will low carb help stop sugar cravings???

XLMACX

Hi,

So I love sweet stuff!!! I use sweeteners but I will have like 4 tabs in my tea or coffee and around 5 in my porridge and berries in morning!
I can easily eat a meringue nest with vanilla essence syrupy stuff on is (did this the other day), chocolate bars I can eat 5 in a row although I don’t but if im binging I do!

For me its mainly chocolate, I have tried chewing gum lately to curb this but I eat a full pack in around 1hr . I have also tried been hypnotised which didn’t work, tried cutting out completely didn’t work, have a little at night which I can stick too but I just want to break the habit.

I do have quiet strong will power but its annoying how much I crave it after every meal and every night, its been like this for at least 7years from been a teen. So I was wondering is the only way to get over this to go cold turkey?? Cut all choc out or should I go low carb I just want to “re-set” my taste buds or get all sugar out my system.

Or should I have my sweet fix in low carb protein shakes every time crave something sweet have one of those???

Open to suggestions ???????

memelizzy

Hi XLMACX! Doing Atkins Induction has done it for me. I like you crave all things sweet, especially chocolate!! I guarantee if you follow the Induction rules, which really aren't that difficult, and get on every low carb forum for help and encouragement you will succeed in breaking the addiction. That's not to say that you won't feel a desire for chocolate anymore, but it won't have the power over you. You can decide if you want it and how much as long as you don't over indulge. There are loads of paleo and low carb recipes also that will give you a somewhat satisfying version of some of the chocolate sweets you may be used to having. I'm not sure that you can have those in Induction though. Anyway, I would give it a try if I were you. Check out the Atkins site if you haven't already.

XLMACX

thank you, ideally i would like to no follow a plan as such but just drop my percentages to low carb for now as i dont really have the momeny to buy extra foods after i have just done the foods shop then decided i want low carb hahaha!!!

do you know what the percentage is for low carb???

is it 20 or 30%?

thanks x

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

I had sweet tooth and craved ice cream, diet soda seven months ago. In addition to going low carb, I had a goal of cutting out everything sweet except occasional berries for 2 months, not even artificial sweeteners. Yeah first 3 weeks were crazy but I didn't budge and after 4 or 5 weeks I didn't care any more. Do I use sugar free sweeteners now? yes, I eat low carb cheese cakes, home made ice creams etc but I don't crave them. Try going cold turkey for 6-8 weeks, it won't be easy for first 3-4 weeks. But once you break the habit you can slowly get back to enjoying the sugar free sweets.

XLMACX

im thinking of doing the same, my typical day tends to inc sugary snack as seen below today for instance:

coffee- 3 sweetener tabs
breakF- 35g oats 100g mixed berries 5 yes 5 sachets sweetener!
another coffee (large one) 4 sweetener sachets, boiled, egg apple
lunch- beef, zero noodles, peppers
snack shape hazelnut choc yogurt, 2 miniture heroes
full pack sugar free gum, 11 sugar free low cal sweets
dinner- beef and veg soup
snack- Cadbury’s freddo frog dipped in low cal hot chocolate.

im thinking of, cutting out ALL sweeteners, all yogurts, the chocolate treat on a night, hot chocolates cappuccinos form the works free vending machine and aiming for 30% carbs??? my belly at the min is so bloated and i feel really sluggish and horrible , it’s a shame because my diet is so healthy and balanced the sugary junk brings me down!

MadWidow98

I have been doing low carb for about 2.5 months - I do crave here and there still - but didn't have a huge sweet tooth to begin with. I am using a crappy substitute in my coffee (Walden Farms Caramel Syrup) for now, but am planning to switch to Stevia liquid (the packets have carbs) and organic half and half when I am ready to maintain. Not sure what the general feeling is on Stevia, though. My doc had said if I *needed* to use something else that this was the best option.

Binkie1955

Your cravings belie your assertion that you have 'strong will-power'. I think you need to address the issue of developing will power first.

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

im thinking of doing the same, my typical day tends to inc sugary snack as seen below today for instance:

coffee- 3 sweetener tabs
breakF- 35g oats 100g mixed berries 5 yes 5 sachets sweetener!
another coffee (large one) 4 sweetener sachets, boiled, egg apple
lunch- beef, zero noodles, peppers
snack shape hazelnut choc yogurt, 2 miniture heroes
full pack sugar free gum, 11 sugar free low cal sweets
dinner- beef and veg soup
snack- Cadbury’s freddo frog dipped in low cal hot chocolate.

im thinking of, cutting out ALL sweeteners, all yogurts, the chocolate treat on a night, hot chocolates cappuccinos form the works free vending machine and aiming for 30% carbs??? my belly at the min is so bloated and i feel really sluggish and horrible , it’s a shame because my diet is so healthy and balanced the sugary junk brings me down!

Go through the induction phase of 2-3 weeks, Keep the carbs to 25 g per day. If you eat fruits,starches and grains with ton of carbs and sugar, might as well eat sugar. Its not easy but to break a habit it takes few weeks of hard work and will power.

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

Your cravings belie your assertion that you have 'strong will-power'. I think you need to address the issue of developing will power first.

Could be hormones, they are different than will power.

XLMACX

Right ok so my carb is set to 30% I don't want to go all low carb crazy because I get obsessed and it starts feeling like a diet I just want to cut sugar out for a shortish period of time to get rid of these cravings! what foods should I avoid I have done a low carb plan a while ago so I kind of know which to avoid:

Bananas
Sweetcorn
Squash
Grapes
Pineapple
Potato
Rice-white
Pasta-white
Bread-white

As for the main carbs like pasta ect does it really matter if I eat them as they don't set my sweet carb craving off? If they fit in to my macros they should be ok right??

