- One of the very best things
about a ketogenic diet is that wonderful feeling
of fullness that you get.
When your hunger slips away
and the cravings tune out,
you get to experience freedom from hunger.
But if you're still experiencing cravings and hunger,
then this video is going to help you fix that.
No willpower battles needed.
(energetic music)
Hey, Carb Dodgers.
I'm Dr. Dan Maggs.
So glad you've landed on my channel
which is all about achieving lasting weight loss
through low-carb, real food nutrition.
If that sounds good to you,
then why not subscribe to my channel
so that you get notified whenever I release a new video.
So first things first, are you actually in ketosis?
Ketones actually inhibit hunger
and play a large role in the reduced hunger you'll feel.
But it's not always easy to get right,
especially when you're just starting out.
You're still learning about what food contains
how many carbs, and there are plenty of places to trip up.
So the first thing to do is check
whether you are actually in ketosis.
Now, I'm not normally an advocate of testing ketone levels,
but when we're troubleshooting like this,
then actually testing your ketone levels
is definitely advised.
I'm not going to go into all the reasons
why you might not be in ketosis in this video
because I've created a free troubleshooting guide
on this exact topic.
It's called, "Why am I Not in Ketosis?"
And it takes you through all the different options
for measuring your ketone levels,
as well as helping you work out
what the underlying reasons might be.
And the link to that guide will be
in the description down below.
Number two, are you eating enough fat?
The ketogenic diet at its core is a low-carb,
moderate protein, and high-fat diet.
Eating healthy fats is a good thing,
especially when you're in the early stages,
when you're switching your metabolism
over from burning glucose to burning fat.
Many people focus on the cutting the carbs part of the diet,
but neglect to increase their fat intake.
And fat is your friend, it's very filling.
And neglecting to increase your fat intake
can really make you feel hungry.
If you're not eating enough fat, you are not alone.
This is one of the biggest reasons
why people don't feel full up
and give up on their ketogenic diets.
So why don't people eat enough fat?
Well, we've been conditioned to avoid fats
by our nutrition guidelines, the media,
food labels, health campaigns,
the whole healthcare sector, really.
We're told that dietary fat causes weight gain
and also it causes heart disease.
And as a result, we're a pretty fat-phobic society,
especially when it comes to eating saturated fats,
even when they come from whole food sources,
such as dairy, meat and eggs.
We're told these foods will put you
at risk of a heart attack and that's pretty scary stuff.
Now, this is a really important area
to get your head around.
This is only meant to be a kind of short video.
So I just want to point you in the direction
of some key studies that contradict the status quo on fats.
The links will be down below in the description,
but briefly they conclude that
the low-fat dietary guidelines introduced in the seventies,
were never supported by any evidence.
And indeed there has never been any evidence
to support the low-fat dietary guidelines.
It's incredible when you think about it.
Recommendations affecting hundreds of millions
of people worldwide have absolutely
no basis in science whatsoever.
Another review found no beneficial effects
from reducing saturated fats
on cardiovascular disease or mortality,
instead finding protective effects against stroke.
And my strong view on fat consumption is that
our dietary guidelines really need to be brought up to date.
If you need some help adding more fats
into your ketogenic diet,
which are a little bit more creative
than just adding more butter to everything,
then check out another one of my videos,
"How to Add More Healthy Fats into Your Ketogenic Diet",
and I'll drop that link up here.
Number three, do you have a micronutrient deficiency?
If you're deficient in certain vitamins or minerals,
then your body is going to want to correct that deficiency.
The result is hunger or even more specific cravings.
Take pregnancy as an example,
women crave all sorts of weird and wonderful combinations.
Pickles and ice cream anyone?
This is thought to be because the body is trying
to get all the nutritional needs it needs to grow a baby.
So, it's especially important
that the body corrects any deficiencies
at this point in time.
And when I was training to be a GP,
I saw a very strange case where a patient had cravings for.
And I swear, this is true, cigarette ash.
I hadn't got a clue what was going on,
so I asked my trainer.
They taught me to run some blood tests and sure enough,
the patient had an iron-deficiency anemia.
Craving non-food substances,
like this is a condition called Pica,
and it's often driven by malnourishment and deficiencies.
So why is this relevant?
Well, if you start it off on a ketogenic diet
off the back of a nutritionally, poor diet,
one that's high in processed foods,
then you may have deficiencies that need addressing first.
The first thing you should do is focus
on eating a wide range of whole foods,
rich in vitamins and minerals.
Think green, leafy vegetables, avocados,
oily fish, organic eggs, grass-fed meats, nuts and seeds,
and there's nothing wrong with supplementing.
I typically advise my clients to look for
a well-reformulated,
age and gender-appropriate multivitamin,
as well as magnesium supplements.
And if you need any recommendations on which ones to choose,
then I'll drop some links in the description down below.
Number four, are you getting enough protein?
A lot of focus is on the carbohydrate
and fat aspects of this diet.
You'll probably hear other people call it LCHF,
or Low Carb, High Fat, but what about protein?
Protein is arguably the most important macronutrient,
but it is frequently overlooked.
