Fruit and sugar/carb cravings

mountainrun73

I am still experimenting with how many carbs work for me. One thing I have noticed is that when I get on a green smoothie kick (which includes fruit when I make them), I tend to get carb cravings.

Does anyone else consume fruit, and if so, how much?

Has anyone else here found a correlation between fruit consumption and the onset of sugar/starch cravings?

FWIW, I ate some melon and berries last night for desert, and it didn't trigger anything. But I was thinking about a green smoothie this morning because a cool beverage sounds good (and they seem to help when I have a rosacea flare). I'll see what happens, or maybe just use it as a snack and eat some eggs first.

tcunbeliever

I have noticed that if I eat fruit immediately before working out then I'm ok in the cravings department (ex. yesterday I had a cup of grapes before walking an hour, and then no cravings later in the evening), but if I eat it when I'm not going to be active then I tend to get cravings about 2 hours later even if I have combined it with protein. I also tend to be a bit hypoglycemic, so not sure how much of the cravings is triggered by the overproduction of insulin in response to fruit or if it's actually just from the fruit with it's sugar/carbs. Also, if I have it late at night then I sleep through the cravings time period and I'm fine the next day. For me the cravings are definitely temporary, but I am not good at riding them out so if I can, I try to limit fruit to situations when I know it will not give me cravings.

LizinLowell

Fruits definitely trigger carb cravings for me which is a huge bummer because I miss them. Melons (excluding watermelon) & berries generally are recommended in small quantities as lower glycemic. But I can't really tolerate any fruits as I will overeat them & get cravings. Everyone varies in this for sure. I hope you can find your sweet spot, so to speak

2t9nty

If I eat fruit my glucose readings spike. Before I recognized the pattern, I would sometimes split an apple or an orange with my wife with breakfast. This was more or less 10 carbs, and I was staying under my 20 a day with the piece of fruit. It had an impact on me and my BG readings, so I stopped. I am more likely to have leftover veggies from the night before with my bacon and eggs for breakfast now. This works much better.

FWIW, this did not seem to produce sugar/starch cravings, and I seem to have eliminated those really with the low carb diet. It would leave me very hungry mid morning however, and I would get a snack of peanuts or a coffee with HWC to tide me over until lunch.

baconslave

I'm higher carb, 100-120g, and I have one serving of fruit a day usually. No craving issues. But I do workout a lot.

KarlaYP

I avoid fruit except when blueberries are in season. We have two bushes in the yard and I love them fresh. Otherwise I don't eat it because it kicks me out of ketosis and it can create hunger.

KnitOrMiss

If I eat any fruit without a good portion of fat, it definitely happens. Could you melt some coconut oil or use some MCT or Hemp Seed Oil in your smoothie? Most of those are light in flavor or neutral, and you could do the smoothie with the added fat IN IT... But eggs with a side of smoothie sounds reasonable, too.

lemurcat12

I don't have cravings related to fruit consumption, but so far I haven't noticed that there's a big difference for me in eating around 50 g carbs vs. the 100-120 g that seemed to do the trick in making me feel satisfied/less interested in tempting foods that might be around.

melluc2

I have 1/2 c of blueberries everyday. But that's the only fruit I eat.

kpk54

I eat a little fruit on occasion now. I haven't experimented with it much but none of it has seemed to cause a craving. I've had only blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, a banana, clementine, kiwi, pineapple. I think a tasty sweet nectarine might tip me into a crave. Don't know. Same might hold true for something like a sweet mango.

nvmomketo

Carbs in general drive my cravings. TBH, I find starches make me crave more carbs than fruit does, but I have never been a big fruit eater. Or maybe it has to do with the fructose/glucose combination rather than the starch to glucose conversion in starches. IDK.

randilyn2013

I start my day with a small omelet and my fruit for the day. Generally 1/3-1/2 cup of strawberries and depending on what's on sale 1/4 cup of blueberries or raspberries. I find it to be the perfect treat to get my day going. Occasionally I'll save the fruit for dessert after dinner with some homemade whip cream but I tend to crave more carbs if eat the fruit later in the day.

mountainrun73

Thanks for all the responses! I ended up not having the smoothie this morning, I'll have it for midafternoon snack. I had bone broth instead which keeps me full until lunch. @KnitOrMiss I have added coconut oil, and really like the addition, though sometimes it gives me a stomach upset (probably too much at once, lol).

