Just A Few Weeks in and Can't Eat

#1

Hey everyone. Been on Keto since 7/22. I am very excited that my joint pain and swelling have disappeared. However, I have zero appetite; and this cannot continue. I cooked a meal a bit ago and absolutely could not eat it. I use spices, Keto friendly recipes, butter, butter ghee–everything I can do to make the food palatable. But I cannot continue to do without food. At what point should I give up? I’m disappointed because I really want to be successful. I might also add that diarrhea remains a constant problem. That’s terrible. THANKS FOR ANY HELP.

(Ellenor Bjornsdottir) #2

Does eating some amount of carbs fix the problem?

#3

I haven’t tried that because I didn’t want to mess up. If I do that (I do get a few from the allowed veggies), how many should I consume?

#4

I have also not come anywhere near consuming all of my protein. That’s been an ongoing battle for me even pre-Keto.

(Ellenor Bjornsdottir) #5

Please excuse my rudeness, but have one roasted half of a goddamned potato. Or a similar amount of rice. It does help some people when they get this kind of thing.

Also mind that a protein issue could cause an appetite issue.

#6

Okay. I can certainly eat a small potato. Are you saying low amounts of protein can cause the appetite issue?

#7

Thank you for your help.

(Ellenor Bjornsdottir) #8

Yes I am saying that low protein can cause low appetite.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #9

Let’s reframe your situation. Golden opportunity to do a 3-4-5… day water-fast. Maybe you just need to clean out your innards for a few days. Seems that diarrhea might be a graphic plea from your intestines to take a break. Just a thought.

#10

Thank you for that. But I have also been doing intermittent fasting-8-12 hours. That also makes me not want to eat and even more difficult to consume all of the protein I am supposed to eat. Seems difficult to to get to a good place here. I don’t want to quit.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #11

Big difference between 8-12 hour IF and several day EF. The objective is to empty yourself as completely as possible of ingested food. Since you have little/no appetite at the moment, why not try it. Might help. If not then you’re no worse off than you are now. One of the things that happens during multiple day fast is that your ketone level rises. The increase in β-hydroxybutyrate might help fix whatever is broken at the moment.

#12

Ok. Thanks.

(Allie) #13

How much fat do you have to lose? Is it possible your body is feeding from its own fat stores? If this is the case, it’s likely a good thing. The lack of hunger aside, how do you feel? Protein is not needed during a water fast so if you feel good, maybe go with it and eat when your body tells you its hungry?

#14

I need to lose 100 lbs. I feel okay.

(Allie) #15

So that could be what’s happening? Personally I would take it as an opportunity for a water only fast, maybe adding a little salt to the water as that’s likely needed, until you actually feel hungry. Your body may have just started to realise that it can actually use its own fat stores so is tucking in so doesn’t need you to put in food from outside.

When you stop feeling good, or when you feel hungry, eat.

#16

Okay! Thanks so much. There is so much to learn it’s overwhelming!

#17

So you don’t get enough protein since weeks so your muscles gets smaller and smaller (even if you don’t notice as it’s not that quick, it inevitably happens at low protein especially when practically starving)? I would do nearly anything to get my protein inside at this point and I personally would avoid EF but it’s based on my own experiences, I know it would just lower my calories (but I never ate low-cal for long. especially not low-protein, that makes me super hungry, I can’t get satiated without my protein for long). If you ever can eat, focus on protein. If you really can’t eat, your body must be very confused to forget what it NEEDS. I always get hungry eventually but lower-cal times happen if I go very low with my carbs. Carbs make me hungry, a pretty much lack of them may kill my hunger and appetite… Many people experience this but it’s very unfortunate that it’s so serious that one can only starve on keto but I heard about such cases. They eventually had to quit to stop losing even when they were thin.

But maybe you can find food you still can eat? Even when most food is impossible, I have a few items to help. Or when I can eat, I can focus on not satiating food and eat more of them… I probably would undereat eating fatty meat, it’s extremely satiating for me. But I have other stuff and when my appetite and hunger is below zero (zero is fine, I can eat then without any effort, decades long skill of mine), I eat differently. A dessert stomach helps too. Sometimes I need to drink my nutrients or eat sweets (with very good macros and plenty of nutrients) to get them… The latter is probably not a good idea for most but a good method for me in a pinch (my default woe is carnivore-ish and I don’t eat sweets then), definitely better than begin hungry and weak with a below zero appetite therefore not eating.
But on normal days, normal food is good, I just need to choose it well. If I eat too low for 1-2 days and still don’t get properly hungry on the next one, I focus on less satiating and more tempting food. My IF goes first but if there is no other way and I actually can do it, I raise my carbs as well. These always worked well in the past (well not really, I overate but it definitely raised my calories, I mean), it changed now but at least I get some good fat-loss days instead of starvation level low-cal… Maintenance is pretty much impossible for me nowadays, fortunately I want to lose fat. You have more to lose so you have a bigger chance to get away with low-calorie but you still need the essential nutrients…

#18

That’s a huge part of the problem for me. The only way to get the protein is to eat meat. And there is very little to eat it with, especially sauces. I eat chicken, fish, beef. When there is little variety, that makes it very tough.

#19

That’s variety, very different kinds of meat… Oh when I cling to carnivore without meat (or with a tiny bit), that’s the interesting situation :smiley: But probably still better than only meat, that’s not my style,. But you can eat soups and roasts and stews, fish with various sauces, isn’t that variety enough? I imagine it’s very individual, I would get bored of them too, I need my pork and eggs. But I probably still would eat enough, I would only find it boring. One needs so little meat for adequate protein, it should be easy to eat unless extreme low hunger and appetite strikes… I barely have experience with that myself (and that’s temporal. the body realizes it needs fuel so it gets solved) so I probably can’t understand that very well. I would add other items then, whatever I can stomach. We must eat…

#20

Bad idea all around, great way to start loosing muscle mass. How much are you shooting for, and have you listed a sample day of what you eat along with all your info?