Starving during the first week! Please help!

(Anastasiya Russo) #1

Hello,
So I am almost done my first week of keto and my hunger is almost unbearable. I eat until I am full and satisfied and then 1 hour later I am so hungry as if I have never eaten in the first place. Before doing keto I did a high-carb and high-fat vegan diet and lost a lot of weight on it without counting calories (no processed food). However, I was still always hungry and had blood sugar issues 3 hours after eating. So this is why I decided to start keto to fix this issue. I thought I would be so satisfied on keto but I am not. I did get keto flu and its better now but I am actually so much hungrier on this diet than I ever was eating vegan meals (eg. a whole plate of pasta). Why is this? its so frustrating for me. I can’t go longer than an hour without feeling extreme hunger. I have no cravings for carbs or sugar so that is suprising. Will the hunger pass? I am scared that I might do more harm to my body than good following this diet…

Sample meal:
3 fried eggs
a lot cheese
avocado
Salad with kale, spinach, cucumber, and tomatoes
walnuts
olive oil and vinegar

(Robert C) #2

It might be a good idea to drop them salad and add in a ribeye steak.

I suggest that because you were vegetarian and did not mention any meat in your meal.

You might be suffering from a nutrient deficiency (iron or something else you’ll find in meat) and your body is pushing you to eat hoping to find the missing nutrient (probably found in something you’ve long avoided eating).

This is just a theory - I am not a doctor or in any way a medical professional.

(Anastasiya Russo) #3

I do eat meat sometimes, mostly fish. But i generally cannot stomach almost all meat so that is why i went vegan in the first place. Vegan keto is hard so I am doing vegetarian keto for the first little while and hopefully once my body adjusts I will do vegan keto. I have blood work and tests done all the time, I am not deficient in any nutrients. Like I said, I was much more satisfied doing the high carb vegan diet, despite still having blood sugar issues…thanks for the reply :slight_smile:

#4

Might be leptin resistance after being on the high carb diet.

You’re only a week in! You’re most likely still overcoming problems/going through withdrawals caused by your high carb diet. I don’t think keto is at fault here. Try to give it a few more weeks.

#5

I can’t in good conscience recommend anybody do Vegan Keto, even if it is theoretically possible. Even Vegetarian Keto I think you’re going to have an uphill battle. I think the best thing is to invest in some really fatty fish - like salmon - and then pile on the fats on top of the veggies, and keep eating the eggs. It’s the combination of protein and fat that leads to long-lasting satiety, you’ll need to find ways to make sure you’re hitting your protein.

(Troy) #6

Some Info here I shared before.
Later in this WOE, the individual did go to more meat though
To each their own

Good Luck😄

(Diane) #7

When I first started keto, I was hungry all the time. It took about 2 weeks or so for me to start feeling satisfied. My hunger decreased drastically after that first adjustment period.

Although your body can start producing ketones as soon as your glycogen stores are depleted (maybe after 3 days or so for many people), it takes awhile for your various types of tissues to become better able to burn the ketones for energy. This “fat adaption” process is gradual until you hit a tipping point. This occurs at about 6 to 8 weeks for most people.

Your hunger is possibly a sign that while your body is producing ketones, it isn’t good. at burning them efficiently to fuel your energy needs yet. So, you aren’t providing your body with carbs (glucose) for fuel and you don’t efficiently or effectively burn ketones very well. You are also in the process of weening your brain off of the VERY addictive glucose that it is used to getting.

What helped me was to not worry about how much I was eating for those first two weeks. I ate as much and as often as I needed. I kept the carbs under 20 net grams per day. I ate adequate protein and lots of fat. After about 10 days to 2 weeks my hunger decreased dramatically. I was soon able to eat 3 discrete meals per day (no more snacking). Now, I hardly ever eat more than two meals a day.

Supplementing with a good quality MCT oil (with known C8 & C10 levels) can help during this adjustment period. If you decide to try using one, start cautiously (maybe 1 tsp per day, with food) to avoid gastric distress (AKA disaster pants!).

Hang in there! You’re body is making a huge adjustment by switching its primary source of energy. This gets better quickly.

Good luck!

(Marius the butter craving dude) #8

This brings back memory of my first week… I would arrive home and go to bed and hope to go asleep as fast as I can so the day ends… while my body hurt of hunger. By the second week things started to normalize. After that it is ok.
I also eat lard like crazy in the start.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #9

Eat whenever you are hungry at first - my hunger started diminishing around the four month mark. It may take a while, but it will happen. Let it happen naturally.

#10

Your body doesn’t know what to do yet.
Eat.

#11

Welcome.

Don’t be afraid to eat until you are rather full. The keto diet doesn’t rely on starvation.

Once you’re burning ketones and fat you will probably not feel like eating much so you’ll be right in a couple of weeks.

Meantime don’t starve yourself. Go for it guilt free.

(Scott) #12

Eat, but no carbs

(Frank) #13

Can you stomach ground beef? Is it a visual issue or a moral issue? No judgment here at all.

(Anita Quinto Quirk) #14

Stay calm and be assured that you will not harm yourself doing keto.
The harm has come from carb loading and it is great that you are doing this, because
long term you will avoid serious damage to your body that would have continued doing your vegan diet.
Fat is a key factor for satiety in your diet. Are you doing bulletproof coffee? That is coffee with
grass fed butter ( 1-2 tlbsp ) with or without mct oil it is very good for you. Drink water and keep your salt intake up. ( himalayan or celtic salt or combo will provide your electrolyes )
Even canned oysters in water, drain and add olive oil is a great source of fat and protein.
My understanding is that in the first 2 weeks of keto your metabolism will target the fat in your liver and begin removing that and people often find their abdomens then also shed size. Given that you are diabetic and insulin resistant it may take longer for adjustment. Eat until you have a full feeling and resist any snacking as this will also allow your liver a chance to rest and adjust.
I was doing really well at first then made the mistake of adding in too many salads and vegies on an already compromised ( leaky gut ?) and suffered from that. I recently went carnivore for 2 weeks and that was THE most gentle thing I could do for my insides. Been adding more back into my diet but will never do artifical sweetners or bake with psyllium husks or almond meal as they are irritants for me. Everyone is different so go slow and listen to your body. Sleep well also.
Good luck

(Omar) #15

do you have any IBS issue or any digestive track issue?