Friday, April 26, 2024

How To Fight Sugar Cravings On Keto

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How To Make Fat Bombs

How To Stop Carb Cravings On Keto (& Sugar Cravings)

I like to make them in small molds so that I can eat one or several, depending on how intense my craving is. I also find because theyre high in fat, theyre very satisfying.

Using this candy mold I made 36 individual candies with this recipe. And how cute are they?

I added the fat bomb mixture to the molds using a plastic squeeze bottle. I found this to be the easiest method for working with a smaller sized mold.

Of course, you can make these larger by using a muffin tin. Just fill the tin with cupcake liners and then fill the liners with the fat bombs mixture for something that looks like a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.

First Steps To Freedom

  • Start with eliminating all of the obvious sugars.
  • Toss the candy, cakes, cookies, and all items that include high fructose corn syrup. Beginning with these makes sense since processed sugars are the worse offenders.
  • Eliminate simple carbohydrates. These are the items that turn into sugar in your body quickly, bread, pasta, sodas, and fruit juices.
  • Examine what fruits you are consuming. Just because they are natural sugars does not mean you get an automatic free pass. Our bodies will still react to these natural sugars by raising our insulin levels. Once our insulin is raised it causes our sugar cravings to be magnified.
  • Avoid high-carb root vegetables or at the very least reduce them to only occasional indulges.

You can find a complete list of low-carb keto foods here. For vegetarians and vegans, I have this guide to assist you.

You Could Also Try Something More Physical Like Exercise Yoga Tai Chi Or Even Acupuncture Or And Massage

I personally have been hitting HASfit Youtube channel because they have such a huge selection of different types of exercise and different lengths, and come across and down to earth, nice people. I also love to do a Bikram video from youtube. My two favorites are Dr. Espen Hjalmby 60 min Hot Yoga Class + Guided Meditation, and then 30 Minute Hot 26 Yoga Class – Hot Yoga Asheville for a great overall stretch, and calming the mind.

If youre not already familiar with it, mindfulness is a practice that involves being fully focused on the present moment and bringing awareness to your thoughts and feelings. If you want to read more into how mindfulness works, check out this blog post.

Mindfulness has even been shown to enhance weight loss, promote healthy eating habits, help break food addictions, and even produce better examination performance. Its why I created an entire Mindfulness Library within my Sugar Balance + Wellness Circle membership community of how-tos, tools, exercises and challenges, not only to teach it but to keep it up as a super effective method to build and maintain mental resilience and calm no matter what life throws at you.

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Stop Limiting Carbs Too Quickly

As you start on your keto journey, your pre-keto goal is to cut your carbohydrate intake to about 25g per day, cutting out all sugars and refined carbs completely.

When you start the keto diet, there are two approaches you can take. Either you could start day one of your goal carb macro set by going immediately cold turkey on carbs, or you could track your normal pre-keto carb intake and gradually cut 50g of carbs per day until you reach your goal.

With the average carb intake clocking in at 325 grams of carbohydrates a day, most people will opt for going cold turkey, especially since its the fastest way to reach ketosis.

Check Check And Check Some More On Your Macros

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Adjusting your macros correctly is probably going to be one of the hardest long-term hurdles youll have to face while on keto. Adjusting your macros is a chore, and if adjusted incorrectly could trigger long term carb cravings.

If you eat too much of the wrong macro, you may see weight gain and negative physical symptoms like tiredness, hunger, or even headaches.

Be sure to keep an eye on your macros and if you keep experiencing craving, try recalculating your macros using a keto tracker and pay specific attention to the carbs youre eating.

Dont get lazy always track your food intake, because it is so easy to get too comfortable and fall into that all to the common trap of eating too many carbs and obstructing the fat for fuel process.

Of course, its extremely unlikely that youll correctly configure your keto macros right when you first start. So, dont beat yourself up at the beginning if you get it wrong.

Read Also: How To Treat Low Blood Sugar On Keto Diet

Do You Have To Refrigerate Or Freeze Fat Bombs

Most fat bombs melt at room temperature due to the higher fat content and are best kept in the fridge or freezer. However, these little beauties can hang out outside on your kitchen counter or your lunch bag and be just fine. They are stable at room temperature.

A big reason these dont melt is because I add protein powder to them. I like the ingredients and flavor of the Sun Warrior protein powders. The ones you see pictured in this post were made with the chocolate powder. But, if you prefer vanilla, thats a great option, too!

Fat bombs can be enjoyed any time a sweet craving strikes. They can be a treat after a meal or a little afternoon nibble to tide you over to dinner.

What Does This Mean

During the follicular phase estrogen helps women tolerate carbs better. From the last days of your period until the ovulation phase you will feel more energetic, you can train harder, feel stronger and there are no signs of insulin resistance .

