Snacking?

KittenToni

I was wondering (and this might be covered somewhere and I overlooked, if so I apologize) about snacking between meals. A Keto group i belong to on Facebook posted that they didn't want anyone to post about snacking between meals, and I haven't heard about that effecting weight loss in this lifestyle before. Any thoughts?

joolieb1

Great minds think alike, I gave up bread and so my usual supper of buttered toast is out. Don't really fancy some of the things suggested on the Internet - smokey bacon and brussel sprouts and as I don't eat cheese or yoghutprt, I will just be going hungry tonight! No pain, no gain LOL

Sunny_Bunny_

I think that group is a bit hard core! Lol
My thoughts about snacking...
I say eat if you're hungry. Actually hungry. I think learning to do that is greatly important to long term success. But, if you're getting hungry every few hours, I think there is likely an issue with food choices. It's highly unusual to feel actually hungry that often while Keto.
So, I personally think feeling the need to snack between meals is a symptom that should be looked into to find the cause.

GaleHawkins

I just had a pickle boiled egg. That gave me some sodium and the vinegar to lower my Insulin level. The nice part about LCHF is you eat when you want to eat unless doing IF at the time.

nvmomketo

I tend to snack, especially on my version of BPC. I generally have one on the go at all times between 8am and 4pm.

I agree to eat if hungry. I think there is value is fasting between meals but if it leaves you hungry or unhappy, it probably isn't the way to go for you right now.

LowCarbInScotland

I prefer to eat small meals throughout the day as it reduces my need to inject insulin. I'll have miso soup with some tamari as a snack and to increase my sodium, deviled eggs are always satisfying, a babybel and pickle used to be my go to snack and in the evening, now I'll have a cup of tea and a square of 99% chocolate and a square of 90% chocolate.

ettaterrell

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

I think that group is a bit hard core! Lol
My thoughts about snacking...
I say eat if you're hungry. Actually hungry. I think learning to do that is greatly important to long term success. But, if you're getting hungry every few hours, I think there is likely an issue with food choices. It's highly unusual to feel actually hungry that often while Keto.
So, I personally think feeling the need to snack between meals is a symptom that should be looked into to find the cause.

^^^this

I had to have snacks when I first started after first few weeks of cleaning all sugar out of my system they went away. The only time I got hungry over 7 months was when it was "time to eat" now I've added some sweets (sugar free stuff) back into my diet since Easter and I am hungry all the time again... Even after I eat I want something else!! So if your hungry a lot between meals cut al sugars (artificial to) out of diet unless it comes from veggies. And you'll stop wanting not snacks.
Other wise if you have room for snacks go for it.... Just make good choices that fit in ur macros and never get hungry! I feel most people fail at dieting because they allow their selves to get hungry and then they go off course (if I don't eat when hungry I'll eat what ever is easy bad or not lol)

LowCarbInScotland

GaleHawkins wrote: »

I just had a pickle boiled egg. That gave me some sodium and the vinegar to lower my Insulin level. The nice part about LCHF is you eat when you want to eat unless doing IF at the time.

I've been trying to get more fermented foods into my diet as I'm pretty sure my worsened rosacea is a result of bad bacterial behaviour in my body after the major changes I've made over the last few months. So I saw your post @GaleHawkins and I thought I'd add pickled eggs to my growing list. Oh boy! That was not what I expected! It was like eating straight vinegar

Do yours taste like that? Do you have any tips for making them taste better? It sounds like you just eat them in their own, I don't think I can do that. Have you tried adding them into another dish? I tried making deviled eggs with them and that was a disaster.

GaleHawkins

@PaleoInScotland mine taste is more salt/light in the vinegar. I got mine at a local walmart.

For the last 1.5 years I have been eating a boiled egg each morning. I just am playing around with the pickled egg. I like the taste personally. Remember vinegar is thought to lower insulin levels. The beet juice makes the eggs a pale pink.

I expect my high usage of coconut oil helps manage my count of bad bacteria and I do take probiotics from time to time.

What we eat is very optional so the eggs may not be a good fit for you. At my age I think I just eat for calories but I am learning I can learn to like most things after being off sugar for 1.5 years and my taste buds have recovered.

reblazed

I've never made my own, but just dropping the boiled eggs in the left over dill pickle juice or pickled beet juice brings the eggs to a whole new level. YUM

wheatlessgirl66

Ooo. I'm gonna try some pickled hb eggs!

LowCarbInScotland

Thanks @GaleHawkins it's so funny how your tastes change with this woe. Other than pickled onions, I've always loathed the taste of pickled foods, now I can't get enough! This is the first thing I've come across lately that doesn't do it for me. Sounds like your brand uses a very different recipe. I think I may start being brave and trying my own recipes as the idea of a pickled egg still sounds so good to me.

Foamroller

OP, IMO snacking is conterproductive to mobilizing from STORED fat. Can someone lose weight with snacks? Sure, especially if you're like a 25 years old 300 lbs physically active male. If someone is, for example 60 yo sedentary female, snacking eats up the calorie budget really fast.

So WHY is snacking not good for fat loss? Well, the body is both smart and a bit lazy. It will take energy from the easy parts first, bloodsugar, triglycerides and FFA in blood, glycogen in muscle and liver.

If you keep toppling on easy calories with snacks....well...then the body has no reason or incentive to burn from the STORED fat in adipose tissue, right?

This is also why doing lots of butter and oils in the morning is a drinkable breakfast. Just because the keto breakfast isn't spiking insulin, it's still a 200-500 (or more) kcal energy drink.

Insulin is the dominant fat storage hormone. But it's not the only player in the field. Highly elevated cortisol levels tend to burn the easy energy but store visceral fat. The cortisol you get from exercise is the good kind, cause it naturally winds down. The cortisol you get from constant stress and worrying is very bad cause it doesn't lower by itself.

Fructose doesn't raise insulin much. Yet it looks like high intake of fructose is one of the major reasons people get NAFLD. Since the liver is the metabolism general...It goes without saying that a liver at reduced capacity is very detrimental to metabolism.

TL;DR Give the body a reason to burn stored fat. Snacking prevents mobilizing from stored fat.

Sunny_Bunny_

I very much agree with @Foamroller

I do still stand by the opinion that if you're hungry, eat. But I definitely stress that learning what true hunger is, is so vital to making that work. Because the hormones she mentioned can make you think you're hungry. Those hormones are able to be controlled however, if not entirely, at least enough that we can get some relief from the between meal "hungries".
It seems the most success with that comes by keeping carbs nice and low and fats high on a per meal basis. Not necessarily meaning you must hit that fat goal exactly. Just that each meal needs to have a good amount of fat to keep you satisfied and "teach" your body what you prefer it to burn during your in between meal times when your out of consumed energy.
It's certainly going to be most productive to have plenty of time each day where you're burning body fat instead of consumed energy every 3-4 hours.