Insane hunger 3 days in? veganLCHF

rainbowbow

Does anyone have advice? i'm eating GIANT meals (2-3x the volume of what i was eating previous) of very low-carb veggies, tofu, lots and lots of fats, i'm not even in a calorie deficit yet (averaging 2,300 whereas i need to cut down to about 1,500). I'm getting plenty of potassium and sodium and i'm taking extra precautions measuring to make sure i'm getting less than 20g/carbs a day in this initial stage.

At this point It is taking literally all of my willpower not to buy a bagel or a chocolate bar or a cinnamon roll or all of these things i'd normally be fine with avoiding.

What the heck gives? Any advice? Should i stick it out or is keto just not for me?

p.s. I am on day 3 of veganLCHF

kpk54

I've been around the boards for 5 or 6 years and recall seeing you so am guessing you are not new to diet and fitness. Keto isn't for everyone. It is not how I lost my excess weight. My mode was just low carb with a calorie deficit. That said, I seem to be one of the few for whom a high fat diet is effective and when I started my 52 week medically therapeutic keto trial for reason other than weight management ( I had already been at maintenance of a year) I was almost instantly sated from eating so much fat. 75% of my calories in fat. I actually decreased my protein substantially during that trial so was both very low carb and very low protein which is why I feel/know it is the fat that I find satiating.

With the physical fullness, an AWARENESS of my previous HABITS came to light-peering into the refrigerator for something to eat even though I wasn't physically hungry. I recall thinking " if not this (what ever was in the fridge that fit my meager carb and protein macros) then not hunger.

My keto "miracles" had/have nothing to do with "healing" anything except hunger and lousy habits of eating for the sheer joy/comfort/whatever...of eating. I ate for entertainment basically and what was entertaining for me to eat was carby/fatty/salty combos.

I know you are vegan but the concept you mention of eating 2-3 times your previous VOLUME does not compute with me. During weight loss, I leaned towards volume eating with huge piles of low cal vegetables on my plate. My switch to high fat keto caused me to start eating meals out of a little bowl because the volume was so pitifully small. Even at 2300 calories they wouldn't have been what I call "giant". Eating visually tiny meals was a mental/psychological adjustment. I could no longer be visually sated by the mound of food on my plate because it didn't exist. I oftened served up my food thinking, Oh man...is this all there is?

How much dietary fat is "lots of fat"? Others are sated with protein. It's just not my thing. I'll guess you are into weighing measuring your intake?

tcunbeliever

Things to consider:

1 - 3 days is not enough time to know if this is suitable for you, that's not enough time to really adapt to any new eating plan

2 - what time of month is it for you, hormone cycle is a far greater trigger (for me) than any kind of change in eating habits, some days/weeks are just hard to keep the hunger reigned in and it doesn't necessarily have anything at all to do with what you are eating or how much you are eating

3 - there's not a lot you can do about craving a bagel except maybe make a keto one, but if you are craving chocolate have a small piece of dark chocolate, or something high in iron since chocolate cravings are most associated with anemia...if you are craving cinnamon rolls, then maybe try some tea or coffee with cinnamon in it, or a dessert version of tofu with cinnamon and nutmeg or something - for me, feeding the craving with something that fits my food goals can be more effective than trying to ignore it

4 - 20g of carbs is super low, most people can go as high as 50g/day and still easily remain in ketosis, people who exercise daily can go as high as 100g+ and remain in ketosis, maybe allowing yourself more carbs will improve adherence and long term success

rainbowbow

kpk54 wrote: »

I've been around the boards for 5 or 6 years and recall seeing you so am guessing you are not new to diet and fitness. Keto isn't for everyone. It is not how I lost my excess weight. My mode was just low carb with a calorie deficit. That said, I seem to be one of the few for whom a high fat diet is effective and when I started my 52 week medically therapeutic keto trial for reason other than weight management ( I had already been at maintenance of a year) I was almost instantly sated from eating so much fat. 75% of my calories in fat. I actually decreased my protein substantially during that trial so was both very low carb and very low protein which is why I feel/know it is the fat that I find satiating.

With the physical fullness, an AWARENESS of my previous HABITS came to light-peering into the refrigerator for something to eat even though I wasn't physically hungry. I recall thinking " if not this (what ever was in the fridge that fit my meager carb and protein macros) then not hunger.

My keto "miracles" had/have nothing to do with "healing" anything except hunger and lousy habits of eating for the sheer joy/comfort/whatever...of eating. I ate for entertainment basically and what was entertaining for me to eat was carby/fatty/salty combos.

I know you are vegan but the concept you mention of eating 2-3 times your previous VOLUME does not compute with me. During weight loss, I leaned towards volume eating with huge piles of low cal vegetables on my plate. My switch to high fat keto caused me to start eating meals out of a little bowl because the volume was so pitifully small. Even at 2300 calories they wouldn't have been what I call "giant". Eating visually tiny meals was a mental/psychological adjustment. I could no longer be visually sated by the mound of food on my plate because it didn't exist. I oftened served up my food thinking, Oh man...is this all there is?

