Staying on the low carb lifestyle
kellytime2lose
Posts: 62 Member
hello ...how do you all stay consistent with your low carb lifestyle? I do well for several days but give in to sugars and processed foods sometimes and then I have to start all over. Thanks for your advice!
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Are you dealing with the tiredness, aches or upset stomach every time you start over? For me, that's the easiest reason not to have those kinds of things - I don't want to spend days sick just for a cookie. Once you do it and stick with it, those things you're giving into won't even taste good if you do try them, but you have to let yourself get to that point first.0
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When I've done low carb before, it's taken a week or 2 to get over the cravings, but then it really gets easier and the diet actually suppresses your appetite (when 'm eating low carb is the only time I'm not constantly obsessed with food!). My problem is sticking to it through social situations, I always end up eating birthday cake or something like that because I feel like it would be rude to refuse.0
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I agree with JPW1990, you eventually get to a point where all that stuff is gross.
I always tell everyone to give theirselves 2 weeks with out cheating at all. You can do anything for 2 weeks and it is a small easy goal to stick to. After the 2 weeks your cravings will be gone and you won't even want all the carbs/sugar
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Kelly, I do the same thing. I've never managed to make it two weeks without cheating. I'm trying, but...yeah. I can't get myself to stick to it.
That being said, I'm still eating MUCH better than I used to, other than actually whilst cheating. My joints don't hate me near as much and my digestion doesn't get anywhere near as cranky as it did when I was eating a bunch of crap.0 -
I stayed very consistent on LCHF for about 7 months; and gradually started letting myself eat otherwise, small steps at a time. Since the first of the year I have been doing that bouncing day to day on and off. I now reached a day of full explosion and have had many days of staying on and then a couple of days of bingeing. I am having a terrible time. I have accomplished so much on LCHF. Able to discontinue diabetic meds, reflux med which I had taken for over 20 yrs. Cholresterol and Triglycerides are back to normal. My mind is sharper, my skin is much better; so why am I sabotoging myself. I would like to have a daily friend to monitor my daily food journal on MFP. I will be very honest recording. I would do likewise. I do not want to throw all this away. I have lost 60#. I do not want to gain even a couple of pounds more; unlike many times in the past. This time I have to preserve my health. Thanks for listening.0
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I have some suggestions.
- Don't bring carbage in the house. (This only works of course everyone is low-carb. I know. The rest of my family are rabid carbivores. Though I've had a good influence on them.)
- If you can't avoid not having the carbage in the house, keep it in a cupboard. Out of sight, out of mind.
- Be prepared. Keep low-carb snacks you love on hand all the time. So when you accidentally remember that *kitten* in the cupboard, and you can't resist eating something, grab the on-plan-snack-faves.
- Find low-carb dessert recipes. Find some that mimic things you love. And make those instead and budget them in your carb total. Some of them are actually very good. (See the Launch Pad for a slew of recipe sites.)
- Reward yourself with non-food rewards. "If I can just stay perfectly on-plan for 1 month, I get..." Nails done, go to a movie, new book, something...just not food related. Set up a whole system for yourself with rewards for 1 week, 2 weeks, the whole month, 2 months, and etc.
You aren't DEPRIVING yourself if you have low-carb alternatives to things you crave, and you are rewarding yourself for succeeding.
Read my blog post on Deprivation. It's all about perspective. Everything is about perspective.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/baconslave/view/deprivation-or-liberation-7299200 -
I second powering through for the first few tough weeks. My cravings almost magically disappeared after the first week or so. Honestly, it wasn't that fun. It kinda sucked. But I gave myself permission to eat as much as I wanted of good food. When you are actually satiated on fat and protein, your cravings for that cookie become manageable. Over time, as the cravings went away, my appetite naturally lowered as well. There are so many yummy things that you CAN eat, try to focus on that instead of focusing on what you can't have. I mean, who ever heard of eating full fat cheese and steak and pan fried broccoli as diet food? Enjoy the foods that are low carb and high fat.
