Why do I get crazy bad cravings after a sugar binge?
Losingthedamnweight
Posts: 535 Member
If I do well and eat my calorie budget perfectly for awhile I’m totally fine. But if I eat a couple super high calorie junk food meals, I get cravings so bad I fall off the rails. Why is that?
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Replies
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Perfectionism that leads to feelings of failure.8
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If you're eating super high calorie meals, you're probably consuming high amounts of things besides sugar. Curious as to why you blame the sugar exclusively for your cravings.6
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I remember reading that for some people it is a dopamine thing but I don't know if that is true science or another attack on sugar.
ETA: Because I don't have a sweet tooth I have never truly investigated it.2 -
Just throwing this out there as I'm not sure how meticulous your diary is, but if I were only eating about 1100 calories a day (not including deserts)....ya, I'd be having massive cravings too.10
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No no people. I’m not over here starving or whatever and then eating a high calorie meal and going nuts. I eat about 2000 calories a day and workout but let’s say thanksgiving happens. I eat a bunch on thanksgiving and the day after, I’m getting a crazy amount of cravings. My question is why that is. Something to do with blood sugar spiking? Dopamine rush? New bad habits being built?2
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Sugar and most junk food is addictive and “feels good” to eat. If I eat well all day and then want to treat myself to a sugary granola bar or something, after I eat it I immediately want like 5 more lol. So now I try to avoid it and save those bars for “emergency” only situations which is like once or twice a month. For ME that is what works.22
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I am ready for the woo's, but I believe as jellyroll stated, it's hyperpalitable foods we crave. The brain and stomach can tell what is high in calories and what is not. Making high calorie foods taste better is a driver for us to eat it. Much like sex is pleasurable to help make sure we reproduce. Sugar IMHO, is not addictive, but mix it with lots of fat and salt, you get what our body's and minds crave. If you look at human evolution, we developed on the Savannah of Africa. Grass was abundant and plants. Fats and salts were not so much. Sugar, from fruits and tubers, were valuable sources of instant energy. Protein was also scarce, but that's not the topic of this post. So, in review, mix sugar, fat, and salt together.....BAM....3 things that were rare. The brain says, "hey kitten hole, eat all you can! We don't know when we will come by it again!"10
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Losingthedamnweight wrote: »No no people. I’m not over here starving or whatever and then eating a high calorie meal and going nuts. I eat about 2000 calories a day and workout but let’s say thanksgiving happens. I eat a bunch on thanksgiving and the day after, I’m getting a crazy amount of cravings. My question is why that is. Something to do with blood sugar spiking? Dopamine rush? New bad habits being built?
OK, just wanted to check as your diary only indicates about 1100 calories daily of nutritionally dense food.4 -
It happens to me too. If I can go a few days without eating sugary foods, then I no longer crave them. And then I have some, and my brain just wants more more more. I don't typically crave salty foods, but I have a real sweet tooth.
sorry, I have no advice for why. Just wanted to reinforce that it does happen for me too.5 -
Food group elimination advocates say if you eliminate about 4 or 5 food groups, along with all of the sugar that you will no longer want to eat all of the things. You will be fixed. You'll go through that extinction burst where the body fights so hard against you and you might have the final knockout round with sugar or thrill eating but after that it's smooth sailing all the way.
I don't believe that because I've tried it. The cravings come roaring back with rebound weight gain. Some order out of that chaos must be imposed. I gave myself permission to have whatever I want every single day with reasonable restriction and not overrestriction. Yes, you have to count the nuts and track the tiddlywinks but after awhile the things you've always enjoyed aren't calling your name - morning, noon and night.
The trifecta of every baked good is sugar, salt, fat and flour but eliminating all of the things for the rest of your life with the concept of never going back is too hard to contemplate for most humans and their brains.
The brain really does not care if you ever stop eating all of the things. The brain is a driver. The brain doesn't care how many food resets you do because the brain will always be in charge. The brain is content with licorice and gummy bears and steak, chicken, grilled portobello mushrooms. You choose, you decide. Give yourself permission to do everything on your own terms with food and movement you enjoy. That will take the wind right of the sails that drive you to fall off the rails. Fall off the rails but learn to moderate yourself.
