Anyone else amazed at the loss of appetite?
thedarkwombat
Posts: 123 Member
I am back on low carb and I swear I cannot go off again. When I am not on low carb I am constantly hungry. When I am on low or no carbs I feel like Ive had weight loss surgery.
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It is amazing. And I still wonder if low-carb suppresses appetite or if high-carb increases it. And why?
My guess is the low-carb gives us a NORMAL appetite. High-carb triggers an evolved instinct to eat more.
Woohoo! We found some berries or fought some bees off and stole their honey. Eat more before the bees come back!
But now sugar's not a rare treat, and nothing attacks us for eating it.0 -
@wabmester Interesting example. lol! Makes sense to me.
All I know is I'm with thedarkwombat!
I've been on two planned "eat all the things" weekends in the last year since doing zero carb and each time I'm amazing at how quickly I am hungry, how much more and more often I have to eat and how HANGRY I get.
When I first started zero carb I was worried (as many are) but I vowed I would stay with it no matter what anyone said because for the first time in my LIFE I was not hungry. People who have not experienced this cannot understand. I had been hungry my entire life. I remember crying on the phone to my mother that I knew something just had to be wrong with me, that other people surely didn't live like this. I could have eaten so much it was coming back out because there was no physical room left and my brain would still be screaming that I was starving! Eating seemed futile. The hunger just never went away.
Enter zero carb. I got my brain back because it stopped screaming for food, which in turn gave me WAY more time to think about other things. Yeah, with zero hunger I then had to deal with no emotional eating (that was weird, actually dealing with things head on because I seriously just didn't want to eat) and it was just so liberating! Not to mention the fabulously curious phenomenon of - you're hungry, you eat, you're not hungry anymore for a reasonable amount of time to get something accomplished before you go looking for food again. THAT was weird but I'm adjusting nicely. And that's just scratching the surface! Isn't it wonderful! THIS is one of the top reasons I will stay this way because if I don't, I just couldn't bare the thought of being controlled by hunger again. Nothing is worth that. Now I can literally feel when I come out of ketosis. Kinda like Jeckyl and Hyde! Kinda cool really.
Glad others have found relief too!0 -
It's control over food that I didn't realize could be achieved!0
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I've been back on low carb for 10 days and today I got halfway through my lunch and didn't want the rest, so I put it back in the fridge. The cravings have gone and I feel less likely to snack as I am not hungry. It's amazing to feel back in control.0
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I second everything that's been posted above! Prior to following this WOE I was ALWAYS thinking about food even if I'd just finished a meal. I didn't know that it was possible to have some...well...for lack of a better description...some distance between myself and that constant craving for food. I am very grateful that following this WOE has eliminated all cravings for carbs and sugars for me - something I never thought possible! When you get that control back you really begin to feel like a normal person! lol0
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The driving hunger started to fade after week two of eating <50 grams of carbs daily and over a year later the driving hunger and desire to binge on carbs has not returned.0
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There's a guy who wrote a book called «The Fat Switch» about how other animals use fructose as a cue to gain weight, more specifically BEARS! They gorge on salmon and berries in Canada to fatten up before hibernation. Without the fructose overdose, they maybe wouldn't be able to gain enough fat to tide over winter. Hummingbirds do it too, but on a daily basis.
I think his approach is interesting, because we seem to forget we are animals too. But he's kinda «out there», and lots of things he says sounded a bit too off to me. But I didn't have time to really check the validity of his statements, so didn't link it. Search on YT to find podcasts with him.
Re «normal». In an evolutionary sense, lowcarb is probably the human default. There wasn't enough high and constant year round supply of fruits and starches in meaningful quantities to be a sugarburner. Only in season there's fruits and berries...to plump up to winter... Only ca 10 000 years ago since farming started, did humans get a year round supply of grains. So I guess what's «normal» depends on the perspective
On a personal note, I was ALWAYS hungry on high carb macros, cept right after total stuffing myself. Now, I lost hunger altogether. I'd never thought I'd say this, but...I probably have to start thinking about making fatbombs soon!0 -
Count me as one more in agreement with everything that was said. Before I started keto I was dieting the high carb low fat way. I ate 1200 calories. I was hungry all the time and always thinking about my next meal. I am now VLC still eating 1200 calories. I am never hungry and I'm losing weight. I for one, do not think a calorie is a calorie. I also think that different people should eat differently. If you can lose weight and keep it off on CICO, more power to you but for many people, it isn't an option. It's LCHF for me0
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@foamroller, that guy does have some interesting theories!
Basically, he says fructose increases levels of uric acid. This is well established, and it's why a reduced fructose diet is recommended for treating gout.
But then he goes on to say that the high levels of uric acid ultimately leads to metabolic syndrome. This turns out to be pretty "far out," but actually is supported by some independent studies.
