Really struggling....day one!!

[basten]

I've had some wonderful help from you all and today is day one of no sugar etc. But suddenly the craving has hit me I've had some peanut butter and banana but it's still there!! This is sooooo hard!! Did you all get strong sugar cravings in the beginning. I could murder biscuits right now but I wont . It all sounded so easy but I'm sure my tablets make me hungry hungry too as many people I know who took them had the same problem. I must stay calm and fight this . I cant let you kind people down!!

[Whydothis]

Yes - I know what it's like - it is a horrible feeling. My only answer for me is to find something else to do and think about - but it is hard.

The good new is that the first day is the worst, and it (slowly) gets better. This is when it is so important to have good snacks available and not to buy the sugar so there is none in the house. Your peanut butter and banana sounds ideal. I hope your day has got better.

[basten in reply to Whydothis]

Yes thankyou not so bad. Going to fight this as you say should get easier .

[basten in reply to Whydothis]

Hello I re read your post. How much weight have you lost and if so what is a typical meal day for you. ?? Unfortunately I went and ate chocolate two days which set me back.

[Whydothis in reply to basten]

Hi Basten,

My weight loss has been in two very separate stages.

The first one was in 2005 (age 51) I hadn't weighed myself for years, and kept having to buy bigger clothes, and suddenly found I weighed almost exactly 12 stone (I am only 5ft2). I am one of the very extreme apple shaped people, so I had slim arms and legs and it was all round my middle. I was very unfit.

I changed my eating patterns that time by cutting out any added sugar in anything, and eating enormous quantities of fruit and vegetables, with my portions of both carbohydrates and proteins as small as I could make them without getting too hungry. I It was hard giving up cakes, biscuits and puddings, but that was essential. I didn't go for reduced fat or "slimming" foods because I have always believed in eating food in its natural state as far as possible. I also started to try to walk for half an hour a day. I immediately started to lose weight, slowly, but noticeably. I did not worry too much about what I ate when I was out in other people's homes, and I did have the occasional chocolate bar at work when things got stressful, but overall, I stuck to my new plan.

I can't remember how much I lost in the first year, but over a couple of years or so I got down to 9st8lb. Then over a few more years this came dowm to 9st4 without me changing anything else, and there I stayed until the beginning of this year. Losing it very slowly and changing my diet in a way I could keep up long term really did mean I stayed at the new weight, and I felt and looked so much better and healthier.

Then since I retired I have done a lot of reading around diet and health, amongst other things, and what I have learned confirmed my belief in eating naturally, but made me realise that I could make more improvement by eating more protein and less carbohydrate. I also realised that even at my new steady weight, with my bmi safely inside the "healthy weight" area, I was not at my ideal weight. I am still apple shaped, and in January this year I measured my waist, and found it was 34in when I pulled my tummy in as hard as possible - and this was not good news! So this year I have made some more changes.

Now I have cut right down on the foods we eat just because they are carbs - bread, rice, pasta, potatoes - and I get all my carbs from enormous piles of vegetables that give me the benefit of all their micronutrients as well. I have increased my protein, especially eggs and cheese, and I am not shy of olive oil or butter. I have also increased my exercise over the last three years, and since lockdown I am walking for 2 hours a day (and doing the Couch to 5K running programme)

Since the middle of February I have got down from 9st4 to 8st7, and my waist is down from 34" to 31" - so I am making good progress.

In all of this I have never counted calories or carbs, and I only weigh myself once a week, because I know it will fluctuate and there is no point in worrying day to day.

So - my advice to anyone in a similar situation is take it slowly, make one or two changes at a time, give up sugar, but never panic about the odd lapse!

Sorry this has turned into a long history - but I hope it helps.

[basten in reply to Whydothis]

Yes that wasnt long winded it really helped. I am 71 and not for all but my running days I used to do are over. I am going to try just some home work outs gentle and a walk. Yes I love veg and have cut the pots rice pasta etc. You've done really well it all takes determination. What do you eat for breakfast snacks and do you eat 3v times a day or just breakfast and say dinner with a couple snacks inbetween . I know I've been sitting down too long but lockdown hasnt helped me . Thankyou very much

[TheAwfulToad]

You might like to try just going "keto" for a couple of weeks. From your previous posts, it sounds as if you are (in all likelihood) prediabetic. In this state, your body keeps demanding sugar even though your blood sugar is way above the normal range.

