Why eating no carbs with lots of protein makes you less hungry
Presence or absence of carbohydrates and the proportion of fat in a high-protein diet affect appetite suppression but not energy expenditure in normal-weight human subjects fed in energy balance
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
A high-protein, zero-carb diet induced ketosis in just 48 hours — without fasting or exercise beyond a single glycogen-lowering session.
Ketosis is usually associated with prolonged fasting or extreme low-carb diets over weeks — not two days of normal eating with just carb removal.
Practical Takeaways
Try a 2-day high-protein, zero-carb reset (e.g., eggs, meat, fish, cheese, avocado, olive oil) to see if your hunger drops — even if you’re not trying to lose weight.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
A high-protein, zero-carb diet induced ketosis in just 48 hours — without fasting or exercise beyond a single glycogen-lowering session.
Ketosis is usually associated with prolonged fasting or extreme low-carb diets over weeks — not two days of normal eating with just carb removal.
Practical Takeaways
Try a 2-day high-protein, zero-carb reset (e.g., eggs, meat, fish, cheese, avocado, olive oil) to see if your hunger drops — even if you’re not trying to lose weight.
Publication
Journal
British Journal of Nutrition
Year
2010
Authors
Margriet A. B. Veldhorst, Klaas R. Westerterp, Anneke J. A. H. van Vught, Margriet S. Westerterp-Plantenga
Related Content
Claims (6)
Just eating more protein doesn’t make you less hungry — but if you take out carbs and add fat instead, you feel much less hungry.
When you eat a high-protein, no-carb, high-fat diet, your body starts burning more fat and produces a lot more ketones — a sign your body is switching to fat for fuel.
When you eat a high-protein diet with no carbs but lots of fat, you feel less hungry and more full than when you eat the same amount of protein but with some carbs.
Whether you eat a high-protein diet with carbs or without carbs, your body burns about the same number of calories — carbs don’t make you burn more energy.
If you eat a high-protein, no-carb diet for two days, your body starts making a lot of ketones — enough to be in ketosis. But if you eat carbs with the same protein, you don’t.