Still wanting to eat?

keto
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(Adam) #1

Hello all, I’ve been doing keto for a little over two months. I am just wondering if the desire to eat goes away. Normally when I am at work, or doing something, I can go awhile without eating no problem. But for example, on the weekends, I get the desire to eat, even if I am not super hungry.
Does that go away?
Is that a problem eating multiple times a day?

(Marianne) #2

Welcome.

I find when I am bored, I am more tempted to eat. At those time, I just have to find something to do and it passes. Are you eating enough at your meals? Getting enough fat?

(Joey) #3

@Hawkin2000 Greetings and welcome to the forum.

Congratulations on reaching the two month mark. You haven’t mentioned how you’re feeling … care to share any comments on that score?

@gingersmommy noted above, what kind of activity we’re involved with can affect our sense of hunger, given the strong associations/habits we’ve developed over the years.

Notwithstanding advice about intermittent fasting and 18/6-type eating windows, while you’re still somewhat new to keto (I’m only 3-4 months along myself), I would encourage you to eat when hungry, as long as you’re diligent about what it is you’re eating.

The key over the long run is to eat healthy fats (and prudent levels of protein) to satiety. Sure, it’s not wise to load up on food shortly before bedtime, and waiting a bit before eating when you wake up is also not a bad idea… but most importantly while you’re still early on and fat-adaptation is underway: When you’re hungry, eat.

(Does it go away? Most likely it will. But you can’t rush your body to adjust the way you will uniquely experience things, so let go of the preconceptions and expectations based on how others have found their adaptations to go.)

Best wishes for your continued success.

(Adam) #4

I do believe I am getting enough fat. I am eating mostly carnivore, so I eat a lot of 70/30 or 80/20 ground beef. But I don’t exactly have an eating schedule, I almost always skip breakfast, and am on and off for lunch depending on the days and how I feel.

(Joey) #5

Again, sounds like you’re doing great. When hungry: eat!
This keto thing does not involve deprivation :wink:

#6

I agree with @gingersmommy. That sounds like boredom eating. My kitchen is four steps away from where I hang out the most in my house. If I’m watching TV for a bit, I just naturally get up and walk into the kitchen and open the fridge. That’s also from years of doing that and snacking all the time. It’s a habit.

But when I am doing yardwork or cleaning or just not sitting around doing nothing, I don’t even think about eating. Like you said, when you’re doing something, you’re fine. When you’re not, you’re wanting to eat. Stay busy and hang in there.

Do make sure you’re eating enough. Sometimes it’s hard to actually take in enough food with one meal a day. Just a thought.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #7

I do the same, if I hang near the kitchen area, I end up in there. So when I fast, I go upstairs and work on the computer or watch the upstairs tv which uses a Fire TV box, so I can avoid commercials.

My husand always has said, “most people eat out of bordom or lack of imagination”. I have come to believe that is very true.

Hawkin200 welcome the the forum and stay busy, so you don’t eat too much. All the best in your Journey.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #8

Some people have difficulty losing the desire to eat and this is amplified if eating has been a social outlet for you and maybe your family. At least that is how it works for me.

I’ve been at this 483 days and some days my satiety signals are absent. I find I need to just do some mental calculations and figure out if I have eaten enough and stop. Most of the time when I stop, maybe 30 minutes later I am satisfied.

I might get hungry 2 hours later but that is not hangry it is mental hunger. Fasting has helped me get in touch with the difference between the two.

This remarkable lady had challenges getting in touch with satiety signals and went full carnivore and fixed it. I’m not carnivore so I’m not recommending it. You have to decide for yourself. I’m just saying that there are some people, for whom keto does not fix satiety signals without some additional work:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #9

Welcome to the forums, Adam!

Are you talking about real hunger, such that you could eat a couple of spoons of butter, or an egg or two, or merely about cravings?

In the first case, eat. You can keep keto snacks handy for such occasions, but better to eat more at your meals, so that you don’t need to snack in the first place. The goal is to keep occasions for insulin secretion to a minimum, as well as to keep the level in your blood at a minimum by eating very little carbohydrate. On a low-carb diet, protein and fat don’t have all that much effect on insulin, but there is some evidence that merely thinking about food can cause insulin to spike. So eat enough at your meals so that you can go hours between meals without hunger pangs.

