Hungry!! page

[MyBodyMyTemple]

I've been primal for about a week and a half with only one day when I ate grains. I am hungry all the time!! Is this normal?? I was eating about 110g fat, 20g carb, 80g protein averaging about 1,400 calories and felt full. Now I'm averaging about 130g fat, 30g carb, 100g protein, 1,800 calories and very hungry. I'm eating a lot of eggs, bacon, beef, salmon, ground turkey, coconut oil, spinach, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, kale and some dark chocolate.... those are pretty much the usuals. I've been walking between 3-4 hours each week with two weight lifting sessions. I weigh about 136. Is this all part of transitioning from CW to primal? If so, should I just keep eating? More fat maybe?

[runnergal]

Eat more.

Probably more fat , possibly more protein

Quite frankly, while you are going through transition to lowered carbohydrates, if you are hungry eat. Quit counting calories. Eat until you are satisfied. When you are hungry try a bit of fat and see if that satiates you (often if my meal was a bit low a bit of butter and a glass of water would do the trick). If it doesnt eat again. Until you are completely through carb withdrawal your hunger may be magnified. Eat.

For me dairy was satiating. butter, greek yogurt and sour cream got me through the first 2 weeks. Except for butter I havent had the urge for them since. (shame, I just loaded up on yogurt and sour cream).

[bokbadok]

Two things jump out at me here.

You've only been primal for 10 days and you are already going for low-carb ketosis? I think that's too much too soon. Add more carbs for awhile - several weeks - and shoot for the 100-150g/day range. That gives room for dairy and fruit, which will help your transition.

Also, I have to wonder if you are truly hungry, or if that's appetite talking. I craved carbs big time when I first went primal, and it wasn't cuz I wasn't getting enough to eat. I just missed the sugar hit. It's a physical and psychological withdrawal and it is a powerful thing. I second runnergal's advice to try whole fat dairy: greek yogurt with berries and a bit of stevia, heavy whipping cream whipped up with some cocoa powder and stevia, sugar free hot cocoa with cream, etc. Also, you might try making Primal Energy bars (search the blog for the recipe).

[MyBodyMyTemple]

I'm not eating dairy, because I never feel too good when I eat it and get pretty bloated. I can add more fat/protein. I feel every day I have been adding more.

bokbadok: I agree with you that it is also psychological. Fortunately, before going primal I wasn't too big of a carb eater. Most of my carbs came from fruit and vegetables. However, by adding more fat/protein I do want to know it's because I'm actually hungry and not craving carbs or something else. How did you get through this stage? How long did it last?

[cavewoman cafe]

You might try a transitional food like these primal nut bars recipe that I found here. They have really helped me and lots of folks I've been converting.
http://cavewomancafe.wordpress.com/2...ew-beginnings/
happy cave eating
Dana

[lexsi340]

I just BARELY got out of this stage, and I have been doing this since Nov/Dec (full-on, I made a very slow transition starting in August). I was still having sugar in my coffee & tea, to an amount I had never put in.. just to get the sweets. That coupled with an apple & a few bowls of berries a night + sunflower butter (with added sugar, sigggh) - my hunger was out of control. I was too afraid to eat more because it defies all CW, but finally after complaining for a few weeks, I listened on here and cut out sugar & only do berries (although I had a bannna when things got desperate!). PS, splenda/stevia doesn't cut it.. cut those out too (it took me a long time to heed this..). Oh & I limited nuts during that period, but I had to eat a LOT of fat and cheese (parmesan) to get me through the cravings (and I forgot about fruit - though a lot of people say fruit fuels their sugar cravings, by the end of it, I just didn't have fruit cravings anymore).
Have you tried kefir or goat's/sheep milks and cheeses? They tend to be much easier on the stomach..

It took me about 3-4 days - luckily no temptation in sight. At the beginning of it, cranberries were so tart I wanted to add splenda, by the end they were sweet. Today I ate onions and they were insanely sweet. No more crazy cravings AT ALL! And I can now drink a double shot of espresso w/o sugar/stevia, which is great.

[NourishedEm]

Now I'm averaging about 130g fat, 30g carb, 100g protein, 1,800 calories and very hungry. I'm eating a lot of eggs, bacon, beef, salmon, ground turkey, coconut oil, spinach, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, kale and some dark chocolate....

If you're coming in around 1800 calories, you're not eating a lot. On days when I eat a lot, I will come in around 3500 calories.

That being said, if you're hungry, your body is trying to tell you to eat... so eat!

[mummybeelee]

I am going to quote myself from your thread last week:

I personally would forget the numbers for now and just eat to satiety. Add plenty of meat, eggs, cook with good fats (coconut oil, butter etc) and round it out with veggies, a few nuts, berries, maybe some dark choc (my favourite treat right now is a bowl of berries with a sprinkling of flaked almonds, a square of dark choc broken over and heavy cream. Delicious and so satisfying!). If you aren't getting the results you want in a month or so when you have had chance to adjust fully, then take a closer look at the numbers?

Give your body chance to get used to being well nourished and give yourself chance to listen to what your body wants before you start worrying about the numbers and tweaking things.

Forget the numbers, forget the scale, forget the calories. Just eat!

Make primal food choices when you are hungry.
Eat primal food until you are full.
Wait until you are hungry again and repeat.

If you are craving sweets/carbs, try eating some fat...a sliver of butter, some coconut milk or oil, a mug of tea with heavy cream, whipped cream with a few berries...

It is early days. Let your body adjust and stop focusing on the numbers. Numbers will stress you out (which is counter productive) and they don't tell the full story anyway.

You're doing fine, just relax and keep living primally

[Horsewoman]

I was really hungry at the beginning, I assume my body was looking for the carbs it suddenly wasn't getting. I ate a meal every 4 hours to get me through. I agree that the early days are not the time to be shooting for very low carb or restricting intake.

[melsie]

Like some other people mentioned, artificial sweeteners and other sweeteners will keep you hungry even if you are eating enough fat or calories. That was my big downfall and I am just seeing that now. I wish I would have cut that crap years ago. So stupid. Stupid marketing, making me think it was ok :P

I was very hungry for a few weeks when transitioning from full on carb eating to primal. Very hungry and very snacky, but I stuck to it and in about a month my appetite got under control and the loss of the hungries was amazing!! It was truely a growling stomach hunger too.. not just psychological.