I go by Jason Fung’s advice - so long as when you eat you eat to satiety, you’re okay. It’s restricting calories all the time that leads to a slowed metabolic rate. If, instead, you fast and feel hungry, but then eat as much as you need to feel satisfied when you do eat, you are telling your body that this is not famine time - there is food, and here it is! It has worked for me. I am down nearly 35 lbs and feel great. Good luck!
Ruina
(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!)
#5
If I feel hungry when fasting I try to wait a half hour or so, and distract myself during that time. If afterwards I still feel hungry I’ll eat. But usually that does the trick. I’m not worried about slowing my metabolism while fasting since it is different than calorie restricted eating. I just eat when truly hungry because I do not fast as penance. It’s something nice I’m doing for myself. Like excersize. Maybe not every minute will be fun but it is self care.
Brunneria
#6
I’m always curious when people announce they don’t get hungry during fasting.
Certainly NOT my experience!
After a while things do settle down though, and you gradually learn that there are a number of different types of hunger, which probably vary a bit from person to person.
From my own experience, I can list:
Empty tummy, usually eat around now habit-hunger
Sudden ravening NEED to eat (usually passes in a few mins if you distract yourself)
Weak wobbly irritable (blood glucose dropping)
Hangry rage (hypo. Need food or will feel crap for a day or two)
Stressed sleepless I-can’t-sleep-without-something-in the-hole-under-my-ribs
Stress, sleeplessness and physical exertion can trigger a variety of emotional and physical hungers.
Not everyone has my hormone situation, so hopefully not everyone is going to get hypo hunger, but please don’t fall for the myth that you will skip merrily through extended fasts with no hunger. Experienced fasters often say ‘the first 3 days are the worst’.
In order to fast, humans have to overcome deep instincts and a lifetime of social conditioning.
Fung himself says that fasting shouldn’t be painful suffering, but that hunger is perfectly normal. If it hurts, or you feel ill, then beak the fast.
ai9966
(Anjum)
#7
I am hypo too. It took me a looong time to become fat adapted. I was not initially successful with IF. I figured out that I needed more hydration and increased activity to fast and NOT feel hungry. I typically do 24 hour fasts 5 days out of 7. I mix things up 2 days and have found greater cooperation with my body. I almost never feel hungry. I say that bcz the 2 days I mix it up, the following day my body is happy to settle into a feeding pattern and I do notice hunger. It is not strong enough to be called hangry however. My hormonal shifts and thyroid related consequential maladies have all declined. I have been on this journey since March 2018. Good luck to you, hope you achieve your goals. 