I was just wondering if it is better if you do eat more...ie; more meat, eggs, cheese, etc...Will this cause you to lose more than say not eating at all. I must admit that there are some days that I am just not hungry and I just do not feel like eating, but have to force myself to eat a salad or something. I have also noticed that when I do eat eggs, steak, salad and chicken all in one day, the more I eat that stuff the next day I will have dropped 2 pounds. But on days that I just dont eat much, I dont lose. Why is this? How can I get myself to eat more, I mean I literally have to force myself to eat sometimes due to not being hungry...Thank you!

Hi! If your appetite has bottomed out, it's a good idea to make sure you're eating enough to prevent your metabolism bottoming out, also. You shouldn't have to count calories like crazy, but if you're down to something like 600 calories a day, that's way too low.

You want to eat enough to keep your basal metabolism up, but not so much that you're not burning your stored body fat. It's generally better to eat something than go a long period of time without eating at all. I think Dr Atkins recommends going no longer than six waking hours without eating.

You might want to try keeping track of your intake at www.fitday.com for a few days, just to see where you're at.

HTH.

Ketosis is a natural appetite suppresant. So, it's easy to believe that you shouldn't eat because you don't feel hungry. Instead of feeling like you're forcing yourself to eat three big meals a day, divide them up into 6 smaller meals. It will keep your metabolism motoring along.

For example:

- a few meatballs
- a hard-cooked egg with mayonnaise and sliced cucumber
- a few chicken wings with ranch or blue cheese dressing
- 2 celery stalks with cream cheese or nut butter
- a slice of beef smeared with butter and a dill pickle
- a slice of cheese with a few cherry tomatoes
- sliced meat and mayonnaise or cream cheese rolled into a lettuce leaf
- a serving of SF jell-o with a blob of whipped cream
- half a can of salmon or tuna salad eaten with celery sticks
- 1/2 oz. of macadamia nuts or almonds with sliced cucumbers
- 1 oz. of pork rinds - you can use these to pick up your salmon or tuna salad
- a small bowl of chicken soup

When you eat in small bits, it doesn't seem like your choking down vast amounts of foods. And it's varied enough to prevent you from getting bored.

Karen

Thanks for the info! I really appreciate it! I also find that taking a spoonful of peanut butter with nuts helps too. That is usually how I get my sweet craving out of the way.

Hi there Tex.....

You've already gotten some good information here!

Like you, I've found it difficult to get in the quantities of food that I need. When I started the weight lifting, I went to the six small meals a day and even found that to be huge almost impossible quantities of food. My solution has been to use protein shakes to supplement. They are low in carbs and relatively low in calories considering their protein content and have been the solution to the problem for me. You might want to try it.

Marlaine

Hi Marlaine! Thanks for you reply. With these Protein Shakes, what are considered as low carbs. I really try ot keep my carbs at about 30 per day...sometimes even lower than that. And I do like to have my peanut butter, usually at night! I am like you though, there is no way I can eat that much in one day, especially now. hee, maybe 4 months ago. I've tried, but I just cannot do it. I feel sick if I eat that much. But I would like to try these Protein Shakes...Can I get them at Walgreens? Can I drink say a shake, instead of having my 3 eggs and bacon...That would be great for me..cuz breakfast, lately just is not my thing...Thanks for all the help.

I've been using a protein mix called "Whey Gourmet". My favourite flavours are the Pina Colada and the Mocha Java. I also use the Banana/Strawberry, the Vanilla and the Orange Creamsicle. By adding the frozen strawberries in the blender, it becomes a very thick and yummy shake. I like it too when I include an ounce of heavy cream as well. They have a website at wheygourmet.com so you can email them from there to find out where's it's sold.

There are other protein supplement mixes available so it's a matter of finding one that you like the taste of.

Marlaine