So, according to Atkins, and most places I read about on the wonderful interwebs, you're only supposed to eat when hungry on a lchf diet. Problem is, I am someone who sees clients all day, so I only really get a moment for breakfast, lunch, then dinner. There may be periods of time when I do feel hunger, but can't really do anything about it (sometimes I eek in a snack during work if I have a time slot without a client and if I'm hungry). THEN, to make up for a lack of calories during the day, at night I snack after dinner. I have always snacked after dinner, but now it's just enough to get me to 1200 or 1300 calories. Having been a calorie counter before this, I feel scared to stay away from the snacks and only come in 900-1000 calories by the end of the day, especially since I run off almost 500 calories 5 days a week (according to my Polar Heart rate monitor), and try to lift weights for another 300 calories at least 4 days a week.

Now, I know I could increase my breakfast and lunch, but I'm not that hungry at either meal. I eat until I'm satiated for breakfast (2 eggs), really full for lunch (large salad of spinach, ranch dressing, whole can of tuna, and a cucumber is a good example), and full at dinner (steak, chicken, or bacon along with another salad). By the time I'm in "snack mode" I'm not really hungry, I just want a snack. AND I need the snack if I am to eat enough calories for the day (not to mention I just enjoy being able to snack ). I am not mindless with snacking mind you. I portion out one serving of nuts or low carb cheese and eat on it slowly.

Since I just started, I haven't lost much weight yet (3 lbs in a week and a half), so I haven't had a lot of time to figure my body out. I'm just wondering what you guys think is the more correct way of thinking - eat when hungry and it's fine if you only get 1000 calories or less (even with exercise), or at least try to get enough calories to support a healthy metabolism? Any thoughts?

You may want to cut back on the salad greens--induction is three cups, loosely packed in a day--because they fill you up without giving you the fat and protein that you need. It may be that your slow weight loss is d/t that: you are filling up on fiber, and haven't gotten into ketosis because you aren't eating enough fat.

Try a couple pieces of bacon with the eggs, and fry the eggs in the bacon fat. Add cheese, if you can tolerate dairy, to the salad, in place of 1/2 the spinach. Make a cream sauce for chicken, sauté mushrooms for the steak, and eat 1/2 the salad at supper, and slice an avocado into the salad, or put a big dollop of guacamole on the plate.

It takes time to get over the "fat is bad" beliefs we've had pounded into us for so long. When my weight and inch loss stalled this summer at 8 lbs, I took a look and realized I was seriously low on fat. I lost 5 more lbs, when I upped the fat to where it should be.

Hey! I guess I should have mentioned that according to my keto sticks I've stayed in ketosis for about a week now, and I'm coming in at less than 30 carbs/day (always under 20 NET carbs). So when I say a big salad, it's really just two servings which aren't very high in carbs.

My snacks are actually what helps me get the fat I need, as I've regularly been getting around 100 grams of fat and 60-80 grams of protein per day. I hate to admit, but I don't much like cooking, so I typically just cook my meat in a low-carb sauce like Frank's Red Hot buffalo sauce along with butter (I cook most things but my raw greens with butter, olive oil, or coconut oil). With that said, I don't think I'm having an issue with ketosis or my macros, unless 100 grams of fat and 60-80 grams protein is more/less than what I need? I guess I just want to make sure that eating when I'm not hungry in order to achieve those macros is okay? If the greens are really what's causing me to stay full, I'd prefer to get the nutrients in those greens as long as I'm staying well into ketosis. I have to admit though, I did skip induction, just because I don't see it fitting into my lifestyle right now (co-workers go out to eat a lot, Halloween parties, Birthday parties, etc.), and I feel like I wouldn't be able to happily do it for even a couple of weeks. . Maybe I'm overthinking things again, as I so often do!

There is a lot of evidence, but not a lot of studies done, that indicates that when we delete, or severely limit the carbs in our diets, we eliminate the need for a lot of what we think of as essential nutrients.

The Inuit in northern Canada and Alaska were, prior to being introduced to a Western diet, strict meat and fat eaters: they believed that plants were for animals to eat, and animals were for humans to eat.

They were extremely healthy. Much more so than any group of people in the "civilized" world.

You have only been doing this a week and a half. Your body is trying to get into Ketosis when it will get the calories you need from your own fat stores. That's the point! However, if your comment about parties means you intend to drink and carb binge on regular occasions, then that won't happen.

Do not eat unless you are hungry. How often you eat is just as important as the amount, many find later that two good, high fat meals is enough and snacking not needed. But when you do need a snack, keep it high fat. Trader Joe's has a little snack pac of salami and cheese; a homemade meat and cheese roll-up or HB eggs works as well.

