Week 1 down on reduced carbs/sugar...I think I'm turning into the Joker

msovoxo4

Hey all,

A few weeks back I made the decision to start making healthy choices for myself now and in the future. Last week, I finally met with my family doctor and he was really great in helping me start off (we have another appointment in 2.5 weeks). Anyway, one of the biggest changes I'll be making is cutting down my carb intake to 2-3 servings of non veg carbohydrates and working to eliminate added sugar from my meal choices. Right now my sugar intake isn't all the way down, I still have a piece of chocolate from and advent calendar that my friend bought for me and outside of that I'm getting it from my fruit servings. As for the non-veg carbs, it's been easier to bring that down. However, today has been rough. I really don't know what it is about today where I just want all the carbs and sugar. Dear god, I want a chocolate cake with ice cream, deep fry it and then cover it in more chocolate. I've never had a craving like this before and I feel like I'm going insane. What I eat is perfectly fine and it's filling but it's as though it's not all the way hitting the spot. My brain keeps saying I can restart next month or to just treat myself because it's going into the holiday season...it's bad. If you've had this experience, what helped you get through the cravings and the mood swings? This *kitten* does get easier to handle right?

MaltedTea

If you've had this experience what helped you get through the cravings and the mood swings?


I can't speak to mood swings but increasing fiber and protein helps with my carb cravings and overall satiety (in that order).

But, let's 👏🏿 be 👏🏿 real👏🏿: I also have a square of dark chocolate (or a small piece of gluten-free brownie) most every day.

Cravings are generally indulged if yhey fit my macros for the day and make sense when it comes to fueling the activities I have for the day as well.

Do I go off course? Of course. This past week, I had a cup of baked macaroni pie after a night of little sleep when I knew I needed to lift that day. It was inefficient, at best (even though it fit within my day's calories and was 🤤).

Over time, you'll get better with your food choices, if that is - in fact - the choice you feel you want to commit to for your long-term health.

ninerbuff

If you attack it extremely (doing a full 180) it will usually be a short lived journey. I teach all my clients that they can enjoy eating what they like AS LONG AS they control the amount of calories they eat. If you eat a good amount of whole foods for nutritional value and meet your RDA's and have calories left over, you can eat whatever you want as long as you don't exceed that left over amount.
Diets that are restrictive are exactly that. RESTRICTIVE. Now mind you if you are doing this by doctor's orders for health reasons, then abide. But if you lose weight, you start to reduce risk factor. And the reality is that losing weight still just boils down to CICO.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

AnnPT77

A couple of other things, neither specific to low carb, but related to healthy changes:

Are you at reduced calories, too, and if so, is there any chance that you're targeting an aggressively low calorie level? That can backfire in the form of appetite/cravings, and some people find it easier to cut gradually rather than all at once.

Also, how's your sleep (amount/quality) and stress (cumulative, i.e., both physical & psychological, noting that a calorie deficit is a physical stress)? Have you adopted a new exercise routine, and if so is it a big jump in duration/intensity/frequency from your previous routine? Any of those things can contribute to fatigue (possibly subtle fatigue), and fatigue can tend to trigger cravings, especially late in the day. If those are factors, it may help to work on them directly, and get a secondary benefit in reduced cravings.

Best wishes!

amart4224

To add to everything said above, keep in mind that certain times in your monthly cycle can cause cravings to pop up. I get hit really hard with carb cravings the day before I start, as well as the first day of my period.

NikaIris

@amart4224 This! I also cut out sugar (but not carbs in general), beause sugar makes me SO hungry all the time. And usually I'm okay with that, but the week before I get my period the cravings get really bad. I go for long walks, write diary and cry a lot. Actually excercise can help with a cravings.

mariomicro

Just cutting a bit a sugar and carbs here and there is not really healthy. You'll be in and out of ketosis during the day and you'll have mood swings. You either adopt a truly ketogenic diet or better not cut carbs at all.

Dogmom1978

Is there a health reason you cut sugar out? As mentioned above, doing a 180 and deciding to completely cut out things you enjoy usually leads to binging and quitting.

If you didn’t cut out carbs/sugar for a specific health concern, I would recommend working them into your daily calorie goal.

msovoxo4

Update: thank you everyone for the responses and advice. I made it through the night and today has been fairly good. To answer a few of the points that came up: I'm not doing keto, I'm just trying to reduce the amount of refined carbs or non veg/fruit carbs and sugar. My doctor says my ideal range is to have about 3 servings of non veg carbs and to reduce the amount of added sugar in my meal choices; reason being, I have PCOS so these are two groups that make it harder for me to lose weight and also mess around with my hormones. Also, the biggest concern being if I don't moderate it now it could lead it issues down the line (i.e, insulin resistance). My calorie range that he gave is between 1500-1700 (on heavy workout days) and to have more protein and healthy fats. After reflecting on it I think my cravings are coming from the fact that I'm not always reaching this calorie range and I'm not sleeping as well as I should be. These are things I'll work on and again, thank you guys for the responses and all the advice. Much love!