Experienced Food Freedomers - Do the cravings ever stop?

[emilyelowe]

Dear peoplewhohavefoodfreedom, 

I'm on Whole30 #3 (currently Day 10), which I started primarily to kill my Sugar Dragon (and bloating - woof) and I'd like to hear some real life Sugar Dragon slaying stories. Do the cravings ever actually go away? I understand needing to be prepared with the internal "Is it worth it?" conversation once I am done with my reset, but ideally I just want to NOT want it. Every afternoon at work and after most meals, I find myself craving some sort of sweet (and mostly the kind that are totally NOT worth it). Does that feeling ever go away? I'm totally cool if, post-reset, I have that conversation about a donut from my childhood hometown. But I would really like to NOT have that conversation while white-knuckling it in my desk chair about a stupid mini Butterfinger my co-worker has on their desk. 

For some background, I don't generally eat a lot of processed sugar outside of my reset, so I don't THINK this is an adjustment thing. Unless it's related to carbs, which I love. Hah.

I just want to make sure I am setting realistic expectations with myself so I don't end up feeling like a failure post-reset. 

Thanks, Whole30 family!

[SugarcubeOD]

Hello;

I've removed your duplicate post.  We ask that you do not post the same topic in mulitple threads on the forum to prevent confusion and keep  the forums tidy.

[racheleats]

I've been "mostly whole30" for about 3 years now. I have completed 5 full no cheats whole30s and have done at least the quick re-intro each time. For me, it took a few years to really feel comfortable without my training wheels so to speak. I was eating mostly okay between rounds but in the back of my head I always knew if I got too far off track I could just do another whole30 and feel great again!

I haven't done an honest to god whole30 in over a year and I am really trying not to fall back into using the program as my crutch. If I have a weekend where I've eaten a lot of less healthy foods, usually going back to whole30 rules for a few days is enough to bring me back to my happy place. I struggle a lot with the "Is it worth it" question because a lot of times my brain says YES! If I get a craving, I have a few tricks that work for me to get past it and usually once I wait a little while it subsides. If it's two days later and I still want the ice cream, I'll have some and move on.

Food Freedom is hard and looks different for everyone. It's really just about doing what works best for you and not getting bogged down by thinking of food as moral (good or bad) or yourself as immoral for eating less healthy for you food (Oh, I was so bad today I had ice cream). Good luck!!!

[emilyelowe]

Sorry @SugarcubeOD - I realized after I posted that it probably fit better in the other Forum topic and didn't know what to do.

@racheleats Do you mind sharing some of your tricks? Particularly at work (if you work in an office or other group setting)? Thanks!

[MeadowLily]

On 2/22/2017 at 10:57 AM, emilyelowe said:

Do the cravings ever stop?

Reasonable restriction means staying away from trigger foods. There are triggers and Big Kahuna triggers. My food stability is without any triggers at all. The longer I stay away from "BK" foods the less I deal with cravings.

Over-restriction forces myself to deal with chronic hunger over too long a period of time. Over-restriction is a trigger for more cravings and binge eating. "OR" causes massive cravings for everything. "OR" is self-inflicted starving.

Reasonable restriction and avoiding BK foods vs. "OR" are worlds apart for me.

People who think they can gut out a super low calorie or very food restricted plan in an effort to lose weight quickly -learn very little about food issues and dealing with cravings. 

Go very slowly without over-restriction. Bodies and minds need gradual changes. Otherwise, sheer mental/emotional and physical hunger is so overwhelming that you cannot get back in the groove and stay there. 

 

[SRV]

I always take sliced carrots, celery, apples, cucumbers, to work so I am always prepared.  It is better to have a veggie snack then a butterfinger.

[Gramma Susie]

This may not be even close to helpful, but what about a jar of almond butter in your desk to put on an apple?  Or a handful of cashews eaten one at a time?  I know it's not sugary sweet like a candy bar but maybe if you plan for it every day at a certain time and have it to look forward to, it could fill some of the craving crevices. 

[MeadowLily]

I don't want to rain on snack parades but planned cheat meals and planned snacks, every single day will not satisfy cravings for what you really want. There will be a food reckoning with relapse. Massive cravings for the real thing happens.

SWYPO's = food imposters. Compliant and yet they don't satisfy for long.  

Emily, you say you want to kill the sugar dragon. You have to starve the sugar dragon out. It's serious business and it will take true grit.   

I stopped snacking 3 years ago.

The brain is hardwired. It's going to take more than 30 days to starve the sugar dragon out. If you throw the dragon something every 2 hours, that's a myth that it fixes the blood sugar or will take the edge off.

There aren't enough SWYPO's or food imposters or compliant snacks in the entire world that will ever fill up the holes. The hardwired brain is bent on getting what it really wants. At all costs.     

[racheleats]

On ‎2‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 3:04 PM, emilyelowe said:

Sorry @SugarcubeOD - I realized after I posted that it probably fit better in the other Forum topic and didn't know what to do.

@racheleats Do you mind sharing some of your tricks? Particularly at work (if you work in an office or other group setting)? Thanks!

Meal prepping is HUGE for me! Also, I always grocery shop like I am whole30ing even though I am not.

If you don't mind eating repeat meals throughout the week that will help too. For example I make a big egg casserole (dozen eggs, spinach and sausage) on sunday and portion out for breakfasts throughout the week. I've been pairing that with raw veggies and guac for my breakfasts. At work, we have an awesome salad bar that I take advantage of and bring my own chicken and salad dressing. I have a drawer with some snacks in it in case I am hungry between meals and I drink A TON of water throughout the day. Luckily everyone in my office knows about my "crazy diet" (lol) and are all really supportive of me so if I decline a cookie/chocolate they don't think it's weird!

[RabbitFood]

So back to the question "do the cravings ever go away?"

I would love to know.  Unlike @emilyelowe, I typically graze on candy and chocolate all day in the office.  My Whole30 NSV would be to not. 

Will I ever make it through the day without thinking about grazing on a bag of chocolate chips?  Will I ever write a report without wanting a bag of candy corn in front of me?

[SugarcubeOD]

19 minutes ago, RabbitFood said:

So back to the question "do the cravings ever go away?"

I would love to know.  Unlike @emilyelowe, I typically graze on candy and chocolate all day in the office.  My Whole30 NSV would be to not. 

Will I ever make it through the day without thinking about grazing on a bag of chocolate chips?  Will I ever write a report without wanting a bag of candy corn in front of me?

Maybe.. maybe not... cravings are individual to the person, their own stress level, sleep level personal context.  I often want a cupcake... Not enough to drive out and get one and probably not even enough to eat one if it was presented to me outside of these moments of craving but I still think about them... 

You will write a report without candy corn because as you go, you realize that candy corn makes you feel lethargic and kind of gross... and your mental stamina is better without. Does that mean you won't want them?  maybe... maybe not... but part of cravings is managing them...