Cravings etc

[TheAwfulToad]

I notice a few of you doing Lytham's Challenge are reporting "carb cravings" and/or some trepidation about keeping this going. I can completely understand this. Once you get into LCHF, you realise that the British food landscape is awash with carbs (and low-fat food). Supermarkets, restaurants, everywhere. Staying low-carb for any length of time can be a bit of a trial. The things you need are there, but they're hidden among mountains of junk.

Just a couple of a reminders:

1) Eat until you are full. In particular, you want to really stack up your plate with veg. If you're feeling absolutely stuffed after a meal, you're less likely to make an emergency trip to the all-night garage for a three-week-old doughnut or a Mars bar. Keep some snacks in the fridge that you know you'll like: Greek yoghurt (with some sort of topping) gets mentioned a lot.

2) Carbs are not evil. If you "fall off the wagon", or if you simply feel like a plate of spag bol for a change, that's perfectly OK. You don't need to feel guilt about it, or switch back into self-destruct mode because "you've already blown it, so what's the point".

As long as you've made it through the first 2-3 weeks, your body will be much more capable of coping with carbs. In all likelihood, you'll be able to go back to your normal (low-carb) routine the next day; the worst that will have happened is that your weight-loss target will be delayed for a few days. This is not the end of the world. Even if you end up having carb-based blowouts once a month, the impact on your end goal is going to be minimal or nonexistent.

[Hidden]

It's the best eating plan I've ever done in my life.LCHF🍁🍁🍁

[MccHa]

Hi TheAwfulToad , totally no carbs cravings here and concur Hidden remarks above.

[Progressoverperfect]

I'm learning to differentiate between ' I should clear my plate' to ' I'm full so its ok to leave the rest '. After years of being told to clear my plate, it's a revelation and I'm beginning a new relationship both with good food and my kitchen!!! I am really enjoying LCHF half way through week 2 😊

[PandQs in reply to Progressoverperfect]

my newly found "off switch" meant I left a single mouthful of scrambed egg on my plate, before now I would have thought that really weird

[Hidden in reply to Progressoverperfect]

It’s amazing isn’t it. Love it🍁🍁🍁

[Hollysgran]

I’m experiencing great weight loss on LCHF.

When I started 2 1/2weeks ago I made the decision to completely stop the after dinner chocolate biscuit and the half spoonful of sugar in my tea that I have had on EVERY low calorie diet. I don’t crave carbs but now feel nauseous at the very smell of eggs so have stopped them temporarily.

Today I had my first slice of toast (with bacon) and it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be!

Back to normal tonight. Served the meal on a bed of sweetheart cabbage and my husband didn’t complain!!

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to Hollysgran]

I occasionally get a craving for pizza (like, twice a year) and stuff myself with pizza. About half an hour afterwards, I'm feeling "uuugh, I wish I hadn't done that". Hence the large delay until the next time

Anyway, sounds like things are going great for both of you!

[Hidden in reply to TheAwfulToad]

I can go all day without eating, I no longer get hungry which I find bizarre. This hasn't stopped me from craving pizza just because. I might try a fathead pizza at the weekend and see if that works.

[gonnadoitnow]

Ha ha, point 2. Feel like I've been sussed!!!

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to gonnadoitnow]

It seems to be a common problem on the weight-loss forum (although much more so with calorie-counters). A lot of people can't get their head around the fact that your body knows its own calorie requirements better than you can calculate them (although of course you can throw a spanner in the works if you're doing calorie-restricted low-fat). If you overeat today, then guaranteed you won't do so tomorrow. As per some of the replies above, you soon develop a very accurate sense of "that's enough, I don't need to eat anymore" when you're keeping carbs at a modest level.

It's impossible to "blow it" with a one-off event - that's what makes it sustainable. Even if you go out for an evening of pasta and beer with your friends, it doesn't actually matter in the long term.

