Can't Eat as Much as I Used to

[Primal]

Hey all, I've been having a weird problem lately. I've been trying to get up to 205 lbs to 208 lbs before I start on the keto diet again to shred down for the summer. The problem is, I can't eat as much as I could last year when I started bulking. To give some hindsight again, I started at 153 lbs and in a few months was up to about 200 lbs roughly after eating like a monster. I maintained this for a good 8 months while training my butt off and I'm at where I am now, 202 lbs with striated delts and decently visible abs. Now that I'm upping my calories again, I am noticing that I can eat only a third of what I ate last year. For example, this lunch I could only eat 1 chicken breast with a bowl of salad on the side and a banana. Last year, I would eat 3 chicken breasts, the whole salad, the banana and probably a tbs of peanut butter to finish off and some lemon squares too (about 6 or so). When I eat now, I feel full incredibly quickly and when I try to force feed like I did last year, I end up feeling nauseous and throwing up.

I'm not too sure what is going on here, does my body not want me to go any higher 202 lbs? I think trying to gain any more weight is a bad idea so I'm ditching the weight gain idea and instead am getting ready to slowly go into ketosis starting this following Monday. Has this ever happened to you guys at all? I'm eating pretty good still so I don't see what problem is... Thanks!

-Primal

[steve_d]

Exactly. Basically your body is like a thermostat. You've reached your 'temperature' and now adding more heat isn't what the house wants. Everyone has a different range. But you'll find once you diet for a bit, lose say 10-15 pounds, that hunger will be back. Not being crazy hungry is a good thing - otherwise you'll end up gaining too much fat. That's my take on it anyway. I don't think you need to gain 50-60 pounds in order to gain lean tissue.

Some people gain optimally at 8-10% range, others perhaps a little higher. I think the best range to be in is where you're not always disgusted by food. Just a bit leaner than that where food is still enjoyable. I'd say a good range to be in is a range where on any given day you could go to an all you can eat restaurant and scare everyone around you. From the sounds of it, you're a bit higher than that range

[Primal]

Oh, ok thanks for the clarification Steve! I guess I'll after I diet and try to get back up, I'll try to stay in a good eating range and control myself more. Thanks again!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

What Steve said is correct....your BF is probably much too high which in turn drives up insulin resistance and all the weight you are gaining now is fat. As our fat increases your appetite decreases because as Steve said it s like a thermostat. Go back and read the article I posted on why bulking is bullshit...now it will make sense.

P

[Primal]

What Steve said is correct....your BF is probably much too high which in turn drives up insulin resistance and all the weight you are gaining now is fat. As our fat increases your appetite decreases because as Steve said it s like a thermostat. Go back and read the article I posted on why bulking is bullshit...now it will make sense.

P

Yeah I suppose your right Prae, thanks I guess it was a good time to ask this question! Planning to start into keto at the end of this week. Can't wait! Thanks!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

You dont need to go directly into keto. Use the diet I posted but have carbs in every other meal to start with and take it from there.

P

[Primal]

You dont need to go directly into keto. Use the diet I posted but have carbs in every other meal to start with and take it from there.

P

Oh great info haha, I wish I would have known about this before I tried keto, I went directly in last time. I'm not sure, but I think I might have a GI problem, I have some symptoms that are quite unusual. I at least think that I must have a stomach tolerance to certain foods, but I'm unsure. Haven't seen my doc yet, I'm leaving to go home tomorrow so I will ask him when I get back. Right now, I'm looking into Gastroparesis and other things. This could be why I had so much trouble with keto the first time, or why I am having some strange symptoms now. Either that or I have a bacteria that won't go away... Hopefully I get to the bottom of this. The trip back with my friends really brought me back to where I really started training from and why I do train. I'm super motivated to train to full capacity and look my best. Thanks for the info Prae and everyone else!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Unless you have an underlying health condition keto should be very easy. The main reason people have issues with keto is because they do not understand how the body uses fuel and have no idea what keto actually is.

Its all mental...people tell themselves that because they aren't eating tonnes of carbs muscle is falling off their body, they are light headed, no strength...blah blah blah...all nonsense...its silly really.

P

[Primal]

Unless you have an underlying health condition keto should be very easy. The main reason people have issues with keto is because they do not understand how the body uses fuel and have no idea what keto actually is.

Its all mental...people tell themselves that because they aren't eating tonnes of carbs muscle is falling off their body, they are light headed, no strength...blah blah blah...all nonsense...its silly really.

P

Yes I know what you mean by the mental aspect for sure! I was getting really light headed and dizzy last time. What I am referring too is big pressure build ups in my abdominal regions that hurt really badly. Some nights I can't get to sleep because of it. On top of this, my stomach growls and bottoms out all throughout the day making me feel like crap.

-Primal

[Praetorian]

It sounds to me like you have a gastro issue...get it checked out.

P

[Primal]

It sounds to me like you have a gastro issue...get it checked out.

P

Yeah that is exactly what I thought too! Going to the doc pretty soon, just got back home and booked the appointment.

-Primal