Should I Eat My Macros Even When I’m Not Hungry?

Should one wait until they are really hungry to eat, or try to meet their macros regardless? My “hunger switch” doesn’t really work right.

This a great question, and it’s really been on my mind lately, and this gives me the opportunity to articulate it. The Ketogenic Diet ALREADY has a tendency to decrease appetite for some people – which is great, right? But let’s face it, emotional eaters “disconnected” from their bodies a LONG time ago. So asking an emotional or stress eater to only eat when they are hungry – it just doesn’t work because we don’t always really know what hunger is anymore. Stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, overwhelm, sadness…. can feel like hunger. And hunger feels like hunger. And worse yet, a drop in blood sugar can create anxiety and even panic attacks (yes, believe it.) If you add to this the propagation of the “Starvation Mode” myth, and eating 3 squares is “healthy.” And “healthy grains…” I often joke that they told us to eat 3 meals a day, and so many of us did. They told us to stop eating fat – we did. Later they decided to “test” us. Let’s see what happens if we tell them to eat 6 times a day. HOLY $#!+ they’re eating 6 times a DAY!!! So I’m sort of kidding here – but sort of not. The long and short of this question is a little bit nuanced and varies from person to person. If you are significantly overweight, you don’t have to “eat your macros” – especially if you are eating in time restricted/intermittent fasting windows. Above all, you want to make sure you’re close to your protein macro. You need protein in order to prevent muscle wasting/catabolising. Of course, long-term (>36-48 hrs) fasting should only be done with the help and advisement of a doctor, but keep in mind that what you DON’T eat your body will dip into it’s own “sac of burgers” if it needs to. With a ketogenic diet, as long as your carbs are LOW, and your protein is moderate, you don’t have to worry about metabolic slowdown or killing your metabolism. Because, basically, your body will liberate what it needs… whatever deficit you don’t eat. As an example, let’s say you have a BMR/RMR of 1900 calories per day. If you eat LC/MP at say 500 calories, your body will “free” the 1400 you need to keep going and keep doing. So you’re not “starving” – you’re munching on the stored cookies, crackers, and cheesecake you ate years ago. Now, if you’re eating higher carbs, or snacking all day (even if you’re only eating 500 cals), the insulin never gets turned off. While insulin is on your fat can’t be freed. lol #freeTheFat If you’re close to goal, then you might need to be a bit more diligent about your calories and macros. Short answer – if you’re not hungry – don’t eat.