I promise, it gets easier!0 -
^^ what all the above said! Plus drink a lot of water, as much as you can stand... keeps you feeling full and gives you something to do. Try the carbonated kind, jazzed up with lemon, when craving beer or soda.0
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Determination in the beginning, then the desire to not return to the carbage that has been poisoning me my whole life since then! Once you persevere through the cravings, and get enough fat, they will be gone. I was at a wedding this past Saturday. The cakes were beautiful! I even sat with my sister's and niece while they ate theirs. I've never been able to do that before. To be in a large meeting area, full of people eating carbage and not even want to eat any of it is HUGE for me! Once there is a motivator, besides weight loss, the willpower becomes what it never has been before! You have to give yourself a chance to get there by making the decision to stick with it. Good luck!0
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I have been there and know exactly what you are talking about. However, after 7 months I have gradually slipped backwards. Just a taste of sweets blows everything out of perportion. I have only gained 3# in the last 4 months but I know from experience if I don't get control what will happen. I made it through yesterday with very few carbs and under my 1200 calories. One day down and working on 2.0
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Today I have Bridge and am hostess. I am having chief's salads and when they have dessert I will allow myself a cup of coffee and put 3 coffee creamers and sweet and low in it. This seems to satisfy me very well and it does not bother me to watch them eat their desserts. I look at them as bowls of fat. Then after I get home (which is the very worse time for me) I have planned to eat Shiritake Spaghetti with ground beef and parmasan cheese. For my own sake I will let you know how I do Please feel free to look at my diary and comment. Thanks for you help.0
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I have been there and know exactly what you are talking about. However, after 7 months I have gradually slipped backwards. Just a taste of sweets blows everything out of perportion. I have only gained 3# in the last 4 months but I know from experience if I don't get control what will happen. I made it through yesterday with very few carbs and under my 1200 calories. One day down and working on 2.
IKWYM! A lot of folks say you can eat anything in moderation and pooh pooh the idea that some people just cannot have "a little taste" of sweets or bread, etc. I have tried the moderation way and I can't. Like a recovering alcoholic, my only option is to JUST SAY NO to sweets and other carbs, or I will binge like nobody's business! Then, I find it harder to convince myself that those are bad for me and fall off the wagon, so to speak. That's why I have to avoid even a small taste of it. Will that change the longer I am LCHF? I do not know. I do know I am not tempted a lot right now, but give me a stressful day and I will be wanting that donut on the counter!
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kellytime2lose wrote: »hello ...how do you all stay consistent with your low carb lifestyle? I do well for several days but give in to sugars and processed foods sometimes and then I have to start all over. Thanks for your advice!
kellytime2lose I did the same thing. What I finally had to accept was that I was addicted to carbs and had been for over 40 years of yo you dieting.
Because the doctors wanted me to start on Enbrel for pain management on 7 Nov 2014 and I did not one to risk the cancer about 30 days before that appointment date I went off carbs cold turkey and have not looked backed.
Last night the daughter was making browns and the son was eating them. I enjoyed the smell but had ZERO desire to even taste one. I am 8 months into this eating lifestyle.
I did not want to admit I was addicted to any food group but I clearly was in hindsight. Like others I guess carbs are like cigarettes to some. Who stops smoking then decides they will just smoke a third of one every three days.
Almonds are one of my main carb sources and they do taste very sweet now but they are mainly fat and are not a gateway chemical in my case. For Aug and Sept of 2014 I was hit and miss low carb and it did NOT work at all in my case. Like others for me it is all or nothing.
There is a lot to learn the first 6 months doing real low carb high fat eating lifestyle so do not fret because you are not there yet as being beyond craving carbs.
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greenautumn17 wrote: »I have been there and know exactly what you are talking about. However, after 7 months I have gradually slipped backwards. Just a taste of sweets blows everything out of perportion. I have only gained 3# in the last 4 months but I know from experience if I don't get control what will happen. I made it through yesterday with very few carbs and under my 1200 calories. One day down and working on 2.