I was mostly curious about people's experiences with whether fruit triggers cravings and it's interesting to see the variety of responses. Some have confirmed that indeed, fruit (or too much anyway) can trigger cravings. @nvmomketo I seem to be finding that carbs in general drive cravings (and then I crash, burn, and have to get back on the wagon again). And whether I get cravings is definitely related to activity level, I seem to be tolerating more carbohydrate the more activity I do without having weird cravings for the sugar/junk triggered.

WVWalkerFriend

As the "all foods in moderation" crowd likes to point out, sugar is sugar. For me my body reacts the same to an apple as to a chocolate bar.

kpk54

LowCarb4Me2016 wrote: »

As the "all foods in moderation" crowd likes to point out, sugar is sugar. For me my body reacts the same to an apple as to a chocolate bar.

I hear that and understand the concept and am not disagreeing.

My reality is, I can buy a bag of apples and eat one when I get home from the store. I can buy a candy bar and will eat it in the car on the way home, then stop at the next convenience store along the way and buy 1 or a few more and eat them before I arrive home (and home is a short trip).

It is either just a behavioral thing with me or that "sugar/fat/salt combo" I read about so often that commercial food entities use to make foods highly palatable. As is often the case, I refer to Stephan Guyenet and The Hungry Brain. The book (among other things) helped me to understand my behaviors with food. It's me. Not everyone.

melluc2

My biggest weakness is chiiiiiips. I can make sweet things with stevia, but I don't have a dehydrater and I haven't figured out how to mimic the deliciousness of BBQ chips. That is probably my biggest craving to overcome. I know it's not fruit, as the original question was about...but it is a daily thought for me. My husband teases me and says that I'm addicted and he's right! It's just a day by day thing. When I do allow myself chips...I feel like I just need more. Lol

Sabine_Stroehm

Fruit doesn't cause cravings for me. If there's a watermelon around, I'll eat a lot of it, but I really love watermelon.
Give me some tortilla chips or crackers, and the rest of the day could be a challenge, craving wise.

AlexandraCarlyle

Most fruit = sugar, sugar = carbs.
My H misses his fruit, but he will happily indulge in Papaya (which is a great fruit for diabetics!) passion fruit, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, on plain (home-made) yoghurt, with a bit of ground SLAP* on top.

(*SLAP = Sunflower seed, Linseed, Almond & Pumpkin seed, Equal amounts BY VOLUME in a food processor. Grind to a powder. Store in a cool larder or fridge. Lasts indefinitely. Or 2 weeks, in our house.....)

mountainrun73

melluc2 wrote: »

My biggest weakness is chiiiiiips. I can make sweet things with stevia, but I don't have a dehydrater and I haven't figured out how to mimic the deliciousness of BBQ chips. That is probably my biggest craving to overcome. I know it's not fruit, as the original question was about...but it is a daily thought for me. My husband teases me and says that I'm addicted and he's right! It's just a day by day thing. When I do allow myself chips...I feel like I just need more. Lol

OMG, me too. Or crackers like CheezIts. Seriously, if I have something like that, then I'm having them or something similar daily. And also seeking out pasta, bread, and booze. Starchy carbs are an issue for me. As soon as I eat some protein and fat, I'm all good.

ZoneFive

I've been having berries -- blue, straw, rasp and black -- about every other day. For me they're like a dessert in that they finish up a meal, but unlike refined sugar they don't kick off cravings. I'll mix them with wholemilk yogurt, too. As with everything else, YMMV.

AlexandraCarlyle

I don't know what it is with me. I really don't. And please know, I'm not saying this to make myself look good, or as some form of self-praise, because, it would be one thing if I had achieved this through personal self-control, diligence, discipline and mastery.
But I haven't.

