I can't believe I never thought of this before!
daylitemag
Posts: 604 Member
I'm not quite one month into this new WOE but I am down approx 16 LBS. I'm happy with that loss and hope to see it continue. If I can lose 10LBS per month I will be more than satisfied.
As I've said before, the main advantage I can see to this WOE (so far) is the lack of hunger. That is new for me. In the past whenever I tried to lose weight I would always be hungry while consuming more or less the same number of calories per day with the only difference being Carbs. I can only surmise that somehow or other eating Carbs makes me hungry.
What I have been able to do is completely stop eating lunch. This is a totally new tactic for me. Because my breakfast is so large and filling I find that I am not really hungry during the day. I do start to feel a bit headache'y around 2pm. At that time I eat a small packet of Almonds (140 Calories) and that will see me through until I get home. When I get home I immediately eat 8 cooked shrimp (cold) with cocktail sauce. Very low carb, high protein and only about 140 Calories. This will take the edge off of any hunger I may be feeling so that when I eat dinner I am not starving. This makes it easier to avoid any carbs at dinner.
Not eating lunch is a great technique for me. I have ADD tendencies and for me not having to think about something makes my life much easier. In the past, when I would eat lunch, I often would forget to bring something from home (there's your ADD at work). This, coupled with eating a bunch of carbs at breakfast, would find me very hungry and without any sensible food at lunch time. This naturally would lead to poor eating decisions and easily going off plan - almost without knowing it. However, by simply eliminating lunch I don't have that problem, and have probably reduced my weekly Caloric intake by 6000 or more. Best of all, this feels like something I can do permanently.
As I've said before, the main advantage I can see to this WOE (so far) is the lack of hunger. That is new for me. In the past whenever I tried to lose weight I would always be hungry while consuming more or less the same number of calories per day with the only difference being Carbs. I can only surmise that somehow or other eating Carbs makes me hungry.
What I have been able to do is completely stop eating lunch. This is a totally new tactic for me. Because my breakfast is so large and filling I find that I am not really hungry during the day. I do start to feel a bit headache'y around 2pm. At that time I eat a small packet of Almonds (140 Calories) and that will see me through until I get home. When I get home I immediately eat 8 cooked shrimp (cold) with cocktail sauce. Very low carb, high protein and only about 140 Calories. This will take the edge off of any hunger I may be feeling so that when I eat dinner I am not starving. This makes it easier to avoid any carbs at dinner.
Not eating lunch is a great technique for me. I have ADD tendencies and for me not having to think about something makes my life much easier. In the past, when I would eat lunch, I often would forget to bring something from home (there's your ADD at work). This, coupled with eating a bunch of carbs at breakfast, would find me very hungry and without any sensible food at lunch time. This naturally would lead to poor eating decisions and easily going off plan - almost without knowing it. However, by simply eliminating lunch I don't have that problem, and have probably reduced my weekly Caloric intake by 6000 or more. Best of all, this feels like something I can do permanently.
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Great job! Keep it up!0
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Glad it's working for you!0
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It's wonderful to not be hungry all the time! I have had the same experience and can only say that giving up carbs was the best I did for myself, ever.
Congrats on your results!
::flowerforyou::0 -
I still get hungry but it's not quite as bad as before
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Isn't it amazing! I think it's quite common (and a wonderful side effect). I as well am able to eat only twice a day now. Sometimes only once depending on what's going on and what/when we eat. It's so liberating!! I used to be hunger all the time, even after eating so calorie restricting diets were hell. Now, I eat almost zero carb accept for the occaisional salad if I'm out for dinner or special ocaisions. The lack of hunger is definitely worth eating this way for life. I've been roughly zero carb since May 2015 and I KNOW I won't go back.
I have a life and control of my thoughts (instead of constantly thinking of food) for the first time in my life. 39 years!
Congratulations and welcome to the club. I am so glad you got to this point.
@wtskinner sometimes if you're eating artificial sweetner this can affect hunger signals in some people. When I'm eating AS on any kind of regular basis I am definitely more hungry. Just a thought. 0 -
I definitely agree about the artificial sweetener possibly creating false hunger. I can handle a certain amount every day, but if I make Keto desserts or sweet fat bombs and try to feed my sweet tooth with Keto friendly versions, forget it! I can't get enough! I just want more and more sweets! I really just need to stick with my coffee syrup and 85% dark chocolate and my low carb yogurt for satisfying any need for sweetness. If I get more than that, I can start to feel the cravings.
