I need tips on how to deal with cravings...
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SuperCarLori wrote: »I agree with too few calories. I struggle with nuts too, and struggle with binge eating. Bingeing and hiding can be seen as eating disorder behavior. What's your take on that? I just don't want to offend anyone.
I thought about that, but I pushed that thought out of my mind. I guess I'm not ready to even begin to think I have that sort of a problem. But yes it does sound like eating disorder territory, with the hiding and there are many different types.2 -
Thanks sunny bunnySunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Check out this online summit to get tips from the pros
http://sweetfreedomsummit.com
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I agree with the disordered eating concept. When one starts hiding their eating habits from others I perceive it to be a problem. I say that from personal experience of being face first in a tub of "XXX", hiding the container in the depths of the trash can then jumping in the car to replace whatever it is I have eaten.
OP, I will suggest (in addition to the things above by others) ask yourself if you are really buying these cashews for your boyfriend. It was my very kind, considerate husband who suggested to me "Kath, you really don't need to buy XXX and XXX for me". If I want them I can get them". I had been open with him regarding my struggle though not to the degree. It was embarrassing to admit but it helped. Not so much admitting the act itself but the end result of no longer having "XXX" in the house "for him".
Thank you and I agree.2 -
I am struggling here. At least twice I have binged on Cashews in the last 2-3 weeks. I have not been able to control myself. I have eaten an entire 8oz can of planters cashews going over my 50g of carbs allotment and certainly taken myself out of ketosis. I have hid this from my boyfriend. He has really been supporting me and I don't want to disappoint him. I am seriously embarrassed that I have had and continue to have these slip ups. How do I get a handle on this and get back into the right mindframe? Any tips.
I had the same issue with cashews and pecans. I just had to eliminate them because the amount I wanted to eat put me over my limit. I can't eat an ounce of cashews. Same with Almond butter.1 -
I wonder, also, with all the recent changes (getting off BCP is a huge factor here - because it causes such a bad gut situation, which I've only recently learned), if you might not finally be having some kind of bacterial die-off. When I start having insane cravings like that, which are a driving compulsive unavoidable NEED feeling, I start looking deep for the reasons.2
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tinachris14 wrote: »I totally feel you. I had a slip up recently and binged for an entire weekend. I can't control myself with stuff like that so I don't buy it anymore.
I hear you. I say i am buying it for my boyfriend, he loves cashews, but secretly I have been eating them. I never done this before. I don't know what is up with me lately.
@ferret150 - Sometimes designating things in my head or on a shelf as belonging to my guy, and envisioning actually having to STEAL those things from him to consume them helps me snap out of the mindset too. He has his own shelf in the pantry, fridge, and an end table by the couch...1 -
Do cravings sometimes come from deficiencies?
And the answer to this question is absolutely, yes.
¼ cup serving of cashews has roughly: (3)
196 calories
5 grams of protein
1 gram of fiber
16 grams of fat
750 milligrams copper (84 percent DV)
89 milligrams magnesium (33 percent DV)
167 milligrams phosphorus (28 percent DV)
9 milligrams zinc (23 percent DV)
27 milligrams manganese (15 percent DV)
11 milligrams vitamin K (12 percent DV)
2 milligrams iron (11 percent DV)
23 milligrams folate (6 percent DV)
You could absolutely be deficient in copper/zinc (which have to be in balance, I forget the ratio)...
magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, K (Who knew?!?!), and folate/iron tend to go together. I'd look at the nutritional components of your meals and see if you can identify a missing component.
My 2 cents, off the top of my head - most folks are missing zinc, magnesium, k, iron, and folate (NOT FOLIC ACID)...from this list. If you aren't getting enough of these key nutrients, or have cut them out since going low carb, you might have just finally used up stores of them. When I went low carb, cutting out "fortified" cereals and grains, without replacing those nutrients, you'll end up with issues like this eventually.
EDITED TO ADD: when you are deficient in something, your body will crave whatever food it associates with you getting that nutrient into your system. An example - for many magnesium deficient folks, they will crave chocolate. Someone low on iodine might crave salty foods or seafood. etc.1 -
Oh, and an additional note, binge eating, compulsive eating, and most other eating disorders can actually stem from vitamin, mineral, and other nutrient deficiencies. Hunger itself is also based on nutritional holes in your intake. If you eat a huge meal of mainly less than healthy or junk food and never seem to feel full, you may be missing major nutrients, and your body is essentially making you hungrier still, because it needs those nutrients, and it's convinced if you are still hungry, you'll intake what you need... It's very hard, but focusing on whole, unprocessed foods where possible, and a variety of them, will help with this in most cases.
