New to IF and struggling

(Samantha ) #1

So I am new to IF and am struggling.

For drinks I only drink black tea and water during my 16 hours of fasting. I put a tiny amount of monk fruit in my tea so it is sweet. When eating I sometimes have a La Croux, but I don’t drink anything else.

Other than that my marcos are:
2612 cal
33 carbs
218 fat
131 protein
Starting weight: 349 lbs Current weight: 318.4 (as of Jan 5th)

I also started working out 6 days a week doing Piyo and strength training.

My typical meals are Bison meatballs with parm broccoli, Eggs, bacon and cauliflower hash browns, grilled chicken with roasted radishes, well sources deli meats as snacks, some dark chocolate, nuts, or bacon wrapped hot dogs w/ celery root.

My issue is that by 10:30 each morning I am starving!!! I push it to 12 each day but that hour and a half is terrible for me. Then I eat and feel nauseous. :frowning: Any suggestions on how to curb this hunger and combat the nausea? I stay pretty close to my macros most days and eat a veggie at every meal and I cook everything in avocado oil, olive oil or grass fed butter as well. Just not sure what else to do.

(Tina Emmons) #2

You’re going to get better advice here than I can give but a couple thoughts: not sure how long you’ve been keto but if not fat adapted it may be too soon to fast. It typically happens accidentally because you’re content. Also, right off the bat, I’d ditch the sweetener. I know you say tiny but I’ve heard so much recently about it being a game changer. One study was done where it was merely swished around the mouth and spit out, not ingested, and caused an insulin spike! Now, let’s see what all these awesome smart people have to say…:sunglasses:

(Running from stupidity) #3

Yep, not enough info.

(Samantha ) #4

I have been straight Keto for a few weeks. Maybe I am not fat adapted yet. I will do my very best to cut out the sweetener. Easier to do it with iced tea than coffee.

(Amanda) #5

Great job! :tada::smile:

Personally, I find that any sweetener (even those that are “keto approved”) triggers a ravenous hunger that I am challenged to ignore.

As the others said, you might not be as fat adapted as you would like to be. I know for myself it took a long time to “forget to eat.” That is how my IF started, then moved to OMAD. I didn’t catch all of your stats, but I think you are on a pretty good path (I am not an expert by any means). I know it’s hard to hear, but give the process time. For me the hardest part and I am still struggling with it, is to listen to my body. Biggest advice: Eat when hungry, stop eating when not hungry, keep your electrolites in check.

(Carl Keller) #6

If you feel like you are starving during IF then I also believe you will need some more time to get better adapted. IF is fairly torturous if your hunger hormones haven’t learned how to behave. Be paient and keep at it.

(Todd Batitis) #7

Congrats on the weight loss but remember, if you can’t sustain what you are doing, you won’t stick with it. That said, those numbers are pretty large to me, especially the calorie setting which kind of sets the others if you do them as a % of calories.

When I started losing weight (starting at 356) via the bariatric clinic, she put me on LCHP and eating 6 times a day. For me that was 2200 calories, 85g carbs and 160g protein. Although I eventually relapsed back and got back to 356 again, it helped me when I tried again. That restart was back in March and it helped me get started again without feeling hungry all the time even if it wasn’t eating what I wanted.

It was during then that I learned about IF and then subsequently with how well IF and Keto work together from a mechanics standpoint.

I had done a 3 day water fast years ago when I was throwing a hissy fit (don’t ask LOL) so I knew that if I could do THAT, intermittent fasting would be easy and I jumped right into 20:4 and have been doing that since. Not everyone can do it that way though, anymore than people can start keto with a 115 hour fast like one person is doing…

If you are struggling with getting to 12 hours fasted, I would respectfully say that maybe IF isn’t for you at this point. Work with getting keto going and getting fat adapted and in that routine and THEN work to stretch it out into intermittent fasting if you like. I may be reading you wrong though. It looks like you mean pushing it to 12 o’clock but that doesn’t say how long you are fasting.

