Be Sure To Not Cheat Or Get Lazy
A craving will not disappear because you succumb to its temptation. Youll only make the cravings even more intense, their hold over you stronger, and as you keep feed into them, the more impossible they become to satisfy.
If youre still giving in to cravings or having cheat days right now, theyre never gonna go away, especially when on a diet like keto. Just one cheat food has the power to destroy weeks of hard work and can even put you through keto flu all over again by ruining your bodys level of adaption to burning fat for fuel, especially when in earlier days of keto.
Of course, if you do fall off the wagon, dont fret so much – everyone makes mistakes. Go straight back to eating keto foods and keep moving forward.
And if you keep finding yourself wanting to cheat or cheating, it might be time to look at the root cause. For example, you could have struggles with emotional eating, boredom, or even a food addition. This is what were going to talk about next.
These Carbohydrate Cravings Will Most Often Manifest By Feeling:
-
an empty feeling in your stomach and an intense yearning for foods in the carb group
-
a lack of energy,
-
and even anxiety and feeling a little down.
Usually, it is said that once you get in ketosis, your carb cravings will fade and your body will start to get used to running on fat and ketones – and maybe even prefer it.
But for some, this may not be the case. Sometimes, either unintentional mistakes, or issues in getting your body to run on ketones, can prevent your carb craving freedom, and you get the sense that you just cant make it through the carb withdrawal window – leaving you feeling frustrated.
Also, heres the thing: you may be doing everything right. Many of us, without knowing it, are in fact suffering from a deep-down emotional reliance on food – particularly sugar and refined carbs – hand in hand with processed sugar addiction.
Keto Bulletproof Coffee Ice Cream
If youve made and loved bulletproof coffee before, youll definitely love this recipe for keto bulletproof coffee ice cream. With eggs being a nutritional powerhouse and no real sugar in the recipe, this ice cream is a nourishing and healthy alternative to traditional ice cream but every bit as good.
Recommended Reading: How To Check For Blood Sugar At Home
However Slashing Your Carbohydrate Intake Drastically Can Be A Very Hard Shock For Your Body To Go Through Particularly For The Female Body Due To Hormones
That’s why it may be easier to reduce carb intake gradually. While the easing method may mean it takes longer to shake off withdrawal cravings, going slowly will make the process happier on your body and mind. Plus it only takes longer because of the time it takes to wean yourself to your daily carb goal.
You Are Craving Essential Vitamins Or Minerals
This type of craving usually focuses on healthier foods like fruit, freshly-baked bread or root vegetables.
A low-carb diet means cutting out fruit, grains and high-carb veggies. All these foods are rich in vitamins. You can still get the nutrients you need from low-carb foods. But their composition will be different. If you are not getting enough of specific micronutrients, you might get strong cravings for foods that contain them.
Solutions
Eat varied foods make sure your low-carb diet is as varied as possible. Spend your daily carb allowance on high-vitamin low-carb foods like green leafy vegetables, oily fish, grass-fed red meat and healthy oils.
Take a daily multivitamin take a high-quality extra-strong multivitamin, ideally one designed for low-carb dieters like Nutri-Align Multivit.
You May Like: How To Rapidly Reduce Blood Sugar
How I Quit Sugar
One of the things I quickly noticed when I began to address my unhealthy relationship with high carb foods, was that I had deprived my brain of healthy fats.
Sadly, I was a victim of the low-fat trend where we swapped out fat in all its forms for a diet that was very high in carbs. I truly believe that this was the beginning of my unnatural love of foods that were loaded with sugar.
I remember how I trashed all my high-fat foods and began only eating low-fat options. As long as the label said low-fat I thought I was good. It was after all that we heard over and over back in the eighties and nineties.
You May Like: Is Maple Syrup Better Than Sugar
Watch Out For Hidden Carbs
We live in a world where carbs are almost everywhere, even in products where you wouldnt expect them to be, and hidden carbs definitely have the power to bring back old cravings.
Whats worse, even products that claim to be low carb are not always that low in carbs .
Thats why its best to prepare your own meals. This way, you can accurately track and measure everything without having to decipher complex labels.
Recommended Reading: Does Sugar Increase Cancer Growth
You Forgot About Fiber
Carby foods like rice, pasta, and oatmeal fill you up even if theyre not nutritionally satisfying. Fiber does the same, except its better for your health.
See, fiber is a carb your body cant digest. Since it takes a while to pass through your system, studies show youll feel less hungry, crave fewer carbs and eat fewer calories the more fiber your diet contains.
Fiber also helps your digestion run smoothly so you dont face common troubles like constipation on keto.
If youre missing your fiber mark, youll find yourself constantly grazing for food in the carb world though nothing will ever quite fill you up.