You won't find much support in the LC world for CI/CO theories. Read this explanation and the excellent BMJ article linked within it: https://intensivedietarymanagement....gy-expenditure/

You don't have much weight to lose, your meals sound fine and if you truly enjoy exercise then do it, but don't expect it to help you lose weight...in fact it may be why you "need" to snack. while you are changing your diet to a healthier LC one, consider changing other habits at the same time. (We have the same birthday...though mine was many decades before yours I've been on many diets...learn now that cutting the junk carbs is the best way to control your weight for life )

Ah, I suppose that's something I hadn't quite thought about; our bodies adapting to a different set of nutritional needs. I guess I'm just looking for an excuse to snack, since snacking has been a big part of my life for the last few years, and I'm afraid if I can't do it, I'll quite this diet!

As for parties, I haven't carb BINGED per se, but I do eat things induction wouldn't allow such as salads with carrots or curry with a little sugar in it (I assume it had sugar, and I didn't eat the rice). The other day I did go to a bbq at an event, and the only two things I ate were the bbq (without the sauce), and a small serving of hash that did have some sauce (again, no rice). Right now my keto sticks show that I have a moderate to heavy amount of ketones in my urine (and TMI my urine does smell strongly of some sort of metal), but I have actually gained a couple of pounds the last couple of days (and during these days I've been really good about staying below my 30 grams of carbs, 20 net carbs, and eating whole foods I made myself). So, I guess for now I will stop the snacking and see what happens. I suppose if I'm not hungry even with the exercise, than I should be fine!

I guess that brings me to another question. Is it normal to gain weight the first few days in "heavy" ketosis? Or is it really that I'm eating too much? Thanks for all the help you all have given me so far!

I think it is important to realize that those civilizations that don't eat veggies, they did eat organ meat which is far more nutritious than muscle meat. For instance, liver, heart, etc. is super full of B vitamins and things that you won't find so much of in a steak or hamburger.

That reminds me, I need to make another batch of chicken liver enhanced chili.

Good point. I am not planning on eating lots of raw seal meat including most of its organs

I will stick with my leafy greens (especially fresh baby spinach) and chicken/steak/or whatever.

Whatever works for each person is great, but I have found for me, pick a plan and follow it as written. I eat when hungry from acceptable foods and it has worked well for years.

I noticed that you mentioned Net Carbs so I was wondering why you aren't eating any fresh vegetables.

LOL, I was just talking about this this morning with Husband, and pointed out that the reason we take supplements is because, even though we're eating more meat, we're not eating entire animals, as our ancestors did. We don't eat hearts and lungs, etc.

He said he had no intention of starting to eat those, so he'd keep eating veggies and taking his supplements.

He should probably go with the liver and other organs, if the veggies are at all odious to him.

Look at the organ meats that sometimes come with a Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey, or a roasting chicken. Our ancestors would have eaten these--but the bulk of the food still comes from muscle meat and adipose.

Heart should actually be an easy sell, if you could get him to try it once. Just tastes like a lean roast.

Heh, Teaser, that conversation was in the context of a larger one about how he feels better when he eats a salad than a lot of meat and fat.

I told him that at least half of that was conditioning: he has learned to identify the feeling of a stomach filled with meat and fat as bad, and of a stomach filled with salad as good. Things we don't even think about, because we believe that it's just the way it is, not conditioning.

Believe me this is a true first for me, I am genuinely finding it difficult to eat enough to get both the fat ratio and to get a reasonable calorie count. So far I have had zero hunger on this way of eating I am following a LCHF plan. But it is difficult to get enough fat in, I am just a newbie only being on the diet for two and half weeks and have lost 17lb . Honestly when studying the ins and outs of the diet I laughed at the “fat bombs” that folk make , assuming that getting fat into me would never be a problem. Now I am looking for the best “fat bomb “recipe it really is paradigm shift in my life .

If your plan is LCHF you may have read this article on the DietDoctor website recently...Don't Force the Fat.
https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com/201...-force-the-fat/
Though I suggested above to eat fatty real foods like cheese and salami, I did not suggest adding fat bombs. To me those are more appropriate for athletes, or at goal weight, not someone who still has a few pounds to lose.

Dr Westman, whose clinic diet is in the other Taubes book Why we get fat, was asked about "macros". He stated he didn't know what an individual's "fat macro" should be because no one knows how much fat is coming from your own fat stores. The Phinney & Volek chart of weight loss is another good explanation. You are not hungry, and do not need to force food or fat, if you are at an early stage of the diet where your body fat is providing the fuel.

Thank you Janet, I am a member of diet doctor and have read/watched just about everything on the site. While specific numbers are never mentioned they do recommend a ratio of fat/carb/protein in the diet. They also seem concerned that protein is kept to a certain level as too much protein is not desirable due to its insulin response.

I am enjoying the diet so far and very happy with the results. I just want to make sure that I am “doing it correctly”. I am far from being an athlete, though a career as a sumo wrestler is a possibility , so I will leave the fat bombs alone. I think the issue is that I now never feel hungry a feeling totally alien to me. I look at my calories fat/protein and carbs level and think something is not right, my problem may well be that despite having a lot of good information and scientific articles a part of my brain still thinks in the old outdated way. I suppose that is what a lifetime of fat bad count calories move more propaganda does.

I would also like to thank you personally for being such a great resource for this site. It is amazing how many times I have come across your posts when searching for topics of interest to me.