[Hidden in reply to TheAwfulToad]

You speak so true TheAwfulToad I’ve never gone mad on anything since May it’s like my body knows what it wants and I have learnt when I’m full and when to stop eating it really is amazing 🍁🍁🍁

[Aginghippy in reply to TheAwfulToad]

It must be working. I was making a fuss of a dog today and my ring flew off. Yes my fingers have got thinner !!!!

[Hidden in reply to Aginghippy]

Yes mine are the same I’ve had to take my wedding and engagement rings off and I’ve never taken them off since my wedding 3 years ago. Maybe he will have to buy me new ones when I have hit my target 🍁🍁🍁

[Aginghippy]

Thanks. Your post came at just the right time for me. I like the diet and so much easier than calorie counting.

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to Aginghippy]

It certainly is. Sadly, there's nothing that can be done about being an aging hippy

[Aginghippy in reply to TheAwfulToad]

If you've got to age it is the best way❣

[Dave1000]

I may have retracted my steps and restarted LCHF but certainly getting the hang of it now and enjoying it as a result. Hopefully the rewards will come but based on the responses above that looks like a given😃

[Hidden]

Well I can honestly say I have not felt hungry once, and I’m well into the third week. I’m not sure why I had cravings on Monday for bread and butter and fruit cake, but I did enjoy them! And the next day I was back on low carb with no problem at all. Clothes already feeling a little looser, which I am delighted about!

[lucigret]

I've just seen this and wish I had seen it sooner. I am struggling with the idea of upping the carbs. I have felt such a difference over the past 4 weeks that I don't want to risk it all going wrong. Feel better about it all now that I have read this post

[Windcharmer]

Can I just ask about the 'stack your plate with veg' bit - I thought veg had carbs and on 20g a day, veg soon used that up? I was on the Keto diet, but found it too hard to keep to 20g full time because it limited veg?

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to Windcharmer]

Everything contains some carbs, but there are three things to bear in mind:

a) There is no need to stay "keto" for any length of time. A lot of people think you'll only lose weight if you stay in ketosis, but this isn't even close to true.

b) Net carbs is only a proxy for glycemic load. If your meals don't provoke much of an insulin response, you've achieved what needs to be achieved. Almost all vegetables - including supposedly "carby" ones like carrots and onions - have a low-to-modest GI and are perfectly OK on a low-carb (not keto) diet.

c) If you don't eat veg, what else are you going to put on your plate? A lot people seem to think the answer is "nothing", but that ends up being a carnivore diet, which is (a) expensive and (b) not very healthy or effective.

[ChickenLicken57]

I had to admit to mostly reading the forum, rather than contributing, however, I can't let the opportunity pass without saying a huge thank you to you TAT for simplifying the LCHF way of eating with your PLAN.

Although I've been successful in cutting carbs in the past, (very strictly), having the more relaxed approach set out in your plan really does work so much better. After downloading,

I read it from start to finish and felt a big wave of calm wash over me, because for once, here was the right way to eat, resolve and maintain and not worry once about the occasional carb fest day, provided you know that eating them may switch on a brief craving. It really is OK to eat, enjoy and not put on weight, all with little or no effort at all.

This time around, eating LCHF especially after discovering Diet Doctor recipes, I feel set for life! I have lost 9lbs since July , slowly but surely and to my delight I am minus quite a few inches all over too, total weight loss isn't always about scale weight (best not to weigh yourself more than once every couple of weeks tbh). My clothes are fitting so much better, I am happy! I do have the occasional day when I eat more than a few carbs but its usually one meal and only once in a while - its the way I like it and my hubby does too. He's finally discovered how much better it feels to eat the type of food you would never associate with a diet, feel satiated but not bloated and still have a much flatter stomach (even after your meal!!).

Life is too short to deprive yourself completely, however, once you know what a regular overload of carbs does to your body and how you feel when you have overindulged, it makes you all the more determined not to do it again.

Thanks for your reassurance TAT