low carb diet and having LOW appetite

jonikeffer

I just started low-carbing on the recommendation of my PCP (doctor) who said he had lost "50 lbs in 4 mos". Now since he is male, I would never expect those kinds of results, but since he really wanted me to try it, I am. The huge problem I am having is eating *enough* calories. He said to keep the carbs under 100 per day, I'm averaging between 30-50 right now. I am never hungry, I have to force myself to eat every 3 hrs even thought I don't want to. I've never had such a struggle getting myself to eat. This was only my first week but my appetite PLUMMETED immediately and I know I'm really not eating enough. I'm trying to incorporate more fruit and veg in the hopes I can cram that in without it making me feel so full, even though I know people advocate those to *help* you feel full. I'm eating 800-900 cals a day this week, and getting that much in is truly a struggle. To give you a contrast, over a year ago, when I was dutifully logging and exercising and eating healthy carbs like whole grains, I would eat 1300-1400 net carbs, so 1700-1800 on a typical day when I burned 400 from exercise. I lost some weight but *very* slowly.

Today was day 6 for low-carbs, and I was suddenly (like overnight) SO fatigued. I was expecting this a few days ago, and I'm wondering if my liver just ran out glycogen now, and this is the "crash", or if it's because I'm not eating enough of anything. Earlier in the week I was getting in some moderate exercise still, but I can barely lift a muscle today. :P

Has anyone had this problem while low-carbing...not wanting to eat much at all? And is what I'm feeling today that conversion point ,where my body is out of "easy fuel" and maybe switching to using fat, vs. just too little food altogther? Thoughts?

jonikeffer

WOW, am I really the only person on this whole site who has had this problem? :O

Paco4gsc

WOW, am I really the only person on this whole site who has had this problem? :O

Yes...jk. I honestly don't really know much about diets like low carb, but if the restriction is only <100g / day, you could try adding some nuts to the mix. One serving of nuts is not too filling (about 1/4 cup) and usually has at least 200 calories and very little carbs.

juleskitcat

Hi there. I am doing Dr. B - which essentially is very low carb and low everything... Dr. monitored. I know what you mean re: your appetite does decrease once you get off the carbs. My suggestion is to try and add variety in your fruits and vegs. Grill or bake zucchini, red tomatos and red peppers, YUM! Have some strawberries in a smoothy and try to eat a high protein pita with cr. cheese (lite) and roasted vegs, maybe a bit of hummus and some chicken... Just try and plan out more VARIETY of foods... It's worked for me... and I had the same exact challenge... Also for fruit - 1/2 grapefruits..yum!

sue2328

hi - yes, this is quite a common problem when low carbing, but if you don't eat enough you will not lose. I found the answer was to up my fat intake - and saturated fat at that.

i have found this the most difficult thing to do - much harder than going without bread or potato. I am fighting 40 years of low fat/high carb = good diet advice, only to find that, for me, the opposite is true.

I have lost weigh and reduced my blood pressure, blood sugars and cholesterol since Christmas.

A word of warning - it was my birthday this weekend and I have eaten more carbs than normal ( usually around 60g.day) I have found that I have felt hungry - to the point that on Sat night I would happily have eaten anything in the house - luckily there wasn't a lot in, lol,

It would seem that so long as I keep my carbs low, I don't feel hungry (or deprived), but as soon as I go over around 100g/ day all the old feelings and bad habits of overeating/feeling hungry/ eat some more come back.

I have a lot of parties coming up over the next 6 weeks - I will definitely eat before I go, I am not risking party food again for a while.

Good luck

myofibril

Given your carb intake you are approaching a ketogenic diet rather than a "low carb" diet.

Appetite suppression is a common feature, especially if you increase protein.

You can ride out the transition phase to your body becoming keto adapted (which I understand can be horrendous) or you can up your carb intake. I don't know if you eat starchy carbs (sweet or normal potatoes, taro, yam, rice etc) or fruit but if you don't add moderate amounts into your diet especially around workout time.