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If I ate a lot at thanksgiving then I wouldn't have cravings. Maybe it's the fat you crave? You didn't say what you craved and people assumed sugar. If I have sugar then I want more,more,more. Real food, no. I do eat peanut butter and healthy fats so I don't crave fat.1
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Losingthedamnweight wrote: »No no people. I’m not over here starving or whatever and then eating a high calorie meal and going nuts. I eat about 2000 calories a day and workout but let’s say thanksgiving happens. I eat a bunch on thanksgiving and the day after, I’m getting a crazy amount of cravings. My question is why that is. Something to do with blood sugar spiking? Dopamine rush? New bad habits being built?
How tall are you, I'm 5'9, I Don't even do any cardio and I usually cut at 2400 calories, so I suspect you may be eating too little.4 -
This got me thinking about pleasure centers in the brain and how certain things trigger some people and not others. I love food but I find the pleasure and cravings come from the experience I have with it. So I won't crave so much the food itself to eat alone, but sharing it with family or friends. For example I was driving one day and I passed by a new seafood restaurant that said "Patio now open, fresh oysters" and all I could think was sitting on the patio on a warm day, cool breeze, sipping some nice white wine eating raw oysters and it's all I could think about for the rest of the day. The thing is once the event happens and I am satisfied, I don't want it anymore in that moment at least. But I do get strong urges for the experience again, and it usually involves wine so if I get cravings for anything wine always comes to mind.
Interestingly, I eat candy almost everyday before and during my workout. I love candy and I love to eat it, but I eat only as much as I need to get me through the workout. Once it's over, it's over. I don't get more cravings for it or it doesn't set me off for binges. I don't find myself obsessed with sugar at all. But if there is a particular food or combination of foods that set you up for binges, it might be a good idea to limit yourself from those foods at least until you can handle them in moderation (if that is possible at all).1 -
Losingthedamnweight wrote: »No no people. I’m not over here starving or whatever and then eating a high calorie meal and going nuts. I eat about 2000 calories a day and workout but let’s say thanksgiving happens. I eat a bunch on thanksgiving and the day after, I’m getting a crazy amount of cravings. My question is why that is. Something to do with blood sugar spiking? Dopamine rush? New bad habits being built?
So is it a sugar-induced craving thing you're observing (as your thread title said), or an over-consumption-induced craving thing (Thanksgiving in most households is all the macros, not just sugar)?
Does it have to be anything other than food tastes good, and pleasure is enjoyable so we want to repeat it, and (perhaps additionally) the social enjoyment that gets linked emotionally to the food so we want more food to feel the aura of social warmth again? Of course we want more of pleasurable things, and humans pretty much always put the pleasure of today's self above the well-being of some theoretical future self (it's part of why we overeat, don't save for retirement, etc.).
I'm with others, wondering whether 2000 calories is really enough for you, too. I can eat more than 2000 (gross) a day to lose weight slowly (pound or two a month) . . . and I'm a freakin' 5'5" 130-something pound 62 year old female who's mostly sedentary outside of a couple/three hundred calories of exercise most days. I admit I'm mysteriously a good li'l ol' calorie burner, but you look much younger (profile says 29) and much male-er, and population statistics make me guess you're likely bigger as well . . . .
Losing weight very slowly, but consistently, is better than trying to lose faster, and never really making it stick.6 -
When you eat foods with a high glycemic index, i.e. pure sugar, it goes directly into blood sugar since very little processing is needed by your body.
This high blood sugar leads to your body producing insulin to convert the sugars into fat to store all that extra energy, unless you burn it off right away.
The excess insulin causes your blood sugar levels to crash. The sensation of hunger is triggered by low blood sugar so you are hungry, hence the cravings.
That is why people who don’t usually eat breakfast get hungry mid-morning when they do eat something for breakfast, especially if they eat a sugar cereal. Foods with a low glycemic index, i.e. complex carbs, take longer to digest and become blood sugars at a rate that you can burn off over time without wild swings in blood sugar levels and insulin production.
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I have that problem but I binged to get fat and stay fat. Eating a few sweets doesn't do that to me, but eating a lot does. It gives me the binge urge. I had a problem with that just a few days ago.1
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I have the same problem! I was doing so good for weeks, staying at my low calorie goal and feeling good. Then I splurged on Dairy Queen and this week has been so hard to eat good. I want everything lol my cravings are going nuts! Trying to get back on track...1
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If you're interested, check out The Hungry Brain by Stephan Guyenet. It covers things like calories, nutrition, palatbility, cravings, etc.
