Does anyone else not have a stop button with food at times

[Feelingfortyisntfun]

This weekend I realised how much I can eat- it’s frightening. It’s reminded me when others are full I just keep going. Sigh. This is much harder now I’m 40.

@Ratatouille76 it's taken me 2 and a half years to do it and lots of yo-yoing. I got diagnosed with IBS and figured out that some of my triggers are wheat and milk. I was fed up of feeling so ill so managed to cut down a lot on the cake, chocolate, pasta (gf pasta is so blooming expensive!), pizza. I've also increased my exercise. I was basically doing nothing in terms of being active as I drove to work and had a desk job. My job now is a tad more active, I started walking in my lunch break for a while and I also swim twice a week too.

I still eat cake and things but only at the weekend and not every single weekend. It makes me feel so ill afterwards, I'm awake at 4am with stomach cramps and nausea. Ideally I'd cut it out completely but it's not that easy is it.

Totally with you there @crosser62!

Wow - lots more posts thank you for sharing - I'm not alone.

Latest confession I made beetroot brrownies with my children... as they came out the oven I ate half the tray, one bit, then just another bit, then just tidying up the first few bits i had.... I later calculated the kcal... I had about 2000! I'm not joking. I didn't feel sick or excessively full (although I didn't eat an evening meal). It's obviously a bit greedy bit my husband can just have one and feel satisfied. I've tried slowing down eating mindfully...

Oddly I had found allowing a small amount of carbs when I come home from work somewhat helpful, I would leave a packet of oatcakes and scam them when I came in. That's actually helped a little.

crosser62 That made me laugh me too! I also only ever fancy cake when i's a huge slice, if it's a tiny slither I'm like "nah". Oh dear!

Unicorn - Sorry to hear you've had trouble with IBS. That must motivate you to make the changes you have too. You mentioned 85% cocoa choc - do you not overeat this.. I can still eat a bar of 85% no problem. Oh dear this is sounding like a confessional.

It really is nice (but not nice) to hear others struggles as I know no one who is like me in terms of just wanting large portions.

I wonder if anyone else has found fasting 16:8 helped? or made it worse?

Siameasy - you don't think about food anymore? really? how long did it take you to get like that?

Interestingly I read an article yesterday about carbs making no difference to weight loss.... i.e keep carbs in just moderate your portion, your post proves otherwise(?)

Ariad sorry to hear about your parents.

I think something else I personally struggle with and not sure if this hits a cord with you too. I can be doing really well, for days even then have a "oh sod it" and go on a frenzy. It's that oh sod it moment that I later think what on earth was wrong with me.

I’m another who has made the connection between massive craving / lack of satiety with a high carb diet

I’m keto and have been for 2 years, and can truly say that I just don’t get food cravings anymore, the monster that I had on my shoulder all my life looking at what food is coming next has gone!

It’s totally liberating

Anyone who struggles with overwhelming cravings, I can’t recommend keto / lchf enough

@Feelingfortyisntfun
That's so familiar - I can do well for a few weeks.and then there will be some (often tiny) trigger and I go crazy.

I did laugh at your "tidying up" the brownies. Baking with kids is definitely a trigger for me too.

Re carbs making no difference to weight loss
In theory if you could painlessly limit the intake of starchy carbs and sugar to a level where your body could process it without causing weight gain (different level for different people) then yes the carbs wouldn’t cause weight gain
However the problem is many people find sugar and starchy carbs addictive. “Exercise willpower!” some might say. But where is willpower when you’ve had a shit day with a screaming child? Gone! So will power is finite and situation-dependant.
I prefer to eliminate and therefore I never have to have any will power because “those things aren’t my foods”. Eg I don’t eat flour. So while a pizza smells nice it’s tough luck cos I don’t eat flour.

You don’t think about food anymore

This happened reasonably quickly. I’d say after a week the interest in sugar was very diminished. The interest in starches took longer to go but since all the things I craved were gone I definitely lost interest in food. I love meat for instance but would never crave it like I would toast.
You don’t have the “hangry” hunger or “aaargh” cravings any more because all sugar and starch does if you’re me is make you more hungry than you were to start with. Now they are gone it’s like a feeling of calm.
So you do get hungry but it’s not a feeling of fear or being unable to cope or desperation as it was before.

I completely second what Siameasy is saying about the cravings disappearing.

Going low carb has changed my life. Food is no longer a constant battle in my life, I eat amazing food but I do not feel ruled by cravings and I am the leanest I have ever been, and this is completely stable - barely moved a pound in over a year.

I have no feelings of missing out on carbs, in fact I have the opposite - I feel sorry for people who are ruled by the cravings and never want to have the lethargy associated with carbs ever again.

