How do you keep from bingeing?

Terpnista84

I usually eat about 50g or so a day. Probably not even that but I don't really look at labels so I may be consuming some trace carbs. I haven't eaten any bread, pasta, cereal, or sugar. Strictly meat, vegetables, and cheese.

I'm on my fourth day and my cravings are minimal (aside from the coffee frappuccino I wanted this morning but that has passed). I'm not naive enough to think that the cravings won't come. I'm only on my fourth day and I feel pretty good about it. But I was thinking about forcing myself to eat some carbs tomorrow or Thursday, just to get ahead of the craving so that it won't build up (my LC friend recently had a binge). But I want to be smart about it so that eating carbs won't cause any future cravings.

Any tips on making this LC lifestyle manageable and preventing binges.

sammyliftsandeats

I don't think you should force yourself to eat carbs to get ahead of the craving. Depending on the person, it could be a really slippery slope and you could find that once you start, you can't stop.

You are only on your fourth day. The cravings are still going to be there. But they will decrease overtime if you stay the course.

Would doing something non-food related help take your mind off it? Go for a walk, read a book, get one of those adult colouring books if that is what you are interested in.

MyPrimalLife

i am on day 11 so i am by no means an expert, but i have not had any cravings at all. i haven't "cheated" or even really thought about it. i eat >25g/carbs/day. there have been a few days when i didn't even reach 20g.

when i am considering my first binge: april 25. MARK IT DOWN! LOL
i am having my blood labs drawn that morning and then it is ON! BIG TIME. i told my husband, it's NOT going to be pretty!
so i guess i am not craving anything as of yet because i am SO DETERMINED to get into my dr's office and SHOW HIM that i DO NOT need statins!!!! if i eat ANYTHING "wrong" right now, i feel that it will be a detriment to my dieting efforts for all my health issues. my future plan is to carb binge every 8 weeks.

*and when i say carb binge, i just mean that i will eat tons of fruits, veggies, yogurt, corn, and drink a Coke. i do not plan to return to eating any gluten or wheat (i am allergic) so really the only thing that will change on my binge day will be the amount of "good" carbs i consume.*

wabmester

You might be amazed. The cravings actually diminish the longer you're low carb. What's even weirder is that the foods you used to crave no longer give you the same satisfaction. Your palate recalibrates.

anglyn1

I've been LC since October and I don't really have cravings. If I'm watching TV and want a snack I'll have a hot tea with hwc but it's not really a craving just a replacement for a snacking habit. I usually have a square of 90% chocolate before bed with a spoonful of some sort of almond or cashew butter. That's enough of a treat for me!

I think you'll find it's a lot easier than you anticipated. The people with most cravings seem to be those who cheat more often as a general observation. The people who kind of go cold turkey for the first few weeks seem not to crave much. Again that's just my general observation so it's not the gospel or anything! lol

DorkothyParker

I eat fat.
I make sure I never get so hungry that I want the fast rush of carbs.

It takes time. I'm still new, but I can honestly say cravings have been mostly null.

Although, I did eat a disappointing sliver of cake on my husband's birthday. No bueno! I can live without it so easily now and don't want to have carby stuff anymore. What a waste!

I also cut down on "clean" keto junk food like Questbars. Those can be my special treat now as a "sometimes" food instead of everyday.

MyPrimalLife

anglyn1 wrote: »

The people who kind of go cold turkey for the first few weeks seem not to crave much. Again that's just my general observation so it's not the gospel or anything! lol

i went cold turkey and it was the best for me. for my daughter, we are "weaning" her onto this diet because she is a carb-a-holic. she still eats "real" bread (Sunbeam ONLY) so that will be the last to go. we did manage to get rid of all the bad cereals and pop-tarts, etc. perhaps i'm not tempted b/c none of that is in my house anymore!

dasher602014

That is the beauty of this diet. You just don't want all that carby stuff anymore. But small warning, if you do cheat, binge or just plain eat that carby stuff after being on this diet for awhile, you might not like the result. Your body sometimes speaks very plain about what it is used to.

erinseattle

I am 100% with @wabmester on this - cravings go away and the odd time you do allow yourself to return to a favorite old food, it won't taste the same.

I wouldn't try to head off a binge by eating carbs, that defeats the purpose of this way of eating. Eat yummy low carb meals when you are hungry, find fat bomb recipes on Pinterest, and hydrate and sleep and exercise to feel good.

Sarahb29

Don't eat carbs to "get ahead" of anything, there's lots of low carb options. I snack on almonds. That reminds me, I need more I LOVE the habanero BBQ ones, but smokehouse and salt and vinegar are good too. I also eat a couple squares of super dark chocolate, 90%. I haven't made fat bombs yet but everyone elses on Instagram look AWESOME! I seen a Reese PB one on there with sugar free chocolate and almond butter.. holy wow. Those guys are creative.