Otherwise, since ovulation until your period , it is difficult to maintain the focus, energy levels decrease and you will get more insulin resistant. This means that you do not tolerate carbs as well as on the follicular phase. Metabolic requirements increase at 2-3%, so you can increase your calorie intake. At this point, it can be very difficult for many women to lose weight and that is totally normal.

The main thing here is that women need more calories but are also more insulin resistant. But why is that?

We must understand that the final objective of the menstrual cycle is pregnancy. If this happens women’s bodies will tend to hold as much energy as possible to help the fetus grow. This is why calorie requirements are higher and insulin resistance is worse: the body is trying to help develop a healthy baby.

Although nature predisposes us to pregnancy, the truth is that this is not going to happen every month!

Use this valuable information to hack your cycles and not punish yourself if you are not reaching your goals.

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A Word Of Caution About Sugar Substitutes

You can choose to use sugar substitutes to ease sugar cravings. However, if you have a strong sugar addiction sometimes too many of these sugar substitutes can cause you to crave the real thing.

Everyone is different and learning your personal triggers is vital. I know that for me this is sometimes the case. This is not easy since I share my low carb/ keto recipes on this blog and many are substitutes for high carb treats that I may be missing.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

The key for me has been in seeing even my low-carb desserts as an occasional treat. I also use sugar substitutes that will not cause an insulin spike. Whats more, I will make it a point to either freeze the leftovers or share them with others.

Focus On What You Can Eat

How to Stop Sugar Cravings on Keto (5 Steps to Quitting Carbs)

Sugar cravings on keto are not all in your head. They are physical.

But, they are perpetuated in your head, and youve got the control there.

Instead of thinking of what you cant have, focus on what you CAN eat on Keto Zone.

Zero carb and low carb foods include:

  • Coffee, Teas, Water, and bulletproof coffee using MCT Oil Powder
  • Meats including fish , chicken, pork, beef, venison, bison and more. Avoid liver.
  • Vegetables including greens, broccoli, bell peppers, asparagus and more
  • Fats like olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, MCT Oil Powder, grass-fed butter, and more
  • Specialty flours such as coconut flour, nut flours, and more.
  • Specialty sweeteners such as Stevia, erythritol, and more.

Since some of these foods have a very small amount of carbs, its still important to be aware of how much, and keep track of them, at least initially.

For more delicious recipes, check out all of ours on this site: Keto Zone Recipes.

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Eat More Food With Other Nutrients

If you still arent satisfied and want to eat more, consume food thats rich in other macronutrients — protein and fat — and fiber.

You could be thinking youre craving for carbs because youre still hungry. But if you try to eat a bigger portion of protein-rich or high-fat food, this will satisfy you.

Fiber-rich food will also make you feel less hungry and its good for your digestion. Make sure to include fiber in your diet.

Keep Your Eyes On The Prize

Why are you doing Keto?

Are you fed up with your current state of health, weight, energy, or lifestyle?

Do you know you can meet your goals if you stick to it?

No craving, no food, no sugar will ever compare to the sense of accomplishment and pride youll feel as you move toward your goal.

Write down your goal. If you have a picture that represents it, put it up along with your written goal.

Enlist a friend or someone you trust to talk you down when you feel like quitting. If they know how much your goals mean to you, they can help steer you back.

You can do it. Believe it.

Go get your goals.

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Last But Not Least Ladies Only

Do you feel hungry all the time when your period is coming? Do you crave sugar and fat more than in other phases of your cycle?

If you can relate to this, dont worry. This is very normal.

Knowing your menstrual cycle will help you understand why this happens. It will make you feel better because it is a totally normal physiologic issue . Cravings on your premenstrual and menstrual phase are not in your mind.

There are two principal hormones that govern your menstrual cycle: estrogen and progesterone.

When you are on your period, estrogen slowly starts rising. Its maximum point is the day before you start ovulation. After this point, it starts to decrease. Instead, progesterone starts rising after your ovulation until your period comes.

Now Better Organic Stevia Sweetener

How to Stop Sugar Cravings for Clear Skin

Stevia is another keto-friendly choice. It is much, much sweeter than sugar, so you only need a tiny amount. Swerve Confectioners is better for replicating sugar-sweetened desserts because it measures just like sugar, but stevia is great if you want an easy sweetness boost and dont need the bulk of sugar.

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Best Keto Snacks To Eat When You’re Craving Sugar

Craving sugar is common for lots of people. Like, lots of people! It usually happens when the blood glucose levels in our bodies drop. Most people eat a high-carb, high-sugar diet and this leads to repeated sugar cravings and sugar addictions.

