Good morning to all...

[Cyle]

What is on my mind this morning is a combination of things. The most dominate would be diet. My diet has been on a downward spiral into high carbohydrate intake over the last few weeks, which at one point, a month or so ago, was low in carbohydrates and higher in fat, with a good fat to protein ratio. During this period there has been attempts to fast for at least one day, yet, from what can be seen through observation, wrongful inner talking and mild hunger pains lead to eating in the late afternoon. This wrongful inner talking starts when the phrase "I am going to fast today" is uttered either to someone or with in the machine. It appears to be a trigger for the mild hunger pains and difficult at times not to say. There has been ample work to keep up with a more paleo diet over the last two-three years, with the occasional carb binge, yet there is a deep urge to move towards ketosis. With that said, there is an understanding that this bingeing from time to time on carbohydrates is making this more difficult to achieve, and creating a struggle with in.

The majority of these carbs come from either blueberries, which are in season here, thimbleberries, which are also in season, coconut flakes ground into a flour to make muffins, and some dark chocolate here and there. Is it the sugar in these berries and the dark chocolate that are making the cravings for carbs worse? Creating this bingeing? It appears that they may be a buffering mechanism for something that is unseen, something that has yet to be dealt with on multiple levels. This current binge appears to be worse then before after cutting the carbs to a lower amount then bingeing again...Has anyone experienced this or something similar in movement toward ketosis? Looking for some advice on how to regulate the carbohydrates?

 

[SeekinTruth]

It could be the berries, coconut flakes, and chocolate giving you cravings. How much of these do you eat? Are you totally grain and dairy-free (except butter and ghee if you tolerate them)? By the way, berries are the best as far as eating fruits goes, not as high in fructose and plenty of good antioxidants, etc.

From my experience if you cut down the carbs steadily while increasing fat, the carb cravings go away in a few weeks. I used to be a huge carb consumer, and when I went keto in early 2011, I was able to overcome the cravings in a pretty short time. Lately I've increased my carbs to as much as 35 grams net, eating berries, quarter or half a fruit from my yard (peaches, plums, apples), salads, etc. I was near zero carbs for a long time, but even the last few months when I'm having more carbs, I'm never hungry or get cravings or get knocked out of ketosis.

I'd say if you want to get into ketosis, just go steadily and resist the cravings as best you can. Once you're below 50 grams of net carbs for a while like a month and half or so, it gets much easier and if you're eating enough fat, you're almost never hungry. I think it helps to be in deep ketosis for a while though to get to that point. To help get there eat two high fat meals a day and as you decrease your carbs down below 20 grams, you should be on your way. Once your keto adapted for a while, it would be good to do heavy resistance training for a couple of months too. I find it hard to imagine getting out of ketosis now and going back to being a carbivore - it just doesn't seem like something I even need to struggle with anymore. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Gawan]

It appears that they may be a buffering mechanism for something that is unseen, something that has yet to be dealt with on multiple levels. This current binge appears to be worse then before after cutting the carbs to a lower amount then bingeing again...Has anyone experienced this or something similar in movement toward ketosis? Looking for some advice on how to regulate the carbohydrates?

This was my first thought, can you eventually recall the situations where you did start to eat more carbs or did bingeing? Specific situations that eventually frustrated you?

I'd say if you want to get into ketosis, just go steadily and resist the cravings as best you can. Once you're below 50 grams of net carbs for a while like a month and half or so, it gets much easier and if you're eating enough fat, you're almost never hungry. I think it helps to be in deep ketosis for a while though to get to that point. To help get there eat two high fat meals a day and as you decrease your carbs down below 20 grams, you should be on your way. Once your keto adapted for a while, it would be good to do heavy resistance training for a couple of months too. I find it hard to imagine getting out of ketosis now and going back to being a carbivore - it just doesn't seem like something I even need to struggle with anymore. Hope this helps. Good luck.

I would have asked similar questions as Seekin and would also suggest going steadily and do not blame yourself too much for a side trip, so to speak. And what I wondered, why do you like to do fasting?

 

[Cyle]

Thank you for the help SeekinTruth, as this reply is written I am cooking some breakfast, working on more then the one meal a day which goes along with carb binges. The amount of carbs eaten on a binge varies. At first it may be a cup of berries, a little later a piece or two of chocolate, then I will make some muffins with a cup of coconut flakes, yet as the binge goes on it may double or triple. At this point, I have yet to move as far as tripling the original amounts, its right around doubling, and nipping it in the butt right now will be most beneficial for energy levels. Constant vigilance in regards to cravings is my goal :)

Gawan- At the moment I am unable to recall any specific situations, I will look into that a little more. I do know that this has been going on for a while at many different points through out the change of seasons. I have been attempting to fast as an experiment to see if I am able to do it, and to shock the system a little in the process.

 

[Carl]

Just FYI coconut has proven to be somewhat of an issue with a lot of people here, myself included. You may want to try eliminating that for a while and see how you feel.

Also I agree with the other replies. If you want to try the keto thing, then it really helps to go all-in for a number of months and eliminate carbs all together. At some point the cravings go away, and that's when you know you're in the "safe zone" as I call it. From there you can expand your range of foods a bit without triggering brain chemical imbalances. Carbs are generally safe once you can have them on a "take it or leave it" basis.

