Learning How to Hit Macros and Satiety Issues

(Rachel Wilcox) #1

Good afternoon all,

I am tapering carbs right now and increasing my fats while keeping my protein relatively stable. I’m doing this as a treatment for my mental health disorders with the hope that I will be able to reduce my medication load.

I’m doing fine staying under my carb goal everyday, but I’m going over on protein and under on fats. How do I get some fats in without getting so much protein as well?

Secondarily, I’ve had to increase my calories because I’m just so hungry all the time right now. Is that normal?

Thanks for all the help!

#2

I have the opposite problem since many years but I really love and am used to fat…

Getting enough fat while not overdoing protein can be reached by different ways:

  1. Eating fattier protein sources
  2. Adding extra fat

But maybe it’s fine to eating high protein… And higher calories. As I have no idea what your needs and grams are, I don’t know if your protein intake is too high to raise it even more or totally not.

Of course. If you are hungry, eat more, that’s basic - but not right in every cases. If you truly eat way too much due to hunger, your food doesn’t seem to be satiating enough. I can totally starve eating more than my energy need if I choose my food unwell… After lots of experimenting and tracking, now I know what are my really satiating items and which aren’t good, at least not alone. These are individual but for example, chicken, nuts, cheese tends to be less satiating than beef and for many of us, pork. Sometimes we want to eat less satiating food due to too easy satiation, sometimes the opposite and sometimes one is lucky just to eat whatever good keto food they fancy and all is well. Not everyone need to track or follow specific macros either.

And what I often say… We aren’t robots. Sometimes we simply need more food. We should eat more then, most probably.

I am always very curious about other people’s numbers, what is your target protein and fat range?

#3

While I started Keto to lose excess fat that makes me obese, I stayed for the mental health benefits. You made a really good choice. It took only 4 months of keeping my net carbs below 20g/day to be off ALL medications, and 2+ years later I’m still prescription free with the best mental health I’ve had since childhood, probably better than even then too. There is a night and day difference by allowing my brain to run on ketones. I have more control over my emotions and am more even keel.

When you increase your fat you will feel less hungry. In the beginning fat is a lever to provide satiety so that you don’t have to deal and fight with the hunger pains, which can sabotage our efforts. It’s important to hit your fat goal in the first few months specifically to help you better be able to become fat adapted.

Don’t worry about too much protein right now either, as for most people that rarely is an issue. Worry mostly about keeping your carbs strictly below your chosen levels. I started with total carbs < 50g/day and net carbs <20g/day. By month four I was naturally staying 30-40g total carbs per day and 16g or less net carbs per day. It was good I started where I did though because it allowed me to get used to the diet and become good at it while still being in that window necessary to achieve ketosis, because that’s ultimately what you want. Those ketones every day. Most people can achieve ketosis of the remain below 50g/day.

This is how I got more fat every day easily, (so much so it’s hard for me to dial back now): :joy:

I add 1T MCT oil to either coffee or hot tea every single morning, along with 1T butter. Then I add 1-2T heavy whipping cream. It’s called “bulletproof” for a reason. It really satiates for quite a few hours, provides energy and clarity of mind, nutrients, and it controls hunger. I rarely eat before 2pm on any day I have a bulletproof coffee or tea late morning. When I started I often had a bulletproof herbal tea around 7pm at night too to stave off hunger and munchies until the next day. Worked like a charm. As my husband nibbled popcorn I took little sips of my tea. Sometimes I made it taste like hot chocolate using a decaf chocolate with peppermint, extra cocoa, and lotsa HWC. I did use a lot of erythritol at first to help achieve some flavors I wanted and because of that I was able to succeed. I still use it but probably not as much these days. I never had the negative issues some people have with sugar subs and monk fruit, stevia, and erythritol seem to be the least disruptive.

I used to eat unsweetened almond or peanut butters a lot more than I do now, sometimes on celery, sometimes on a spoon. LOL. I added salt, erythritol, and vanilla to a jar myself for a richer flavor and mixed well. Lasted a good month. I would sometimes mix it with a creamy coconut butter. (Heaven on a spoon) Really tasty and helps stave off hunger at night sometimes.

I started using butter on everything, and cooking with it too. Adding a little Avocado oil to a pan helps keep the butter from burning too. I would use a good amount of avocado oil on my salads with a lot of salt and pepper. Very tasty.

Bacon is a great way to up your fat and many times it has very little protein. They say 5g protein per slice but that would be extra thick center cut, very meaty, if you can find it. I don’t mind the fattier slices instead because they are sooooo tasty, even cold. Great way to add fat.

I also used a lot of mayonnaise, and still do. Egg salad is great because a serving might be equivalent to 1-2 eggs but with the mayo it ups the fat content well and the flavor. But the additional protein from just 1-2 eggs is not a lot. But I also eat a lot of chicken or tuna salads too.

Basically I exceed my fat every day because these habits make it so easy to add up fast, and they are in addition to the fat I naturally get from my ribeyes and fatty cuts of roasts and meats.

Good luck! I wish you the same success I had :blush:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

The key to this way of eating is to lower insulin by avoiding sugar, starches, and grains. This will not only lower your insulin, it will also speed up your metabolism, and promote mitochondrial health. I’m not sure what ratio of fat to protein you are striving for, but remember that equal amounts of fat to protein are 69% fat to 31% protein in terms of calories. Because of their relative caloric values, 222 g of fat is the caloric equivalent of 500 g of carbohydrate.

Fat has the advantage of not stimulating insulin production, so it is safe to add fat, if you want to. Some people need more than 69% fat in order to be satisfied, whereas other people need more than 31% protein in their diet.

If you are strictly limiting your carbohydrate intake, insulin will come down and stop promoting mitochondrial damage. You will be able to listen to your body again. Some days you’ll be hungry, other days not so much, and that will be okay, because insulin will no longer be distorting the picture. You will be able to eat more calories, because elevated insulin will no longer be slowing down your metabolism.

You probably need somewhere in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 g of protein per kg of lean body mass. You might even need more than that. Then the amount of fat you eat can fill in until you are no longer hungry. Keep carbs low, be sure you are getting enough protein, and then satisfy your hunger. It will all work out. Don’t go hungry.

Ketones produced from the fat will make their way to your brain, which will use them for fuel and to make cholesterol out of (the brain is something like 25% cholesterol). Ketones can enter the brain without assistance, and they will promote mitochondrial healing. It is mitochondrial damage in the brain that appears to underly all mental health and motor-neuron diseases. And the key to producing ketones to feed the brain is to keep insulin as low as possible by eating as little carbohydrate as possible.

(KM) #5

As Paul said, the carbs are the important thing, fat:protein is more of a personal tweak. Eating fattier meats and adding butter to lean ones is my favorite way to satiate myself. Nuts are higher in fat, but they can get out of hand - it’s less likely you’ll binge on butter.