Newbie here!! So I’ve been on Keto for a month and decided to try intermittent fasting. I’m doing 16/8 for now because I don’t want to push my body too far so early on. So far I’ve done 3 days but I have noticed some things that have me a bit worried. While fasting I make sure I stay hydrated and anytime I feel the hunger hit me I just drink water and it goes away which is fine but once it’s time to break my fast, I’m not hungry anymore. So I will try and still eat but it just doesn’t sit well and makes me bloated and I feel full after a few bites. For example, today I fasted from 7:30 last night to 11:30 am and ate 5 pieces of salami took a sip or two of my smoothie and a bite of cheese and was done. The day prior I ate about half my food and was full and the food didn’t sit well all day. I made myself eat dinner but even with that I only consumed half of my calories and macros for the day. Also noticed I get a bit of nausea after I eat. Should I go longer with keto before I try IF again or do I try to fast longer until I actually do get hungry and then eat? I just feel like 500 calories a day when fasting is just not healthy and I don’t want to put my body through something if it isn’t ready.
Newbie, IF, lack of appetite
If you are not hungry after you want to end a fast, I suggest some bone broth. Not only is this easy on the stomach, Thomas DeLauer says it helps “restore the gut mucosal layer”. which will better prepare you for more solid foods.
I believe it’s important to listen to hunger signals and respond accordingly. If you eat when you are not hungry, it’s just as bad as overeating or even not eating when you are hungry. In my own keto journey I do recall days where I was eating 900 calories on one meal a day. I simply was not hungry after I ate that much and I felt great.
It took some faith to trust those signals and ignore the low calorie counts, but I know for me, it meant that my body fat was being used to make up the caloric deficit. I’m not sure if you are at this point yet (maybe partially?), but if you felt good on those days when your calorie counts were low, then I don’t think you are in any danger. Our bodies have very powerful signals to let us know we are starving… increased hunger, coldness and fatigue are probably the strongest of those signals.
Thanks for your reply. I felt fine on the days where my calories were low, but the bloating and nausea when I do eat are what’s worrying me the most. I just want to make sure I’m doing it right and if I’m not then just wait some more time before trying IF again. I guess maybe part of me misses being hungry lol
Sounds like maybe a sensitivity issue with something you are eating. Maybe vegetables, artficial sweeteners, dairy, nuts, eggs, MCT oil? What kinds of things are you eating typically during your day and is something relatively new to your diet that you haven’t included regularly before?
The nausea could be from electroyte imbalance so be sure to get up to 8 cups of water per day and 2+ teaspoons of salt. So many things are regulated by sodium and if this is off, it’s not unusual to suffer from a variety of things.
Totally understand. Our circadian rythym is our 24 hour clock that gives us hints and hormones at certain times to encourage us to do certain things. It certainly feels strange to not be eating at dinner time even if we are not hungry.
Nothing relatively new to my diet. I have been having more cheese than usual the last two weeks but other than that I can’t think of anything else. I usually eat chicken, pork, bacon, eggs, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, butter, chia seeds, collard greens, nothing different really besides maybe MCT oil but I used it last week without the fast and was fine. I guess I could try cutting the cheese out next week just to see.
Surprisingly, I’m actually hungry for dinner which hasn’t been the case these last few days.
That’s good news. 
You can try tinkering with elimination for a short period with the dairy or even the broccoli and cauliflower. Some people can have a reaction to those two cruciferous vegetables, especially when eaten raw.
I’m hoping other people might chime in on your foods and maybe help point out things that caused them bloating or someone they know of.
Also try click the reply button just under the person’s thread who you are replying to… not the one at the very bottom of the page. This sends the person you are talking to a notification and they are guaranteed to see your post. You can also do it this way: @rubiosusy7
@CarlKeller Ok thanks!! Hopefully others weigh in on this soon. Hope I did this quote reply correct.