In the second case, cravings, don’t eat, if at all possible, but if the craving is irresistible, at least eat something proteiny and fatty, and avoid carbohydrate. The cravings will take some time to go away, but there are psychological maneuvers for dealing with them.

First, don’t ever tell yourself that you can never have any carbohydrate ever again in your life. Instead, promise yourself all the doughnuts, garlic bread, or French fries you want—tomorrow. Just not today. Even the worst addict in the world can go 24 hours without a hit, and you can, too. So just take things a day at a time. Have those carbs tomorrow, just not right now.

If you’re the praying sort, ask for a carb-free day, when you wake up. And if you need to, you can pretend you just woke up at any time of the day or night, and ask for a carb-free day, all over again.

Some people find that meditation of one type or another helps fight cravings, whether it be the Hail Mary, the Serenity Prayer, some other mantra, or just sitting still, breathing or staring at a candle—whatever works best for you.

But I guarantee you can go at least five minutes without yielding to a craving, and once the five minutes are up, you can do it again. But get rid of all the carbohydrate in the house, so that if you do yield to temptation, it will be with delicious ketogenic food and not crappy carbohydrate.

#10

I’m having a problem of late as well. I’ve been LCHF/keto for closing in on 20 months. I have lost weight, and had a positive effect on my diabetes. But the last few weeks, I seem to be ravenous. Can’t seem to get a fasting day in, because even when I start out that way, I soon find myself hanging on the fridge door, or throwing together something like a salad, and then it gets serious and the binge is on. I’ve been sticking to pretty much keto foods, but I find myself back to eating until I’m uncomfortable. I’m hoping this passes soon, cause i don’t want to go back there.

(Bunny) #11

That video was an Awesome example!

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #12

Probably the best going carnivore video I’ve seen. What a remarkable transformation she has made. And now her 60 yo mom is carnivore.

(Bob M) #13

I’ve been at this almost 6 years now, and I still don’t understand hunger. I just fasted about 36 hours, ate 4 eggs, a lot of low fat ham, and some blue cheese. It’s been 3 hours, and I’m totally full. What happens at times in situations like this is I’ll go home and really not be that hungry. However, I’ll eat a bit with the kids at dinner. If I do that, I’ll get hungrier. Seems odd.

There are also many hormones involved with hunger. Many we do not understand. Gabor Erdosi is a good guy to follow on Twitter, as he has a lot of studies in this area. But one thing he says that eating slower is better. That’s about the only thing he says works. But it’s possible that some foods can trigger hunger more than others, which is why a lot of prepared foods are hard to stop eating. It may be the same for vegetables, which is why carnivores might be better off (for some).

Sadly, I have the dog’s way of eating: I eat very quickly.

Also, hunger when fasting is odd. It definitely comes in waves.

(Susan) #14

I find the only time I feel really hungry when I am fasting, is at my normal feeding times -so it might be somewhat psychological? Perhaps it is my body just being used to being fed at 1pm and 4:30 so those are the times it gnaws at me to feed it when I am fasting. I find eating some salt, and drinking water or some tea helps a lot to trick my body into thinking it is having something =).

(Marianne) #15

If you have been on this 20 months, I’m sure you could tell me a thing or do how to do this. I’d just say to return to eating three good sized meals a day - things you will enjoy and in enough quantity and with enough fat to hold you comfortably until your next meal. Hopefully if you do this for a week or two (or more), your body will once again feel satisfied enough where you won’t feel compelled to overeat or binge. At that point, you may naturally be able to go back to eating as you were before or re-incorporating fasting.

When I do feel hungry to the point of not wanting to wait until dinner, I’ll get a few things out of the fridge and put them on a plate - pepperoni, hard boiled egg, pickle, cheese, etc. This helps me with portion control and once I eat, I am satisfied. If I stand at the counter and take the pepperoni out of the fridge and start slicing and eating it, and then take the cheese out and do the same, etc., I find it’s harder to control the quantity I am eating. Then it becomes more of eating just to eat.

Good luck.