Keto is a life hack I won't ever stray from - the benefits are just too high

@Siameasy @mooncuplanding
Do you ever crave sweet things at all?
I have been off sugar for a week and while I have definitely felt more in control, I'm aware that part of my problem is eating as entertainment. I have good friends and plenty of hobbies, but I can't stop myself feeling that sugary food is "fun". And low carb isn't

Well done on doing a week tho! Keep going!
Try desiccated coconut, almond butter or almond milk for a sweet taste.
Once you’re a few weeks in I think you can have berries?
I often fancy something sweet after a big meal. I now eat 85% dark chocolate which hits the spot.
On the first day of my period I feel I need more carbs than usual and I do miss the comfort of sugar but I’m able to rationalise it
I don’t really have cravings I would say it’s a feeling of “I fancy” - like the other day we had a curry. Afterwards, as it was a hot day, I thought oooh I could really have a magnum. But not enough to go to the shop and get one. Pre low carb i DEFO would’ve gone and bought one...or two!!!
Humans do naturally like sweet food as breast milk is sweet. You can have cream on Keto but I find it addictive and dairy stalls weight loss for me.

I’m another who has gone from the “I’ll just have one yum yum” but then eat all 6 and how did I make the shift between a normal bag of crisps to a family bag ...all to myself. My last blowout was a packet of french fancies and then more crisps, after my dinner.
However I am week 3 of Keto and down 6kg and honestly can say I have had more than 5 individual Bon Bon type sweets. I am not hungry and have lost my urge to gorge. Most days I don’t have breakfast and have lunch about 2pm.
I know this eating works for me but got to be in the right head space to do it as I do feel awful for the first few days. But my flattening belly pleases me no end.
My brain has switched off for now for sugary foods but it has taken about 10 years

I don’t get cravings at all. It’s weird. Totally incomprehensible when you’ve never done it.

However,the first few weeks of keto were pretty tough. I felt like I was in withdrawal. Cold turkey in Trainspotting type of thing

Totally worth it though

Thanks for sharing folks.

Do you all sleep on keto? I really struggle not having carbs before bed but not sure if that would change with time. What sort of things are you eating? I am totally focusing on myself here but am quite sure I could get through a block of cheese if in the right frame of mind.

I brought myself some 85% cocoa chocolate and ate the lot when I came home from work. I really do struggle, liek another poster said if I ate until I was full I would eat a huge amount. It's annoying.

Then to be honest I use food, I brought bread just to "calm myself down after work.

I personally don't feel carbs are bad I just find they do open my appetite and I find it hard to stop especially if my mood is low. Particularly when the mood is low!

Has anyone else got any strategies for when they get home from work, this is my time for seeking out the carbs. Other aspects that are obvious but maybe helpful is:

Lack of sleep - my appetite and resolve then goes.

I sleep brilliantly on keto.

Only thing is that I now wake up before my alarm raring to go ! Which has been hard to get used to since I’ve always been a ‘snooze x10’ type of person. Hard to get used to because I thought I’d be tired waking up earlier every morning...but I’m not.

I’ve probably had 2/3 daytime naps since being keto and I was a fucker for them pre keto

You can’t really do a half attempt at keto in the first few weeks, you have to force your body to start using your fat for energy. If you give it carbs you’ll never get fat adapted. You’ve got to commit for at least a few weeks to very very low carbs

Maybe don’t eat the lot of 85% chocolate. It is also a laxative.
The idea is to introduce it back in after a period of abstinence. You then won’t need to eat the lot to get your “hit” - you will be satisfied with two squares. But to get to this place you do need to go cold turkey.
I would go and look at the low carb bootcamp threads
How about a nice walk after work? Or a vigorous walk if that’s your thing? Is there something you could treat yourself to that isnt food? A magazine, a film, a new book?

@Siameasy thanks for reply. Apologies I'm fairly new to this and wrote a long rambling reply and failed to post it!
Your magnum story made me smile as I actually had my hand on the box yesterday but struggled to open it and felt it was a message from the carb god so put it back

Generally though, instead of being desperate for something mid afternoon I keep forgetting to have my planned snack and get to teatime without anything. Not thinking about food constantly is a huge bonus for me. Although after the first whoosh, I don't seem to be losing anything
I think this is the only thing I have ever found that has helped give me a stop button
@Feelingfortyisntfun
I have been having half a mug of warm skimmed milk at bedtime. Not particularly low carb (approx 7g) but the rest of the day is good. Although I managed to gain 1.5lbs overnight last night, so I'm probably not the best person to be handing out dietary advice