Another question will I be ok to have protein shakes in replacement of my sweet treats they do lovely low carb low fat high protein diet shakes in flavours like chocolate orange ect or would this just set my craving off further more?

Tomorrow meal plan first day low carb:

BreakF- 3 eggs scrambled skimmed milk, 5 cherry tomatoes, mixed frozen peppers
Snack- small apple
Lunch- big chicken breast, broccoli, green beans 2 tsp gravy
Snack- boiled egg and choc orange protein shake made 200ml skimmed milk
Dinner- steak salad am thinking or smoked fish salad
Snack- another shake

Any advise and help much appreciated

FIT_Goat

What are the macros for tomorrow's meal plan?

Why skim milk? Is it just because that's what you bought before thinking low carb?

Whole wheat bread/pasta and brown rice aren't significantly better than their white counterparts. If you're going to allow such things, there's little reason to stress about which ones you're eating. Since you don't care about effect on blood sugar, only if they taste sweet, then I don't see why you couldn't have the pasta and such.

That said, I think the shakes would be something you should avoid because they are sweet. It doesn't really matter if they are low carb, if you're working on breaking the sweet cravings. They don't effect the blood sugar (I assume), but that's not what you're working on anyway. So, the shakes would probably be out. The pasta, rice, breads that aren't sweet, you could still have.


** Note: I don't necessarily think this is the best way to go about this. I'm just pointing out a logical inconsistency. You can't allow pasta because it's not sweet even though it is high carb... then turn around and allow protein shakes that are sweet because they are low carb.

Booksandbeaches

Going low-carb didn't cut my sugar cravings, but going on a ketogenic diet (20 grams of carbs a day although sometimes I go to 30 grams) a day totally cut the cravings. I've been eating this way since late February and not once have I felt the urge to cheat. I've gone to parties, out to dinners with my husband, on trips and I didn't feel the urge to eat the cake/cookies/sundae or whatever it was other people had.

memelizzy

That's encouraging Booksandbeach! I'm just starting week 3 of Induction so I'm hoping that when I get as far as you I too will be able to say that chocolate, cake, ice cream etc. don't bother me!!

kristafb

Like Booksandbeach I also follow a keto diet and have no cravings for sweets at all and I'm the girl who would buy a pie and eat it all in one day, or a whole pack of oreos with a big thing of milk. I love baked goods & bread, but I can honestly say I do not miss it at all. Not to mention how much better I feel without all that sugar rushing through my body.

XLMACX

The red milk I already had in the fridge before deciding this, as for whole meal pasta and brown rice I i have always bought this, my macros is set at carb 30%|protein 40% and fat 30% seem to have just about hit those today but still have my dinner to in put which will be some kind of salad and meat,

I think your right with the shakes too:( I know they will pro make me crave sweet stuff, this is going to be the toughest thing I have ever done even thinking about not having sweetness in my life depresses me my life evolves round it and it's how I reward myself, I do like my vodka diet mixers on weekend but that hand in hand with some chocolate ha!

I'm not so sure on going keto like I said I don't want to be come too obsessive as this is the reason I left mfp last time and I was doing so well... Think I will try and eliminate the sweet stuff first,

As for protein snacks I think I will struggle if not having the shakes!

I know full fat Greek yogurt
Peanut butter although I'm not a massive fan lol
Cottage cheese


???????????

Thanks again for everyone's help

XLMACX

How do you go keto ??? Would this like 20% carbs x

crepes_

I've been at eating a ketogenic diet for almost 3 years. 20g net carbs per day, sometimes up to 50g for management of a medical condition. I was definitely sugar-crazy, and combine that with a binge eating disorder? Bad news.

Eating a LCHF diet stopped the cravings within the first month, although the first week was horrible in terms of breaking habits. After about 3 months, you become keto adapted. When that happens, small splurges can be easily remedied with some exercise. I'd do that for 'incidentals' like a birthday party where I wanted to sample some cake, or going out to eat and accidentally ordering something with a questionable sauce or glaze.

Keto would mean a 5% carb count and a high fat, moderate protein. You can use this site to determine your numbers: http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

That site also helps figure out your goals if you don't want to go full keto, but still want to lower the carb count.

XLMACX

couldn’t work out that website lol! first day and im ok do miss sweet stuff a little but i after admit i did have a protein shake...im so full today and still have 660 calories left for my dinner but my dinner is only 250 cals so all that left to play with i never have that amount of cals left!

goes to show how many of my calories actually go on sugary stuff!

shayman1975

the small apple is loaded with carbs so not a good idea maybe replace with strawberries

shayman1975

LCHF definitely the way to go , if you don't want to cut the dairy you can do a banting diet basically the same as keto with a 5% carb ratio 25% protein and 70% fat

When your body goes into ketosis it starts using your fat reserves as energy and burns it

shayman1975

Oh yes look for a recipe on google called fat bombs its like little choc candies and helps you to up your fat intake

samaral7

I went low carb (<20 per day) a few years ago. Totally killed my sugar addiction and I no longer have any cravings. I don't eat any grain products at all and don't miss them. The only time I will have a craving for sugar or grains is when I drink alcohol. So I limit that as well. I now stick to around 50 net carbs a day - all from veggies, nuts and some dairy products. I dropped about 25 pounds total.

I went off track for a couple of months (March to June) and gained about fifteen of those back. It's amazing how quickly it can come back. I have been back on track for almost a month now and have lost about half of those pounds. I expect it to take a few more months to get the rest off.