And many keto influencers encourage people
to moderate their protein.
And there's a bit of protein fear going on.
Now, `I don't want to get too deep into it in this video.
I'm going to link up here to a video
which is quite a lot longer,
but explains much more about it
if you're interested.
But in summary, you really don't need to be
as worried about over-consuming protein
as you should be worried about under-consuming it.
Now there's a lot of debate around
how much protein people need,
but the widely quoted figure
is that you need to consume around
0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight
to avoid absolute deficiency.
Just to keep the numbers nice and round,
take a hundred kilogram person or 220 pounds.
That person needs a minimum of 80 grams of protein a day.
And if you think that one egg provides
around six to seven grams of protein,
that's about 12 eggs over a day,
just to avoid protein deficiency.
That's a lot of eggs.
Your protein needs will also be higher
if you're exercising and you also need more protein
as you age to prevent muscle loss.
Number five, are you fasting too much?
Fasting is a great tool.
Fasting works hand-in-hand with ketogenic diets,
helping your body get into ketosis quicker
and to drop more body fat.
There is currently a big trend
towards eating one meal a day,
but that doesn't mean it's right for you.
Your hunger could be a sign that you're fasting too much
or fasting too soon after starting.
It's really important to note that ketogenic diet
doesn't mean starving your body.
Personally, I generally eat two meals a day as a minimum.
Sometimes that's even more when I'm doing a lot
of training or when my body is telling me to.
And I've got clients that eat three meals a day,
every day and never fast and still get great results.
Bottom line, keep in mind
that fasting is not necessary to reach ketosis
or to successfully lose weight on a ketogenic diet.
Simply following a healthy well-rounded ketogenic diet
is often enough for you to improve
your health and drop weight.
Fasting should feel natural.
It shouldn't be forced.
There shouldn't be any willpower battles.
So if you're hungry, listen to your body and eat.
Number six, are you fueling enough
for your exercise levels?
If you exercise regularly, you'll also need
to consider whether you are fueling enough
for your level of exercise.
Another key cause of hunger
on the diet is simply not eating the right amount
for the level of physical activity that you do.
The amount you need to eat depends
on the type of activity you're doing,
the duration, the frequency, the level of exertion.
If you're a very active person who exercises regularly
or if you enjoy high intensity sessions with heavy weights,
you're more likely to need to eat more
to fuel your body's needs.
And this ties in with what I said about protein earlier.
Make sure you're getting enough,
or else you're going to feel hungry.
If you're just starting out on a ketogenic diet,
I want you to understand that weight loss is 99% diet.
I see time and time again
when people start out on a new weight-loss program,
it's all go on the diet,
then and start a new exercise program at the same time.
And you don't need to be exercising loads
if at all when you start out.
And it's not that exercise is bad. It's great.
But let me be clear,
exercise is not what helps you lose weight.
And I always encourage my clients
who've not got a regular, established exercise habit
when they come to me,
to get the diet right first
and then slowly build in the exercise later.
Number seven, are you drinking enough water?
Another important consideration is your fluid intake.
Whilst I've never been able
to back up this with any science,
you've probably heard it said,
that thirst is often mistaken for hunger.
And we definitely lose water
when we start out on a ketogenic diet.
So you'll need to make sure you're hydrating
through the day,
and remember to keep up on your electrolytes too.
Number eight, are you getting enough sleep?
There are multiple studies on sleep and hunger.
Not sleeping, means craving more foods.
So part of nourishing your body
is letting it get enough rest.
When you're sleep-deprived,
the hormones responsible for hunger can become imbalanced.
This will trigger hunger, somewhat annoyingly.
One of the symptoms that people get
when they're starting out on a ketogenic diet is insomnia.
But thankfully, this goes away when your brain
becomes used to dealing with ketones.
So make sure you're getting enough sleep.
If you're well-rested and you're still hungry,
there may be another piece of the puzzle to figure out.
And finally, if the tips covered so far
have not quelled your hunger,
this last point is for you.
Number nine, are you actually hungry at all?
I mean, really?
It could be time to review your hunger triggers.
Do you eat out of habit, boredom,
stress, or to reward yourself?
Let's be honest.
This is something we all do from time to time,
and it can be hard to break these habits.
Start by noting your own personal hunger
or craving cues in a journal.
Remember to note down how you're feeling at the time.
This can be really enlightening and can help you
decode what is underlying your hunger.
Then you can put in simple strategies
into place to get past these triggers,
setting yourself up for long-term habits
that work better for you.
The ketogenic way of eating can be truly satisfying.
Your hunger can be totally revolutionized,
especially when you get over those initial hurdles.
And please, please make sure you're not depriving yourself.
There's no need to stress about rapid weight loss
or short term goals.
Let me know in the comments
if you've experienced any of these issues,
I'd love to know how you overcame them.
And if you found this video helpful,
don't forget to give it a thumbs up.
And if you've enjoyed this video,
make sure you subscribe to my channel,
so that YouTube lets you know
when I upload future videos.
Thanks for watching,
and hopefully, I'll see you in the next one.