How to fix this: Aim for at least 30-40g of fiber every day. The best sources of fiber on a ketogenic diet include healthy carbs like:
- Veggies like asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, radishes, zucchini, artichoke, spinach and swiss chard
- Fruit like avocado, blackberries and raspberries
- Nuts such as almond, pine, pistachio, hazelnut and pecan
- Seeds like chia, flax and pumpkin
Another biggie youll want to keep track of in addition to fiber is your water intake especially if you want to lose weight.
Hidden Carbs May Be Sabotaging Your Work
Carbs are everywhere even in foods you may consider keto-friendly.
From carbs in low-fat dairy to hidden names for added sugar, if youre not tracking your food intake with an app like MyFitnessPal, youll never know how many of these hidden carbs quickly add up before you blow your macros for the day.
How to fix this
Tip: Whenever you eat hidden carbs by accident, you can take Perfect Keto Blood Sugar Support to ensure healthy carb metabolism and help stabilize your blood sugar levels.
Whole food sources will also provide the necessary vitamins and minerals your body needs. If youre only doing lazy keto, your carb cravings could be due to missing out on these.
You May Like: What Can Lower High Blood Sugar
Peanut Butter Cup Keto Fat Bomb
These peanut butter chocolate fat bombs are some of the best around and great to always have on hand for when nothing else but a peanut butter and chocolate combo will do. Although these have minimal ingredients required, they are full of plenty of healthy fat to keep you satisfied and satiated for quite some time.
Its Not Always About The Food
Next, ensure you have your lifestyle ducks in a row. Sleep deprivation and chronic stress have been shown time and time again to cause sugar cravings as the body scrambles for quick energy. Even dehydration and boredom can trigger hunger and cravings. If you want to get rid of sugar cravings, you need to practice good self-care.
You crave sugar due to the hormonal response to those stressors, but dont underestimate the comfort factor here, too. It doesnt feel good to be sleep deprived, stressed, and bored. Theres a good chance youve used sugar in the past to lift your spirits. If youre using sugar to self-soothe, you also need to develop better coping mechanisms.
Dig deep and look at what really underlies these sugar cravings. I suggest you start journaling about your cravings. Each time a sugar craving hits, make a note of the following:
- How youre feeling
- Hunger: what time you last ate, and what you ate
- Any other clues to possible triggers.
After a week or two, you might be able to spot some patterns. If its obvious that there are specific trigger like time of day, workplace stress, or fatigue that precede your cravings, work at developing other coping methods that arent food-related. Solve the root problem. Meditate, exercise, drink a glass of water, eat an actual meal or snack with some protein and healthy fat.
Also Check: How Do I Check Blood Sugar
Do I Have To Quit Sugar On Keto Not Entirely And Heres Why
When you start a keto diet you learn about increasing your fat and lowering your carbs. But sometimes there are questions about sugar. Do you have to quit sugar entirely?
You might be surprised at the answer. No, you dont have to quit all sugars.
Sticking to your keto macros will definitely lower the amount of sugar in your diet. And the less sugar you have, the less likely you are to crave it so its a win-win.
Some type of sugars are usually a no-no, like honey, white sugar, brown sugar, and agave syrup. But you still can have small amounts if you budget them in to your daily macros.
Recommended Reading: Can We Control Sugar Without Medicine
Cant Control Addiction Despite Keto
Ive been keto since 2016. Im 53 , and have lost 130 lbs . The problem is that I still can not control my urge around trigger foods. I try to control myself by buying things like nuts and nut butters and limit portions but I keep failing. Then I will throw them in the garbage. I want to be in control after four years of keto! Am I fooling myself?
Pam,
Im sorry you had to wait so long for an answer. Yes, you are fooling yourself. We also call this denial. We want to keep a backdoor to our drug but we dont want the consequences. What I hear is that you might have a sugar addiction That means we have a very carb-sensitive body and brain. If that is the case, controlling is like trying to lift yourself in your hair. You need so much more knowledge about our addicted brain and sensitive body.
Wish you great recovery,Bitten
Read Also: Does Drinking Water Lower Your Blood Sugar
What Causes Carb Cravings
Luis VillaseñorLUIS VILLASEÑOR
Particularly for those with a history of overeating, it can take some time to adjust to a low-carb diet: to repair and improve glucose tolerance , to reduce hunger hormone signaling, and break the addiction to ultra-processed sugar-laden junk food.
Nonetheless, the mental piece of the game can happen instantaneously. Today Id like to share best practicesboth psychological and physiologicalfor controlling carb cravings. These strategies will help you avoid sugar, eat more whole foods, and stay healthy. First, though, lets talk about what causes carb cravings in the first place.
Craving Breaking Step #: Find Out The Intention Behind The Action
A great tactic to break your brains strong connection to junk foods and fulfillment is to simply take a pause.
When those nasty ol thoughts of junk food start to arise and you get that intense desire to eat, stop what youre doing, pause, take a moment and ask yourself what the craving actually is. Did something, in particular, set it off?
Don’t Miss: What Can Replace Brown Sugar
Youre Stressed Bored Or Prone To Emotional Eating
If youre the type to smash a pint of ice cream after a breakup or eat a whole pizza when youre stressed, the first few weeks of keto may be a challenge for you.