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A lot of things outside of CICO are woo, but head games you play with yourself are not. They really aren't exactly outside CICO, but the only reason most people fail on any diet that creates a deficit is lack of compliance.4
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Losingthedamnweight wrote: »No no people. I’m not over here starving or whatever and then eating a high calorie meal and going nuts. I eat about 2000 calories a day and workout but let’s say thanksgiving happens. I eat a bunch on thanksgiving and the day after, I’m getting a crazy amount of cravings. My question is why that is. Something to do with blood sugar spiking? Dopamine rush? New bad habits being built?
I bet that I'm shorter, older, and don't workout as hard as you. And I'm female. Yet I can lose weight on 2000 calories gross. Try eating more on a regular basis and see if the urge to have Thanksgivings too frequently go away.2 -
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The mind is a powerful thing. I have been a yo yo "dieter" all my life. I am an active 60 plus year old. My weight has never gone to the extreme but I just cannot maintain a comfortable weight. No problems sticking to usually healthy meals but the in between gets me into trouble. I love to eat. When I had an unknown health problem a while ago now I changed my eating habits. I managed to control my cravings for high carb rubbish for 5 months. Thought I had it sussed but health restored and I am back to square one. I have a fitbit and that is a great motivator for exercise. Recently found this website so here goes again. For the past three days I have recorded my intake. That certainly makes one stop and think. Fingers crossed.2
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I may get wooed but if I eat one candy bar i want ten more. I don’t need to be hungry. And I’ve eaten ten more many times. Any time I splurge on cakes, pies, candy, or cookies I immediately want more. I can eat one protein bar or piece of fruit no problem however. So, we each have to be careful with the foods that we know are our Achille’s heel, our weak point. I avoid them all as best i can because I’m short and older and on 1200 cal and can’t afford too many overages.11
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rickdkitson wrote: »When you eat foods with a high glycemic index, i.e. pure sugar, it goes directly into blood sugar since very little processing is needed by your body.
This high blood sugar leads to your body producing insulin to convert the sugars into fat to store all that extra energy, unless you burn it off right away.
The excess insulin causes your blood sugar levels to crash. The sensation of hunger is triggered by low blood sugar so you are hungry, hence the cravings.
That is why people who don’t usually eat breakfast get hungry mid-morning when they do eat something for breakfast, especially if they eat a sugar cereal. Foods with a low glycemic index, i.e. complex carbs, take longer to digest and become blood sugars at a rate that you can burn off over time without wild swings in blood sugar levels and insulin production.
When food is taken in a mixed meal with fat and protein, glycemic index means less.If you're interested, check out The Hungry Brain by Stephan Guyenet. It covers things like calories, nutrition, palatbility, cravings, etc.
Great book btw. Wish I had read it earlier in life. Stephan knows his stuff.0 -
Everyone keeps talking about how much you eat but I get what you mean. Whenever I allow myself more sweets, I want them more and tend to fall off. Like right now, and will need to get back on track after these ice cream sandwiches......1
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Because processed food is scientifically created to make you love it and crave it. Food is made to be super highly palatable.8
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saraonly9913 wrote: »Because processed food is scientifically created to make you love it and crave it. Food is made to be super highly palatable.
What is “scientifically” added to plain yogurt, oatmeal, cottage cheese, canned tuna, frozen broccoli, etc? Processed foods all..,4 -
My hypothesis is that when deny or refrain yourself from the nutrient, your body switches and taps into your reserves in the body so you don't have cravings, once the body realizes there's an external source, it switches from tapping it's reserves and relies on that so you're craving it and wanting it when your body turns off the steady supply from the reserves.4
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fiddletime wrote: »I may get wooed but if I eat one candy bar i want ten more. I don’t need to be hungry. And I’ve eaten ten more many times. Any time I splurge on cakes, pies, candy, or cookies I immediately want more. I can eat one protein bar or piece of fruit no problem however. So, we each have to be careful with the foods that we know are our Achille’s heel, our weak point. I avoid them all as best i can because I’m short and older and on 1200 cal and can’t afford too many overages.
Same here. I'm (slowly!) starting to realise that I will just have to cut some foods out if I ever want to maintain a sensible weight. My brain just doesn't want me to have one biscuit, it wants me to have a couple of packets (which I frequently do!) I have no idea whether that's related to sugar, GI, or just a connection I've made in my head but what I do know is that once I eat cake or a biscuit the day is likely to end up 3-4000 calories OVER my target for the day.
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