Can’t cut the carbs, help!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to cut carbs out almost completely for a few days until your body is in ketosis. Then your appetite should drop dramatically. After that it becomes about not having snacks around to tempt you. Keto works if you set up your environment the right way. I lost almost 100 pounds over 9 months. Good luck.

OP here- keto won’t work for me because the only meat I eat is fish. But I do agree I have to cut down on the carbs. I’m going to try removing the carb snacks and cutting down on the pasta portion sizes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to cut carbs out almost completely for a few days until your body is in ketosis. Then your appetite should drop dramatically. After that it becomes about not having snacks around to tempt you. Keto works if you set up your environment the right way. I lost almost 100 pounds over 9 months. Good luck.

OP here- keto won’t work for me because the only meat I eat is fish. But I do agree I have to cut down on the carbs. I’m going to try removing the carb snacks and cutting down on the pasta portion sizes.

Is there any particular reason you only eat fish? Maybe there's a way to solve for that with certain types of meat.

If not, is dairy OK?

You can do keto with just fish, dairy (eggs, cheese) and veggies but it definitely takes more thoughtful meal prep vs throwing more meat into the mix.

For me, nothing worked until I could suppress appetite. I know how tough it is. 30 mins of HIIT cardio every morning helped too.

[Anonymous]

I crave carbs when I’m tired.

I have recently committed to better sleep. I use the oura sleep ring.

My cravings have gone way down.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Fasting has helped for me to control the carb cravings even though I just can’t stick to keto. I wish I could, but I just don’t like the foods, and I tended to stay strictly keto and then binge on carbs. I regained a lot of my keto weight because it messed with my head and just wasn’t sustainable for me...I admire the people who can pull it off!

I am reading the book Delay, Don’t Deny, which advocates clean fasting on a regular schedule, then eating your regular diet during eating Windows, whatever it might be...vegan, pescatarian, standard American, keto. The focus is the fasting, though.

It keeps my carb switch set to “off” for most of the day. And I do try to eat lower carb when I eat, but now I’m not framing past or a potato or bagel as a failure. It’s just my life. But going back to the fast as a bright end-point helps keep me from going back again and again for the next bagel, then some pretzels, then a bowl of cereal, etc. Keto put me in a panic I’d NEVER having my beloved foods again, and I’d swing to extremes. Hoping this will keep me from that. I CANNoT moderate carbs, I know that. But lowering my insulin and blood sugar for long stretches of time keeps the cravings low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fasting has helped for me to control the carb cravings even though I just can’t stick to keto. I wish I could, but I just don’t like the foods, and I tended to stay strictly keto and then binge on carbs. I regained a lot of my keto weight because it messed with my head and just wasn’t sustainable for me...I admire the people who can pull it off!

I am reading the book Delay, Don’t Deny, which advocates clean fasting on a regular schedule, then eating your regular diet during eating Windows, whatever it might be...vegan, pescatarian, standard American, keto. The focus is the fasting, though.

It keeps my carb switch set to “off” for most of the day. And I do try to eat lower carb when I eat, but now I’m not framing past or a potato or bagel as a failure. It’s just my life. But going back to the fast as a bright end-point helps keep me from going back again and again for the next bagel, then some pretzels, then a bowl of cereal, etc. Keto put me in a panic I’d NEVER having my beloved foods again, and I’d swing to extremes. Hoping this will keep me from that. I CANNoT moderate carbs, I know that. But lowering my insulin and blood sugar for long stretches of time keeps the cravings low.

OP here- thank you, think very helpful. I don’t think keto is sustainable. I did try intermittent fasting for awhile but found that I was so hungry during the window (especially 9-11am) and it was hard to focus on my work. I like how you’ve described the fasting you do, in that you’re still able to have some carbs but not as much. I have to turn my carb intake way down but don’t want to eliminate it.

[Anonymous]

Made these seed crackers today - so good and easy. Stored a bunch in fridge for the next week. Today I topped one with avocado and an egg (boiled for 8 minutes) and sliced, top with a little salt. Very satisfying.

[Anonymous]

https://pamelasalzman.com/grain-free-seed-crackers-recipe/

Seed crackers, gluten free

[Anonymous]

You don't need to cut our carbs! What nonsense. You just need to cut calories. Your pasta is way too many calories. Eat oatmeal and beans.

[Anonymous]

I do scrambled eggs with broccoli or another veggie and some cheddar for a quick lunch with the kids, or leftover roasted veggies on a bed of greens.

Something that helps me curb carbs...chocolate! I eat some every day. A whole once of dark chocolate (which is a lot, and probably more than you would want) is 15 gm carbs, but also has 30% daily iron content, so it isn’t just a empty food.

