"Lower Carbs" to kick cravings?

DanaDark - I appreciate your response, however... I'm the type of person that can binge up to 10,000 calories a day... no exaggeration. I will sit and eat... and eat... and eat... all day, until I feel the urge to vomit. Then I'll eat some more. I can eat any kinds of chocolate (or any dessert, really) by the pound, no matter HOW sweet it is, and still crave more. It's severe.

In that case I suggest talking to your doctor and possibly a psychologist / therapist. The urge to eat (or the non-stop process of eating) like that could be indicative of a health issue, or an issue like OCD.

Please know that I'm not intentionally insulting you, and I apologize if I come across that way. While dieting is sure to help, it appears that there are issues that may need to be addressed first before you'll be successful with dieting. For now it sounds like you're fighting a medical issue of some sort, and that's a struggle that's ultimately lost if we don't address it first.

Most of us want you to succeed, so double check with your doctor first to make sure that there aren't issues that are going to prevent that.

Well I'd agree about not cutting out carbs completely, especially if you're working out. In fact, not even the Atkins diet recomends completely cutting out carbs permanently. I'm just recomending cutting out processed and refined carbs until the addiction is fixed. The OP can eat all the fruit she wants IMHO. Once she's gotten over her cravings, she can start eating carbs again in moderation, hopefully mostly avoiding foods with added sugar, chips, etc.

I'm the same way...pizza, taco bell, a doughnut...if it tastes good, I want it! I worked really hard on my will power for two strong weeks not allowing me to have any of those items and the cravings start to subside...they don't go away, but they become smaller and way more managable. Then I don't mind allowing myself once every month to go ahead and enjoy because I know it's not something that is gone, but I have to set limitations for myself otherwise, I gorge. When I started keeping track of my food intake, I noticed that one meal I ordered at home: two tacos, two papusas, and two beef patties, = 1000 calories!! in one meal! And I told myself to just eat one each and eat the others tomorrow...nope, I ate them all. So the key is to know yourself, know that dieting and getting healthy is work and if you really want it, stick to it, and reward yoruself every now and then. I still have a long way to go but I'm really trying to stick with it and I keep telling myself, those calories will taste better when I don't feel guilty about eating them.

Best of luck!

i eat very low carb (20 grams a day - most days)

ketosis has cured the physical cravings.. but not the mental ones.

i will be addicted forever, that won't go away.
ketosis makes it 100 times easier to say 'no'

There are some processed carbs that I cannot eat in moderation. I am better off without them at all. But I do allow for substitutes that don't trigger the same problems. I don't think the problem is just psychological.

I crave carbs too and have learned that too much sugar or certain trigger foods changes my brain function so I have no control. I remember talking to an endocrinologist about losing weight (I assume you have had your thyroid and cortisol levels checked?) and her telling me to cut back a slice of bread a day. My first thought was she was talking to someone who could put away a whole cake, pie or a box of doughnuts and I was supposed to think a slice of bread was a big deal? When I got to the point where all I wanted was sugar I knew I was completely out of balance and weight just climbed. What I learned about insulin spiking and cravings helped. I can eat one rich dark piece of chocolate and not get cravings. I commit the taste to memory by eating it slowly and then I eat something really nutritious. The problem with eating sugar is you get malnourished and a panicked brain tells you to keep eating until it has the nutrition it needs. Also, keep all trigger food out of the house. If you want a dessert, always go out for it in one serving sizes, and factor it into your daily calories. Always give yourself permission to go out for a daily dessert so you don't feel deprived. Pretty soon it will seem like too much trouble. As you get better nourished, lower the insulin levels, and lose weight, sugar will taste different. It will taste nice, not orgasmic. I do think there is a brain chemistry explanation for this and when you are balanced you eat more normally. Also, if you are not hungry in the morning I think that is a sign of insulin levels being lower after a night of fasting. Keep them from spiking by having protein with every carb and your control will be better. Good luck to you. It's not will power, you are out of balance. Good luck to ridding yourself of that darn weight so the real you is left.

I believe you can cure sugar cravings by cutting the carbs and sugars. No sweetners of any kind and keep carbs low, no white bread, pasta, rice etc. Do it for 2 weeks and see how you feel, many say they love it and it has cured them from carb/sugar addictions. I can keep my binges under control keeping carbs lower. .....Good luck.

I think that depends on the person. I am the kind of person that wants what I can't have, so if I can't eat something, I will obsess over it until I eat it, and I will likely go overboard. I can have a single serving of ice cream and then be like, "Yum. That was good." Then I go on with my day.

Everybody is different.