For instance I quite regularly eat a lot of sweet potato, instant mash or other veggies on days when I'm doing a lot of exercise, probably coming way out of ketosis but with no detrimental effects. Yet the next morning I can have bacon and eggs and feel fine with no cravings.

Still, there are problem foods that you must avoid for a very long time, and you have to figure out those problem foods for yourself. Common ones are coconut, other nuts, eggs, and butter/ghee.

 

[Cyle]

Just FYI coconut has proven to be somewhat of an issue with a lot of people here, myself included. You may want to try eliminating that for a while and see how you feel.

Also I agree with the other replies. If you want to try the keto thing, then it really helps to go all-in for a number of months and eliminate carbs all together. At some point the cravings go away, and that's when you know you're in the "safe zone" as I call it. From there you can expand your range of foods a bit without triggering brain chemical imbalances. Carbs are generally safe once you can have them on a "take it or leave it" basis.

For instance I quite regularly eat a lot of sweet potato, instant mash or other veggies on days when I'm doing a lot of exercise, probably coming way out of ketosis but with no detrimental effects. Yet the next morning I can have bacon and eggs and feel fine with no cravings.

Still, there are problem foods that you must avoid for a very long time, and you have to figure out those problem foods for yourself. Common ones are coconut, other nuts, eggs, and butter/ghee.

Coconut and other nuts are not really a problem for me in small amounts, it is when i go over my own recommended amount that a problem arises...as far as eggs or butter/ghee these do not cause any problems that can be seen so far. Things may change as work is done to eliminate a majority of net carbs, something to watch for :)

 

[SeekinTruth]

One more note about nuts. A couple of years ago, I was still eating nuts occasionally and discovered that cashews were hard to stop eating and gave lots of cravings. I always loved cashews (raw and roasted) since I was a small child. So I decided to stop eating them altogether to stop the cravings. Almonds were similar but not as bad. FWIW. And yeah, coconut seems to be a problem for many. I haven't tried it (last I ate coconut was about 20 years ago) but I don't seem to have a problem with organic virgin coconut oil occasionally.

 

[Cyle]

I have been a nut lover as well since I was a child. Peanut butter was my vice for the longest time. Peanuts and peanut butter have been removed from my diet for a while now, yet even with others nuts my body reacts in a similar way, creating cravings. There is the possibility that coconut is doing a something similare. I may have to remove it from the diet, along with a little more research on it and see what happens.

 

[Gawan]

I have been a nut lover as well since I was a child. Peanut butter was my vice for the longest time. Peanuts and peanut butter have been removed from my diet for a while now, yet even with others nuts my body reacts in a similar way, creating cravings. There is the possibility that coconut is doing a something similare. I may have to remove it from the diet, along with a little more research on it and see what happens.

That sounds like a plan. It is called elimination diet in general, don't know if you ever have done it. In a sense you take off food from your diet for a minimum of two weeks and then you introduce one at a time again and if you notice any reactions, if you feel bad it's simply not good for you. Imo the best way to test food, or when you are not sure.

 

[Cyle]

I have heard of the elimination diet, yet there has been no attempt at it as of now. I was thinking about eliminating a majority of what I have been eating and start with a clean slate so to speak, start off with pork and bone broth, then go from there. Over the last couple days I have been eliminating large quantities of carbs pretty steadily, with cravings galore.I guess I have to take it one day at a time and start eliminating what is a problem and go from there. Thank you all for the help :D

 

[SeekinTruth]

Good luck with the adventure, Zabo. :)

The bone broth should help and make sure to get plenty of fat. I think minerals can in some instances help with the cravings too. Just resist the cravings as much as you can, have some broth with extra fat in it, etc. Postponing acting on the craving/giving in as much as possible. It can pass within an hour or so.

One more note, peanuts are not even technically categorized as nuts, but as legumes and would present the same problems as many legumes (plus many people are extremely allergic to them so there's something going on there). Also they tend to be very moldy (as do other nuts proper). So good you eliminated them.

 

[Cyle]

It appears that they may be a buffering mechanism for something that is unseen, something that has yet to be dealt with on multiple levels. This current binge appears to be worse then before after cutting the carbs to a lower amount then bingeing again...Has anyone experienced this or something similar in movement toward ketosis? Looking for some advice on how to regulate the carbohydrates?

This was my first thought, can you eventually recall the situations where you did start to eat more carbs or did bingeing? Specific situations that eventually frustrated you?

I have been thinking about this as work is being done to remove excess carbs. As of today, it is day four of pork and bone broth. The cravings are harsh at times, yet a glass of water or a little magnesium helps curve the cravings. From what can be seen it, the binge eating of carbs, appears to be a way to deal stress, anxiety, worry and at times it is unconscious eating do to a moment of dissociation. Yet there is still something that is unseen, something that appears to be full of self importance and fear. Pinpointing exactly what that is has proven difficult. There is a possibility that it began in childhood and remained all through my teenage years and my early adult life. It also seems possible to locate the moment in which this binge eating began. Time for more meditation on this :)