I’ve been on Keto/IF (16:8 or OMAD) since May of this year. I’ve lost 45 pounds so far and still have a significant amount of body fat to lose. I’ve been a binge eater since I was a child, and also was very overweight as a child. Since starting Keto, I now never have the urge to binge but I’ve found that I simply don’t know what true hunger or satiety feel like. I used to binge eat for any reason or no reason. There was no stopping when full. I stopped eating when I was in pain. So now on Keto I never really know if I am hungry and if I prepare a plate of food, I always eat it all. I never have felt the feeling of “Oh, I’m full. I won’t eat the rest of this”. I did a 72 hour fast but that didn’t help with hunger cues. I don’t know what to do at this point. How can I eat when hungry and stop when full when I don’t know what these feel like? Now I faithfully track my macros because otherwise I could eat endlessly. Any help would be so appreciated.
I don't know what satiety feels like!
I have posted this elsewhere but hope it helps you- I find this scale really REALLY helpful when determining satiety. I stop at a 6 or 7 and only eat when I’m a 2-4. I try not to let it get to a 2 often though.
10 / Stuffed / You are so full you feel nauseous.
9 / Very uncomfortably full / You need to loosen your clothes.
8 / Uncomfortably full / You feel bloated.
7 / Full / A little bit uncomfortable.
6 / Perfectly comfortable / You feel satisfied/satiated.
5 / Comfortable / You’re more or less satisfied, but could eat a little more.
4 / Slightly uncomfortable / You’re just beginning to feel signs of hunger.
3 / Uncomfortably hungry / Your stomach is rumbling.
2 / Very uncomfortable / You feel irritable and unable to concentrate.
1 / Weak and light-headed / Your stomach acid is churning.
Another tip is to divide your plate into halves.
Eat the first half slowly and mindfully. Put your fork and knife down between mouthfuls. When you finish the first half, stop eating for a full 5 minutes. After that time elapses, ask yourself- am I still hungry- as in, actually feeling a sensation of hunger? No? Put the rest away until you ARE hungry.
Yes? Divide the remaining portion into two halves and repeat. Only ever keep eating if you actually feel hungry- not think hungry (where your brain has a starvation mentality and becomes panicked at the thought of restriction). There’s a difference.
You won’t starve on keto- far from it. Tell yourself that every time you get panicky about whether or not you’ve eaten enough. You can always eat again when you’re hungry, the food will be there. Tune in as best you can to what your body (not your brain) is trying to tell you.
You have been keto-ing for so long now you probably don’t get hungry that often. You might benefit from literally not eating until you start to feel hunger as per the scale above.
I hope none of the advice I’ve given is glib- it definitely helped me and I’ve been a binge to the point of pain eater myself. It’s far easier to overeat on carbage though, with fat I will hit a point where I literally can’t bear the thought of eating another bite (and my meal has been relatively small). I fully recognise you may have biological or psychological challenges that render all that useless though- in which case I assume you’ve consulted a trusted professional for help?
Great advice, @MooBoom. I started recognizing hunger and satiety only after about 6 months Keto. It’s kinda subtle for me, and I need to be mindful to recognize either. Sometimes satiety only hits about a half hour after I’m done eating. And as for hunger, I still find myself cruising by the fridge to “shop” occasionally. It’s habit or boredom, mostly. I use the egg question: would I eat an egg? If yes, then I’m hungry. If no, I’d rather snack on something more interesting, then I’m not. And if I just can’t tell, then I eat a pickle or some olives. No harm done!
@Jan I love the egg question!!! Think I’ll start using that myself, although since eating enough fat don’t have the “hunger” problem very often (usually just once a month iykwim 
) Sometimes if I think I’m hungry I’ll try a bit or two of Kerrygold butter and that usually does the trick.
Thank you so so much for this! This is incredibly helpful. I was hoping people wouldn’t think I was asking a dumb question so thank you for taking the time to respond. I’m definitely going to use this scale and the divided plate technique!
MooBoom’s scale looks great!
Just coming on to echo @Jan’s note that some of it might come naturally with more time and experience. I don’t binge eat, I’m happy with my health and size, and I probably have had a gradual tuning in to satiety signals over the years - but I was surprised the other day (this is after years of LC, lots of IF and several rounds of EF) that I had an “ugh, I really don’t want any more of that” response to a piece of chocolate*. CHOCOLATE. I DIDN’T WANT CHOCOLATE.
That has never happened to me before.
Anyway, that 1 - 10 scale looks like a great way to start to tune in to those signals, and I would celebrate anything that you notice even if in the beginning you can only tell the difference between -say - 2 and 8. You’ll get better with practice!
*super dark chocolate (obviously)
I’ve had weight loss surgery so my satiety signals are all messed up! On the weight loss surgery forums it’s common for people to have physical cues as to when they are full. I don’t know if this is a side effect of surgery or if everyone has them.
For me, I’ve come to realize I will sigh when I’m “full” I can easily continue to eat a little more, but if I do then I’m usually uncomfortably full. For a lot of other people they notice their nose might drip. When you’re eating really pay attention to how your stomach feels and all of your other physical symptoms to see if you have any other cues as to when you are full.
What works for me is to prepare a meal but only serve a modest portion and put the rest away. I eat the portion and drink a lot of water or tea and immediately get away from the table and do something like take our dog for a walk. If 30 to 60 minutes later I still have oppressive hunger I’ll eat another portion.
Another thing is I have some foods I don’t much like. For example I love boneless & skinless sardines but don’t care for them much with bones and skin even though I think they are healthier. After eating a dinner portion I’ll allow myself the option to follow it with something undesirable like those sardines and if I’m not truly hungry they are not appealing.