But honestly, if this goes on for a while, I'd consider getting a doctor to test you for the main deficiencies. It could be a relatively simple supplement to add or something.1 -
I'll place my bets on behavioral versus deficiencies. Once I got XXX and XXX out of the house, my "nutrient deficiencies" ceased...
I'm not saying nutrient deficiencies don't exist.
ETA: OP if you think it might be a zinc/copper deficiency eat some beef liver which is one of the highest food sources of the combo. See if the that eliminates the behavior of eating a full can of cashews and hiding the fact that you did.
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@kpk54 - for me, behavioral is definitely a part of it, but it was massively worsened by the nutrient side of things. The fact that the OP has only been off BCP completely for a few months likely indicates massive hormone surges while her body focuses on finding a new level, especially since this is a recent development. I hadn't realized how many things are affected by taking hormonal supplements/replacements/birth control pills....until I started researching recently.
And the behavioral components of binging and hiding it if only recently have surfaced really tell me that there is something else at play, triggering, contributing to, or causing this current issue. If she's been a life-long binger, and this is just her first time with this since going keto, something changed. Again, when it is out of the blue, it tells me something is off...if it's a constant struggle, that's something else entirely.
But I do agree that behavioral is a big thing, particularly for stress eaters/coping techniques, and it doesn't even have to be something most folks are aware of. Mild insecurity, too many changes, job stress, money stress, life stress....life itself...1 -
@ferret150, My binging "came out of the blue". I say that because at 61-62 years old, I began bingeing. Like you, I had never binged before. Never, being 60 some years in my case. Sure I over ate for about 10 years (that's how I got fat). Everyone who has binged, truly binged, knows the difference between over eating and bingeing. I began bingeing AFTER I had lost all my weight. That was 2015. All of 2015.
Some folks will recall reading one of my "transition" stories (from bingeing) about literally standing in front of my refrigerator with 1 hand on the freezer door (for ice cream) and one hand on the refrigerator door (for sugar free jello). I learned many things standing in front of that refrigerator. I had the freedom to choose. Both were equally available. With a lot of practice, I learned to make the best choice for me.
Spend 16 minutes watching this video. There just might be something in it that resonates with you and your "forbidden" cashews. You do have choices and when you give yourself absolute freedom (without all the rules) you can actually learn (which is a change in behavior) to make different choices. Learning takes practice. In the mind, "can't have" can become "don't want". I have not binged for months yet my "trigger" foods, my "reward" foods are still available. All are available in the grocery store. Some are available in my house. I exercise my freedom to "not do it".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5TIpQsOAHU 2 -
@ferret150, My binging "came out of the blue". I say that because at 61-62 years old, I began bingeing. Like you, I had never binged before. Never, being 60 some years in my case. Sure I over ate for about 10 years (that's how I got fat). Everyone who has binged, truly binged, knows the difference between over eating and bingeing. I began bingeing AFTER I had lost all my weight. That was 2015. All of 2015.
Some folks will recall reading one of my "transition" stories (from bingeing) about literally standing in front of my refrigerator with 1 hand on the freezer door (for ice cream) and one hand on the refrigerator door (for sugar free jello). I learned many things standing in front of that refrigerator. I had the freedom to choose. Both were equally available. With a lot of practice, I learned to make the best choice for me.
Spend 16 minutes watching this video. There just might be something in it that resonates with you and your "forbidden" cashews. You do have choices and when you give yourself absolute freedom (without all the rules) you can actually learn (which is a change in behavior) to make different choices. Learning takes practice. In the mind, "can't have" can become "don't want". I have not binged for months yet my "trigger" foods, my "reward" foods are still available. All are available in the grocery store. Some are available in my house. I exercise my freedom to "not do it".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5TIpQsOAHU
That was bad *kitten* and inspiring, K. Thank you for sharing that.
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I've had success about 90% of the time with the 15 minute rule: I can have as much of this, where "this" is frequently another bag of mixed nuts, as I want but only if I wait 15 minutes. This gives my fevered brain time to settle down enough to realize I don't really want more of "this" at all. If I fill in the 15 minutes with a zero carb hot drink and/or some mild physical movement, the rule works even better.0
