Linda Gardner's Blog: “I’m Always Hungry on Low Carb, What Should I Do?”

What should you do if you’re always hungry when eating low carb?

The answer to this and other questions – what should you do if you’re losing too much weight, and can you eat low carb without a gall bladder? – in this week’s Q&A with Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt:

Can you eat low carb if you don’t have a gallbladder?

OK, I am coming back to low carb. I ate this way years ago and got really bored. I followed Protein Power, and I got great results. I’ve joined your site and I am ready to start again. My question is this: I had to have gallbladder surgery in 2007 and since then I’ve been concerned that maybe I should NOT do this kind of diet.

What is the outlook for someone without a gallbladder to start and finish well on this way of eating? Is it harder to lose weight low carbing? Should I cleanse because I don’t have a gallbladder? What to do? Thank you!

Tronda

Hi Tronda,

Just do it like anybody else. Most people tend to do great even without a gallbladder. However it’s possible that you may take longer to adapt when it comes to stomach issues, possibly you could initially have a tendency to stomach pains or diarrhea. If so you could have more but smaller meals, especially when it comes to fat. This should be temporary.

Best,
Andreas

I lose too much weight on low carb. What to do?

Hello Andreas,
Thanks for the great work!

I have done LCHF before, several years ago but had to stop as I became almost critically underweight (I am 193 Cm tall and got down to 63 kg). I didn’t know what to do, so started adding carbs but it made no difference until I was once again on my old, unhealthy carb-rich diet. Because of this, I have been slowly putting on weight ever since.

In April I was 92 kg and decided it was time to lose some weight, but this time I want to stay on LCHF indefinitely if possible, because I enjoy many benefits aside from weight loss.

However, it seems to be happening again. I lose about 1 or 2 kg each week. I started LCHF again in the start of May and I have since then lost 14 kg (very rapidly at first).

I have found my appetite quite low on LCHF, in fact most days I have a few creamed coffees in the day (some days I have two eggs in the morning) and don’t eat until my main meal in the evening, which is mostly meat. I am happy with this and enjoy it, but I recognise that I only eat a fraction of what I used to (used to have about four meals a day and snacks in between).

I didn’t intend to stop having breakfast and lunch, but I decided to try the intermittent fasting, but very quickly came to realise I didn’t need those meals at all. I considered “only eat when hungry”. I am not, by the way, starving myself. I genuinely don’t feel hungry till the evening time.

What do I need to do to prevent becoming underweight?

Thank you very much.

Steve

Hi Steve,

If adding carbs to stabilize your weight puts you back on the yo-yo rollercoaster I’d suggest instead voluntarily adding another meal or a couple of snacks to your day.

I know this is not fun and takes some extra time but at least it can be pleasurable and there are of course people who would enjoy having your problem.

Best,
Andreas

I’m constantly hungry on low carb!

I have been on a LCHF diet for more than 3 years but recently started to gain some weight. I’m a 62 year old woman. I have always been hungry – just thought I needed to take it. After finding your site (thank you!), I see that I am not supposed to be hungry. But my stomach empties about 30 to 45 minutes after I eat! So after watching the videos I started eating more fat, figuring that was my problem but now as I listen to the videos, I see I shouldn’t be having too much fat because there’s such a thing as too many calories? Now I guess I need to stop having cream in my coffee as I am having many cups in the morning? I’m so confused!

I can’t figure out how much of what (carbs/fat/protein) I’m supposed to be eating to NOT be hungry? I am doing 16:8 IF five days a week and lost most of the weight gain though…but still hungry…

Should I see a doctor about this, is there something wrong with me? Or should I just eat if I get hungry even if I just ate an hour ago? In all the testimonials they say that they are never hungry so it must be me? I would be happy with eating once a day if I just wasn’t hungry!

Andreas, thank you ahead of time for any advice you might have for me,
Janice

Hi Janice,

You’re not supposed to need to eat every hour to avoid hunger. If you do, most likely you’re not eating nearly enough at meals and you should probably try adding more fat to your meals.

On the other hand, do not constantly snack or lots of cream every not and then in your coffee. Try to keep to fasting between meals. Ideally no snacks. Small amounts of milk in coffee, ideally not more.

Eat a meal when you are hungry, eat until you’re not hungry. And eat enough so that you don’t immediately get hungry again. Then do something else – do not eat – until you, hopefully much later, get hungry again.

Does that make sense?

Best,
Andreas

Low Carb for Beginners