So last night I got the sugar CRAZIES page

[Amethyst42]

I'm on day 6 now of my primal experience. Up until last night everything was going exceptionally well. Last night: CRAZY CRAVINGS. I wanted pecan pie, I wanted to pour sugar right into my mouth from the sugar pourer. I wanted SUGAR.
To combat it, I first tried a fruit smoothie (pineapple, banana, strawberries, a tiny bit of yogurt). It worked for about 10 minutes. I'm not at home, and my host had a Almond Joy chocolate bar, which if nothing else is minimal on grains. Heavy on sugar. Helped for about 20 minutes. And then my body just went nuts, and i was pacing up and down and couldn't THINK. So I had a handful of pretzels my host had kicking around.
BAD idea. My stomach started paining me almost immediately, it was awful. That lasted a good 1/2 hour.
But I was STILL getting the crazy sugar thing.
I made bacon, and it stopped.

So, my guess is that the craving was related to grains? I know they convert into sugar quickly. A couple of friends who have gone primal suspect this is the case. Opinions? And what do you think I should do the next time this happens? (Bacon will not always be at hand, sadly!)

[magicmerl]

Dark chocolate. Sorry, what was the question?

[JennGlob]

Take a walk, or run up and down the stairs, go to bed, drink some water, glass of red wine...it was clearly just cravings so you need to redirect. Treat cravings like you would a child with impulse control issues: 1) don't leave dangerous items out, 2) redirect the child from things they can make dangerous, 3) remove them from the situation.

[Amethyst42]

Dark chocolate. Sorry, what was the question?

Thank you, I love it and will try it!

[EagleRiverDee]

I think you just have to push through, to be honest. Fortunately my worst cravings happen at night, so I go to sleep. I have occasionally woken up feeling like I'm starving but I just force myself to go back to sleep.

One thing I've noticed is any type of simple carb seems to be able to set off a craving. Inside my body, dark chocolate, pasta or wine all seem to do the same thing- make me crave more carbs. I don't get that from complex carbs like leafy greens and broccoli.

[ecole66]

I know if I eat a little sugar it is going to get out of hand real quick so I just avoid it as much as possible. I stopped smoking cigarettes over 15 years ago and still crave one every once in awhile but I know if I try to just have one I will instantly be a smoker again. It is the same thing with sugar for me.

[Amethyst42]

Take a walk, or run up and down the stairs, go to bed, drink some water, glass of red wine...it was clearly just cravings so you need to redirect. Treat cravings like you would a child with impulse control issues: 1) don't leave dangerous items out, 2) redirect the child from things they can make dangerous, 3) remove them from the situation.

I
I definitely consider myself a child with poor impulse control! As I am not at home I don't have complete control over what's in the house. However, when I'm at home, being the only primal person there, I won't have complete control either. So it's something I'm going to have to learn to deal with. Yes, a walk may have been a good idea. I have some ideas of what ot
do now, thank you!

[magicmerl]

Thank you, I love it and will try it!

Np. Now, the next step is, what is dark chocolate?

Before primal, we used to get 'regular' and 'dark' chocolate from trade aid, where the dark chocolate is 49% cocoa.

Now, we get daddy bear (85%), mummy bear (70%) and baby bear (49%) chocolate. So what the kids think is 'normal' is actually dark chocolate for most normals.

Try to train your palate towards the darker chocolate. SO much better.

[Amethyst42]

Np. Now, the next step is, what is dark chocolate?

Before primal, we used to get 'regular' and 'dark' chocolate from trade aid, where the dark chocolate is 49% cocoa.

Now, we get daddy bear (85%), mummy bear (70%) and baby bear (49%) chocolate. So what the kids think is 'normal' is actually dark chocolate for most normals.

Try to train your palate towards the darker chocolate. SO much better.

I'm one those weirdos that even pre-primal loved my 85% dark. I've not liked milk chocolate since I was a kid. (I don't know if I really liked it then, but dammit, it was my Easter bunny and I was going to eat it!)

I live in Canada, and haven't heard of Trade Aid, but have a local called "10,000 Villages" that gets in similar fair tried goodies. As well, me mum travels to Guatemala regularly, and buys directly from the farmers!

YAY chocolate!

[specsAreGrok]

When I get a sugar craving, I tend to eat something salty instead -- an olive or 2 usually. Seems to fulfill the same need and the craving goes away.

As far as chocolate, I'll just eat the darn raw cocoa beans straight up and call it a day. Can't get much more dark chocolate than that.