Newbie question - first week hunger?

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jackalope39
jackalope39 Posts: 13 Member
Hi all,

I'm on day 5 of Keto, totally new to this, and am wondering if it's typical to be a bit hungry during the first week?

I'm still trying to get keto down, and am finding that I'm able to get the fat in (which I couldn't fathom even 4 days ago), but I'm short on protein which is making me wonder if I'm not quite getting it right, hence the hunger?

For the first time yesterday, tried bulletproof coffee and I had thought it would be sufficient for breakfast (which I had around 6:30am) but by 10am, I was outright hungry. And because I've used so many calories on bulletproof coffee, I'm worried that the hunger is from not enough "food".

Is this just a week one thing that will settle out when my body adapts to keto? Curious to hear what your experiences were.

Replies

  • belizsera
    belizsera Posts: 82 Member
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    You should eat when you are hungry. Plain and simple. Don't count calories the first week or two. Just pay attention to your carbs.

    Also, when I incorporated bulletproof coffee into my breakfast I actually ate a normal breakfast (bacon and eggs) and had the bulletproof coffee the rest of the morning. It was only after I got use to it that I would intermittent fast w/bulletproof coffee and I found once in ketosis consistently, it did suppress my appetite.
  • albertabeefy
    albertabeefy Posts: 1,169 Member
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    I've never been hungry on keto, but I tend to eat 4, 5 even 6 meals a day most days... On days where I have fewer meals they're higher in calories.

    Generally speaking if you're getting enough fat and protein it's hard to be hungry. What ratio are you following?

    When working toward keto-adaptation for fat-loss I typically recommend 75/20/5 for Fat/Protein/Carbohydrate percentages...

    Typically I eat around 70/25/5 myself, since I've been in keto so long. Some days my carb percentage is a little higher, and something else a little lower, but that's usually a very high exercise day.

    Don't worry about restricting calories when you first start ... it's sometimes best to just plan to eat around your TDEE, keep your carb intake around 20-30g and have your fat intake around 75% of your calories with the rest being protein. That will typically keep you feeling satiated.

    Once you're in ketosis and starting the process of becoming keto-adapted, you can look at starting to calorie-restrict and/or add in exercise - strength training is my favorite while ketogenic as it helps retain lean muscle mass.
  • belizsera
    belizsera Posts: 82 Member
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    Don't worry about restricting calories when you first start ... it's sometimes best to just plan to eat around your TDEE, keep your carb intake around 20-30g and have your fat intake around 75% of your calories with the rest being protein. That will typically keep you feeling satiated.

    I strongly believe that calorie restriction in the beginning is the reason people give up after a few weeks. They get hungry and end up gorging themselves on carbs. After years of eating carbs and never really feeling satiated, I think that people don't really know what it feels like to not be hungry and not have cravings.
  • RiesigJay
    RiesigJay Posts: 151 Member
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    It's normal to feel hungry, you're at a calorie deficit! You'll adapt.

    Upping protein could help with satiety as it takes the body longer to digest. Couldn't hurt (unless you go over your goal).
  • jackalope39
    jackalope39 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thanks for the responses. My macros are set at 5/35/60, but I've been landing more at 5/25/70 the past few days.

    I'm very much looking forward to my body adapting over the next week or so! I'm on the tail end of the carb flu and feel like energy is coming back, and am trying to figure out the whole ratios part of things.

    I'll try adding more protein, cutting back on fat, eating when I'm hungry, and stopping when I'm not (instead of finishing what's on my plate), and staying at target calories or slightly above if I have exercise.

    Yesterday's brunch shot calories way over, but did well on the carb side, and I swear if it wasn't nailed down I would have eaten it yesterday.

    Thanks for the advice - it truly helps.
  • LauraDotts
    LauraDotts Posts: 732 Member
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    Of course you were hungry 3-4 hours after your breakfast. That would be expected regardless of what you ate. The ratio of 5/25/70 is excellent. Well done. Don't cut back on fat. You can even go higher on fat if you want. Don't worry about calories for a couple of weeks. Just eat until you are satisfied and don't let yourself get too hungry. The amount of food you eat will naturally decrease in a couple of weeks and then you can start looking at calories if you want.
  • Jasmine_James
    Jasmine_James Posts: 188 Member
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    I looked over your diary from last week. I think you were getting sufficient protein. Your carbs were really low (like 15 g on some days and I don't think that was net).

    The first few weeks were tough for me. Once you are really in ketosis you'll suddenly feel extremely energetic and not very hungry. Until then, I would recommend eating more. To keep your ratios as you want them, I'd incorporate more fat so you can have some more carbs. I would try having 2 or 3 cups of vegetables at lunch and dinner, along with 6-8 ounces of meat and then some coconut oil and/or butter for fat. A plate with that much food on it is going to fill you up.

    Don't worry so much about calories. Go up to 1700 or 1800 if you are hungry. Listen to your body and eat. Every time I stall out or feel hungry/tired it's because I'm not listening to my body and not eating enough.

    Also, since you're early into this, I wouldn't try to go too long hungry. You can do intermittent fasting later. For now, just focus on eating as many healthy keto-friendly foods as you need to feel satiated.
  • LowCarb4Life
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    Everyone has given you great responses. The following comes from my doc and a few books i've read recently ("The Rosedale Diet "and "The art and science of low carb living"). The body requires a bit more protein during the keto-adaptation phase which can last around 3 weeks. Then you can pare down protein to an optimal level (what your body would need at it's ideal weight) so that you don't get the unwanted sugar, which excess protein gets converted to.

    The goal is to not only get into ketosis (this can happen in the first week if you keep carbs at an all-time low) but to get into a keto-adapted state, so that the majority of your body cells will switch to fat burning, and your ketones will continue to rise into the .5-3.0 range (detectable with a blood test). Just because you are in ketosis, the withdrawal may not be over until most cells are cooperating. Since the brain controls most of your hunger, if it is getting low on energy available to it (i.e. not enough sugar or fat .. it can burn both), then it will complain loudly and might be hard to resist, don't get to this point! Feed it often the first 3 weeks so you are satiated. Like they said above, the extra calories will be negligible compared to the possible danger you will ditch the diet due to hunger. The most effective calories to consume when hungry, to get you deeper into ketosis is...Fat. Crazy but true. Use it whenever possible, as it will help you get through the withdrawal and into keto-adaptation the fastest. Vegetables are nice but they have carbs and may not do the job at "filling you up" if it's your blood sugar that is out of balance. Fat and Protein will do that better the first 3 weeks. My doc says 70/20/10 the first few weeks (although I needed more of 70/25/5 to get there). Since keto-adaptation i've been at around 80/15/5 with no hunger and steady weight loss. By all means, add vegetables if you can and definitely add them as much as you want once keto-adapted, but don't skimp on the fat and protein in the first 3 weeks, even if your weight doesn't seem to be coming off. Once you get keto-adapted...it will!

    Please have enough extra sodium to keep you from feeling weak (unless your blood pressure says otherwise) since this diet is very diuretic and the kidneys excrete much more sodium than on a sugar-burning plan. This continues long-term after keto-adaptation as well.

    I'm a struggling carreer low-fat dieter who's had frequent forays into low-carb which I loved but couldn't stick to. Always regained. High fat has changed things so dramatically for me. I've felt an incredible relief. Hope you get to the "other side" soon! It's so great.
  • sixpacklady
    sixpacklady Posts: 582 Member
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