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Terrible sugar cravings.

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Wilmur57

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I have type 2 diabetes and was diagnosed over 8 years ago. For the first few years I did very well reducing my weight , cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Over the last couple of years I seem to have got very complacent with the diet side of things and my sugar cravings are now terrible. I long for cake , chocolate and sweets and eat far too many. In the past when I mention this to the diabetic nurse all she says is , have an apple or pear when you feel the craving, but believe me these are no substitute for chocolate. Does anyone else have this problem and are there any self help groups for this or is hypnosis a solution ? The NHS has so much help for drug addicts and alcoholics but don't know if there is any help for this problem which my family say is an addiction.
 
Wilmur57 said:
I have type 2 diabetes and was diagnosed over 8 years ago. For the first few years I did very well reducing my weight , cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Over the last couple of years I seem to have got very complacent with the diet side of things and my sugar cravings are now terrible. I long for cake , chocolate and sweets and eat far too many. In the past when I mention this to the diabetic nurse all she says is , have an apple or pear when you feel the craving, but believe me these are no substitute for chocolate. Does anyone else have this problem and are there any self help groups for this or is hypnosis a solution ? The NHS has so much help for drug addicts and alcoholics but don't know if there is any help for this problem which my family say is an addiction.
Click to expand...
 
Hi

Yes i do have the same cravings. I've just starting on a low carb diet. The way i get my sweetness is decaffeinated coffee and 4 sweetners. Its so hard i know. Hope you find a way of getting through the cravings.
 
I know how you feel, the first week of low carb nearly killed me, sobbing into my pillow, the good news is it only lasts 3 days..I ate coconut oil and peanut butter by the spoon, when the cravings hit,,,eat whatever you need to for the first week to get you throught it..as long as it isnt a carb.
lots of leafy veg, fats and normal protein, drink lots of water and have teaspoon of salt for the first fortnight, then 3-6grams a day, some will be in your food, but a lot will be cut from stopping the junk food

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf it’s a long page and a video

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbliving/a/Food-Cravings.htm For me, the more carbs we eat the more carbs we want. they don’t give up easy.

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/firstweek.htm
 
The good news (which you probably know) is that the carb cravings fade quite quickly.

The bad news is that you have to stop eating the foods you are craving, and cut down on carbs. Otherwise, the cravings keep coming.

Do you have a blood glucose meter?
Getting one had an incredible effect on me.
Actually seeing what awful blood glucose rises were happening when I ate certain foods... well... it keeps me on the straight and narrow.

As a tip, the only thing that has ever killed the cravings for me is fat. Fat bombs, cream in coffee, a fry up (no bread, of course), steak and salad with mayo, proper food. filling. rich in fat. That will get you through the first few days without carbs, and squash the cravings. As @jack412 says, it only takes a few days.

I really do understand. People who don't get carb cravings have no idea, do they?
 
Wilmur57 said:
I have type 2 diabetes and was diagnosed over 8 years ago. For the first few years I did very well reducing my weight , cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Over the last couple of years I seem to have got very complacent with the diet side of things and my sugar cravings are now terrible. I long for cake , chocolate and sweets and eat far too many. In the past when I mention this to the diabetic nurse all she says is , have an apple or pear when you feel the craving, but believe me these are no substitute for chocolate. Does anyone else have this problem and are there any self help groups for this or is hypnosis a solution ? The NHS has so much help for drug addicts and alcoholics but don't know if there is any help for this problem which my family say is an addiction.
Click to expand...
Get to the back of the q. :hungry: Some days it drives me bonkers..
 
Wilmur57 said:
I have type 2 diabetes and was diagnosed over 8 years ago. For the first few years I did very well reducing my weight , cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Over the last couple of years I seem to have got very complacent with the diet side of things and my sugar cravings are now terrible. I long for cake , chocolate and sweets and eat far too many. In the past when I mention this to the diabetic nurse all she says is , have an apple or pear when you feel the craving, but believe me these are no substitute for chocolate. Does anyone else have this problem and are there any self help groups for this or is hypnosis a solution ? The NHS has so much help for drug addicts and alcoholics but don't know if there is any help for this problem which my family say is an addiction.
Click to expand...

I went for hot, and spicy instead.
Lots of chilli, garlic, peppers, and I lost my taste for sugar entirely.
I don't LCHF, I eat low GI/GL, and portion control.
That helped as well, I simply don't want to waste calories on sweet sugary food, or a high calorific fat content.
So I just eat a reasonable sized portion of fresh food, albeit spicy, rather than sweet.
It soon retrained my taste buds.
 
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