For example:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16234313?dopt=AbstractPlus
Fructose raises uric acid, and the latter inhibits nitric oxide bioavailability. Because insulin requires nitric oxide to stimulate glucose uptake, we hypothesized that fructose-induced hyperuricemia may have a pathogenic role in metabolic syndrome. Four sets of experiments were performed. First, pair-feeding studies showed that fructose, and not dextrose, induced features (hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperuricemia) of metabolic syndrome. Second, in rats receiving a high-fructose diet, the lowering of uric acid with either allopurinol (a xanthine oxidase inhibitor) or benzbromarone (a uricosuric agent) was able to prevent or reverse features of metabolic syndrome.
...
Fructose may have a major role in the epidemic of metabolic syndrome and obesity due to its ability to raise uric acid.0 -
I am still amazed that I dont feel hungry the whole time or just spend my time thinking about what I can eat. Cutting carbs is the most amazing thing for me. I think carbs just make you crave more food IMO0
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After having a weird higher carb weekend, I became quite aware of how much eating carbs makes you hungrier rather than sating my hunger. I was literally on my 3rd or 4th meal-ish snack, and I took a bite of something, and my stomach responded by being achingly full and letting me know. Yet, my brain was still telling me I was starvation level hungry. I sat there and digested that thought a bit, took one more bite to confirm, and yup, the rest of the bowl went down the drain. I was SOOOO annoyed. I'd never felt that whole scenario before... Very eye opening. I only lament that it didn't make me feel sick. That would be far better motivation to not repeat the scenario...than a realization that will fade. Sigh.0
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I am! I've only been doing LCHF for about 6 days and from day one I was blown away by the lack of hunger. In the past, I used to eat toast with PB&J for breakfast and by lunch time I was dying to eat again (usually bad things like Pizza or McDs), but with a LCHF breakfast I am waaay more satisfied.0
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So how come this is not discussed more often? We see obesity reports all the time. We see comparisons between low carb and low fat diets. But no one really wants to get to the bottoms of this...controlling your hunger.
The key to losing weight is controlling your hunger. Period.
If I hear one more professional say "lose weight with eating healthy vegetables, grains, low fat and exercise" I am going to scream. It is easier said than done. What they should be saying is find a lifestyle that controls your hunger. I say this because I do know that some people do not get hungry by eating carbs and sugars. But I know that I do.0 -
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Not having a real craving that demanded attention for a year now is amazing. Just wish I had not taken 63 years to learn about LCHF.0
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thedarkwombat wrote: »So how come this is not discussed more often?
Great question. It's not that nobody knows about it, but they seem to mention it as an embarrassing aside rather than the direct mechanism.
Gary Taubes wrote not one, but two books -- both of them explaining how it's all about insulin.
When a recent study questioned that hypothesis, Taubes came out with a NY Times editorial.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/opinion/diet-advice-that-ignores-hunger.html
what about hunger?
Hunger makes more sense to me, but I guess it's harder to measure than insulin.0 -
I agree. I've not been hungry, but apparently I haven't been eating enough calories. Go figure.0
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@wabmester, I read some of the comments under the article and they are uber-depressing. People just don't want to let go of the low fat and hunger is good dogma. I'll stick to this WOE, thank you very much. I like not being hungry.0
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@wabmester, I read some of the comments under the article and they are uber-depressing. People just don't want to let go of the low fat and hunger is good dogma. I'll stick to this WOE, thank you very much. I like not being hungry.
It's truly something I think needs to be experienced first hand to really click. Some people are so set against even trying anything new in the first place and others might try but either don't have a good experience due to poor understanding or they just wanted to "prove how wrong it is".0 -
I didn't read all of the comments, but it's surprising how controversial hunger can be.
That's where the dieting idea of willpower comes from. Sure, you can use willpower to resist hunger. Some people think that's the reason Japanese stay thin:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hara_hachi_bun_me
a Confucian[2] teaching that instructs people to eat until they are 80 percent full
It works! If you can live with constant hunger, you can stay thin.
Or you can eat the way we're designed to eat. 0 -
Totally. I'm experiencing natural hunger for the first time. When my body is meant to eat. Still wrapping my head around it.0
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »@wabmester, I read some of the comments under the article and they are uber-depressing. People just don't want to let go of the low fat and hunger is good dogma. I'll stick to this WOE, thank you very much. I like not being hungry.
It's truly something I think needs to be experienced first hand to really click. Some people are so set against even trying anything new in the first place and others might try but either don't have a good experience due to poor understanding or they just wanted to "prove how wrong it is".
I think this is largely cultural. We are so ingrained to think of being fat as a function of sloth, gluttony and general flaw of the character of the person, that we expect weight loss to have a component of suffering/penance. I think most people don't even fully comprehend how utterly wrong that is. It gives the naturally thin people something to feel superior about ("well, I eat sensibly and I've always been skinny, if you would just eat less you would be skinny too" attitude), and some overweight people have internalized this to the point that they also believe they need to feel discomfort to atone for their 'sin' of being overweight. The idea of dropping weight without any sacrifice seems very wrong to people with this mindset. Also, we as a culture have elevated the feeling of hunger to a virtue. Many religions venerate fasting, deprivation, pain, suffering and discomfort. People need to change their mind set about weight problems, and until they do, they will believe that hunger, pain and suffering should be essential to weight loss.