IKWYM! A lot of folks say you can eat anything in moderation and pooh pooh the idea that some people just cannot have "a little taste" of sweets or bread, etc. I have tried the moderation way and I can't. Like a recovering alcoholic, my only option is to JUST SAY NO to sweets and other carbs, or I will binge like nobody's business! Then, I find it harder to convince myself that those are bad for me and fall off the wagon, so to speak. That's why I have to avoid even a small taste of it. Will that change the longer I am LCHF? I do not know. I do know I am not tempted a lot right now, but give me a stressful day and I will be wanting that donut on the counter!
I can identify with you 100%. I have been messing around for the last 5 months. Even though I have only gained 3 pounds; I cannot seem to get back totally on LCHF. I know I cannot eat any extra, especially sweets or like you say there is no stopping. It's like my brain goes into a muted mode. I know in order to keep my diabetus in check and not have to go back on meds; I absolutely must stay LCHF. May God help us.........0 -
I've been LCHF for 31 days & in the past 10 days I broke down twice. Dessert for my b'day (May 7), made me feel really ill & wasn't that great. Then again today. Made my DIL (to be) a b'day cake from scratch in between a lot of yard work. Resisted it all afternoon but when I came in this evening I just had to have a piece (1/2 actually). I actually thought I was going to want more, but that little piece was enough. Maybe this goodie craving is finally starting to go away. One can only hope. I am seriously wanting the cravings to just disappear.0
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I broke a 70 day trend and ate two mini desserts on Sunday. Today I am little brain foggy, but otherwise fine. Sugar used to give me HUGE stomach aches if eaten after a meal. This time I had no reaction. That is a major plus, but I didn't suddenly crave eating lots of sweets, I have just moved on. I actually felt guilty while doing it (but we paid a lot for that brunch and the desserts were SO gorgeous). was it worth it? I don't know. I am planning to break on my birthday, otherwise, I have been able to resist most times I have been presented with cakes or carbs. My husband eats potato chips every weekend. I have MAYBE had 4 chips in 2 months. I eat my pork rinds while he eats his chips and I am fine. I get the occasional croissant craving, but it' been fine. This from someone who had chocolate bars in her desk drawer.0
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Well, today is day 3. Planning my food journal and hoping to stick to it. My goal to be LCHF for two weeks aiming at taming my desire to eat after my meals. Then..........two months.........to be continued.0
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Well, today is day 3. Planning my food journal and hoping to stick to it. My goal to be LCHF for two weeks aiming at taming my desire to eat after my meals. Then..........two months.........to be continued.
Good idea! I have found, this time around, that by keeping a diary of exercise and food (and what days and hours I fast) that I have more accountability to myself. (I do not log food on MFP because I really do not measure my serving sizes - I just record what I ate on my calendar). Anyway, I think this is helping me stay on track better than not recording.
I also list my goals on a "note" on my computer desktop and read them everyday. Things like "I will weigh *** by June 17th," "I will lower my blood sugar and get off medicines," or "I exercise 5 days a week" so I am constantly reading my goals and reminding myself of what I am doing to reach them.
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I've caved a bit in the past few days too, I really like fruit and now that strawberries are in season I'm kinda a pushover. Doesn't help that mom insists you need fruit and veg to be healthy.0
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I've always found an alternative to what I want. I want mac n' cheese? I make a Keto friendly option. I want a dessert? I've come up with more than a few recipes for cheese cake, pb cups, coconut macaroons, etc. If there's a will, there's a way, and some creativity helps.
I also started doing the CarbNight thing in an effort to drop weight. ( I wasn't losing on just plain keto.) Since starting to eat carbs once a week, if I'm really craving something, I have it. However, it usually doesn't taste as good as I've built it up in my head. If I'm craving a carb thing on Wednesday, I tell myself to wait for Saturday. I'll either have it then or not want it anymore.
