New, Starting tomorrow.
hdlb111
Posts: 20 Member
Hey everyone, I'm new to the whole Paleo world, and honestly I never thought I would be here, I plan on jumping in feet first tomorrow morning, and I know the hardest part will be giving up sugar. Any tips on curbing the sugar cravings? And how long does it take before they start to fade?
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Reduce the sugar and carb little significant a day by day. Not too quick or too slow.0
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I jumped in full force and immediately started eliminating all the paleo "no foods" except for dairy. I was totally fine for about 2 days, then I hit a hard wall. I got really tired, a little depressed, and very cranky. It lasted until day 10. And then it was like a complete switch. No more fatigue and blues. Looking back, I realize the hard patch was partly due to the dreaded "carb flu", but probably more so because I was also not eating enough in general and not eating enough fat in particular. I was new to Paleo but also new to MFP and I thought I should only be eating 1200 cals since that was the default.
So my advice would be to just go for it. Go all in. But be sure to eat enough food, and enough fat. My sugar cravings went away within just a few days. I tried to eat 1-2 servings of fruit a day, but in the beginning mostly berries. Go as heavy as you can on the veggies. Aim for 2-3 cups of veggies per meal. I never have that much, but it's a good goal to have.
Especially in the beginning, surround yourself with good food and snacks. I bought Sophia's Survival Jerky and it was key for me in the beginning. I kept a pack or two everywhere. Purse, car, office, back pack. That way if I was starved or someplace with bad food, I would have a meal replacement ready.
Last piece of advice... Spend a leisurely hour with a wad of money at Whole Foods or health food store. Buy your new pantry staples like a big jar of coconut oil, almond flour, coconut aminos, ghee or grass-fed butter. Explore the raw foods aisle. Lots of fun snacks there with Paleo-friendly ingredients. Buy some 70% or higher dark chocolate. I eat a square or two and that's all I can usually eat. And I haven't tried this, but Mel Joulwan of Well Fed fame says to eat an olive when you crave sugar.
Good luck!0 -
I jumped in full force and immediately started eliminating all the paleo "no foods" except for dairy. I was totally fine for about 2 days, then I hit a hard wall. I got really tired, a little depressed, and very cranky. It lasted until day 10. And then it was like a complete switch. No more fatigue and blues. Looking back, I realize the hard patch was partly due to the dreaded "carb flu", but probably more so because I was also not eating enough in general and not eating enough fat in particular. I was new to Paleo but also new to MFP and I thought I should only be eating 1200 cals since that was the default.
So my advice would be to just go for it. Go all in. But be sure to eat enough food, and enough fat. My sugar cravings went away within just a few days. I tried to eat 1-2 servings of fruit a day, but in the beginning mostly berries. Go as heavy as you can on the veggies. Aim for 2-3 cups of veggies per meal. I never have that much, but it's a good goal to have.
Especially in the beginning, surround yourself with good food and snacks. I bought Sophia's Survival Jerky and it was key for me in the beginning. I kept a pack or two everywhere. Purse, car, office, back pack. That way if I was starved or someplace with bad food, I would have a meal replacement ready.
Last piece of advice... Spend a leisurely hour with a wad of money at Whole Foods or health food store. Buy your new pantry staples like a big jar of coconut oil, almond flour, coconut aminos, ghee or grass-fed butter. Explore the raw foods aisle. Lots of fun snacks there with Paleo-friendly ingredients. Buy some 70% or higher dark chocolate. I eat a square or two and that's all I can usually eat. And I haven't tried this, but Mel Joulwan of Well Fed fame says to eat an olive when you crave sugar.
Good luck!
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Thanks! The biggest thing for me is the sugar. I am already gluten, dairy, tree nut and peanut free due to allergies so its not a huge leap to eat meat, veggies and fruit. I already do, just along with way too much candy and pop.
We have no Whole foods, and a very small health food store, so I won't be getting anything like grass fed butter or coconut aminos. They have the basics, nothing else. No raw food isle. And since I have tree nut allergies, no almond flour either. But thats ok, I'll get it figured out.0 -
The biggest thing for kicking one's sugar habit is to trade in your sugars for something else, like butternut squash, sweet poatoes and selective fruits like berries. I don't eat a lot of fruit or chocolate anymore like I once did, but some key things you can do are to promise yourself that if you do good all day, you can have one or two squares of some good quality dark chocolate (85% or higher), but only after you eat a full dinner.
Freeze the chocolate and if you do that, you can savor it slowly. One of my favorites is the Ghihardelli Sea Salt Soiree because the salt will prevent you from eating too much. If you want something sweet, but are avoiding chocolate, eat a banana with the coconut butter or just the coconut butter straight.
Hope that helps.0 -
Usually it takes me one week for the sugar cravings to stop. Good luck!0
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I just had to make it through the first week, and I saw a dramatic decrease in the desire for sugars and breads and stuff.
I still want them - but it's not a "gotta have them!" kinda feeling anymore.
I suggest eating some fat whenever you have a strong sugar craving, and that will help get you through it.0 -
I would suggest rather than jumping in cold turkey - maybe take this next week to acclimate yourself and if you give in you give in...
The first week is usually the toughest because you are trying to find your way and depending on how you are used to eating you could be shocking your body and wind up with some lethargy and possibily headaches as your body go through withdrawls.
I always tell people who ask me about Primal/Paleo to give it 30 days...doing something for a week and hitting a wall...many people just want to give up
I keep a stock of dark chocolate on hand in case I NEED a little something - you can't eat to much dark chocolate - a square or two does it for me.
I personally would try and stay away from higher sugar fruits if you are trying to break a sugar habit, as the sugar in fruit will react in yoru body pretty much the same way as if you say had a Snickers bar.
Berries are a great source for getting a bit of sweet with lower sugar...I have bags of frozen blueberries and rasberries in my freezer - a small handful - let them thaw for a few minutes and nibble away.0 -
Oh - I also wanted to add - I didn't jump in and cut all sugars/grains/legumes out at once.
I took about 1-2 weeks and slowly eliminated them. First was sugary things (desserts, and sugary coffee drinks,soda, etc). The a few days later, breads. Then finally, potatoes, beans, corn, and all the rest.
The first 2 weeks I ate more fruit and sweet potatoes than I do now (only a month later) to help myself switch over without feeling bad. Then I slowly cut back on those as well.
Because I did that I didn't go through anything like a "low-carb flu" period.0 -
Thanks for the advice everyone.
Today will actually be day 1, I was going to start yesterday but we got snowed in (seriously) and didn't make it to the grocery store....we had pretty bare pickings for the day. Today I'll be able to go and stock up on good stuff.
I know the first week is going to be hard, I am so used to snacking on candy, and there will be caffeine withdrawl. My only source on caffeine was pop....What I snack on is pretty horrifying. It needs to stop, hopefully this is the way.0