The hours that you fast also matter for many people. For me, my eating window is opened at 2pm and closes at 6pm and I am fasting the rest of the time. For some people, it would work much better for them to get up and have breakfast at 6am and then maybe a snack/lunch at 10am or so and then have your last meal around 2pm. For others who just don’t eat breakfast ever, not eating until around 11am-Noon having an afternoon snack and then dinner around 5-6pm with the family… Boom. Both have done 16:8 in a way that works for them.

I say to stop worrying about trying to do IF right now. Or simply change what pattern you are doing or shifting the hours. IF is simply a matter of changing WHEN you eat so make it work for you and don’t fight it even if it means relaxing it. Shifting times can help. Kind of like me and working overtime at work. I will do 6a-6p standing on my head, working 10 hour days 4a-2p are a pain and doing 12 hour shifts 2a-2p is a killer… even if it is the same number of hours as 6a-6p. :slight_smile:

(Samantha ) #8

I also thought my macros were high, but I am going off of what the MyKeto app suggests. I also work out 6 times a week for 45 minute sessions doing HIIT and strength training, so I think that may be why the macros are higher.

I do a 16:8 fast with my eating window being 12 pm- 8 pm. This works best for my lifestyle and work schedule.

I just think I am not fat adapted enough yet to not have hunger issues. I also might have issues with monk fruit because the hunger doesn’t really hit me until I start drinking my iced tea with a dash of monk fruit.

(Samantha ) #9

I think you are on to something with the monk fruit. My hunger doesn’t kick in until I have my tea. I am going to try and cut the monk fruit and see if that helps.

Damn…I am sure going to miss my morning sweet tea!

(Amanda) #10

I drink Cinnamon Rooibos tea when I am looking for something sweet. It’s delicious hot or cold!

(Samantha ) #11

Thanks! I might have to give that a try

(James) #12

I’ve utilized IF on and off for years now. Every time I start fasting again, it usually takes my body personally around a week to two to get use to it again. After that, I’m never hungry in the morning.

(Samantha ) #13

Oh good to know! Maybe my body just takes longer to adapt. :slight_smile:

(Randy) #14

Took me about 6 weeks to be totally locked in. I was 440 lbs. I’m at 283 now.

You didn’t say if your carbs were total, or net, but you may want to try to get them down to 20g. Especially early on.

(Samantha ) #15

The MyKeto App suggested 33g of net carbs for my macros. I was wondering if that might be too high…do you do 20 net or total?

(Randy) #16

I do “lazy” keto, never eat breakfast, and have never counted macros. I just eat meat, eggs, high fat dairy and low carb vegetables.

Many people have posted that too many carbs slowed their progress, and lowering them a bit helped get on track.

(Brenda C) #17

Thank you all for this discussion. I’m experienced with LCHF, but not particularly keto or IF, which I find a struggle right now.

(Amanda) #18

I keep it below 20 net, often coming in below 20 total. Keep it to real, whole foods makes it easier! I try not to have a lot of “replacement foods”. The occasional “keto bread” or dessert, but I find that the carb count is higher when I use these foods.

(Samantha ) #19

I totally agree on the whole foods aspect. I try not eat really anything that is processed. I occasionally buy a pre-made sauce or have dark chocolate, but I try and make everything. Meal prepping each Sunday makes my life so much easier. Almost all my carbs come from veggies, almond flour and coconut cream . I also try and go as dairy free as possible because it causes inflammation. I might try and cut down on my carbs to 20 net and see what happens. My nutritionist said that I did not need to “go that drastic” but maybe it is the push I need for IF. Thanks for the input!

(Janelle) #20

I’ve been keto 4 months and fasting is hard. I can only do it easily if I have a very large protein and fat filled dinner the day before and then it’s almost a natural thing.

Something you’re doing is working if you’ve lost 30+ lbs. Just curious as to why are you trying to change that so soon? Fasting is not actually necessary.

Note: My obesity doc says 20 whole carbs but I understand everyone has different advice and it is working for you.