Feeling like an addict page

[nuraan]

So i was doing very well on PB for the past two months and last week when we celebrated EID, i thought i would allow myself a bit of indulgence and had some cake and pudding - i even justified it to myself that it was kinda like a carb cycle ... BIG STUPID MISTAKE ... i was like an addict for the past few days ... i craved carbs and sweets non stop, i just wanted more and more and nothing could ease the craving - really scary that i could feel so out of control.
So i decided to have as much fats as possible with my protein which has helped but i realised that the best option for me is to stay away from the carbs and sugars if i want to succeed and not feel like crap - especially since i now also have a bout of the carb flu to deal with.
Is this just me or have any of you experienced this ???

[Glamorama]

Happens to me when I went off primal after 8 months. My lame excuse was falling pregnant. I spent the next 16 months going crazy on carbs, and now I have to enjoy the massive clean-up and weightloss again. Would have been easier to stay on the primal path.

[norak]

I'm exactly like this too. It happened to me as recently as last week. I had been eating clean for a whole week, then suddenly gave in to cravings on Tuesday, and that set of a sugar/carb binge that lasted until the weekend.

When I fall off the wagon like this, I feel so much like a junkie, it's embarrassing.

So, my new approach to this problem is to have a weekly cheat day. That way I hope not to set off a multi-day binge whenever I give in to cravings, because I will allow myself to eat crappy for the day and not worry about it. Hopefully, knowing that I can indulge again in a week will help me get through the following 6 days without any more slip-ups.

The reason I hope (and think) this will work is because when I've tried the "whole 30" approach in the past, when I did fall off the wagon, the whole project was ruined, so I rationalized to myself that then I might as well keep on eating crap, until I would finally wise up and make another attempt, which of course failed a few days/weeks later for the exact same reason, and the cycle continues. Knowing that I only have to be "clean" for 6 days at a time will hopefully help with this.

[norak]

Happens to me when I went off primal after 8 months. My lame excuse was falling pregnant. I spent the next 16 months going crazy on carbs, and now I have to enjoy the massive clean-up and weightloss again. Would have been easier to stay on the primal path.

Ouch! Yeah. I've done this too (except for the pregnant part). I used to drink 6-8 cans of Coke every day, then I decided to stop and didn't drink a single soda or sugary drink for 18 months. All it took was one can of Coke while on vacation, and suddenly I was right back where I started.

I quit Coke again in May this year, and now I'm thinking I can never drink Coke again, ever (which I have accepted and I'm fine with).

I'm hoping to come to the same acceptance with candy and sweets sometime in the future, but I'm not there yet, unfortunately. I'm actually looking forward to the day when I no longer will crave chocolate or sugary stuff, but in the meantime I'm being pragmatic, so I'm going for the "cheat day" approach described above.

[Jovana]

I have a question. Once you go through the carb flu and your body starts using fats instead of sugars as a main source of energy, what happens if you want to have a cheat meal once a week? Will this completely ruin all your efforts in trying to get your body to be a fat burning machine? Will you have to go through the carb flu again or is it ok to have small amounts of sugar/grains ocassionaly?

I think I'm currently going through a carb flu because I've become very anxious in the last week and suddenly can't sleep at all but unfortunately I had some pizza over the weekend so now I'm not sure if i have to start from scratch to get my body to go through a carb flu stage or whether my body will just continue going through carb flu stage despite the fact I ate a lot of carbs on that particular evening...? Any answers are much appreciated

[Glamorama]

Ouch! Yeah. I've done this too (except for the pregnant part). I used to drink 6-8 cans of Coke every day, then I decided to stop and didn't drink a single soda or sugary drink for 18 months. All it took was one can of Coke while on vacation, and suddenly I was right back where I started.

I quit Coke again in May this year, and now I'm thinking I can never drink Coke again, ever (which I have accepted and I'm fine with).

I'm hoping to come to the same acceptance with candy and sweets sometime in the future, but I'm not there yet, unfortunately. I'm actually looking forward to the day when I no longer will crave chocolate or sugary stuff, but in the meantime I'm being pragmatic, so I'm going for the "cheat day" approach described above.

You sound like you could use the Leptin-reset. I have been such a sugar-junkie, and during the reset all cravings went and have never returned. This is highly unlike me, who would need a weekly cheat-day just to cope. But haven't had a cheat in 12 weeks and honestly don't feel like one other. Although I wouldn't mind some Norwegian rekesalat if I was offered.

[Glamorama]

I have a question. Once you go through the carb flu and your body starts using fats instead of sugars as a main source of energy, what happens if you want to have a cheat meal once a week? Will this completely ruin all your efforts in trying to get your body to be a fat burning machine? Will you have to go through the carb flu again or is it ok to have small amounts of sugar/grains ocassionaly?

I think I'm currently going through a carb flu because I've become very anxious in the last week and suddenly can't sleep at all but unfortunately I had some pizza over the weekend so now I'm not sure if i have to start from scratch to get my body to go through a carb flu stage or whether my body will just continue going through carb flu stage despite the fact I ate a lot of carbs on that particular evening...? Any answers are much appreciated

Based on experience: cold turkey will make it easier to stay primal. That way your body will be some much more fine-tuned to how bad food-choices affect you. I can't have a marinated store-bought chicken anymore because the preservatives in it would affect me so badly. I never noticed these little signs until my body was clean of junk.

[athomeontherange]

I have said it before sugar is my crack. All it takes is one hit and I'm gone/off the wagon/etc.

[Jovana]

I'm trying! I really didn't want to cheat with that pizza but I was starving in the wrong place & wrong time ( Unfortunately in a few weeks I'm going Bar hoping with friends... it will be extreamely challenging to resist a cocktail mainly because of the social pressure. So... I kinda think it's unrealistic for me at this stage to never have any treats but I'm definitely improving slowly! Hopefully i get to the stage where I never cheat

[norak]

I have a question. Once you go through the carb flu and your body starts using fats instead of sugars as a main source of energy, what happens if you want to have a cheat meal once a week? Will this completely ruin all your efforts in trying to get your body to be a fat burning machine? Will you have to go through the carb flu again or is it ok to have small amounts of sugar/grains ocassionaly?

It will probably vary from person to person and with how much carbs/sugar you are consuming, but in my experience, the end result is a major headache and flu-like symptoms. Thankfully, they only last about a day or so, assuming you do not give in to temptation and try to fix your symptoms with more sugar/carbs (which is what I've been doing and what caused me to fall of the wagon so many times).

In other words, when you are eating "clean" consistently for a long period of time, be prepared to be severely punished when eating excessive amounts of carbs/sugar. (What amounts to "excessive" will vary.)

Note: A cheat *meal* is not likely to do as much damage as a cheat snack/candy/ice cream/whatever between meals. (Unless your cheat meal consist entirely of sugar and/or carbs, of course.)

You sound like you could use the Leptin-reset. I have been such a sugar-junkie, and during the reset all cravings went and have never returned. This is highly unlike me, who would need a weekly cheat-day just to cope. But haven't had a cheat in 12 weeks and honestly don't feel like one other. Although I wouldn't mind some Norwegian rekesalat if I was offered.

Maybe so. The Leptin reset thing seems like too much hassle for me though. I know exactly what I need to do to stay clean, as I've done it many times in the past. I just have to decide that I actually want it hard enough to go through with it, which I'm not sure I have yet (hence the cheat days).