You are exactly right that the symptoms you are experiencing is due to low liver glycogen.

alauzon

I have been doing a low carb diet and I know that on day four and five I crashed hard. I didn't have an appetite and I was also fatigued and getting leg cramps. What worked for me was to up my sodium and my fat .. I did this by drinking some broth and having 1/2 an avocado. Once I got past the first week this subsided although my appetite is still not really there which I don't mind at all. When planning my meals I try to look at my veggies and sides first and then the protein last. I hope this was somehow helpful.

endoftheside

The reason he could lose 50 pounds in 4 months is that you are able to eat very low calories on a low-carb diet because you don't feel hungry. DH did Atkins, which does not recommend counting calories (and this is one thing DH liked about it), but when I think back on it after having counted here on MFP for a while, he was not eating much.

Unfortunately, if you lose like this you will end up thinner but not necessarily with as much lean mass as you would hope at the end.

capergirl770

Your body is switching from burning carbs for energy to burning fat.. It is totally normal to feel like you have no appetite and low energy.. It will subside once your body gets use to the switch.

jonikeffer

Given your carb intake you are approaching a ketogenic diet rather than a "low carb" diet.

Appetite suppression is a common feature, especially if you increase protein.

You can ride out the transition phase to your body becoming keto adapted (which I understand can be horrendous) or you can up your carb intake. I don't know if you eat starchy carbs (sweet or normal potatoes, taro, yam, rice etc) or fruit but if you don't add moderate amounts into your diet especially around workout time.

You are exactly right that the symptoms you are experiencing is due to low liver glycogen.

Yes, I guess it is ketogenic because the doc said I will burn fat for fuel when my liver runs out of stored glycogen? (Is that the definition of ketosis?) Again, I never would have done this on my own, but he was pretty excited for me to try it so I'm giving it a shot. <shrug> I have not been eating any grains at all. No bread, no steel cut oatmeal (which used to be THE go to breakfast), no quinoa. My only carbs are coming from fruit and veg. He didn't say I couldn't eat ANY grains, the only rule seems to be "keep the carbs under 100", less fiber carbs. But given my current state of appetite, I can't even imagine trying to get steel cut oatmeal in me.

I've been expecting that "horrendous crash" but so far (now on day 8) I still have not had anything more unpleasant than that feeling of my limbs being heavy. No crankiness, no shakiness, not feeling sick in any way. In fact I feel pretty great, alert of mind even if my body is a bit sluggish. Doc said he did NOT (and this is another thing it is hard for me to swallow) recommend exercising very hard, because I will feel "yucky" if I do. I can now see how that would be the case. I am supposed to be moving in a couple weeks. Do you (or anyone) know if I will feel better once I ride out the transition, or if it's always going to be like this while I'm in ketosis? I certainly can't handle moving, the way I feel now.

alauzon

The feeling will subside once your body gets accustomed to being in ketosis. I didn't work out for the first 2 weeks other than walking a few miles a few times a week which was hard to get used to. I am still in ketosis and I only eat 25 net carbs a day but I now have tons of energy and have been killing it at the gym. Give yourself some time and let your body adjust its a completely different way of eating and take it slow that's the best way to ensure that you will be effective. Good luck and from the sounds of things you are doing great!!

amystev21

The feeling will subside once your body gets accustomed to being in ketosis. I didn't work out for the first 2 weeks other than walking a few miles a few times a week which was hard to get used to. I am still in ketosis and I only eat 25 net carbs a day but I now have tons of energy and have been killing it at the gym. Give yourself some time and let your body adjust its a completely different way of eating and take it slow that's the best way to ensure that you will be effective. Good luck and from the sounds of things you are doing great!!

I am on day 8 of eating less than 25 grams per day and I experienced the leg cramps last night and this morning! Good to know I am not alone!! Alauzon how much have you lost and how long have you been eating this way? I am LOVING it and LOVING not starving and LOVING eating steaks with mushrooms!! hahaha

jonikeffer

interesting that you two mention leg cramps, I wonder if instead of getting actual cramps, I'm getting RLS-type stuff (restless legs syndrome). I don't have full blown RLS, but I have experienced RLS episodes at times in my life. Namely when I take benadryl (a known trigger) and when I was super anemic (also a known trigger). I've been getting super RLS-ey every night since I started this diet and I wondered why that would be. I guess it makes more sense now, or rather, I know others are having the same thing.