It sounds counterintuitive, but depriving your body of all forms of sugar (carbs are chains of sugars) rapidly corrects the metabolic dysfunction associated with prediabetes, and your over-reliance on carbs/sugar as a source of energy. The sugar cravings disappear almost immediately (3-4 days, tops). As a bonus, you'll lose weight rapidly and effortlessly.

I doubt "taking it slowly" will work. It works for some people, but it really is easier to just go "cold turkey".

You do need to add adequate fat into your meals to replace the missing carbs. If you're interested in trying this route I can recommend visiting the LCHF group, here:

healthunlocked.com/lchf-diet

You'll meet several people over there who have beaten the situation you find yourself in.

[basten in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Yes I've read about that I do get very tired in the mornings until I've eaten I was pre diabetic years ago when I was 15 stone but lost it mainly by stopping medications that ballooned my weight. I have to go careful with fat as I had pancreatitis cause unknown in xmas 2015. . My I do gave the fat all around a abdomen. I will look into that thankyou

[TheAwfulToad in reply to basten]

If you were prediabetic before and have not changed your diet significantly since then, you are probably still prediabetic (or diabetic, even). That means you need to drastically reduce your carb intake ... because carbs are slowly poisoning you. Since you need energy from somewhere, that means you need to eat more fat instead (humans can't use protein efficiently for energy). You don't need a lot, but you do need some.

As per AnnieW55 's post, I strongly recommend reading up on Dr David Unwin, who is having excellent results with his diabetic/prediabetic patients with some very simple dietary advice.

I'm aware that the Experts prescribe a low-fat diet for pancreatitis, but that's their stock answer to everything. There's no evidence to suggest that dietary fat is either the proximate cause or an aggravating factor (see ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl.... Anyway ... do your own research, and good luck

[basten in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Many thanks. I'll look up David Unwin. I have eaten fats and have never had another pancreatis attack. I dont have a gallbladder and after the scan all was ok and they said it could have been a small stone that had passed.

[AnnieW55]

Don’t want to be mean but a banana has quite a bit of sugar in it, depending on how ripe it is. The link below gives amounts of sugars in various foods. It was a project by Dr David Unwin and is endorsed by NICE.

The Awful Toad has, as usual, given some good advice. The main thing is to ride this out and employ some diversion tactics. Yes it’s hard at the start but the worthwhile things usually are🙁.

You could try painting your nails, gardening, going for a walk - not to the shop though 😀. My favourite is clearing out cupboards. Sugar cravings are a bit like hunger they come and go and if you can distract yourself the gap between waves increases. The thing is to keep trying, if you have a blip, don’t let it get to you, learn from it and move straight on your new path.

phcuk.org/sugar/

[basten in reply to AnnieW55]

Thankyou. I mustn't give up . I look at the link

[Cooper27 Administrator]

I often find myself craving sugarry things when I'm actually thirsty. Some medications do increase your thirst, and we can often mistake thirst for hunger.

[Althaea]

Hi there!

I feel you homie! Sugar is by far one of the hardest things to give up! Somethings that helped me A LOT that I’ll share here are:

1) Herbal allies-particularly Gymnema sylvestre. This plant native to India has the ability to help regulate blood sugar levels and drastically reduce sugar cravings. Check out a well done monograph here: brettelliott.com/gymnema-gy...

Feel free to DM me if you would like a recommendation on where to source it from.

2) Understanding-Arming myself with books and podcasts to listen to regarding how bad sugar is for you. A couple I would recommend are Pure, White, and Deadly by John Yudkin and Sugar Toxic by Margit Silverman.

3) Looking at the less obvious sugar sources-Ditching high sugar fruits in the first month including ANY and all dried fruits. I found that when I indulged in a banana or some dried mango my sugar cravings would double.

