Failed yet again

@Paulinge2015 I had my second inflammatory bowel disease flare last year. Lasted 9 months. I was able to eat leafy spring greens with an olive oil and vinegar vinaigrette but all other vegetables were thoroughly cooked. (I was very lucky. My gastroenterologist introduced me to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) months after my first flare. Both flares - (first in 2000, second in 2015) - resolved within days of doing the prep for the colonoscopy.)

Welcome to the forum!

The LCHF diet increases our need for water, sodium, magnesium, possibly other electrolytes such as potassium. Could that have been contributing to what sounds like the "carb flu"?

The cravings are tough. I have non-celiac gluten sensitivity so had stopped eating wheat, rye, barley, and oatmeal 4 years earlier. So for me the bread was easier to give up than potatoes. Today, I allow myself to have 1 tablespoons potato or yam mixed in with my steamed vegetables, maybe two times a week. If craving bread, I might have a couple of corn chips or crackers with cheese, though I haven't had either for a long time now. I don't crave "crunchy" textures anymore. It lessened then went away after a few months.

During my first month on the low carb diet, I stored a box of 9 gluten free peanut butter cookies in my freezer. If the cravings got the best of me, I'd have one cookie, which happened once a week or so. I eventually through the box away. I think four cookies remained.

Over time I learned that combining something "salty" with fat, eating something "savory", or eating or drinking something "sour" helped to combat the cravings for grains and sugar. For sour, I'd eat a slice or two of bread and butter pickles (a type of American sweet pickle) or make fresh lemonade with juice of a lemon, water or sparkling mineral water, and a few drops of Stevita liquid extract. For savory, I kept small jars of marinated artichoke hearts in my pantry. Green olives with the pimento removed are satisfying too.

To head off post meal cravings, I would have a second cup of black tea following breakfast, green tea following lunch, and a glass of dry red wine following dinner. I learned how to sweeten heavy whipping cream with a few drops of Stevita liquid extract and would add fresh berries. Other treats were a square or two of dark chocolate, 70% or 85% cacoa. A spoon of peanut butter with no additives, the type you stir and refrigerate, was satisfying too.

For the most part, I avoided anything sweet such as fruit or berries for the first six weeks, though I did allow myself to have small amount of carrots or yellow squash during this period. Cooked onions are sweet, as are ripe cherry tomatoes.

When I had my first blueberry, I couldn't believe how much flavor it had. I had a similar experience with my reintroduction to raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries.

At the time, I didn't know how much sugar dulls our sense of taste. Giving up sugar and adding a variety of health fats to my meals and snacks made food so much more enjoyable. I enjoy cooking now.

Today, I do sometimes have a gluten free cookie that contains some form of sugar, but it causes me to have cravings again for a few hours. For this reason, I don't bring any "off plan" foods into my home. Instead, I buy and eat a single cookie at the grocery store when I'm shopping.

Cravings tend to be worse when I have a blood glucose spike. Those are best walked off. If the craving continues to be a problem, I try to eat something with fat, which calms me. Avocado, slices of cheese, raw nuts, are all helpful too. Sometimes I'll make a favorite omelet with vegetables if I'm both hungry and having cravings within an hour or two of bed.

When cravings hit, I check my blood glucose to see I've had a spike. Eating any kind of fat often helps if I can't walk it off.

All I can say is that cravings get easier to manage with time. It's okay to eat "off plan" once a week or month, just just try to choose something that's not going to make you miserable for three or more days with higher than normal blood glucose levels.

That's what worked for me, but we're all so individual and have to find our own way...

I think what kept me motivated to avoid sugary and starchy foods was graphing my blood glucose levels before and after meals and exercise, also before bed and upon awakening. I monitored my weight daily, which doesn't work for a lot of people, but does for me. When my weight loss stalled after a few months, I focused instead on continuing to improve my diet, tracking how often and how far I walked, and my blood glucose levels throughout the day. Over the holidays, I gained back 12 of the 26 pounds I lost. So far I've only re-lost 4 of the 12 pounds. Still unhappy about that.

Something I forgot. When first starting the diet, it's really important to have snacks between meals those first few weeks until you're fully fat adapted and in ketosis. Snacks should include fat and protein with something low carb. Once your fat adapted, hunger and cravings will lessen. That said, I still battle cravings sometimes, often after a highly stressful day. There is no perfect.

I did low carb diet since march this year. I did not start cold turkey with very low carbs. I started with 100g carbs and reduced every week. I had cravings also and the hardest were bread and potato. That is what made me to invent my own bread recipe in the microwave. Now I am on very low carbs, dont have any cravings and lost appetite. I think my stomach shrunk.
the most important thing to keep a diet is to be always full, not deny yourselff anything (like you want a cake, bale low carb cake.). Make the food you eat a pleasant experience...enjoy it! But be determined and disciplined....soon you will realize how easy it is. The first month is the hardest.

I didn't go very low carb at first either. I started at 90g, allowing for up to 30g per meal. I was encouraged by my weight loss and by my improved BG numbers. Then I found that although I I was within the nice guidelines, there was room for improvement. That's when I discovered this group and found out the optimal range for BG levels and it gave me a new challenge. I missed the carbs greatly too when I began so I'm glad I started bey reducing first. It has stopped me falling off the wagon so far. Now I am in the process of sorting out macros (which I had never come across before). This is my new challenge and I hope I can be successful. When reducing carbs I allowed for 1 potato or 1-2 dessert spoons of rice per meal. I allowed for 1-2 slices of bread per day. Since seeing the improvement in my BG levels I don't think it's worth it now. Potatoes and pasta I can manage without, if I eat out I ask not to have potatoes or rice just veg. I refuse the bread and butter, if it's not on the table I'm not tempted. Courgette fat noodles have really helped replace pasta in italian and fine courgette noodles in Asian cooking.

I figure as its working I need to get my head around it because if not the pins and needles in my fingers and toes remind me, complications are around the corner lurking. What do I want , I have a choice, carbs or my feet. I want to play with my grandchildren, run and be silly with them. I look at my daughters father inlaw, he can barely feel his feet. He stumbles and falls all the time, he is old before his time

I don't want that to be me, that's the bottom line. Good luck X

Like Winnie I am also NCGS which perhaps does help in the short term, but having become used to relying on potatoes for my bulk up ingredient for meals I had to cast around for something to use to help in this area. I also used a lot of carrots and swede which are high carb too. I got very hungry on my low carb diet, and also found it very expensive and difficult to budget for on just a state pension.
I was able to eat sugar too when I thought it was just gluten that was my problem, so I indulged in sweet foods like meringues and sweetened fruit with cream and ice cream - my weight soared.
Now I have learned to be kinder to myself, and have some carbs with every meal (perhaps just a dessert spoonful of mashed potato - not a tablespoonful) and a few gluten free crackers twice a day with philly cheese.
My greatest time for falling from the wagon in after 7pm when we are sitting watching TV and I want to snack. I don't want to nibble on a piece of cheese because I'm missing the sweetness hit .... I find a glass of water helps (a bit) but when I crack this problem I'll post on here because I find its the most difficult time of day and the only solution is an early night.
You haven't failed, you have been to strict with yourself - relax and enjoy your food, the weight problem aside for a month and enjoy eating.