juleskitcat

Re: leg cramps...symptom of low potassium. make sure you're eating the spinache, broccolli and perhaps even a potassium suplement? I am doing Dr. Bernstein diet and I have to take potassium supplements 2x day. if i miss - I too have leg and foot cramps. On the occassion when NOT on the diet and I had cramp or two, a bannana would always do the trick. good luck!

alauzon

I am on day 8 of eating less than 25 grams per day and I experienced the leg cramps last night and this morning! Good to know I am not alone!! Alauzon how much have you lost and how long have you been eating this way? I am LOVING it and LOVING not starving and LOVING eating steaks with mushrooms!! hahaha
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I have lost almost 15# and have been eating this way from just over a month. The first month I focused soley on the diet and starting last wed I am hitting the gym hard and still eating on point. I love that fact that I am not starving hungry and I mainly focus on getting my 25NC and ensuring that the majority of them are from foundation vegetables. I don't focus at all on the fat grams and very little on the calories. So far this is working for me and I don't feel deprived which i found to be a problem on many other diets.

GODfidence

8-900 calories per day,seriously?
Go back to 1700. Losing weight faster isn't worth
Eating UNHEALTHY.

jonikeffer

8-900 calories per day,seriously?
Go back to 1700. Losing weight faster isn't worth
Eating UNHEALTHY.

I totally understand it's not enough, that's why I posted asking about it. I have NO appetite and am forcing myself to eat even that much. My motivation isn't to lose fast, it's to improve my diet (which previously included a lot of *unhealthy* carbs), and this is what my DOCTOR recommended. I'm trying to make improvements to what I'm currently doing.

magijuana

I haven't eaten as much as I should being on a low carb diet. I eat some kind of fruit in the morning for carbs/energy (cantaloupe,apple) followed by a salad of spinach, cucumber, beet, and mushroom with a quarter cup of cottage cheese, and some raw almonds in the afternoon as a snack. Dinner is always meat with some kind of lean veggies. The first few days I switched, I was lethargic and felt sick....this was later equated to me as a "carb crash". Just like anything you give up, your body will go through withdrawals. Makes sense. Now, I have to make myself eat, or I'll forget. It's so weird to me to feel like this. I used to be aching with hunger when I ate simple carbs. Now without refined carbs (pasta, bread, rice) I actually feel a 100 X better. I have more energy, and I don't eat as much. It's been working great for me. gained muscle, lost a lot of fat.

sassy1002

I am so glad to find this post. I too have had a low appetite since I stopped eating pasta, rice, bread and anything processed. I have reached my ideal weight, but find that I now have to force myself to eat. I do not feel bad, so its not a health issue. I have energy and able to hike and enjoy activities. I am glad to see I am not alone. I just would like to know how many calories do we actually HAVE to take in to stay healthy. Sometimes all I eat is yogurt and a baked potato later in the day. I am wondering what will peak my appetite without putting me back on the over-eating path...I lost over 40 lbs since last year. I did lose it slow.

kazzsj0urney

I am doing low carbish about 85-100 grams carbs most days (sometimes lower) and I manage to eat 1800 calories but I have noticed I dont desire to overeat at the moment. Same as a previous poster commented I eat high fat...things like cheese, avocado, nuts, tahini etc they are mostly not filling but calorie dense.

icrushit

Having, or had the same problem. I think when you cut out grains, excess starches and added sugar from your diet, what remains is pretty hard to overeat on, plus with all the fat and protein you end up quite full. I still have a few hunger pangs, mainly in the window I don't eat (8pm- 9/ 10am), but its hard to even call them hunger pangs, as they are more like gentle reminders by my body, lol.

Not sure your height or weight, but 8- 900 calories sounds way too little. I would up the carbs, and use that as the lever to control your appetite, and when you find a point where you are getting enough to eat, keep it there.