4) Finding other things to do besides eating-I wrote a ton during that first month and sometimes incoherently LOL. Sometimes it was for work or to send off to a friend or family member but mostly it was for myself. I kept a meticulous food/mood/poop journal so I could keep record of changes. I also cleaned like mad which felt good. Other suggestions might be self-massage, phone chat with a friend, walk, shower, listen to music, garden, play, draw...etc.

I hope you find some of these suggestions helpful.

Hang in there! You’re fighting the good fight!!!

[basten in reply to Althaea]

Hello that's interesting. I too found that after eating banana I'm soon craving again as they're high in sugar even if it is natural. I've also been eating a lot of date bars which I've stopped as I wanted more and more.

Where did you get the gymnema from? I live in the uk. Thankyou.

[Fran182716 Prediabetic]

The cravings are awful but if you can ride it out it really does get better honestly! Some people do manage by cutting sugar down gradually but for me that would’ve been a slow torture and it was better to go cold turkey. You do need motivation and willpower but the good news is you only need it for a short time because once your brain and tastebuds have adapted you will no longer crave it, I avoid high sugary foods now not only because I dont want to undo the work I’ve done getting my blood sugars back in the healthy range, but because sugary foods now taste unpleasant and give me a headache . I get a lot of enjoyment from fresh foods so I’m not missing out on the pleasures of eating.

Good luck 😀

[basten in reply to Fran182716]

Yes I hope the cravings will ease. I've got carrots celery and hummus to nibble....not so exciting lol. If my daughter eats chocolate or biscuits she gets a red rash all along her hair line which goes when she stops them. My family have always had sweet tooths. !!!

[Fran182716 Prediabetic in reply to basten]

The cravings will go soon 😀, I am actually quite exited by hummus and crunchy veg lol, it’s a great combination of tastes and textures. You’ll enjoy it much more when your taste buds are no longer blunted by excess sugar 😀

[Ianc2]

Try a pint of water on rising?

[basten in reply to Ianc2]

Yes I'm now drinking that with some lemon in it . Cheers

[amykp]

Breaking a sugar addiction can be as hard as breaking a cocaine addiction! I am with the cold turkey camp, but, be kind to yourself while you are going through it.

Are other high fat foods you really love? Fried eggs with lots of butter? Heavy cream in your coffee? Brie cheese? Bacon? A gigantic steak? Macadamia nuts? Have at it. As much as you want!

Even carrots are pretty high sugar. Hummus is carbs, and will turn to sugar in your body. If you don't want to actually do keto, imo those things are fine because they are low glycemic, but maybe while you are breaking the addiction maybe lay off everything? For a few weeks?

That was how I did it. :o)

[basten in reply to amykp]

Oh right. Trouble is I have Acid Refkux and it says avoid fatty foods but I've had advocados eggs and all ok. Yes I guess humours is chickpea based and sauce. You said you went cold turkey.....tell me did you feel really tired???

[amykp in reply to basten]

I started keto 10 years ago and have done it ever since. It's hard to remember :o)

But, it's typical--it's called keto flu. The way to get past it is to have lots of salt and minerals. Chicken broth. A zero sugar mineral supplement. Salted nuts. More salt! (all that stuff about restricting salt does NOT apply to people on ketogenic diets)

You might feel it anyway, as your body learns to adapt and you break your sugar habit, but you WILL get through it.

Acid reflux is not made worse by a high fat diet. That is old advice. Here: dietdoctor.com/low-carb-can...

[basten in reply to amykp]

No my pain with reflux is made worse with fat and spices. I know I've got it. Had it for years . Plus I have high blood pressure and have to keep to low salt. That's a fact .

[shawnner]

Just a tip...cutting sugars and eating low fat will leave you starving. Most people cannot succeed with that diet. Learn about eating a keto type diet of very low carbs, higher fat and moderate protein. You'll feel fuller and find self control you didn't know was possible. You got this....you just need information!

[Hidden]

The trouble with depending on will power alone is tough, because all you think all day long is what you can't have. You need a healthy substitution. Please listen to how you can do this at

happinesslab.fm/season-2-ep...

You can do it by forming a new good habit. Let us know how you get on.

[basten in reply to Hidden]

Yes I have thanks its interesting