I'm so ravenous, HELP

erythritol
craving
(Meagan) #1

I’m wondering if anyone has found any correlation between eating Keto desserts (sweetened with monk fruit sweetener or erythritol) and feeling really ravenous for sweets. I’m not just talking having a little sweet tooth I’m talking about intrusive thoughts about eating an entire package of cupcakes.

I’m also wondering if this has anything to do with under eating. I’m mostly plant based aside from the inclusion of eggs during breakfast so my meals are mostly veggies but I do generously add in the fats and a lot of hemp seeds and usually feel very full after eating. I was a binge eater about a year a half ago and the cravings are reminiscent of when I was under eating, but I’m not sure. It doesn’t feel like I’m not eating enough and although I wasn’t tracking my food consistently whenever I did I was always around 2,000 calories.

Its an overwhelming craving that I’m not sure what the cause is exactly from. I often will make an avocado mouse with avocado, raw cacao, and monk fruit or swerve and I find that I crave eating something sweet every day. I wonder if even though the sweeteners are zero carb and calorie do they still trigger the brains reward system like sugar thus making them addicting like sugar. I find that I want to eat something sweet every single day and almost feel anxious walking through the store and seeing all the bakery items, and have to constantly talk myself out of not shoving my coworkers Girl Scout cookies in my face while I’m at work.

As far as my ketosis goes, I am definitely in ketosis. I always stay in my recommended carbs and test my urine often and almost always end up in the dark purple.

I’m not sure what’s going on. I just don’t wanna have these ravenous urges.

(Meagan) #2

Also just more info on my Keto journey…

Began Keto on 1/1/19
Definitely feeling the good steady energy and feel I am through the Keto flu stage.

#3

How much do you think you eat now? I avoid sweeteners since they often bring on cravings for food - not necessarily cravings for sweet things. Maybe you can try to find substitute fro your sugar cravings that do not contain sweeteners or sugars. Sometimes pickles can do it. A small piece of fruit or berry with something fat like a piece of cheese. A drink of water with lemon in it? Some tea? You are doing well resisting these cravings

(Meagan) #4

I usually eat three meals a day. Breakfast is usually 2 eggs, half an avocado with some olive oil drizzle, and about 2 TB of almond butter. Lunch and dinner are all veggies with avocado. I snack on nuts and coconut milk too and have a protein shake. I definitely eat 1,500-2,000 calories a day. And I will try all these suggestions, especially tea I think that would help. Also that reminds me to add I do drink plenty of water all day. Thank you for your reply and encouragement on my craving resistance:)

(Allie) #5

Sweeteners very often do trigger cravings for sweet things which is why many people choose to eliminate sweet things altogether.

How much are you actually eating, are you getting enough food?

#6

What sort of protein shake? Some proteins are more insulinogenic than others. Are you not able to meet your protein goals with food? Also, is it possible that all the veggies are adding up to more carbs than you imagine?

(Alex) #7

today, i ate something relatively sweet, which i very rarely do (had splenda in it). i was hungry very shortly after eating my OMAD (one meal a day), which i NEVER am, and i attribute this 100% to the splenda. definitely a correlation. wasn’t necessarily craving more sweet things, but i was definitely craving more food. so i ate more food, about 1000 more calories today than i normally do. BUT, i made sure that all of the extra food i ate was very low carb and still kept my intake under 20g for the day. i’d recommend giving up the sweeteners to get rid of those cravings, but if you don’t want to do that, at least make sure you have plenty of fatty foods around, NOT more sweeteners, to fill up on afterwards

(Carl Keller) #8

I try to avoid behavior that mimics eating patterns previous to keto. This means I won’t tempt myself with a keto treat because “just one” will end up being 5 or 6. This is what Jason Fung says in his book The Obesity Code about artificial sweeteners:

Artificial sweeteners may also cause harm by increasing cravings. The brain may perceive an incomplete sense of reward by sensing sweetness without calories, which may then cause overcompensation and increased appetite and cravings.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #9

Okay the best thing for you is dropping the fake sweet treats and focus on real foods. This is apparently triggering some major impulses to undermine your new food choices and get you back on the carbs. Eat low carb veggies, meat and eggs, a little cheese and food healthy fats. Put your old habits and craving for sweets aside and it will pass. It will be easier the more you stick to this concept and stop teasing yourself with the dream of sweets being good. They are what messed up your metabolism, caused weight gain (if that’s an issue) and brought you here in the first place. Give this a good full hearted effort and you will be rewarded with better health and energy and happiness. KCKO and my best wishes for your success with ketogenic eating. Make it your new lifestyle, not a diet.

#10

I’m also a vegetarian and I use whey protein isolate for protein shakes as all others I’ve tried trigger an insulin response and I’m hungry again very soon after. Looks like you might be dairy free though… so maybe switching what type of shake still might help, if you’re doing one flavored and with fake sweetener, maybe try a different plant protein isolate? I mix my powder with an organic cocoa powder, some cinnamon, and a splash of vanilla before mixing with unsweetened coconut milk and it feels like eating real food and fills me up.

I have decided to keep the fake sugars for special occasions only since most give me a wicked insulin response and I overeat and get cravings. It’s hard to mentally give them up but when you are eating this way the physically cravings subside.

Also, maybe different dinners? I use veggie meats a lot on account my BF will eat those but I also use tofu and veggies. This week I’m going to try keto sushi with cauliflower rice and egg/avocado. I also have some tofu for miso soup and a stir fry to be served over zoodles. Both those will be dairy free and veggie meat free. Maybe a little more variety and protein/fat will help? If you need any cooking tips I’m here to help!

