I’ve always had this struggle… even before keto.
I’ve been keto for 30 days (yay!) but over the last few days all I want to do is snack. I am not too hungry, just ate an hour ago. It’s a mental thing… not sure how to kick it.
I’m eating a lot, probably too many calories, to be honest.
What are some tricks or tips?
Sugarfree gum can help as it gives the chewing that we’re sometimes missing. Or, you could try a pinch of salt inside your lip, in case your sodium levels are low. If that isn’t it, a pat of butter can give a nice boost of fat until your next meal. Sometimes we are just hungry, so if water, electrolytes, and a small fat snack don’t work, go ahead and fix something on your plan.
Salt is a great thing to try, because sometimes that’s what the body is telling us it needs.
When I first started on these forums, I was having trouble distinguishing between cravings and real hunger. I posted about it, and they gave me some great advice: if you can imagine eating an egg or a chunk of butter, then it’s hunger; otherwise it’s just a craving. I get sugar/carb cravings all the time, even when I know I’m not hungry, so that was very helpful advice. To some extent, eating a bit of salt can help with cravings, though not always.
Another bit of advice you’ll see often around here is, if you get hungry between meals (i.e., real hunger, not a craving), eat something fatty, and then increase your calories at the next meal. The reasoning is that we want to keep insulin low for as much of the day as possible, and insulin goes up every time we eat.
I have to admit, however, that I occasionally give in to my cravings, but when I do I try to eat a keto food, instead of the sugar and carbohydrate I’m yearning for.
I mix 1 tbs Braggs Raw Apple Cider vinegar into about 20oz of water and drink it really quickly with a straw. I always use a straw because it can wear out the enamel on your grill otherwise. Plus drinking with no straw leaves such an annoying feeling on my teeth that it makes me cringe lol. Almost like nails on a chalkboard, tho only in feeling, not sound. Lol
Here is a four minute summary of one of my favorite books, “The Power of Habit” https://fourminutebooks.com/the-power-of-habit-summary/
Read it and then consider getting the book! It’s helped me tremendously.
I drink bone broth if I’m snacky but not hungry. I keep a jug of it in my fridge and make more every week.
Jason Fung’s top 5 natural appetite suppressants:
While he recommends these things to fasters to help combat hunger, they might also help in the short term.
Reminds me of this article, that talks about how long it takes to form a new habit. For those of you not interested in clicking the link, a study of 96 people over 12 weeks found:
On average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact. And how long it takes a new habit to form can vary widely depending on the behavior, the person, and the circumstances. In Lally’s study, it took anywhere from 18 days to 254 days for people to form a new habit.
I really do need to make more. Ive made it one time and it tasted like ass. At first the smell was great, and then… after like 10hours it changed lol. Like the walking dead soup de jour.
What do you put in yours? Mine was lazy and just grass fed beef bones and fresh thyme lol. Couldnt expect much from that tbh.
Hahaha no one wants to drink ass soup!!
Well I find that beef bone broth tastes a bit funkier then say chicken.
I always toast the bones first. 20 mins at 450°
I keep a scraps bag in my freezer of veggie ends- onions, carrots, broccoli etc
I cook it in the crockpot overnight then cool it, strain it and keep it in a jug. I add lots of salt and pepper.
Sometimes (don’t tell) I buy a rotisserie chicken from the store for dinner cuz I [spoiler]fucking[/spoiler] LOVE rotisserie chickens and I make broth from the carcass. I’m sure it’s not the “best” kind of bone broth but it tastes amazing and does the trick
If you have an Instant Pot pressure cooker, you can cook it in about 2-3 hours. You still get nice gelatinous bone broth (with the right bones). You can add onion, celery, carrot, a bit of apple cider vinegar. Then add salt and pepper to taste. Salt fixes everything imo. Lol
When you feel the urge to snack just because and not for true hunger, then you need to find another activity to occupy your mind. Go for a walk, go for a drive, read a good book, get your self out of the house and busy doing something.
I’ve had the same problem. Old habits are hard to break. I just had to get it into my head that I didn’t need to snack.
When I do snack, I have a fat bomb. That usually hits the spot.
TBH so do I. I mean for like $4.99-$5.99 how could you afford NOT to get it? I kill those things all the time, they’re so handy. I’ve made broth from the rotisserie carcass too, so you’re not alone!! It’s certainly economical and there’s health benefits there. Sure it may not be organic, but it’s gotta be better than Swanson or College Inn broths. Whole Foods has organic ones, but all I have to do is walk into the doorway of Whole Foods and I bleed dollar bills all over the floor.
@kandescent by cooking it in the pressure cooker, does it still make the house stink? I was mulling over the idea of a pressure cooker, just don’t know if it’s in my budget at the moment. Sure beats the 30 hours I slow cooked my first batch of bone broth. I think if I make the apartment smell like that again, I will have a hit put out on me.