Help with cravings

[Hannah]

I fell off the wagon today. I was fighting it from the moment I woke up. For the first time since I started I was craving sugar and carbs etc. all day to the point of discomfort. I couldn't figure out why, but I eventually indulged myself in mexican food with beans, tortillas and cheese etc. I of course feel really guilty now, but I mostly want to figure out what could be causing it.

The only thing I can think of is not enough fat? I ate raw beef for lunch and still didn't feel satisfied like I normally do, maybe I need more beef/fat? I have been craving cooked bacon badly...for the fat content maybe? I am trying to lose weight so I think i might have shot myself in the foot avoiding carbs from fruits and hitting the veggies a little too hard. So what do you do if you are getting cravings?

[kurite]

Absolutely do not skip on the fruit unless you have blood sugar issues. Trust me I do paleo for weight loss and health and I am very high fruit paleo (50% of my cals) and Im losing plenty of weight with very little to no muscle loss. I find if I don't eat enough cals i go back to non paleo foods, just make sure to eat more, more then on SAD. I know it sounds counter productive but your body doesnt want to have as much fat as it does on a SAD it just can't do anything else with the toxins so your body stores them in fat. Raw Paleo = less toxins = less stored toxins in fat.

[CHK91]

I have heard of people that use a small amount of l-glutamine for sugar cravings. Unfortunately, it is not a "natural" solution.

My fear of becoming hypoglycemic and depressed again is what keeps me away from carbohydrates.

[goodsamaritan]

Fruit is paleo.
Yesterday I ate 3 small ripe mangoes.

[PaleoPhil]

Yeah, why would you eat beans and tortillas instead of fruit? I much prefer fruit and raw honey myself, and they don't require any cooking or reheating or cleanup. Where did you get the beans and tortillas? Did you have to make them or reheat them did you get them at a restaurant?

[Iguana]

What’s the hell? If you want sugar, test the smell of tamarind, dates, honey, carob, sugar cane, coconut germ, figs, persimmon, cempedak, durian, bananas, apples, pears… whatever you can find! Eating all raw is the best way to get to a normal weight and loose weight if you’re too fat, no matter how much you eat. It’s even to the point that the more you eat, the more weight you loose: some obese have lost 0.5 to 1 kg per day while eating all what they like.

[afroza]

I have struggled with the carb cravings for years, I was 20 kg overweight before going raw. After extensive testperiods with different foods, this is what I found out works for me;

If I indulge in sweet fruits when I get cravings it doesn´t make me feel satisfied, if anything it makes me moody and gives me more cravings. But I do use a little sweet fruit if I feel blue, it lifts my spirit. It rarely happens anymore.

The only thing I have noticed work for that old carb craving is an AV remedy, making fresh juice of green vegetables and drinking a glass on waking in the morning, and more between meals during the day if necessary. Otherwise I am not much of a juicer, I much prefer foods in their natural state, but this green juice really saves me from a day (or month) off the wagon.
I belive the cravings hit me when my blood has gone too acid and thats why the green juice completely kills all sugar/carb cravings. If I wake up with cravings I drink it in the morning, otherwise not. It can be about once or twice per month. The cravings are less and less frequent over time.
Some persons do well on a high carb raw diet and others, like me, do best when keeping sweet fruits and veggies to a minimum.

I have learned more and more to feel the different between a normal hunger for some foods (my body needs something) and a junky craving that comes from a lifetime of crapfood and (in my case) years of overeating.
 

[turkish]

afroza,
 how do you source good grassfed meat in india. My home is in delhi - where it is difficult to find a trustworthy supplier.

[afroza]

Hi Turkish,
I am actually moved back to my native Sweden, but I lived in India for years, mostly in Kashmir and Goa. It´s been a struggle to find good meat, especially when travelling and whenever we stayed long in cities like Delhi etc. I have no good tips for you, I´m afraid. In Goa I liked the beef better than the mutton (that´s mostly lean goat) and above all the seafood. I used to get good eggs and okey buffalo milk, too. And a lot of coconuts. In Kashmir we get lovely mutton straight from the herdsmen. The sheep there are pasturefed all year. Very good chicken, eggs and milk, too. And sometimes riverfish like trout. The lakefish is uneatable, though.
My overall experience from the RAF of India is that it is very easy to get meat and chicken from all the butchers, but it´s rarely good quality, grass fed meats. But you have to eat, and it´s better to eat grainfed chicken raw, then fried in oil in a butter masala, that´s my motto.

[Hannah]

ok, I needed that lashing

What the hell indeed.. It's not that it makes sense to me, and I completely understand the detrement of eating like that. But I think I just reverted back to the old habits to comfort myself.

I lost 50lbs of a reduced calorie diet this year (since May of 2010) but started having painful digestion with all the grain and chemical food. Then I started on paleo and immediately lost 9lbs in the first two weeks. Then I gained back 3.5 and started getting discouraged. I have been sick and I know my water intake is up trememndously so that could be the culprit. But the point is that I don't want to go backwards. I have about 30 more lbs to lose but I am dieing to lose this last six because that will have me at one of my biggest goals.  Has anyone used the cronometer with any success? Or should I just focus on eating everything raw that I want?

So I shouldn't be afraid of carbs? I was understanding that the best thing to do is go high fat and low carb.. Thank you for all your advice. I know it can be frustrating because I'm a newb but I'm trying to learn from all your sage advice.