Anyway I'm making myself hungry.. lol. If there's something you think you might not have control over like chips or ice cream, just don't buy it or do your best to stay away from it.

auntstephie321

Bacon

Especially in the beginning. I don't really feel like binging now, but if I do have cravings bacon takes care of it.

moe0303

What kind of low carb are you doing? I found that my cravings on high fat low carb are much different than when I low carb low fat.

GaleHawkins

If your definition of binge is to do too much of something in a short period of time then I binge from time to time like today.

There was a thread talking about eating pizza today so I go and do the $5.99 Pizza Hut buffet at noon. I drank water. I got a plate of vegetables and along with them I ate the toppling off of 14 thin slices like they put out on the buffet.

This evening the wife and I went by Culver's because our daughter works there and she wanted us to eat where she works.

I take Wobenzym and took it at 3:30 pm today so I did not plan to eat because you are not to eat two hours before you take Wobenzym or one hour afterwards. Well before we left it was 4:30 pm and I wound up getting two scoops of the favor of the day custard.

The custard is loaded with sugar which is not part of my diet but it was also loaded with fats. My lunch was relative low in carbs because I did not eat the pizza crust.

Now this is the first time I had eaten pizza in 9 month. I was not craving it per say but I wanted some. Normally for lunch I have 3 fried eggs and three strips of bacon. I do not normally eat custard but I did today but do not plan to eat in the near future.

Did I eat more than I needed? Yes Did I binge? I do not know or care. I came home and walked my 1/4 mile, washed off my and the wife's vehicles and started charging and conditioning her SUV battery since it has set for a while and will be driving herself for the next six days instead of riding with me.

Having a 10,000 calorie day 2-3 times a year should not be a health wrecker but 4000-5000 every day for a year (my old way of eating) did wreck my health. On LCHF I can eat until I am stuffed and still not overeat. I no longer fear food but I will typically keep my carbs <50 grams daily 350 days out of the year.

@Terpnista84 you sound like you are off to a great start and will be very successful. My first 90 days were strange then I developed a routine and 18 months later all is well. I have no plan to go back to living on sugar and grain products every. I really do not plan a carb binge but I may do a custard sunday from time to time but do it without touching any grain

Keto_T

I am a event-induced, emotional binger. I hate it. I dont typically binge for food cravings but for emotional comfort. Eating strictly and avoiding some situations help me.

kimmydear

No feeding the craving won't help. I have been at it for 6 weeks now. My cravings for desserts and breads have dramatically decreased. One day though my family couldn't stop talking about this banana pudding dessert someone had brought to a party, so I tried it. Then I had some more. And then a little more. The taste the sugar left in my mouth was unpleasant and the gut feeling was one I wasn't used to having anymore. You'll see if you just stick it out. Just have to allow yourself something else that's well within your goals and crave that instead.

ClaireBearOz

Stop looking forward to carbs and get used to eating high fat - that way you won't crave them. It's not a short term thing nor a cycle it's a way if life.

Christine_72

For salty cravings I go for pork rinds dipped in sour cream. For sweets, there's a bajillion keto friendly recipes out there.

Do not cave in to the carbs, it will get easier the longer you stick with it.

Sunny_Bunny_

I've learned to look at high carb foods as "non-foods". I see them the same way I see cat or dog food, not food for me. Because I've been able to really settle into that way of thinking, including that they will never be foods for me again, I have no more desire to down a box of my old nemesis, Lemonheads, than I do to eat a can of puppy chow.

wwcarter10

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

I've learned to look at high carb foods as "non-foods". I see them the same way I see cat or dog food, not food for me. Because I've been able to really settle into that way of thinking, including that they will never be foods for me again, I have no more desire to down a box of my old nemesis, Lemonheads, than I do to eat a can of puppy chow.

Love this! Great visual!

SamandaIndia

Dodge sweeteners, for many of us they trigger cravings. Like folk above, please dont assume you will crave something. You may have habits that trigger a need to eat but substitutes work v well.

Terpnista84

Thanks for tips guys. The first couple times I tried low-carb I didn't last beyond a few days. After that I binged on everything I was craving during that period.

But I was successful with it long-term the last time because I got more creative with it and, like now, I'm eating really delicious low carb food- food I actually crave. My failure the last time was not due to cravings, but lack of planning. It's so much more convenient to not have any food restrictions, especially when you are on the go. I got lazy and then quickly became comfortable eating carbs again.

Christine that snack sounds delicious!!! Thanks to your suggestion I found a recipe for pork rinds nachos.