One thing I've noticed is a lot of weight loss in the first month. A lot of this is water weight, and I'm finding after that first month, what I'm losing now is at a reasonable rate, ie 2lbs or less a week, as opposed to 3.5 or even 4lbs a week during my first month.

jacquesdiet

I went in a low carb diet a few years ago 60 carbs a day....I was soooooo tired for the first few weeks, but I lost weight so fast and list about 50 pounds in 2 1/2 months, but, when I started incorporating the carbs back into my diet I gained it all back and more

strassenkoenigin

I went on Atkins to jumpstart my weight loss and it did exactly the same thing to me. I had no appetite, I actually started hating the food after a very short period and the thought of having to eat another fatty meaty meal just turned me off. I also lost energy. I had done Atkins before and lost some, but also could not stay with it for a long time.

This time I lost a few pounds right away and then stalled. Then I added more carbs and put immediately weight on. I also was constipated all the time, something which usually never happens to me.

I decided never to do it again. It is not my kind of food. I do not feel good on it, I could never stay on it. So I went back to my normal food, lots of fruits, vegetable, nuts, some oatmeal, some brown rice and a little bit of eggs, cheese and fish.

JonnyQwest

Yes this is one of the side effects of eating very low carb.....sure you will lose the weight but after awhile you will feel like total crap, eating becomes no fun anymore because as great as it sounded at first to be able to eat all the meat you want, you can no longer stand the sight of it.....oh and just try working out on this diet without passing out....low carb means low energy. That being said, it's a great tool for losing weight fast but it's not a lifestyle, have a plan for transitioning into a sensible diet once all the above happen. (I speak from experience doing Atkins, etc years back)

RonnieLodge

I just started low-carbing .. The huge problem I am having is eating *enough* calories. This was only my first week but my appetite PLUMMETED immediately and I know I'm really not eating enough. I'm trying to incorporate more fruit and veg in the hopes I can cram that in without it making me feel so full, even though I know people advocate those to *help* you feel full. I'm eating 800-900 cals a day this week, and getting that much in is truly a struggle. ..
Today was day 6 for low-carbs, and I was suddenly (like overnight) SO fatigued. I was expecting this a few days ago, and I'm wondering if my liver just ran out glycogen now, and this is the "crash", or if it's because I'm not eating enough of anything. ..
Has anyone had this problem while low-carbing...not wanting to eat much at all? And is what I'm feeling today that conversion point ,where my body is out of "easy fuel" and maybe switching to using fat, vs. just too little food altogther?

Thoughts?

I aim for a keto (high fat, moderate protein, low carb) diet and find that the issues you are experiencing (low energy, trouble getting enough calories) are improved with more calories from fat.

Aoili (garlic mayonnaise) - very calorific and tastes great on beirsticks or stirred through a bowl of grated cheese. That I eat with a spoon. Or rolled up in slices of roast beef.

Pouring cream in tea or coffee.

Bacon roses - roll up strips of bacon and put a toothpick through them. Bake them in the oven and you can dip those in aoili!

parkscs

Yes this is one of the side effects of eating very low carb.....sure you will lose the weight but after awhile you will feel like total crap, eating becomes no fun anymore because as great as it sounded at first to be able to eat all the meat you want, you can no longer stand the sight of it.....oh and just try working out on this diet without passing out....low carb means low energy. That being said, it's a great tool for losing weight fast but it's not a lifestyle, have a plan for transitioning into a sensible diet once all the above happen. (I speak from experience doing Atkins, etc years back)

It sounds like you briefly tried an Atkins diet years back, but so much of what you've said is wrong for the vast majority of people. Some people feel groggy at first on a low carb diet but this goes away after a few days. Most people don't feel like "total crap" after a while - most feel just fine after just a few days, provided they actually stick with it, and not everyone has "keto flu" symptoms. The notion of you can't stand the sight of meat after a few days... wow. Perhaps if you're a flexitarian eating mostly vegetarian meals and you switch to an Atkins diet you'll struggle from eating more meat, but I'd say a lot of low carbers don't eat a lot more meat than non-low carbers. As for working out, performance does tend to suffer a bit at first (e.g., you might see lifts decrease slightly) but recovers after a couple of months, and adapted individuals hardly suffer from low energy. Quite to the contrary, energy levels tend to be decoupled from your carb intake and many people find they have ample energy and have an easy time with endurance activities, even when fasted. Glycogen depletion is a potential issue for some people but an addressable one.