Not so.
Ok, I'm off my soapbox. Sorry for the rant.0 -
Lower carb eating has changed my life, and I really mean it. I have PMDD and on a high carb diet but staying within 1500 calories a day, I wasn't losing any weight and was binging and purging. I had extreme food cravings, would eat "all the things", feel guilty and purge. then the cravings came back. I am working with a therapist on the ED, but going lower carb has eliminated my food cravings and I haven't had an incident of binging/purging since I went lower carb. I eat more carbs than most of you probably do, but at 100g I am losing weight and I dont feel like I'm depriving myself of anything at all, which is key when someone has an ED.0
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »@wabmester, I read some of the comments under the article and they are uber-depressing. People just don't want to let go of the low fat and hunger is good dogma. I'll stick to this WOE, thank you very much. I like not being hungry.
It's truly something I think needs to be experienced first hand to really click. Some people are so set against even trying anything new in the first place and others might try but either don't have a good experience due to poor understanding or they just wanted to "prove how wrong it is".
I think this is largely cultural. We are so ingrained to think of being fat as a function of sloth, gluttony and general flaw of the character of the person, that we expect weight loss to have a component of suffering/penance. I think most people don't even fully comprehend how utterly wrong that is. It gives the naturally thin people something to feel superior about ("well, I eat sensibly and I've always been skinny, if you would just eat less you would be skinny too" attitude), and some overweight people have internalized this to the point that they also believe they need to feel discomfort to atone for their 'sin' of being overweight. The idea of dropping weight without any sacrifice seems very wrong to people with this mindset. Also, we as a culture have elevated the feeling of hunger to a virtue. Many religions venerate fasting, deprivation, pain, suffering and discomfort. People need to change their mind set about weight problems, and until they do, they will believe that hunger, pain and suffering should be essential to weight loss.
Not so.
Ok, I'm off my soapbox. Sorry for the rant.
Very well said.
The easing (not eliminating ) of the physical challenges with weight loss seem to bring to the forefront the psychological ones. The good part about this is that it is in the mental aspects of our approach to life and food where the true giants to be overcome lie in wait.
This WOE allows you to approach them without being crazy with hunger, giving us a fighting chance to be able to deal with the crap between our ears and in our heart.0 -
thedarkwombat wrote: »I am back on low carb and I swear I cannot go off again. When I am not on low carb I am constantly hungry. When I am on low or no carbs I feel like Ive had weight loss surgery.
I know. Carbs make me crave carbs like crazy! No wonder I could never lose weight. Give me a potato and my night is shot every single time!! I'm inulin resistant and a recovering diabetic so it might hit me harder than most, but... It's crazy! Def a good reason to stay on plan.0 -
I agree. I've not been hungry, but apparently I haven't been eating enough calories. Go figure.
Happens to me all the time. I log fake food to get it to 1000 to log (thank you for incoming comments on how unnecessary that is) but give me carbs and I'm easily over 2K. LCHF works. Whether it's the low calories or if it's the low calories brought on my the stable blood sugars is really moot.0 -
This is a bit early because i just started this woe yesterday...officially. I was extremely reluctant to do this, but after mounds of research, I decided it was worth trying. The minimal hunger pangs I noticed yesterday was amazing! I'm usually hungry by 8 am after having a breakfast of oats, eggwhites and protein powder at 6:30. But yesterday and today, I had whole eggs, cheese, avocado, butter and a few blueberries and I wasn't hungry until around 11. Why didn't I look into this sooner? And this morning....after days of waking up with a BAD headache, it was literally gone! I am so stinkin' happy!!0
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So happy you found control! That's great!Lower carb eating has changed my life, and I really mean it. I have PMDD and on a high carb diet but staying within 1500 calories a day, I wasn't losing any weight and was binging and purging. I had extreme food cravings, would eat "all the things", feel guilty and purge. then the cravings came back. I am working with a therapist on the ED, but going lower carb has eliminated my food cravings and I haven't had an incident of binging/purging since I went lower carb. I eat more carbs than most of you probably do, but at 100g I am losing weight and I dont feel like I'm depriving myself of anything at all, which is key when someone has an ED.
Very glad you decided to give it s shot! Keep at it and day by day, you will be even more convinced it was a good choice. Don't forget the salt to avoid lethargy and/or headaches that can be associated with water/sodium loss.noclady1995 wrote: »This is a bit early because i just started this woe yesterday...officially. I was extremely reluctant to do this, but after mounds of research, I decided it was worth trying. The minimal hunger pangs I noticed yesterday was amazing! I'm usually hungry by 8 am after having a breakfast of oats, eggwhites and protein powder at 6:30. But yesterday and today, I had whole eggs, cheese, avocado, butter and a few blueberries and I wasn't hungry until around 11. Why didn't I look into this sooner? And this morning....after days of waking up with a BAD headache, it was literally gone! I am so stinkin' happy!!
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