Who is struggling with sugar temptation, missing bread or wanting to pop open the Pringles?
How do you stop those carbohydrate cravings?
So many people give up a low carb diet due to initial carbohydrate cravings. Just like giving up alcohol or smoking, giving up sugar can be very hard, especially when we are surrounded by temptation and people around us who don’t understand or help by saying things like “a little won’t hurt”, “you can start again tomorrow”, “you have to live a little”, “a little of what you fancy does you good”, “you need carbs”, “you can eat everything in moderation…”
But what is moderation, how do you even measure that? For some people moderation does not work at all because if they have food addiction just a taste of sugar can trigger the brain so much that they are unable to control intake. The addictive brain takes control making it feel impossible to stick to a low carb or ketogenic diet.
So what can we do to help those cravings? We’ve already spoken about strategies such as practicing the 3Ds (Delay, Distract and Decide) but other things that can help is ensuring you’re getting enough electrolytes and adequate vitamins and minerals through your diet to help control hormones and in turn control those cravings.
If you’re craving something sweet this is usually an indicator that you’re actually lacking sodium, eat something salty and the cravings will usually go away.
Avocados can help, they are full of potassium and magnesium they are low carb and full of good fats to help you feel satiated.
Work on your circadian rhythm, routine is important and so is sleep. When you’re not in tune with your circadian clock cravings are much more likely.
Beware of low carb sweeteners, you will need to monitor what happens when you eat low carb treats. Low carb treats can work very well for a lot of people but for others they can still trigger that sweet tooth and lead to over consumption.
Make a BPC (coffee, butter & MCT oil), sipping on a coffee (ideally decaf) with a little fat in it can keep you satiated for hours, it can be the leptin and ghrelin hormone hack that you need without raising insulin and turns off your hunger.
Try going zero carb, for some people abstinence is much easier than trying to cut back or dip in and out of eating carbohydrates. Many people can go completely sugar free in as little as a few weeks by practicing complete abstinence. A carnivore diet can help with this whilst also helping to heal the gut.
Fat bombs, whilst not something we would recommend every day, can help combat those cravings without completely sabotaging your diet. Butter bites are also great and can help stop you reaching for those sugary snacks, just butter but once browned they taste just like Werther’s Originals. See our Albums section in our Facebook group for the butter bites recipe.
The good news is the more you follow a ketogenic or low carb diet, the less likely you are to have sugar cravings. Once you become fat adapted things get a lot easier and not having to wrestle with food cravings is very liberating. Looking out for your own triggers, recognising which foods set you back, what situations make things more difficult for you are all key things to have in your toolbox to help minimise reactive responses. Remember snacking is ALWAYS an emotional reaction, if you are genuinely hungry, eat a good meal.