There are downsides to a ketogenic diet - namely, it's very restrictive and eliminates a lot of food choices. That's not a good fit for many people, and I'd probably say it's a poor fit for most people. But so much of what you've said is simply transitory in nature or flat out incorrect for the majority of people. Personally, it sounds like you just didn't stick with it long enough or kept your carbs at a level where you constantly went into and out of ketosis.

sparacka

Yes this is one of the side effects of eating very low carb.....sure you will lose the weight but after awhile you will feel like total crap, eating becomes no fun anymore because as great as it sounded at first to be able to eat all the meat you want, you can no longer stand the sight of it.....oh and just try working out on this diet without passing out....low carb means low energy. That being said, it's a great tool for losing weight fast but it's not a lifestyle, have a plan for transitioning into a sensible diet once all the above happen. (I speak from experience doing Atkins, etc years back)

Could you please let me know when I should expect to start feeling like total crap? I've been in ketosis for the past two months and have never felt this energized or had such mental clarity. Further, I lift 3 times per week and do cardio 3 times per week and have yet to pass out from the exertion.

I didn't start this WOE to eat unlimited meat nor do I eat excessive amounts of protein (since that could throw me out of ketosis). I eat real, minimally-processed, home-cooked foods daily. This is a lifestyle, and an extremely healthy and sensible one at that.

JonnyQwest

I actually did it for quite awhile and several times over a few years....each time I did it, it got progressively worse (the symptoms I mentioned).....I have to admit that I have a very negative view of this type of diet because I lump it in with a lot of the uneducated diets, pills and quick fixes I stupidly tried when I was younger before I finally learned that this is a lifestyle change and not some diet flavor of the week (they keep changing the name-Atkins, Keto, whatever but the concept is the same). I think anytime someone tries to permanently restrict whole categories of HEALTHY food choices from their diet, they are setting themselves up for failure at best and potentially harming themselves at worst. But hey, our systems are all different....if it works for you so be it. I just don't buy into it being the way Nature intended us to eat (restricting natural and healthy food choices because they have carbs)....it doesn't even make common sense IMHO.

Yes this is one of the side effects of eating very low carb.....sure you will lose the weight but after awhile you will feel like total crap, eating becomes no fun anymore because as great as it sounded at first to be able to eat all the meat you want, you can no longer stand the sight of it.....oh and just try working out on this diet without passing out....low carb means low energy. That being said, it's a great tool for losing weight fast but it's not a lifestyle, have a plan for transitioning into a sensible diet once all the above happen. (I speak from experience doing Atkins, etc years back)

It sounds like you briefly tried an Atkins diet years back, but so much of what you've said is wrong for the vast majority of people. Some people feel groggy at first on a low carb diet but this goes away after a few days. Most people don't feel like "total crap" after a while - most feel just fine after just a few days, provided they actually stick with it, and not everyone has "keto flu" symptoms. The notion of you can't stand the sight of meat after a few days... wow. Perhaps if you're a flexitarian eating mostly vegetarian meals and you switch to an Atkins diet you'll struggle from eating more meat, but I'd say a lot of low carbers don't eat a lot more meat than non-low carbers. As for working out, performance does tend to suffer a bit at first (e.g., you might see lifts decrease slightly) but recovers after a couple of months, and adapted individuals hardly suffer from low energy. Quite to the contrary, energy levels tend to be decoupled from your carb intake and many people find they have ample energy and have an easy time with endurance activities, even when fasted. Glycogen depletion is a potential issue for some people but an addressable one.

There are downsides to a ketogenic diet - namely, it's very restrictive and eliminates a lot of food choices. That's not a good fit for many people, and I'd probably say it's a poor fit for most people. But so much of what you've said is simply transitory in nature or flat out incorrect for the majority of people. Personally, it sounds like you just didn't stick with it long enough or kept your carbs at a level where you constantly went into and out of ketosis.