A Siggi’s flavored yogurt (I like vanilla spice or coconut) has 14 gm carbs, good source of calcium and protein too.

To compare, a serving a brown rice has 32 gm carbs.

I still eat a lot of raw fruit and vegetables with no regard to carb count. But I only have 1-2 servings of whole grains per day. Eating the chocolate and/or yogurt cuts the cravings, is satisfying, less carbs, and nutritional.

[Anonymous]

Do a whole 30. Figure out how your body reacts to grains, legumes and dairy. Then go from there.

[Anonymous]

I’m gearing up to do Whole 30. It takes a lot of planning but carbs are my downfall too so I’m hoping to coast on a reset for a while, and maybe even change some of those habits long term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fasting has helped for me to control the carb cravings even though I just can’t stick to keto. I wish I could, but I just don’t like the foods, and I tended to stay strictly keto and then binge on carbs. I regained a lot of my keto weight because it messed with my head and just wasn’t sustainable for me...I admire the people who can pull it off!

I am reading the book Delay, Don’t Deny, which advocates clean fasting on a regular schedule, then eating your regular diet during eating Windows, whatever it might be...vegan, pescatarian, standard American, keto. The focus is the fasting, though.

It keeps my carb switch set to “off” for most of the day. And I do try to eat lower carb when I eat, but now I’m not framing past or a potato or bagel as a failure. It’s just my life. But going back to the fast as a bright end-point helps keep me from going back again and again for the next bagel, then some pretzels, then a bowl of cereal, etc. Keto put me in a panic I’d NEVER having my beloved foods again, and I’d swing to extremes. Hoping this will keep me from that. I CANNoT moderate carbs, I know that. But lowering my insulin and blood sugar for long stretches of time keeps the cravings low.

OP here- thank you, think very helpful. I don’t think keto is sustainable. I did try intermittent fasting for awhile but found that I was so hungry during the window (especially 9-11am) and it was hard to focus on my work. I like how you’ve described the fasting you do, in that you’re still able to have some carbs but not as much. I have to turn my carb intake way down but don’t want to eliminate it.

You mean 9 pm to 11 am? If yes, that is why you were hungry. You had a late meal/snack and hence ghrelin was punching you in the gut! You were not necessarily hungry, your body was used to something. If you stopped eating at 5pm, you would not be hungry in the morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eat three high protein meals with no snacking.

Do not do this unless you want to have effed liver, kidneys and who knows what else!

[Anonymous]

Consider veggie substitutes for rice and pasta, maybe? Riced cauliflower instead of rice, zoodles, etc.

You might also try blending veggie substitutes with rice and pasta so you can get less carbs. So, a mixed of rice and riced cauliflower, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fasting has helped for me to control the carb cravings even though I just can’t stick to keto. I wish I could, but I just don’t like the foods, and I tended to stay strictly keto and then binge on carbs. I regained a lot of my keto weight because it messed with my head and just wasn’t sustainable for me...I admire the people who can pull it off!

I am reading the book Delay, Don’t Deny, which advocates clean fasting on a regular schedule, then eating your regular diet during eating Windows, whatever it might be...vegan, pescatarian, standard American, keto. The focus is the fasting, though.

It keeps my carb switch set to “off” for most of the day. And I do try to eat lower carb when I eat, but now I’m not framing past or a potato or bagel as a failure. It’s just my life. But going back to the fast as a bright end-point helps keep me from going back again and again for the next bagel, then some pretzels, then a bowl of cereal, etc. Keto put me in a panic I’d NEVER having my beloved foods again, and I’d swing to extremes. Hoping this will keep me from that. I CANNoT moderate carbs, I know that. But lowering my insulin and blood sugar for long stretches of time keeps the cravings low.

OP here- thank you, think very helpful. I don’t think keto is sustainable. I did try intermittent fasting for awhile but found that I was so hungry during the window (especially 9-11am) and it was hard to focus on my work. I like how you’ve described the fasting you do, in that you’re still able to have some carbs but not as much. I have to turn my carb intake way down but don’t want to eliminate it.

I operate like the above poster as well. I try to do no bread/wheat, but had a backslide during Nov/December. But my family knows not to serve me pasta when we have it.

Regarding the 9-11 am hungries, keep hydrated with something substantial -- tea or coffee with a splash of milk, or if you like, try broth. Or if you prefer, just black coffee/tea and water. I like the milk. But essentially my stomach will growl once in the morning, but then it goes away in about 5 minutes. I have another cup of tea, and I'm good.

I don't count carbs (but I try to keep them low), I'm not in ketosis intentionally (but probably am some days), and I find it pretty easy to do IF. I'm not a "skinny minnie" but I am in shape, am an acceptable height/weight/size for somebody my age.