Terrible Carb and Sugar craving?

(John) #1

Hello ,

I’ve been doing keto for 7 months now , I have been having great success!!
Lately however I’ve have been having terrible cravings for carbs and sugar, mostly at night. I’m ashamed to say to it , but I have been giving into them !
I’ll eat peanut butter by the spoon full ( many spoon fulls ! ) oatmeal,and grapes. I even indulged in potato chips, hot chocolate and other evil doings !!

I have tried Macha tea and pickle juice , but it doesn’t seem to help .

It seems to me the reason is psychological. The weather here in New England is starting to get cold and all that warm and fuzzy holiday food is calling me and I haven’t been eating salad as much , it just feels to cold to eat it .

I haven’t gained much weight, I fluctuate up and down a few pounds , but having these cravings are really bothering me .

I eat once a day , I am never hungry during the day , but it seems as soon as I’m done with my meal , the cravings kick in . As a side note . When these cravings kick in , I’m not hungry, I’m mostly full , but I still want it.
Too much Christmas Music in my macros ?? Lol !

Have any of you veteran keto folks delt with this before? Do any of you have an idea of what I may try ?

I’d appreciate any feedback you can give , Ive worked so hard to get where I am and I don’t want to throw is all away !!

Thank you !

(Bunny) #2

Nothing wrong with what your doing as long as you don’t do it constantly because your primary diet (source of nutrition) IS NOT carbohydrates (mostly meat, fats & veggies) you have built up a health reserve (a resistance) that ALOWS YOU TO DO THAT! I do it too! :imp: :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

#3

For some people (I am one of them) eating once a day can cause cravings/binges. I find that I need to eat small meals 2-3x a day–and that eliminates cravings and/or any desire to overeat. I suspect it’s a matter of keeping blood sugar steady. I don’t know, but I do know that this ‘system’ works for me.

#4

At 7mo in and now having cravings something in your diet is triggering those cravings. Could you list a sample day or twos diet?

(Edith) #5

I had something similar, but it turns out I just need to eat more in general.

I believe I developed some nutritional deficiencies which also caused the hunger. Make sure everything you eat is nutritionally dense. Eating fat for fat’s sake for example doesn’t really provide many vitamins and minerals.

Think about how many calories you eat a day just of protein and carbohydrates. Maybe it’s 600 to 700 calories, maybe less if you are small like I am. That is not a lot of food to get all the nutrients your body needs. If you’re having hunger, your body is asking for something.

(John) #6

I know what you mean. Same thing here, I have been wanting “holiday” foods. And not just the traditional turkey/ham and sides “big dinners” on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but all of the sweets and goodies that are typical of the season. The images and triggers are everywhere.

So far, I have resisted their siren call.

Some of my coping mechanisms are regular or decaf coffee (black, or with a small amount of cream), flavored herbal teas, water. Or a handful (but only one, and for me a handful = about 1 oz) of pecans, walnuts, almonds.

I also have a couple of standard go-to dessert-like treats that are actually still keto-safe but that satisfy that evening craving.

Some berries (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries) with a dollop of whipped cream, sprinkled with some crushed nuts and some shaved / grated / chopped 100% dark chocolate (I use Montezuma’s 100% Absolute Dark for this purpose- no sugar added).

As long as you keep the servings to normal sizes, it’s fine. I do 2 oz or so of the berries, just a bit of whipped cream, maybe 1/2 oz of nuts, and no more than 1 or 2 small squares of the chocolate. Since none of it really has a sweet taste (other then the berries natural sweetness) it doesn’t trigger the taste buds to want more and more, but it satisfies the psychological desires. It looks, smells, and tastes like a dessert.

Mascarpone cheese is the other trick. Zero carbs. It’s what tiramisu is made from. I get it at Trader Joe’s in an 8 oz container. Slice into quarters, so 2oz each. Top with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and a squirt of dollop of whipped cream. Add nuts or berries of your choosing. It’s like a little mini-cheesecake. Again, looks very dessert-like, tastes great, no sugar-flavor to trigger the cravings.

I don’t do either of those often, but it is a way to “give in” without losing progress or triggering more cravings.

Some people do recipes with non-carb sweeteners but I find that for me, it works better if I just avoid triggering the sweet tooth completely. If you can eat things that are sweetened with allulose or erythritol, then maybe baking your own keto cookies would work.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #7

Try to stick to low-carb, high-fat snacks if you have to have something. I like unsweetened chocolate. Never used to be able to stand it in my sugar-burning days, but now it’s quite tasty. Whole-milk (or even double-cream, if you can find it) yoghurt is quite satisfying.

I like a small amount of Greek yoghurt with some heavy cream on it as a dessert-type snack. (Try different brands of yoghurt, they all taste different. For example, there is one brand of Greek yoghurt I really dislike, another that I really like, and one that’s too blah to be worth bothering with.)

Pork rinds are another good, filling snack.

#8

Those cravings are like an itch. It may feel a bit better while you’re scratching it, but when you stop, it itches worse than ever. I sometimes end up with blood and a scab. :frowning:

Feed those cravings with fat, some protein, but as few carbs as possible.

Some of my favorite Keto snack recipes:

(Nancy Gibson) #9

Same! It started in October, when the weather changed. Cravings so powerful that all my tricks (distraction, sugarless gum, alternate keto treat, etc) didn’t banish them. I decided to give in, selectively, and always find it (whatever) isn’t as good as I remembered or hoped it would be. And the sugar makes me feel like shit. We’ll be ok. I’m going to stock up on fasting supplies. I did a 5 day fast post-Thanksgiving (yes, I ate pie) and it went really well. So, hmmmm, I’ll probably do another one post-Christmas. Lazy winter keto, anyone?:kissing_smiling_eyes::kissing_smiling_eyes: