I'm confused (and hungry)

#1

I am entering my third week of keto. I believe I am doing a good job on my macros, but I find I am very hungry on days I work out (which equates to intense cardio from playing tennis). Lately I have been playing or drilling 4 days a week for 1.5-2 hours at a time. I end up burning between 600-800 calories (conservative estimate). I drink about 1/2-3/4 gallon of water during play.

This morning I thought I would experiment and eat a fat loaded breakfast so that I would not be hungry after playing tennis and I could possibly have a coffee with MCT or light lunch to keep me going until dinner time.

I consumed 894 calories for breakfast which consisted of 3% carbs, 84% fat and 13% protein.

After I finished my workout I was famished again. Does this mean that I am not consuming enough fat at breakfast? Or does it mean I am working out too frequently and too hard? Is the working out counterintuitive?

Since my plan failed, I ate a light lunch (greek salad) which consisted of 10% carbs, 83% fat and 7% protein and I am counting down the time for dinner. I do not want to snack if I can help it. I know I am not confusing hunger with thirst.

I am a 53 y/o woman who has about 20 pounds to lose.

The incredibly good news that I am relishing in, is the fact that my BP was normal this morning. For the first time in a very long time (without meds) my BP after breakfast was 118/66. I nearly fell off my chair. Pre-keto my BP is usually 160/98 (or as high as 105).

(Karen) #2

I am soooo happy for your BP surprise!

K

#3

Congratulations on your BP!

My opinions:

  • the body is still healing from carbs, things like yeast die off

  • the body is still adapting to a fat based diet

  • heavy cardio workout is going to deplete energy leaving a feeling of being famished, in that at this time the body is able to convert only so much body fat towards fuel at this time

Like a marathon runner or distance cycler, consider building up the bodies ability to produce energy over duration.

Keep going!!

(Sarah ) #4

I keep hearing this rule of thumb about 4 weeks to get fat adapted enough to feel a difference in your workouts, and in real life, of the people Ive talked to about this, the 4 week mark does seem to be true. So hang in there for a couple more weeks. And eat when youre hungry.

#5

I’m new to keto but I’ve hard a lot of credible people say that you have to eat extra protein if you work out. Maybe you aren’t eating enough of it?

(Allie) #6

@notmyname If you lift weights your body can use more protein, not cardio type exercise though.

@DebRox give yourself more time to adapt properly as your body still won’t know how to use the fat for fuel. Sounds like you’re doing it well though so keep on as you are.

(Shantanu) #7

Hang in there. I didn’t do any exercise for the first several months just to give my body the time to adapt without undue stress. See what happens if you lay off exercise for a week.

It gets easier. Good luck.