#11

My food craving goes nuts 3 days before my period starts. I keep it keto and then just fast for a day

(Meagan) #12

I’ve been having the Garden of Life chocolate protein shake which is probably contributing to my cravings since it has Erythritol in it, but I really like your idea of the protein shake with coconut milk that sounds really good. (You should try adding just a tiny bit of salt to it I find it complements anything chocolate well.) perhaps I’ll try your method with the unflavored brand of this protein shake.

Also, yes, I definitely could use more variety in my dinners, it’s just hard being mostly plant based and also I live with my step-grandmother and I’m a full time student so that severely limits the time and space I have for food preparation and storage (I have one drawer in the fridge and a small space in the freezer to store my groceries). Any suggsestions on quick and easy things to make that are dairy free? I eat eggs and I’m open to eating fish.

(Meagan) #13

I was using a food tracker and it was telling me I was eating all the things that I needed to eat but I honestly don’t think I’ve been eating enough. I know because I’ll have intrusive thoughts about food and dreams about eating. I think that probably also contributed to the cravings. I’m trying to eat more fats and proteins.

(Allie) #14

Let your body guide you rather than relying on any tracker :heart:

(Meagan) #15

Agreed!!

(Jay Patten) #16

This happens to me. Keto treats will KILL me the next day because all I want is more!! The cravings suck!

My tip: take a jar of coconut manna (pureed coconut) and melt a couple of pieces of unsweetened bakers chocolate into it. Pour the mix into a silicone “candy” tray and freeze.

This is the only dessert that won’t f&%k with me the next day because it has a nice flavor but NO sweetener in it. And it’s super low carb.

(Meagan) #17

I will definitely try this! thanks!!

#18

Ooh I’ve grown to really love salt. I live over a spice shop and they have sea salt with flakes so big they are like potato chips to me lol. I just got home from work and am 21 hours into a 24 hour fast and ate a couple pinches to get me to dinner. I can only do sweeteners teeny amounts and absolutely have to have it with a full meal. I’ve made one Keto Cheesecake with swerve and had a piece like an hour after dinner and it made me want to snack all night. The other piece I had immediately with dinner and I was absolutely fine. Same thing with protein shakes for me. I have them with a meal and not alone or even my version makes me a little hungrier than I should be.

That is a tough situation for meal prep for sure! Can’t store many fresh foods. I was a mostly beans-for-protein vegetarian before this but now I am knee deep in beyond meat crumbles lol. My boyfriend eats meat and something I did for him so he’d always have some kind of lunch option at work is I got a ton of little tuna packets, they come in flavors (be careful, some of the flavors are very carby) and they come plain they even have a tiny spoon. I also got sardines (he likes the mustard flavor). This way he has a desk drawer full of food in case I don’t have enough leftovers from dinner or he forgets a lunch. These are things that couple be kept on a shelf or even in your bedroom closet and free up fridge/freezer space. He gets some jerky and stuff too. I have a brand of vegan “meat” sticks I love that I order online. Also hard boiled eggs are my life right now lol. Seriously, the two of us go through like 4-5 dozen eggs a week. Every night I think I’m sick of them, but then the next day I’m craving them. You can boil up a bunch once a week and throw them in a baggie so they take up less space. I eat deviled eggs like they are going out of style and love an egg salad. They can be thrown in with anything. My grocery store has pre-baked flavored tofu and a couple are low in carbs, they dont take much space and pack a protein punch . I eat soy meats and my favorite is a brand called beyond meat, their burger crumbles have 0 net carbs. I seriously will eat them just warmed up with some dill pickle and mustard because I’m weird.
Other than that, I suggest more trips to the store, might have to go every 2-3 days to keep up with the lack of storage space. You might not get enough fat so you might benefit from adding coconut oils to your hot foods/drink.
Also there’s a thread here that is all about what people are eating and it’s amazing for ideas.

(mole person) #19

Thank you so much for this tip.

I’ve been battling a huge issue with needing a sweet in the evenings, but more than a square of dark chocolate gives me abdominal inflammation and pain that lasts days.

I unfortunately discovered that Mars bars didn’t have this effect and have taken to eating them way too often at night (I’m insulin sensitive and the extra 35 carbs don’t lead to weight gain and I’m only out of ketosis for a few hours).

However, I don’t want to eat them. I know they are horrible for me and they do affect how I feel the next day in terms of depressing my keto mood and energy high. I also tend to have a heavy hungover feeling the next morning that fairly often leads to a bad headache.

Nonetheless, I’ve been very addicted. I just want something yummy so much in the hours after dinner. But I do not want any artificial sweeteners as too much sweet stimulates my hunger for days.

Anyhow, coconut manna is perfection. Just sweet enough. I mixed some up with a package of cream cheese, added some shredded coconut for a bit of chew, rolled it into balls, and covered it all with unsweetened Baker’s chocolate melted into some coconut oil.

Heaven! Not too sweet and absolutely delicious, with 1.6 grams of carbs and 9.5 grams of fat. I think this might solve my problem. Thank you so much for the idea!

(Jay Patten) #20

@Ilana_Rose I know the feeling about feeling hungover after eating carbs. For me, it sets in a few hours after I eat sugar or carbs and lasts all day. Its just like nursing a hangover!

I also love to add unsweetened shredded coconut for texture. Soooo many people say they hate coconut. I call those people crazy!

Anyway, I’m glad my tip worked out for you. It took lots of spit-it-out-gross experiments before I realized that simple solutions are really the best ones.