And thats because certain cravings can be a response to your emotional state and stress.
For example, researchers tell us cravings for sweets align with times when youre either happy or want to be happier.
And when youre frustrated or angry, its not uncommon to seek out crunchy or spicy foods of equal emotional intensity.
Studies even show those with diets high in processed foods and refined carbs have a higher risk of depression.
Since eating carbs triggers brain chemicals that make us feel rewarded, going for them may be a form of self-medicating when youre sad, worried or lonely.
So whether youve been keto for a month or a year, your carb cravings may indicate a deeper need to satisfy an emotion youre experiencing but may not be aware of.
Every time you use carbs to fill your boredom or provide temporary joy, you only reinforce the cycle of needing them to be happy or fulfilled.
How to fix this
When youre actually hungry, your symptoms start gradually and go away with healthier foods such as protein or fat.
Emotional eating tends to come on quick and strong, triggering those specific coping mechanisms like reaching for comfort foods and snacks out of a vending machine.
Since carb cravings go away in less than an hour, focus your attention on a more positive activity while they subside, such as:
Dealing With Cravings On Keto
Even if you wean yourself off sugar before you start your keto diet, and eat enough fat, you may still experience sugar cravings from time to time. Because sugar affects you physically as well as mentally, these sugar cravings can hit at almost any time. You might be tired and need energy, or you could be feeling down or stressed. Sugar cravings can catch you unawares but, if you want to stop them derailing your weight loss journey, it is imperative you dont give in.
Here are some tried-and-tested strategies for dealing with sugar cravings.
1. Walk it off
One of the best ways to deal with sugar cravings is to go for a walk. Walking, like all types of exercise, increases the production of the same feel-good hormones as sugar, namely dopamine. Because walking is so easy and accessible, you can do it any time you are struck by a sugar craving. As an added benefit, walking also burns calories which can contribute to weight loss.
2. Drink some water
A lot of us reach for sugary snacks out of habit. Its 11am, so its candy bar time! Replace one addiction with another by drinking water every time you have a sugar craving. In time, youll find yourself automatically reaching for water when you used to reach for a sugary snack. As an added bonus, drinking more water will help reduce the severity of many keto flu symptoms.
3. Entertain yourself
Boredom makes sugar cravings worse. Avoid boredom and sugar cravings too by keeping yourself entertained. Good options include:
Also Check: What Kills Sugar Ants In The House
Eating Excess Sugar Increases Your Risk Of Disease
Eating sweet stuff is fine on occasion, but when you make sugary foods part of your daily diet, you increase your risk of a variety of cardiovascular diseases, as well as type 2 diabetes.
Research shows a strong link between high sugar consumption and:
- Weight gain/obesity
- Fatty liver disease
- Poor oral health, including cavities and tooth enamel damage
Eating less sugar is one of the best things you can do for your weight, heart, brain, and teeth.
Carb Cravings Fade Your Desire To Stay Keto Is Stronger
Youll never starve or die from a carb craving despite what you may feel when youre in the middle of one.
If you ride out the pain and crankiness, youll be rewarded by making it one step closer to ketosis and ridding yourself of carb cravings for good.
If you feel one sneaking up, just think about all the damage carbs and sugar have done to you in the past. Remember all the times you couldnt get off the couch or became a hangry monster around someone you love.
No carb craving is stronger than your desire to take control of your life, end this vicious sugar cycle and finally have the energy and willpower to lose those stubborn pounds.
Follow todays tips and itll be easier to give your carb cravings the cold shoulder for the rest of your keto life.
Also Check: Does Apple Cider Vinegar Pills Lower Blood Sugar
What Happens To Your Body When You Eat Healthy & Cut Out Sugar
Homestead-Life, Lifestyle
If youre looking at how our ancestors ate, when the foods they could grow, hunt, or forage were available, youre looking at a very seasonal diet.
For the winter months, the ketogenic diet is very similar to what we would have ate in an ancestral time, when you ate the fats, moderate protein and smaller amounts of carbs because fresh fruits and vegetables werent available.
As self-sufficiency, modern homesteaders, and people who just plain care about the natural way of doing things, its important to understand how our foods fuel and work with or against our bodies so we can make the very best choices for us.
Our genetics and lifestyle all play apart in this, including if we have health conditions already, such as hormonal imbalances, thyroid disease, diabetes, heart and cardiovascular issues, and stomach issues. The good news is, you can reverse a lot of things with your food and were diving in deep today with Dr. Hillary Lampers from Hunt Harvest Health and the Stealthy Hunter Podcast to find out which route is best for you.
This is Part 3 of healing your body naturally, if you missed any of the other parts in this series, go back now and catch:
Part 1How to Heal Stomach Acid Naturally My story, how I got off of taking prescription stomach acid medications
Part 2How to Find Your Trigger Foods how to do food testing to find out what your trigger foods