I am not meeting my goals and my cravings are beating me.
I feel like I’m drowning
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Consider how sugar affects you and you will find the willpower to refuse it. If you absolutely must have sugar you need to go to a gym to work off the high, or walk for half an hour or so.
Instead of denying yourself, have you tried making choices that satisfy your craving but aren’t full of sugar. What is it that you crave? Candy? Cookies? Ice Cream? There are choices for all of these that are not chock full of sugar.
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What Brian said! One thing I do is end every meal with fruit. Half an apple, half an orange, a quarter of a cantaloupe or a half of a pear. There is almost always one of those available at my market. It’s sweet, it’s cold and it has vitamins and antioxidants. If you chose the ones that work for you, the glucose impact doesn’t have to be high and you can have something sweet.
I also have a drink rule: Anything I drink (barring apple juice or pop for lows) must be carb neutral or extremely minimal.
So I can have a vanilla latte. I use almond milk, vanilla and sucralose. Crystal Lite drinks are good choice.
Every once in a while I have a cookie with my coffee. Also, if you think I’m not going to have a slice of homemade pie at Thanksgiving and Christmas-- you’re crazy. My sister once made an apple pie with Calvados (an apple brandy from Normandy) in the bottom of the crust.
The secret is not to do it very often. But when you do it, plan for it carefully.
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The whole diet thing is perplexing
I have struggled with it for twenty years and rode the high and low a1c train for the whole time.
After I found out I had retinopathy I realized I had to be more proactive but the more I pull away from high carbs the more I crave them
I always find myself defeated
When going from high to low or no carb, withdrawal is common and very unpleasant. There are numerous sites and books about it. Don’t fear the good fats. If you stick with it and become low carb, the way food tastes will definitely change and so will your cravings. I can’t stand the old crap I used to eat, yet once lived on and also craved. Living lchf means that my bg is steady and my endo is amazed and thinks I’m terrfic (also does not want to know what I’m doing… just wants me to keep doing it). For me, it is worth the effort. Good luck!
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Several doctors and researchers are claiming that sugar is addictive, just like cocaine. The claim is that sugar affects a reward center in the brain and that eating sugar increases the cravings for more. Two authors that are prominent in this thinking are Dr Robert Lustig and Gary Taubes. They both have books on the subject, but they also are featured in numerous YouTube videos. It’s worth at least hearing their point of view. Getting educated on various points of view on diet, exercise and cravings is probably the most important step to making changes.
Three or four months ago, I was eating too much sugar (in modest amounts) and covering with insulin. While I’m not trying to be on a ketogenic diet, I’ve found many of the recipes and approaches that embodies to be very helpful. My latest three-month result was a weight loss of 16 lbs and a drop in A1c of over a full point. Best of all, I’m not feeling deprived over the things I’m NOT eating. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’m content to move slowly in what I consider to be the right direction.
The one downside to the low-carb, minimal sugar approach is that you invest more time in creating your own foods. Processed food from the grocery store is often not compatible. You have to think more about what you’re eating. It’s a trade-off I’m willing to make.
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Post your data. Maybe you are an active diabetic who requires food. (After all, your a Canadian) Maybe your BG is running high and that is making you dehydrated and more hungry. Post your numbers and we will look at them. Before meal BG, 2 hour post meal BG, and a list of what you ate and how much insulin you took. Better if you have Dexcom data.
Low carb isn’t a good physiological fit for me. I find that I eat equivalent carb in the form of vegetables. (which is a ridiculous amount of vegetables and eating.) I may eat lower carb for periods (for specific reasons), but its not a practical, long term solution for sustaining life.
You have been a diabetic for a very long time. Do you remember adhering to limited portions as a kid? Do you remember what is was like being only able to eat a limited amount of food? Do you remember choosing foods that were ‘more filling,’ like a sandwich instead of a candy bar to get by?
This isn’t great data for the purpose here, but just as an example, could you produce a record like this?
And they make a fairly compelling case.
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Suggestion, if you cook… use Stevia or another sugar substitute. What I do is use a sprinkle of white sugar, a spoonful of brown sugar and the rest of the sweetener in Stevia. No one has been able to see the difference.
Good luck !
Make your goal to eat BETTER, not perfect. Perfect does not exist. Work on one meal. Look at what you’re eating. Is there a BETTER version of this? Is there a way I can cut some carbs from this without changing the essential nature of it?
Make small changes and track your results. The point is to make changes that you can see the point of doing.
For me, almond milk was one of those ingredients. It has one gram of carbs per cup.
But you can find things to improve. Just do it bit by bit!
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What you describe is common. People who favor paleo eating sometimes call it the “Atkins flu,” named after Robert Atkins, a low carb proponent from many years ago. Many people report that upping your consumption of sodium or salt helps curb this craving. Some people make bone broth to satisfy this need. You can buy some broth already packaged in cartons in your grocery store. Look in the cooking aisle.
If you maintain your discipline and don’t give in too much to your carb cravings, they will disappear. You just have to get over the first week or two and then it recedes. Stick with it and make sure you are increasing fat and protein to backfill the missing carb calories. If you’re doing it right, after the Atkins flu is gone, you should not feel any hunger pangs.
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www.alldayidreamaboutfood.com has some great recipes.
look up fat head pizza. part of the game is finding low carb food that works for you.
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I like this one. Seems very basic. But the impact could be huge.
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I also adhere to this rule. I recognize, however, how difficult this can be for beer lovers. I do make an exception a few times per year to enjoy a proper pint of Guinness. When you think about it, drinking beer is like drinking bread!
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Its a bit like quitting smoking. At some point you have to grit your teeth and just stop. I cut my eating in half a few months ago and have lost significant weight. Of course, I’ve run into some bg problems, but I’m 20 lb lighter, and after awhile, I didn’t feel I had to eat so much.You can do it.
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That apple pie sounds yummy! And then wash it down with a proper Black & Tan…
I agree with Timbeak48. A bit of fruit, fresh or dried, at the end of a meal makes a big difference in carb cravings for me.
Since I retired, I realize that on the job stress was also a big factor in carb cravings. A better exercise habit would have helped me with that.
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Ewww! Tan & Tan for me (or really a vanilla latte).
Guinness: The alcohol-infused roofing tar.
That sounds like the worst-tasting bread ever. Guinness is an acquired taste…and I have not acquired it. At. All.