Protein Intake

(Kate) #1

Hi everyone!
I am wondering how everyone else manages their protein intake.
I started Keto 4 days and I am already down almost 3 kg! But I’m struggling with keeping my protein on track.
Yesterday was the toughest because I still had a lot of calories left and also a bit of carbs and fat. I ended up going over the protein a little because I was obviously still hungry from not eating enough foods throughout the day.

Another thing I always hear is that you are never hungry on this diet but I don’t find that with me :pensive: I’m always hungry!!
I look at the recipes online for inspiration but they always focus on the low carbs per serving and never the protein and because I’m hopeless at what’s high protein and what’s low I’m afraid to cook them incase I blow the budget.
Where does everyone get their recipes from?

(*Rusty* Instagram: @Rustyk61) #2

Eat More Fat!!!

(Liz ) #3

I use the app My Fitness Pal & put all the food I expect to eat during the day in there. That way I can see ahead of time what my macros will look like & I can tweak them before I make a meal/eat. You are still very early days & you will find things change over days/weeks/months as you continue on your Keto journey. It took me probably a month to become fat adapted & that’s when my appetite diminished. Everyone has a different timeline. If you are still very hungry, increase your fats. Later you can dial them back and adjust if need be. Keep calm & Keto on!

(Jennifer) #4

You just started and it takes a few weeks or so for your body to switch over to fat burning. It’s like it needs to relearn how to burn fat as your primary fuel. For the first few weeks, I would only concentrate on keeping your carbs ultra low and I would eat a moderate amount of protein and fat till you are full. I would not worry about hitting any macros (except low carbs) or about losing weight your first few weeks.

After a bit, you will start to feel different. You will not be hungry and you will find you can easily skip a meal or two.

About the protein - that’s easy. Meat, eggs, cheese, and nuts. Bacon… Lol.

Also, carb flu can be avoided if you add electrolytes (mostly salt) to your day.

(Kate) #5

That’s so good to know! I knew I was doing good because of the weight drop but I was so confused by the huger.
I figured the answers would be “more fat” but hoping it wouldn’t be. My stomach doesn’t do too well with high fats. Maybe I will just introduce it slowly then.
I was using the my fitness pal too and my friend got me on to the keto diet app which I found is good for us amateurs haha.

Thank you!

(*Rusty* Instagram: @Rustyk61) #6

@Katieb One thing I found out pretty quick is that the longer you eat LCHF, your digestive system actually heals its self and changes. When I first started I didn’t watch the macros at all…other than net carbs. Then after a couple of weeks is when I started watching the macros. And I still struggle to consume enough fat. You will catch yourself doing research on ways to incorporate more fat into your diet.

(Richard Hanson) #7

Good Morning Kate,

Congratulations on the choice to change your life. Awesome! That is Fantastic!

Now you just need a bit a patience for your body to catch up to your mind. Once you start eating low net carb < 20 g/day, it can take a couple of days for your body to burn up all of it’s stored sugar and then weeks before your body becomes adapted to efficiently using fats for fuel.

The intense hunger, raging hunger of a sugar burner will go away. This was, perhaps, the most surprising and amazing aspect of my switch to keto.

To get more fat into your diet without also eating more protein is a bit problematic… Eat More Fat is easy to say, a true statement, but not of much help. I am eating < 50 g/day of protein, some days. :wink:

Add butter, or a fat of your preference, to your veggies.
I add butter and coconut oil to my morning coffee.
The core of my lunch, if not all of it, is one brazil-nut, an ounce of pecans, and two tbs of coconut oil.

This will leave me with almost all of my protein available for dinner so that I can enjoy that meal with family.

Once again, welcome to the forum and congratulation. Ask, ask, ask as many question as you have!

Keto for Life!

Warmest Regards,
Richard

#8

Yeah, my stomach didn’t like me for a few days either but it got with the program. :slight_smile:

^^^Definitely this @Katieb. Richard is a font of keto-wisdom as are many here!
It’ll take a little while to get used to but I add avocado oil (olive is fine, too) to my greens, cook everything in butter, lard, or bacon nectar if I have it.
Look for foods that have a good fat/protein ration. I love country sausage. Macadamia nuts and pecans are also higher fat than protein. There are a lot of options but like everyone here says, it’ll take a while for your body to get used to this.
My kids don’t like eating the fat on their meat so I cut it off and help myself while telling them how silly they are not eating the BEST part! :laughing:
The protein thing is hardest for me to keep figured, too, it’s easy to overdo it.
Good luck with everything!

(Kate) #9

Thanks Richard. This has been really helpful!