“I’m still hungry on a keto diet!”

Does MCT oil help with weight loss? Why are you still hungry on keto? And can you get too high ketones?

Get the answers in this week’s Q&A with Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt:

MCT oil to help weight loss?

I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I’m 55, 5’3″ (160 cm) but 135 lbs (61 kg). Have been on strict keto diet for 3½ weeks. Not counting carbs but avoiding all foods not on the low-carb spectrum. No weight loss yet! Should I take MCT oil?

Marilyn

 
No. MCT oil does not help with weight loss. If you want to speed things up I recommend adding intermittent fasting instead. Bonus: it’s free.

Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt

Hungry on keto

I have been on the ketogenic diet for almost nine months. I eat between 120-140 grams of fat, 84 g protein and 20-25 g of net carbs per day. I’m very hungry! My weight loss has stalled so I have attempted to reduce to 100 g but feel soooooo hungry! I started supplementing with B5.

Giulia

 
Hi Giulia!

Hard to say without knowing more, like your height and weight. For some reason, it seems like your body feels you’ve reached your ideal body weight and it does not want to lose more. So perhaps you have? Or, if definitely not the case, there may be other hormonal issues involved. Also – if applicable – remember that women 40+ sometimes may have to accept that they don’t have the same body weight as when they were younger, for hormonal reasons. The alternative can be a need for starvation that is rarely sustainable or empowering.

For more options see our guides:

• How to lose weight
• Weight loss tips for women 40+

Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt

Is it possible to have your ketones go too high by IF and a keto diet?

I recently lost 40 lbs (18 kg) on keto and then it stalled out and now I am gaining weight doing the same keto diet. My ketones are consistently around 2.0. When I did three 24-hour fasting days consecutively, the ketones hit 4.9. Now I have gained 8 lbs (4 kg) back eating three times a day. Please help me figure this out. My blood work has been amazingly good, but I seem to still need insulin. What do I do? Do I fast?

Ron

 
Hi Ron!

As long as you feel fine, 4.9 in ketones should not be any cause for concern. Regarding fasting, we generally do not recommend fasting more than 24-48 hours. This can be highly effective and there is rarely a need for longer fasting than that.

Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt

More

Keto for beginners

Intermittent fasting for beginners

How to lose weight

More questions and answers

Many more questions and answers:

Low-carb Q&A