TogetherWeWin

I have been a sugar addict most of my 61 years. Now eating low carb I have trouble eating enough as I mostly have little or no appetite. The first few days I had more energy and felt better than I had in quite awhile. I've been eating low carb for 3-1/2 weeks
now & am tired & dragging. I realize I need to make myself eat more meat ... or perhaps low carb protein shakes. And exercise more! I've only lost 11.5 pounds and need to lose at least 50 more. At least I'm heading in the right direction;)

JonnyQwest

Yes this is one of the side effects of eating very low carb.....sure you will lose the weight but after awhile you will feel like total crap, eating becomes no fun anymore because as great as it sounded at first to be able to eat all the meat you want, you can no longer stand the sight of it.....oh and just try working out on this diet without passing out....low carb means low energy. That being said, it's a great tool for losing weight fast but it's not a lifestyle, have a plan for transitioning into a sensible diet once all the above happen. (I speak from experience doing Atkins, etc years back)

Could you please let me know when I should expect to start feeling like total crap? I've been in ketosis for the past two months and have never felt this energized or had such mental clarity. Further, I lift 3 times per week and do cardio 3 times per week and have yet to pass out from the exertion.

I didn't start this WOE to eat unlimited meat nor do I eat excessive amounts of protein (since that could throw me out of ketosis). I eat real, minimally-processed, home-cooked foods daily. This is a lifestyle, and an extremely healthy and sensible one at that.

You should expect to feel like crap in about 2 to 4 months based on my experience.....that's what happened to me, after 2 months I was pumped up! Lost a boatload of weight, had great mental clarity, etc....then about 2 months later the bottom finally started to drop out.....I felt and looked like hell-skinny fat, drawn eyes, zoned out, just blah. Energy and mood went to crap and it just wasn't worth it anymore......I eventually binged and gained all the weight back. I would sincerely like to talk to you in year or two and see if you have the same view....I personally feel that any diet that restricts whole categories of healthy natural food choices because they have carbs is a recipe for failure sooner or later.....great for cutting short term weight (I lower my carbs here and there-carb cycle, etc) but not a valid life long diet plan. I am not attacking you, just my personal view. I lift 5 to 6 times a week HEAVY and do about 3 to 4 hours of cardio a week.....there is no way in hell I could do all of that without evil carbs.

parkscs

I actually did it for quite awhile and several times over a few years....each time I did it, it got progressively worse (the symptoms I mentioned).....I have to admit that I have a very negative view of this type of diet because I lump it in with a lot of the uneducated diets, pills and quick fixes I stupidly tried when I was younger before I finally learned that this is a lifestyle change and not some diet flavor of the week (they keep changing the name-Atkins, Keto, whatever but the concept is the same). I think anytime someone tries to permanently restrict whole categories of HEALTHY food choices from their diet, they are setting themselves up for failure at best and potentially harming themselves at worst. But hey, our systems are all different....if it works for you so be it. I just don't buy into it being the way Nature intended us to eat (restricting natural and healthy food choices because they have carbs)....it doesn't even make common sense IMHO.

Atkins and ketogenic diets are actually quite different; they aren't just renaming the diet. Atkins doesn't actively encourage counting calories, but rather starts your carbs off very low (induction) and slowly reintroduces carbohydrates into the diet until people are no longer naturally achieving a caloric deficit due to the high satiety of their diet (generally ~+5g/day/week). Ketogenic diets consistently keep carb intake very low throughout and generally track calories/macros, and some variants reintroduce carbs either on a weekly/bi-weekly refeed day or in a targeted fashion based on your exercise routine. In short, while there are some similarities, these diets are actually pretty different when you get to the details.

I'm not going to come out and say it's how nature intended us to eat, because nature doesn't have intent with respect to any diet - we evolved to survive in various different environments and with different macronutrient compositions, and in any event I'm more interested in what science has shown rather than what people suspect nature intends. We've moved so far beyond basic survival these days that I suspect it's a moot point anyways. Nor would I say it restricts healthy food choices, because individual food choices generally should not be viewed as "healthy" or "unhealthy" in isolation (at least in my opinion). Sorry to hear it didn't work out well for you, but many people function and even thrive on low carb diets, particularly when it comes to cutting weight, and the symptoms you listed are almost always associated with the beginning of a low carb diet and disappear shortly thereafter. That said, there are valid criticisms to low carb diets and I almost never recommend them to people unless they've already expresses an interest/reason in low carb dieting (although I do find myself defending them in threads like this one ).