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Fat issue?

KimG

Well-Known Member
Messages
549
Location
West Sussex
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I've been on LCHF for 3 weeks now, and am now finding my appetite is diminishing. I am eating to 1300 cals and 50-60 carbs a day. The thought of eating fat is making me feel queasy, I don't actually eat a lot of fat at the moment. When I have to eat, all I want is is lettuce and French vinaigrette or balsamic. I seem to craving the sour stuff like gherkins, anything in vinegar and hot stuff like chillies. I'm staying away from eggs, bacon, lots of meat and hardly any dairy. Is this normal? I need to get a grip as I need to eat other stuff but I'm just not interested . I don't tend to finish all of my food either and I know I need to eat.
 
Hi. With a low carb diet your appetite will usually diminish as the 'carb hit' will no longer be there. Whether this is your problem I can't say. It's imporatnt you have amix of range of nutrients but what proteins and fats you have and how many will be your choice?
 
I'm having 81g of protein and 87g of fat according to myfitnesspal.
 
As long as your BS levels are ok I wouldn't worry. I'm sure if there is a significance in your preference for acidic food someone will identify it for you. I've just been through a phase of craving pickles which is just as well since I've been pickling courgettes, cucumbers and beetroot. Now I've gone off them and am back on dairy and good old mayo with cheese.
I never tire of chillies
 
Lololololol. Yep it'll probably change for me too.
 
KimG said:
I'm having 81g of protein and 87g of fat according to myfitnesspal.
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4 calories per gramme of protein, 9 calories per fat of gramme, and 4 for carbs.

50g x 4 = 200 (15%)
81 x 4 = 324 (25%)
87 x 9 = 783 (60%)
200 + 324+783 = 1307 calories.

Do you check whether or not you're in nutritional ketosis (fat burning mode)? Apparently 60% fats is borderline for achieving that. If you are in ketosis then that's all good. If you're not then maybe you could think about increasing your fats a bit more.
 

I wouldn't waste a single grey cell worrying about it.

Personally, when I reduced my carbs, I didn't increase fats until I got just about as skinny as I wanted to get, in order to work on stopping weight loss. Many people who feel very hungry on low carb, need the fat to make the hunger go away, but if you're not hungry, just go with the flow for now.

Secondly, your profile suggests you are taking Metformin. One of the impacts of Metformin is it acts as an appetite suppressant. Like most things, how much it impacts on the appetite is all very personal, but from time to time, we see folks posting who just don't seem to want to eat.

So, just go with the flow. You shouldn't force yourself to up the fats, if you're not hungry and you're feeling OK. There may come a time when you have to do something to level your weight, but for the time being, I'd just run with it.
 
I should think your body is just going 'phew! I can have a bit of a holiday ater all those years of carb-overload.'

Enjoy it while it lasts, and when your appetite wakes up again, you may find that your tastes have changed. I was shocked to discover that I loved sugarsnap peas and green beans to the point of gluttony, and that a simple coffee with cream was a gustatory delight. The desire for sweet things became satisfied by a slice of raw, juicey red pepper, and as for those pickles... it was almost too intense to endure. Heavenly.
 
Than you Geoffers, you've got the percentages I'm working to. How do I know I'm in ketosis? I'm on the scales tomorrow (I weigh weekly) I'll see what I've lost in the morning. Maybe I could change the protein/fat percentage?
 
Personally if I were you I would just keep on getting used to your new regime. I wouldn't worry too much about ketosis at this stage, just concentrate on your BGs and let the rest look after itself until you feel ready to look into it further. It'll be interesting to see what the scales say tomorrow.
 
I'd agree wholeheartedly with @zand . I didn't weigh myself for 3 months after I started getting my diet into shape, by which time I was merely curious on the basis of the questions others were asking me. For me, I only had one goal, and that was to get my bloods back to as near normal as I could.

Sometimes the KISS principle just works (for me).
 
I have found every one on this thread really supportive and helpful, thank you. I will now go and chill out
 
KimG said:
How do I know I'm in ketosis? ... Maybe I could change the protein/fat percentage?
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There are blood testing kits and urine testing strips, and I opt for urine. I buy ketone test strips from Amazon - £6 for 100.

The other guys are advising you to not worry about ketosis for now as long as your BG is coming down. It's a fair approach - blood sugar doesn't depend on ketosis and if that's your major focus then there's no need to change anything. But for me, I wanted to be sure my body was adapting to burn all the extra fat I was eating. There's no right or wrong - just choices.

Your protein sounds about right to me, so if you were to alter anything I'd suggest it would be reducing the carbs and increasing the fat.
 
Thank you Geoffers, I will bear that in mind my sugars are quite good at the moment between 5.4-7 fasting and 5.8-7.5 after meals. I have changed meter from SD codefree to Accu Check the one the NHS supply. I have found the readings are a little lower on the Accu Check.
 
Whilst I slowly lost weight following LCHF I was quite happy just to concentrate on the carbs, for a couple of years. When that weight loss stalled for as long as 6 months then I started thinking about how ketosis could help me.
 
Sorry, maybe I wasn't being clear. The urine strips I buy are not a replacement for my BG testing kit (mine's a Codefree). The urine strips are an additional thing purely to test for ketosis.
 
GeoffersTaylor said:
Sorry, maybe I wasn't being clear. The urine strips I buy are not a replacement for my BG testing kit (mine's a Codefree). The urine strips are an additional thing purely to test for ketosis.
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It's not you, it's me. I tend to jump around in my conversations, a bad habit of mine. I did understand these were additional tests, not a replacement for glucose testing
 
KimG I'm inspired by your journey being only recently on the forum myself and early days of Hflc. It is good to see your questions about the journey into the new regime. Keep it up!
 
Libbaloo said:
KimG I'm inspired by your journey being only recently on the forum myself and early days of Hflc. It is good to see your questions about the journey into the new regime. Keep it up!
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Thank you libbaloo. I think it is important to ask questions as there may be other people who have the same issues. The answers are very supportive coming from people who have more experience on LCHF. Gathering information helps you to move forward . I have a weigh in tomorrow, I hope I've lost a few pounds . My blood glucose after lunch was 4.8 - get in!!
 
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