Even if you’re on a keto diet, its still possible for you to have such cravings and this is especially true for people who are still in the early stages of the diet. The drastic changes from bulking up on carbs and giving in to sugar cravings, to suddenly limiting carbs and sugar intake may cause a temporary upset in your system leading to increased urges to eat something sweet.

So why do you get those cravings and what can you do about it? Below, I’ll outline the reasons for getting sugar cravings along with my top seven ‘go to’ snacks to beat the urges and keep you on track to your keto goals.

Sugar and the keto diet

With a keto diet, you limit your intake of carbs to just a small percentage of your daily calories. This means that you only take a few grams of carbs per day depending on your body type, your goals, and the level of your activity.

So although its not easy to quit sugar, its also not impossible, and like anything in life, you rarely get the rewards without putting in a little effort!

So Why Do You Crave Sugar?

There are many reasons why you might be craving sugar and here are some of them.

Stress

These fluctuations in blood sugar can cause cravings, so constant stress due to hard workouts can lead to sugar cravings.

In The Beginning Youve Got To Go For It

Sometimes, small changes are the best approach. When starting a Keto Zone diet, I recommend going for broke.

Prepare yourself that this will be a challenge. But, also know that you can do it and that it will get better quickly.

Why go for it?

The longer you cut carbs, but dont get into ketosis and make ketones, the longer you will be in sort of a low-energy in-between state.

Instead, dont make it your goal to cut carbs.

Make it your goal to cut them enough to make ketones. This means cutting carbs to just 20-25 gm net carbs per day.

How do you do this?

You eliminate almost all carb sources. If youre unaware of the main sources of carbs, heres a quick guide. All see #4 below. Carb foods include :

It usually takes 24-48 hours or so to enter ketosis. But, you can get some help from exogenous ketones. These will give your body an external source of ketones that will help curb cravings, curb the ketone flu, and help you feel better quickly.

If you dont know where to start, dont worry. Dr. Colbert has written an incredible book that will serve as your complete guide!

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Controlling Sugar Cravings Without Keto/low Carb Or Fasting

I’m not at all interested in Keto, low carb or fasting.

I get bad sugar cravings bc of PCOS and a neurological disorder, and I’d like to cut back my sugar consumption. Sometimes I lose control and binge on candy or even too much fruit.

I try to limit myself to a piece of fruit, but it’s hard when the craving hits and one piece isn’t enough, or my mom buys me junk food.

I don’t buy any junk food myself to make it easier on myself, but she sometimes gets it for me even though she knows I have insulin resistance and PCOS, and have told her that I’m trying not to eat too much sugar. I think she’s trying to sabatoge my poor self control. I’m thin and she’s not, and she’s got weird issues with other women, and toxic behavior…

So it’s pretty hard to resist when it’s just right there in the house when I have my weak moments.

Check For Nutrient Deficiencies

Beat Those Sugar Cravings! 3 Ingredient Dessert | Keto & Low Carb

When your body is low in certain nutrients, it can result in cravings. A common example of this is how women tend to crave chocolate during their period. Low levels of magnesium can increase symptoms of PMS and therefore, cravings for magnesium-rich food would make sense, as a womans body tries to rebalance itself.

If you think your cravings may stem from nutrient deficiencies, talk to your healthcare provider about testing for deficiencies.

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You Fell Out Of The Sugar Trap And Straight Into The Sweetener Trap

Sugar cravings make us reach for sweeteners. Sure it is better to have a zero-carb sugar substitute than the real thing. But sweeteners can still interrupt your diet and cause cravings.

Firstly, not all sugar-free products are as good as they claim. Many are higher in carbs than they claim to be, so you might be overconsuming carbs.

But even if a sugar-free product is genuinely low-carb, it can still cause trouble. Sweet-tasting foods make your body expect the sugary energy hit, which can create a craving.

Some dieters have observed a placebo-like effect when blood sugar spikes in response to sweet taste alone. Some of us get knocked out of ketosis even by zero-carb sweeteners. These effects have not yet been studied in-depth by scientists, but there is anecdotal evidence to recommend caution.

Solutions

Be cautious with sweeteners think of them as an occasional treat, rather than a free-for-all option.

Choose tried and tested zero-carb sweeteners the safest options are erythritol, Stevia, monk fruit and sucralose.

Being Set Free From Sugar Will Be Worth The Work

Is all this work worth the effort? It is if you want to take your health back and truly be set free. Ill admit that the first few days and weeks will be the most challenging.

But after consistently turning down the temptation you will notice the desire for sweets to begin to subside. The more you surrender this area to God the easier it will be to pass the test.

Randy and I call this our Jesus and Keto Lifestyle. Because it wasnt until we combined our faith with a ketogenic diet that we began to experience real transformation. It finally put us on the path to being able to say no to sugar and yes to our health.

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