Tough love needed. Tell me what to do

(Brian) #21

You’ve mentioned going zero carb. That does seem to be a direction that some do well with.

Just curious if you’ve gone the other direction at all, kind of a “Dr. Berg” approach? He’s big on eating lots and lots and lots of green leafy type stuff, lots of salads. That would contain a lot of bulk without a whole lot of fat, protein, and if you’re careful about what goes in, even the carbs. He seems to be big on eating veggies and then keeping the other parts of the macros a little more subdued, like the moderation in protein.

I’m not saying he’s right or wrong, just curious if you’ve already been down that road. It’s where I tend to be which is probably why I have to intentionally make sure I’m getting my protein. As a former vegetarian, I still do love some good veggies.

#22

Hmmm…I don’t really cook. When I was zero carb, I’d eat mostly ground beef burgers, eggs, chicken thighs, and steak. I might add a little oil to the chicken thighs or steak when cooking, but otherwise I didn’t use much oil. When I switched over to higher fat, I REALLY didn’t cook–I ate mostly cheese, nuts, and avocados. Kinda enjoyed not cooking actually… But I don’t mind cooking if I have to.

#23

Brian, I haven’t really tried going that route. I guess I feel like I don’t want to “waste” my carbs on something I don’t LOVE, and I don’t really LOVE veggies. I like them, I just don’t love them. I’m willing to spend my carbs on spinach because it’s so low in carb. Don’t really want to spend them on cauliflower, brussel sprouts, etc. But it’s an interesting idea. Might be a much worthy spend than spending them on nuts, if nuts are going to make me hungry.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #24

Well, it was a thought, anyway. Good luck figuring out which way to go. Keep us posted!

(mags) #25

In my second month of keto I was ravenously hungry. I couldn’t understand it because everyone said to eat fat to satiety and the hunger would be controlled. I did up my fats. I’m a great fan of olives to increase fat. It probably took another 6wks or so of slamming down the fat and now I find that my hunger is under control. You will get there. I’ve lost about 35lbs now but then I have a lot more than you to lose. Good luck.

#26

Thanks. So glad I’m not the only one…

(Teresa (turtle)) #27

Maybe still do zero carb/carnivore and eating an approximate ratio of 1:1 protein:fat?

(Deborah ) #28

I’m a newbie myself (2-1/2 weeks), but I’ll throw this out there since I haven’t seen anyone else mention it. Are you getting enough salt? I have noticed that when I occasionally get hungry and my stomach’s rumbling, if I just eat some salt, I’m fine. I’ll just put some in my palm and eat it right off my hand.

Coincidence? I don’t know, but it seems to work for me.

Good luck on your journey and I hope you find an answer soon.

#29

Yep that’s what I’m going to do. Just picked up some psyllium husk capsules since the only negative about zero carb was the impact on my bathroom habits. Hoping the psyllium will help.

#30

I think I’m getting enough salt but I’m not sure. I will say though that salty, greasy foods are the only things that really make me feel full–such as the pork rinds I ate this morning. But I figured they were making me feel in a bloated kind of way, not a healthy kind of way. Don’t know if that makes any sense…

#31

I know how you feel about the hunger- I get like that too, it frightens me how much I can put away once I start! But I’ve been building up EF, & I find the days that I fast aren’t exactly easier, but knowing I’m not going to eat somehow makes it better, knowing that I don’t have to stress about how many carbs I’ve eaten etc. I can be strict about not eating, I find it not easier to eat at all than to do IF for example. I guess I’m pretty all or nothing! Have you tried fasting, could you build that up? I genuinely feel less hungry on FDs than I do on eating days!

(Tina Emmons) #32

Forgive me if I’m wrong here but it doesn’t sound like you’re overweight! We may have very different frames but I’m 5’7" and would consider 160 to be a goal weight. If it’s a matter of a few pounds, that’s gonna take awhile and if you feel good doing IF, I’d try a bit more and use exercise to get the look you want. After hundreds of hours of research I’m doing keto for my health(hoping the scale starts to move too) but if you just want weight loss, you have soooo little to lose that I would just hang in. Not sure how we can say you sound insulin resistant with 13 pounds on you either. Sounds like a pretty normal metabolism to me. Good luck!

#33

The only times I ever fasted more than a day, I ended up binging massively afterward. This was a few years ago, pre-keto. The last few weeks, I consistently fasted from about 7 pm til 12, so about 17 hours. But I would eat a LOT during those 7 hours–more than if I hadn’t fasted. I tried it for a few weeks but I don’t think IF is for me. At least I know I shouldn’t force it because I’ll just eat more during my feeding window. If it comes naturally at some point, then that would be great.

#34

I’m not really overweight but I have flab around my stomach right now that wasn’t there when I weighed 154. I also have big thighs but that’s never going to change–it’s just my shape. I can definitely stand to lose a few, down to 150 though.

#35

Yeah I feel the same with IF, but have found EF easier; I can still eat a lot at the end, but at least I’ve had a couple of days break from food! I hope you can find the answer, good luck!

(Megan Hutchison) #36

Someone else mentioned Dr. Berg’s take - about eating lots of vegetables and I would second that. I am new to keto and to here, but Dr. Fung also talks about eating plenty of healthy fiber filled (non starchy) vegetables. This should help satiate you and are still a good vehicle for lots of good fats (evoo and avocado oil). Can also add fatty toppings like olives and avocado. Perhaps your body is craving the nutrients? Either way the fiber will slow your digestion and help fill you up.

An easy go to is just a bag of prewashed mixed power greens topped with lots of evoo and vinegar. +Whatever keto friendly veggies and toppings you want. Just my two cents.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #37

I would hold off on fasting until you get the hunger issue under control. It’s clearly too soon.

(Barbara) #38

Hang in there…!! I am close to where you are weight wise. I have been listening to 2ketodudes…
one thing they said really stuck with me no eating after 5 pm…you will not lose weight eating late in the evening… I noticed when I keep within a early afternoon time frame, I don’t eat after 3 or 4 pm I drop a 1/2 to 1 lb daily… also I cut back on dairy and cheese… that has helped also…
I have had a couple cheat days too my weight increased 4 lbs just like that… completely took me out of keto…
a complete fast day to get me back in keto…water, coffee, bone broth…
It’s so worth it to get into skinny jeans :jeans: :upside_down_face::stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
When you listen to how bad sugar and processed foods are for your health not to mention cancer risks , you can’t even want to look back…

#39

Thanks everyone. Yesterday I ate only meat and mascarpone cheese and I felt like the hunger was much more under control. I think I still ate a high amount of calories, but I didn’t constantly feel like I could eat a horse.

I think what happened was that when I switched from zero carb to traditional keto, I was able to add a LOT of stuff back to my diet that was really delicious–stuff like avocados, nuts, various cheeses. So every day felt like a cheat day and I started to really eat for pleasure rather than hunger. When you eat for pleasure, you never get full. I NEVER got full. I hope I can add those things back to my diet someday, but I need to get the hunger under control first. Also, what I’ve learned is that I should add things back slowly…not all at once.