See, I keep saying how lucky I am, I don't have a sweet tooth... And yet, I love (in the same way!) savoury things! My company makes their own square potato crisps. They're moorish, crunchy and at any given time, a family pack would have lasted me ten minutes! I used to but about 6 at a time...I loved potato crisps (chips to my FAtP) and any other form of savoury snack. I'd be right on it, like a thunderbolt.

Now? I see a bowl of anything and this feeling of aversion comes up. I can't bear to look at the damn stuff. It's poison to me, and I'd rather push the bowl away and not look at it at all. Even my face winces....

Total 180. How? I have no idea. Must be some deeply-embedded psychological safety switch, or something.
I'm just as totally turned off by them as I used to be turned on (in a gastronomic way, I mean. Don't want anyone thinking I have weird kinks.... This is a family show after all.....)

Thanks, but no thanks!

lpina2mi

I have halved my consumption of daily fruits. They add important nutrients and fiber in my diet.
When I eat fruit, I mostly choose those with a lower glycemic impact (ex. berry v banana). I also will pair a healthy fat and/or protein (ex. seeds, nuts, nutbutter, greek yoghurt) with my planned fruit. This moderates the glycemic impact.

Fruit, in general does not trigger carb cravings, for me it starches.

Here are 2 tricks I use to turn-off a craving that is more mouth and mental, as oppose to stomach: drink a cup of black tea; brush my teeth and tongue.

kpk54

AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »

I don't know what it is with me. I really don't. And please know, I'm not saying this to make myself look good, or as some form of self-praise, because, it would be one thing if I had achieved this through personal self-control, diligence, discipline and mastery.
But I haven't.

See, I keep saying how lucky I am, I don't have a sweet tooth... And yet, I love (in the same way!) savoury things! My company makes their own square potato crisps. They're moorish, crunchy and at any given time, a family pack would have lasted me ten minutes! I used to but about 6 at a time...I loved potato crisps (chips to my FAtP) and any other form of savoury snack. I'd be right on it, like a thunderbolt.

Now? I see a bowl of anything and this feeling of aversion comes up. I can't bear to look at the damn stuff. It's poison to me, and I'd rather push the bowl away and not look at it at all. Even my face winces....

Total 180. How? I have no idea. Must be some deeply-embedded psychological safety switch, or something.
I'm just as totally turned off by them as I used to be turned on (in a gastronomic way, I mean. Don't want anyone thinking I have weird kinks.... This is a family show after all.....)

Thanks, but no thanks!

I don't think it is uncommon at all. It goes back to palatability of foods. For some it is fat-salt. For others it is fat-sugar or fat-salt-sugar. The book "The Hungry Brain" (Stephan Guyenet) is an excellent read. I prefer it to "Always Hungry" (Ludwig). Guyenet (The Hungry Brain) talks more about environmental stimuli, controlling food environment and satiation's effect on perceived (and real) palatability changes.

I've spoken frequently about the bingeing I did AFTER weight loss. My weight loss diet and means of maintaining for 2 years was low fat among other things. Satiation occurred immediately with lchf (medically therapeutic keto) and the bingeing ceased.

More would most likely be helped in their weigh loss endeavors with an understanding of how we are "hardwired". Well, perhaps understanding is not necessary. Having knowledge that "it's not your fault" is highly beneficial. Removes the guilt or the feeling of being powerless. Properly feeding ourselves using what ever physically/biologically satiates us individually, often eliminates the obsession/compulsions related to foods.

I was somehow able to maintain my loss during those couple of years but it was with extreme difficulty. I was constantly hungry. Physically hungry. Unrelenting, physical hunger. I was not able to bring my eating behaviors under control until I was physically/biologically satiated. ETA: with fat (for me).

canadjineh

I miss the taste of fruit - but only have some maybe once a week or so and never have a problem with overeating it. My tough spot is with a really good plain rice (had Red Japonica while visitors were staying with us but only 3 tbsp as a serving), or fresh corn tortillas, or similar. Fat disappoints me as far as satiety goes.... I could eat a lb of cheese or pepperoni or salami in one sitting easily and still want more. I realize these contain a lot of protein too, but plain fat I find pretty disgusting actually (flavourwise) and can't handle more than about a tbsp or two max (even good salty butter).