But, as long as I start my day out with my Keto coffee and get about 200-300 calories from coconut oil and hwc, I'm pretty much under control all day. Even when I've had times of increased hunger, I'm able to stay at or below maintenance calories while allowing more food.0 -
Yay for you!! You have achieved the freedom from food that this woe provides!! And isn't it truly simple once you get here!! Power over food is an amazing thing! I am so happy for you!!
You are correct! Eating higher carb will induced cravings, and the feeling of starving all day!0 -
Congratulations on your progress and sticking at it0
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Well done, thrilled to hear it's working out for you. I am finding it very hard to stay under my 15 carbs per day. I am amazed at those that can be carb free for days. I am a veg lover and even though I know they contain carbs I find life too hard without them. They are sneaky carbs though. However I am still losing so I won't moan. I also find this way of eating far easier than CICO.0
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For me it's not hunger, more like a habit of picking at food in the evenings, such a bad habit.0
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"If I can lose 10LBS per month I will be more than satisfied."
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Please make a plan now to handle the weeks and months when you may not lose at your schedule..it happens all the time to many of us. It might not effect you, but chances are there is a plateau time where the body does what it WANTS to, no consideration of your schedule of losing. This is when commitment counts.
Usually it seems the joy and enthusiasm to stay on Keto can get you through the tougher times…
with ADD maybe making a goal list of daily carbs, or a list of snack foods, or whatever helps you stay with the LCHF plan. If you need distractions like gym time, or books or video education on youtube, they can help support your intention too.
Best of luck on keeping this WOE long term.0 -
I leave my lunch at home all the time...I call it middle age!0
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I have cut way back on the diet cokes, I am down to only 1 - 2 cans a day now. Maybe that is helping.0
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One piece of advice I can give, is take measurements. Lots of measurements, on every part of your body. There will be many weeks where you lose inches without shedding a single pound. The measurements will carry you through that frustration and help keep you motivated, at least it does for me.
Good luck on your journey!0 -
cynlyn2010 wrote: »One piece of advice I can give, is take measurements. Lots of measurements, on every part of your body. There will be many weeks where you lose inches without shedding a single pound. The measurements will carry you through that frustration and help keep you motivated, at least it does for me.
Good luck on your journey!
Thanks!0 -
For me it's not hunger, more like a habit of picking at food in the evenings, such a bad habit.
I hear you. Those habits are always in the back of my mind. It is much MUCH easier just to give in and have what you want, when you want it rather than pushing through and avoiding those things. I'm pretty sure this is addictive behaviour for me.0 -
I have cut way back on the diet cokes, I am down to only 1 - 2 cans a day now. Maybe that is helping.
I've cut them out totally. In my case it wasn't too hard as I was down to one can per day. I will still have diet coke when I go to the movies with my wife. That's one treat that I don't want to give up. But I think the daily pop thing for me is a gateway to other sweet things. I'm not yet convinced that artificial sweetners effect hunger, but diet coke was my only source so with it gone I don't have to worry.0 -
cynlyn2010 wrote: »One piece of advice I can give, is take measurements. Lots of measurements, on every part of your body. There will be many weeks where you lose inches without shedding a single pound. The measurements will carry you through that frustration and help keep you motivated, at least it does for me.
Good luck on your journey!
Thanks for the advice. I used to measure and I might go back to doing so. At my size it isn't easy to measure accurately and I often obsess that I am making errors. However, I definitely enjoy seeing the difference in my clothes and that is my biggest motivator and sign that things are working. This time around (yes, it's not my first rodeo) the initial weight loss is definitely most noticeable around my belly. I've already had to buy new underwear as my old ones were falling off of me. Luckily I have a variety of sizes in my closet so as I go down in weight I can once again wear things that I haven't been able to for some time. I'd say with about 5 more lbs I will be wearing a couple of nice suits that I haven't been able to wear in about a year. I like that.
@KETOGENICGURL - Thank you. Yes, I've experienced the dreaded plateau before. I hate it but it doesn't really put me off. I know that the losses will start again. For me the issue is really staying focused over the long term. It's when I lose focus that I slip back into my old habits. I like your advice about having good snacks available. I'm definitely doing that. While I am generally finding I don't need to snack I do have things like nuts around so that I can have something good, once in a while. One odd thing I've started doing (or at least my wife things it is odd) is having a club soda with lots of ice and a good wedge of lemon. Not so weird...yet. But then when I finish the soda (and the ice) I will suck on the lemon and eat the pulp. My wife looks at me like I'm a loon, but I find the sharp taste really "pops" for me and is a nice change from meat/eggs, cheese. It's not sugar, but it hits my taste buds with something fresh and powerful.0
