Lack of hunger on low carb

kmsnyg

Do you make yourself eat even if you are not hungry?

Switched from mod carb to low carb (around 50 g/day) and have found that I sometimes don't have an appetite. I still count calories and carbs, and schedule myself to eat about 1300 calories a day but some days I just don't feel like eating (guess I'm going in and out of ketosis).

Do you force yourself to eat? Or do you just eat when you are hungry? And if you don't force yourself to eat, do you worry that you aren't eating enough?

MyriiStorm

No, if I'm not hungry, I just don't eat. It all evens out, because other days I'm hungry all day for no apparent reason.

Don't force yourself to eat if you are not hungry, as long as over time you are getting enough nourishment to stay healthy.

auntstephie321

Don't force yourself to eat. You will have days where you feel like eating everything, they balance out. Just follow your hunger cues, eat when hungry don't eat when not hungry.

kmsnyg

Great, thanks! That is what I was hoping to hear, because it seems weird to force yourself to eat if you aren't hungry. And I do have days where I'm hungry all day, so I'll just make sure I'm eating a bit more on those days to balance it out, as you both suggested.

Cyndi146

Same as above. Some days my calories are just so low I get a little concerned and then the next day I make up for it before noon. Eat when you're hungry. Don't force yourself when you're not.

RowdysLady

I'd like to say "Nope, sure don't" but I can't seem to get away from habit eating lately. I'm trying. But for your question - no reason to eat if you are not hungry. Your body is telling you it's good. I wish I thought I needed to worry about eating more. I feel like I'm starving these days but a month ago, I was always getting yelled at by MFP because my calories were too low when I logged my diary. It all balances out methinks.

ETA: corrected bad sentence structure.

spruitt417

Not being hungry used to worry me as well, but now it doesn't phase me. I eat according to cues from my body, not the clock

Sunny_Bunny_

The low appetite is why keto works. Don't force yourself to eat.
The most important thing to learn for long term success is how to only eat when hungry and only eat until satisfied.
Forget about all this idea people have about how they absolutely must eat X grams of fat a day... no. You just need to eat meals that contain a high percent of fat as compared to carbs and protein. The reason for it is so that you won't be hungry again in 3 hours. We need to eat less (less often that is) to allow our bodies to use body fat. It's really hard to do that if you're hungry all the time. If you can't go 4 or 5 hours between meals without snacks, you're probably not getting enough fat at that meal. It's not about how many grams a day total you eat. It's about eating enough per meal to keep you satisfied for several hours.