To be honest, I don't even want carbs half the time on CarbNight. Don't get me wrong, the froyo and Swedish fish have been great, but I could also take them or leave them since starting Keto in general. Every time I've re-tried a carb food after being strict Keto for 8 months, it just hasn't been the same. Get over the initial hump of carb withdrawal, embrace it, and then keep running with the good feels! (Sorry for getting a bit granola at the end.)0 -
If you truly want something sweet, eat a wholesome fruit, not a processed junk that is empty of any decent nutrition.
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Lately I've been thinking too much about sweets (from reviewing menus of a vacation we're planning). My brain has been telling me that wouldn't it be nice to make some cookies, or brownies, or have some ice cream?
Fact is: I know those things won't taste half as good as I think they will. And I'm on day 86 of a low carb streak. The cookies would be gone in minutes, and so would that streak. The only thing that would last is the disappointment.
These days a "cheat" day for me would be one with some frankenfood, maybe GSD_Mama's bagels for breakfast, or a slice of keto cake for dessert. That's pretty awesome for me. Am I losing as fast as I hoped? Not really. Am I starving? Not even close. And I feel pretty awesome. It's hard to really think about how far I've come and then still want that Ben & Jerry's or the E.L. Fudge cookies. (Can you even imagine how gross they'd taste?? LOL!)0 -
Don't do it. Let the rest buy their sweets. Stay strong on your vacation; you will be so proud when you get home. I have done just that and the reward is wonderful.
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kellytime2lose wrote: »hello ...how do you all stay consistent with your low carb lifestyle? I do well for several days but give in to sugars and processed foods sometimes and then I have to start all over. Thanks for your advice!
Another thing I didn't see anywhere above is that when I still get carb cravings like that I have to lower my carb level further. Once you get your carbs to the right level for YOU (I don't know if that is 100 grams or 10 grams), those cravings will become a dim voice in the back of your head like the adults in the Peanuts cartoons...or it is a clear voice, but one that is easier and easier to ignore.
You can either step down 10 daily grams once per week (Monday or your preferred day each week) until you find the threshold where the cravings stop - or you can do like me, and just jump cold turkey in to a level around 50 grams daily carbs. I found that even with 50 as my limit that 35 was where I usually ended up... Your body will tell you.Today I have Bridge and am hostess. I am having chief's salads and when they have dessert I will allow myself a cup of coffee and put 3 coffee creamers and sweet and low in it. This seems to satisfy me very well and it does not bother me to watch them eat their desserts. I look at them as bowls of fat. Then after I get home (which is the very worse time for me) I have planned to eat Shiritake Spaghetti with ground beef and parmasan cheese. For my own sake I will let you know how I do Please feel free to look at my diary and comment. Thanks for you help.
To get myself off of the desserts train, even LCHF friendly desserts, I started chewing a barely tolerable gum with a crazy aftertaste when I wanted sweets. It actually killed that craving and left a weird taste in my mouth so I didn't want anything else. Either that, or I have a fruit tea or other herbal/decaf tea. I use about a packet of sweetener to take that tannin edge off, but barely sweetened drinks like this don't seem to trigger that same junk food urge.0 -
Today is day 4 and I have dropped 2 of the 3# gain. What an incentive. I already find that my cravings have lessened a bunch. I fixed a spaghetti last night that was wonderful. Anyone ever used the Shiritaki spaghetti. It is made with konjac flour from Japan. It is wonderful.0
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@robinred2 : I read your story. Congratulations to be at Day4!0
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Today is day 4 and I have dropped 2 of the 3# gain. What an incentive. I already find that my cravings have lessened a bunch. I fixed a spaghetti last night that was wonderful. Anyone ever used the Shiritaki spaghetti. It is made with konjac flour from Japan. It is wonderful.
I love this approach. I know it's a cliché but take it one day at a time. I was shocked yesterday that I have been low carb for 70 days. In my mind I committed to a carb free day every morning 70 times. You just need to power through one day or meal or snack at a time. Before you know it you'll find yourself looking at a slice of chocolate mousse cake and feeling faintly disgusted. I did that over the weekend. Two months ago you'd have had to drag me away kicking and screaming....
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