You just have to stick to your guns and not give in. Much easier said than done I know. You have to decide "Are you worth it?" The answer is "YES!".

Do you have carby food laying around? First you need to eliminate anything that is triggering your cravings. Just clean it up and make it a priority.bnever go shopping hungry, eat good foot before you leave the house that will keep you full.
Second, the craving only last few minutes, gove it time to pass, 10-15 min should be sufficient. Stop thinking about things you can't have, change your mind and concentrate on food that is actually will benefit you in the long run and is good for you. It takes time to break the addiction to carbs, it's hard, but it worth all the misery you have to go through. You will thank yourself later and be proud of your accomplishments instead of feeling guilty all the time. Make a goal each and every day, maybe start a journal and note why and when you have a craving, you can break the pattern once you know the cause. Do something else, drink water, have a bacon and other food that you like to kill the carb thought. Go for a walk, clean, work out, anything! You can do it, rip the benefits and feel good about it!
We can only help and encourage you but your health is in your own hands, don't give up!!
Hugs!!

exercise. walk. think and walk and meditate about what it is that needs prioritizing. Make an effort to do something kind for someone else; a trip to the food shelf with your carbs, clothing or volunteer work with a child. I always find my problems are quite small compared to others who struggle. Give back and you will find it makes you kinder and gentler on yourself . You can only give people or things power over you , if you choose to.

InADarkRoom wrote: »

As for the major cravings - they tend to be for chocolate, flaky pastries, chips (crisps here in the UK!) and cookies. So ideas to replace them...aaaannd go! Seriously though, all ideas are appreciated.

I feel your pain, chocolate used to be my main problem (that and chocolate ice cream).

I emptied the house of anything that was less than 70% dark chocolate and bought the best quality, darkest chocolate I could find. Over the last few months I've increased the dark content of the chocolate and now eat mostly over 90%. Your palate evolves but you need time to adapt to the darker chocolates, especially if you're hooked on white, milk or candy-like chocolates.

I no longer have chocolate cravings often but when I do I have a couple of squares, let it melt slowly in my mouth and feel no guilt about it. At 1 or 2 carbs per square, it's easy to fit it in your macros. And it is amazing to reach a point when you can control how much chocolate you eat and still enjoy it (at least it was for me!). 99% chocolate has an amazing flavour and is so strong it is almost impossible to eat too much!

Plus, very dark chocolate has plenty of health benefits!

InADarkRoom wrote: »

As for the major cravings - they tend to be for chocolate, flaky pastries, chips (crisps here in the UK!) and cookies. So ideas to replace them...aaaannd go! Seriously though, all ideas are appreciated.

Chocolate has been addressed. But I also like to make homemade chocolate mousse. About 4 TBSP of heavy cream, a packet of sweetener, and 1/2-1 TBSP of Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder (or better quality if you have it - if you use the regular boring stuff, you might need to add some vanilla). Whip it to thickness. Eat with a spoon. This should be an occasional treat. You can also add cocoa in that BPCoffee (or a SF syrup, though I don't like this option)... Just a few options.

Flaky pastries for me was mostly about the rich buttery taste. Find other ways to indulge this. I was a dessert person before, but nowadays, I'm really not missing these too much. I tried one croissant donut, one tiny bite, and OMG - binge city urges. I resisted, but it was HARD. No more! If there is another factor here, fill me in, and I'll make a better suggestion. (I like the rich creaminess of jello fat bombs - it's like a custardy yogurt pudding...)

chips/crisps. My favorite is cheese crisps. Google for "recipe" but it's all loose. Small piles or slices of cheese on parchment paper at 350 degrees (US) 5-7 minutes, keep watching it until they are browning around the edges. I like to sprinkle seasonings on them. My new favorite is sharp cheddar with "popcorn seasoning" onto them when I pull them out. I do it with the ranch seasoning, and it's better than doritos! Just watch the salt factor on any seasoning. It gets out of control quickly! You can use pepper jack with jalapeno slices or bacon crumbles in colby. The combinations are positively endless!!

Pork rinds with a dip you make are another great one. I like them with chunks of cheese. I haven't made a dip myself. But a tub of sour cream or cream cheese with a soup packet are a quick one. Someone said to try them with guacamole, too...

There are other cracker type things you can make too. I personally like baking chicken with skin on to make it juicy, then pull off the skins and bake them until super crispy... YUM!

Cookies - if you're looking for the gooey factor, see the mousse above. If you're looking for sweets, try fat bombs. If you're looking for sweet crunch, maybe try one minute muffins? This was one of the first cravings I lost, and I was an Oreo junkie.

Hope this helps a TON! But they key will end up being breaking the urges altogether, but some of these things can be transition foods or occasional treats...but they're easy to binge on too if you don't fix your brain too.. Let me know if you need any recipes.

Dragonwolf wrote: »

Speaking of Oreos, one of the things that I noticed was that it was individual parts of the Oreos that I liked, not so much the cookies as a whole -- the creaminess of the filling and the chocolate flavor in the cookie, to be specific. One thing I realized after not having them for a while was that I didn't particularly care for them as a whole, but I felt almost "compelled" or "driven" to eat more. I have the same thing happen with certain varieties of M&Ms, too (namely the peanut butter ones). Yeah, the people who say abstaining just leads to deprivation and craving has clearly never dealt with this type of issue.

Nowadays, I find that when I'm craving sugar, chocolate, or whatever, it's because I need more fat, or more food in general.

Yes, YES. All of this ^^!