[Hannibal]

I was understanding that the best thing to do is go high fat and low carb.. 

Low-carb doesn't mean no carbs.
50-70 g while losing weight is a good amount.

[turkish]

Afroza,
 Wow! You lived in the two most beautiful parts of india, kashmir & goa, Moutain & sea.

Did you have any issues with 'grainfed chicken raw'. I was there recently i decided against eating it. What about mutton in india, did u try it raw?

[Hannah]

Low-carb doesn't mean no carbs.
50-70 g while losing weight is a good amount.

hmm. yes I am too high then. Today's count came in at 130 carbs and 1300 calories. So good calorie wise but not so good carb wise.. Should I swap some of the fruit for low carb options?

[Hannibal]

hmm. yes I am too high then. Today's count came in at 130 carbs and 1300 calories. So good calorie wise but not so good carb wise.. Should I swap some of the fruit for low carb options?

1300 calories is quite small amount.
But you are not satisfied with your weight loss results?
So you should try with smaller amounts - 50-70 g
Do you do some anaerobic exercises?
"Lift like a man look like a goddess" - do you know that?

[Hannah]

I havn't been tracking everyday, so I don't know if it is that low everyday. I suspect is it more like 1500 a day. I reduced my carbs down to 90 by swapping out a mango for blackberries etc. So that should help.

This week I have been doing Lotte Berk in the mornings before I eat to rev up my metabolism. it is a strangth and lean muscle building exercise. I'm not doing too much cardio right now because it is really cold and I don't have a gym membership. But I plan on doing maybe two days of a more cardio dvd. I havn't heard of "lift like a man, look like a Goddess" but it sounds awesome

I think I am just needing to find my groove with this diet. I have felt much better today so I think that less vegetables and more meat and fruit works well for me.

Thank you so much for helping me.

[Iguana]

I don’t have the slightest idea how much carbs and even calories I eat and I don’t give a damn about it... Anyway, in paleo times they probably had no way the weight their intake and if they did, they unquestionably did not uses the metric system (just joking in case it’s not plain clear!).  

How do you know how much carbs you eat? I guess you must first weight what you’re gonna eat (difficult to weight it once it’s eaten, isn’t it ?) and then take a food composition table, a calculator and try to find out? Not a paleo business in my view…  

Damn, eat whatever you like and how much you like as long it is raw, as much as possible paleo, unmixed, unseasoned. Cooked neolithic and modern food makes you obese, raw paleo food takes you back to your ideal weight, the more you eat the faster. I'm not joking now!   

[Hannah]

I know Iguana. I just can't leave it alone at this point. I'm using the Cronometer to get the nutrition data. I have a tendency to overeat so I need to track it for now but not forever. I maintain my weight really well, so I suspect that when i reach my ideal weight it won't be a problem for me to instinctively eat to maintain, but losing seems to be a completely different thing for me.

We all seem to have different degrees of authenticity when it comes to being a caveman.   I am trying to eat more raw and unseasoned foods which is easy when you get away from veggies. They are not as palatable raw.

[achillezzz]

1300 calories is quite small amount.
But you are not satisfied with your weight loss results?
So you should try with smaller amounts - 50-70 g
Do you do some anaerobic exercises?
"Lift like a man look like a goddess" - do you know that?

Hannibal how much calories you eat per day?

[Hannibal]

  I havn't heard of "lift like a man, look like a Goddess" but it sounds awesome

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[afroza]

Afroza,
 Wow! You lived in the two most beautiful parts of india, kashmir & goa, Moutain & sea.

Did you have any issues with 'grainfed chicken raw'. I was there recently i decided against eating it. What about mutton in india, did u try it raw?

I feel we are occupying Hannahs thread here, Turkish, but as a short answer to your question; I have had plenty of raw mutton in India, goat as well as sheep, they label it all mutton, and never had any problem with it. I have also had quite a bit of grain fed chicken raw, I can´t stay without chicken for a long time, I crave it when I have eaten only read meat for a while. I often have physical reactions to chicken, both grainfed and from pasture, l feel it has a strong detox effect on me. I always try to find good meat but if I can´t I will eat grainfed. Never had any problems with parasites from raw food in India, but a couple of near- death experiences from cooked vegetarian food in the past.
I find the climate and bacterial flora in India to be awesome for health.

[deletemyaccount]

I fell off the wagon today. I was fighting it from the moment I woke up. For the first time since I started I was craving sugar and carbs etc. all day to the point of discomfort. I couldn't figure out why, but I eventually indulged myself in mexican food with beans, tortillas and cheese etc. I of course feel really guilty now, but I mostly want to figure out what could be causing it.

The only thing I can think of is not enough fat? I ate raw beef for lunch and still didn't feel satisfied like I normally do, maybe I need more beef/fat? I have been craving cooked bacon badly...for the fat content maybe? I am trying to lose weight so I think i might have shot myself in the foot avoiding carbs from fruits and hitting the veggies a little too hard. So what do you do if you are getting cravings?

If you're getting craving, you're not eating eating enough meat :-) Eat tons of meat during the day and have carbs before bed with raw eggs in a smoothie to satisfy your sweet tooth if you have one.

[ForTheHunt]

If you are craving carbs, then eat carbs.

Only time I ever crave carbs is after workouts. Other than that I never crave it due to the fact that I eat plenty of fat.

Get your self some raw cream and lots of raw eggs.