I have discovered a loophole in the ketovore diet.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t actually work.  Here’s how it goes:  Steak is ketovore.  Therefore, if one steak is good, two steaks must be twice as good.  This is approximately the level of nutritional science I’ve occasionally applied to dieting.  And I’m beginning to realize that one of the biggest challenges in my ketovore experiment has nothing to do with carbohydrates.  I eat too much.  There. I said it.

I Can Eat the Right Foods and Still Make the Wrong Decision

When I started this ketovore restart, most of my attention was on what I was eating.  Cut the sugar.  Get rid of the bread.  Skip the potatoes.  Avoid pasta.  Keep the carbohydrates extremely low.  Eat primarily meat, eggs and other animal-based foods, while allowing myself enough low-carb flexibility to make this sustainable.  And that’s working pretty well.  But there’s another variable I can’t ignore:  How much am I eating?

I’ve already caught myself doing it.  I’ll have a perfectly good ketovore meal.  I’m satisfied.  I’ve eaten plenty.  Then I’ll think:  “That was really good.”  And I’ll go get more.  I’m not necessarily hungry.  I just want more food.  That’s a completely different problem.

Going Back for Seconds Is Almost Automatic

I mentioned this during my recent football-game experience.  I made a good decision.  There was plenty of food around that didn’t fit how I wanted to eat, and I stuck primarily with meat.  Victory!  Then I went back for seconds.  Whoops.  What’s interesting is that the second trip wasn’t really about hunger.  The food tasted good.  It was available.  So I ate more.  I’m beginning to see a pattern.  Sometimes my biggest food trigger isn’t hunger.  It’s simply:  Food exists.

Apparently, my brain considers that an emergency requiring immediate attention.

“But It’s Ketovore” Isn’t a Free Pass

This is an easy trap.  I’ve done something similar whenever I’ve followed low-carb diets in the past.  I’ll think:  “Well, there aren’t any carbs in this.”  And somehow that becomes permission to eat as much as I want.  Another hamburger patty?  Ketovore!  More bacon?  Ketovore!  Cheese?  Ketovore!  Sixteen pounds of brisket?  Okay, Fred. Settle down.  The point is that food doesn’t become unlimited simply because it fits my eating plan.

If my goal includes losing weight, the amount I eat still matters.  That doesn’t mean I’m going to start obsessively weighing every ounce of steak or tracking every calorie.  One of the things I like about ketovore is its simplicity.  But I do need to relearn something incredibly basic:  Stop eating when I’ve had enough.

There’s a Difference Between Full and Satisfied

This is something I’m paying more attention to.  I’ve spent years eating until I’m full.  Sometimes very full.  You know that feeling after a giant restaurant meal when you lean back and think:  “Why did I eat that much?”  That’s not satisfaction.  That’s excess.  What I’m trying to learn is the point where I’ve eaten enough that I’m no longer hungry and I’m satisfied with the meal.  Then stop.

That sounds ridiculously obvious.  But changing decades of behavior isn’t necessarily easy just because the solution is obvious.

This Is Another Reason I’m Experimenting With OMAD

Earlier this week, I started experimenting with OMAD every other day.  OMAD means One Meal a Day.  I’m not doing it because I believe everyone needs to eat once a day.  I’m doing it because I’m learning something about myself:  Fewer eating opportunities seem to make this easier.

If I eat three meals plus snacks, that’s four or five opportunities to overeat.  On an OMAD day, I have one.  But there’s a catch.  I can’t turn my one meal into an eating competition.  OMAD doesn’t mean:  “I haven’t eaten for 23 hours, so bring me everything that isn’t nailed down.”  The goal is still to eat a reasonable meal.  Protein first.  Eat until satisfied.  Then be done.  That’s the part I’m working on.

I’m Trying a New Rule

I’m adding a very simple rule to my ketovore experiment:  No automatic seconds.  Notice I didn’t say:  Never have seconds.  If I’m genuinely still hungry after eating, that’s different.  Instead, I’m trying to break the habit of immediately getting more food simply because I enjoyed the first plate.  Finish the meal.  Wait.

Give my body a chance to tell my brain what’s happening.  Then decide.  There’s that word again:  Decide.  That’s becoming one of the biggest themes of this entire experiment.

The Pause Is Becoming My Most Important Tool

A few days ago, I wrote about changing this pattern:  See food → Eat food  into:  See food → Think → Decide → Eat or don’t eat  I think the exact same principle applies to portions.  My old pattern:  Finish plate → Food tastes good → Get more  What I want:  Finish plate → Wait → Am I actually hungry? → Decide  That little pause might be more valuable to me than another complicated diet rule.

Because I’m beginning to realize that much of my eating happens automatically.  Ketovore is forcing me to notice it.

I’m Not Trying to Eat as Little as Possible

I want to make this distinction because there’s another extreme I don’t want to fall into.  My goal isn’t starvation.  I don’t want to see how little food I can survive on.  I’m prioritizing protein precisely because I want meals that are satisfying.  If I’m hungry, I’m going to eat.

What I’m trying to eliminate is eating when I’m not hungry.  That’s very different.  And frankly, if I can solve that problem, it may matter far beyond this 30-day experiment.

The Scale Isn’t the Only Thing I’m Watching

I started this restart at 197.0 pounds.  I started September at 187.8.  Obviously, I want that number to continue heading downward over time.  But I’m becoming more interested in these behavioral victories.  Can I walk past food when I’m not hungry?  Can I order meat at a restaurant without ordering everything that normally comes with it?  Can I finish a good meal without automatically going back for another plate?  Can I distinguish between:  “I’m hungry” and “I want to eat”?

Those are much more interesting questions.  Because eventually the initial excitement wears off.  Eventually the scale stops dropping quickly.  Eventually I’m going to have a frustrating week.  When that happens, habits are what will keep this going.

Today’s Ketovore Goal Is Simple

I’m not adding another complicated rule.  I’m not counting every calorie.  I’m not weighing my food.  I’m not changing the entire experiment.  I’m doing one thing:  I’m going to stop before I automatically go back for seconds.  Maybe I’ll still eat more.  But first I’m going to give myself a few minutes and ask:  Am I actually hungry?  If the answer is yes, fine.  If the answer is no?  Meal over.

It turns out the hardest part of ketovore might not be giving up bread.  It might be learning that just because I can eat another steak doesn’t necessarily mean I should.  Although, admittedly, that’s a much more enjoyable problem to have than deciding whether I want another salad.