How much dietary fat is "lots of fat"? Others are sated with protein. It's just not my thing. I'll guess you are into weighing measuring your intake?

Thanks for your reply!

I have been on MFP for roughly 8 years now and I actually work in the fitness industry as well. I also have an additional certification in nutrition so I’m certainly not new to tracking.

It’s time for me to cut after gaining roughly 4kg through mediocre calorie compliance and over-eating post instructing boot camps. Unlike the previous times I’ve dieted successfully tracking calories and eating my most enjoyable sustainable foods, I am ravenously hungry this time around. I’m taking less than 1,800 calories and I feel like I’m ready to go on a 12-donut binge or pint of Ben and Jerry’s in a single sitting.

The worst part is even though high volume (low calorie) worked very well for me in the past I feel like no amount of food is satiating me.

It was suggested to me by a colleague to just try lower carbs and higher fats to see if it allowed me to maintain a calorie deficit.

As it stands now I’m feeling those “oh no I’m starving” feelings even more intensely than just straight calorie counting. I’m talking 3 avocados and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and no carb hummus with cups and cups of romaine, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc. and I’m STILL hungry. 😩

I keep waiting for the “fat is so satiating” to kick in so I’ve been sticking it out. Ugh.

rainbowbow

tcunbeliever wrote: »

Things to consider:

1 - 3 days is not enough time to know if this is suitable for you, that's not enough time to really adapt to any new eating plan

2 - what time of month is it for you, hormone cycle is a far greater trigger (for me) than any kind of change in eating habits, some days/weeks are just hard to keep the hunger reigned in and it doesn't necessarily have anything at all to do with what you are eating or how much you are eating

3 - there's not a lot you can do about craving a bagel except maybe make a keto one, but if you are craving chocolate have a small piece of dark chocolate, or something high in iron since chocolate cravings are most associated with anemia...if you are craving cinnamon rolls, then maybe try some tea or coffee with cinnamon in it, or a dessert version of tofu with cinnamon and nutmeg or something - for me, feeding the craving with something that fits my food goals can be more effective than trying to ignore it

4 - 20g of carbs is super low, most people can go as high as 50g/day and still easily remain in ketosis, people who exercise daily can go as high as 100g+ and remain in ketosis, maybe allowing yourself more carbs will improve adherence and long term success

Thanks so much for your reply! I’m going to be making some adjustments and I’ll stick it out a little longer. I don’t think it’s an issue with my cycle.

And I’ll be going out tonight to see if I can’t make a keto version of some foods I’m really craving because like you said, it’s best if I don’t deny myself and just go crazy on something.

In your opinion how long did it take for keto’s purported “satiating” effects to kick in?

Sunny_Bunny_

You say you’re getting enough sodium. How much is that exactly? I hear people say that all the time but then it turns out they’re nowhere near what they actually need for low carb.
You’re probably not going to like or agree with the rest of my thoughts and I don’t know how low carb you are but the lower your carbs, the more protein you need. Plant protein isn’t very bioavailable so you’d need to eat whole lot. Like a lot a lot! If you’re entering ketosis at all your body has to begin making its own glucose since diet isn’t providing enough. Protein is required to do this. If you aren’t providing enough for both lean tissue and bone maintenance and everything else your body needs it for PLUS enough to become glucose then you’re probably hungry due to low protein. Again, not necessarily low as it would be measured on a macro tracking app but you have to keep in mind the bioavailability of plant protein. You have to meet the need that is actually able to be used.
The Protein Leverage Hypothesis would explain how hunger is driven by protein need.
If you are committed to remaining vegan, you could just make sure to always eat enoug carbs to provide all the glucose you would need and never dip to keto levels.
How much that is exactly varies from person to person but I would say not to drop below 150g a day as a general beginning guideline.

Sunny_Bunny_

I just remembered you said you were getting 20g carbs.
I definitely think you’re probably hungry for protein. You are risking muscle by eating so low carb AND (maybe) not getting enough bioavailable protein. I don’t know what your protein goal is but please look into the bioavailability of the protein sources you are choosing so you can adjust intake to meet your glucose needs.
I ate meat and lost lean mass by not eating enough protein when I first started keto. I wasn’t eating enough because I was reading that I shouldn’t eat much. That was a mistake. I wasn’t providing enough to meet my needs. I did it for months before I learned.

camtosh

One other point to consider is that if you are exercising, you will get hungrier. Try not exercising for a week or two to ease into the keto adjustment to see if that helps reduce the hunger pangs.

GaleHawkins

It was after week 2 when my carb cravings started to fade. That was 4 years ago and the controlling ones are still gone. My daily calories have been at about 3000 for these past four years. Best of continued success.

solska

3 days is not enough time. Give it time, the cravings will absolutely go away. You might feel them more when hormones change like with pms. Just eat more nuts, more fat, more salt, more water.