Keto and hunger

[ch19guy]

To Keto Veterans,

I am new to this diet, am in my second week. I was wondering how important it is to stay under my calorie restriction. My calorie ceiling is something like 2200 calories, and I try to get around 165 g protein and 155 g fat. I notice however, that I am always HUNGRY when I stay around my limit. Would it hurt if I bump up my calories as long as I keep my carbs at 30-50 g's? I've done some searches, and I've found that some say they can still burn fat while not counting calories. Please help!

19

[d!abolic]

What are your stats: weight, bf%, etc? How'd you arrive at the number 2200?

[ch19guy]

Sorry for being vague. I'm 6'0", 183 lbs, and approx. 15%. I bought Lyle McDonald's book, and from his calculations I came up with 2200 cals, 165 g protien and about 155 g fat. Unless maybe I did my calculations wrong...

[akondog]

Still hungry on your new Keto Diet?

Add something GREEN to your meals!!! (sorry, not hemp)

Remember you can slam down lots of broccoli, lettuce, and spinich with little effect on your calorie or carb total.

As an added bonus you'll get plenty of fiber and vitamins with the extra chow.

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[ch19guy]

Akondog,

Thanks for the tip, I just started eating lots of broccoli a few days ago. The only problem is I have to eat it with ranch (raw by itself makes me gag), and that's where a sh*tload of calories start to add up. That's why I was wondering how important the calorie limit is. Thanks again for the help!

19

[akondog]

Try Sour Cream instead of Ranch...less cals and less fat (so you can eat more)

Add 2 cups of lettuce or spinich to a can of tuna mixed with mayo, pepper, and seasoning salt....

chop your steak up and throw in some steamed brocolli...no ranch needed there.

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[Cardinal]

ch19guy,

I am in the same boat you are. When I was going low carb with 2500-3000 kcals/day I was pretty darn hungry overall. I am a firm believer that you can lose fat going ketogenic and barely restricting calories. I just think it may be a bit slower. That is the only reason I am not using a plan like Natural Hormonal Enhancement by Rob Faigin now. I might try it to bulk with though. This plan is not ketogenic 'technically' but is low carb and does not restrict kcals.

Now at ~2200 kcals in keto I am starving. All the green leaves I am eating is helping some.

A couple of other suggestions:

I am using the high fiber version of all-bran cereal. 13 grams fiber and 7 grams other carbs per half cup. Depending on your level of carbohydrate restriction, you could go with quite a bit of that daily. I am planning to use 3 of those servings daily for 40 grams fiber. That could help keep you fuller a little longer. It also has other benefits.

Also, I have found that sometimes I do not notice my hunger quite as much when I am more active. I split my cardio up into 2 shorter sessions for the last few days and I do not feel as hungry paradoxically. Drinking a lot more with a given meal might help too and is certainly necessary as keto has a bit of a diuretic effect.

Another trick I have found is to play around with your efa sources. I use 6-10 grams EPA/DHA every day. If you are using flax oil, you might consider switching to fish oil. 1T of mine provides 4.5 grams EPA/DHA and only 135 total kcals. Flax oil has a less optimal conversion rate from ALA to EPA/DHA and hence you must use too much of it to maximize effectiveness cutting low cal imo.

By 'saving kcals' using the fish oil, you would have room for more fat from other more filling sources, such as almond butter for instance.

My point is to experiment and find out what fats do the best job of keeping you full longer and try to incorporate more of those into your 2200 kcals. I just personally find almond butter more filling than flax for insance and hence choose to use that.

Sorry for the long-winded post. Hope some of these ideas help. Best of luck.
-Cardinal

[Cardinal]

Another quick note. Most people I talk to seem to feel quite full on keto due to the high fat content of the diet. More power to them.

A smaller percentage though (you and I obviously included), do not get full so easily. Some people never really feel full for hormonal reasons. This is another reason why I shy away from a keto diet that does not restrict calories. I know I could eat at least 3500 kcals without feeling overfull and my chances of quick fat loss would be nil at a near 'bulking' level of kcals.

Even on keto, you still have to give your body a chance to burn fat stores.

[JohnY]

Ever since I got on keto I never feel hunger. It is weird, cause I actually dread eating now due to having to cook. But cooking bacon isn't too bad. I can even go a day with eating 4 - 6 strips of bacon per meal for a whole day and not even feel a bit hungry. But where as when I was on my regular diet I would be hungry. Overall I never feel hungry anymore it seems. That's just my experiences with CKD. I've been on it for 4 weeks now and been going at maintence calorie level with heavy workouts. My weight stayed the same through out the 4 weeks but my strength has gone up alot since I started so i'm positive I'm losing fat / gaining muscle. So I'm sure it's working just not as fast but it's steady.

[ch19guy]

Thanks for the info guys! I just started upping my brocolli intake the last couple of days. I used to eat only 1-2 cups per day. I am now eating 5-6 cups per day and it helps so much! The greens (not hemp lol) really do help! Peace...

19

[RonJ73]

Cooking isn't bad on Keto. As a tip, get a George Foreman grill and some Aluminum Foil. What I usually do is cook all my meals for the day when I get up. (I work 3rd shift. I wake up at 5pm and don't work until midnight) My diet looks something like this...

Breakfast: 4 Eggs, 4 Turkey Breakfast Sausage Links

Mid-Evening: Burger Patty w/1 Slice of Cheese, w/Mayo

Lunch: Can of Tuna w/Mayo

Mid-Morning: Burger Patty (no cheese on this one) w/Mayo, Broccoli

Dinner: Chicken Breast w/Cheese, Broccoli

Pre-Sleep: A small handful of nuts