So...when do the cravings ease up? Vent

[Pandora Black]

It’s day 2 and all I can think about is sugar and carbs. I don’t feel like I could eat any more, but sugar/simple carbs ALWAYS sound good to me.

I read in the whole 30 book that “this is not hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Birthing a child is hard” I’m sure y’all know the rest. Lies! I’m a mother of three (had a natural childbirth, even) and I have detoxed from oxy  contin/opioids after seven years of chronic use. So sure I’ve done some hard things.

But whoever wrote that line? Probably has never been fat. I’m sorry but this is hard as hell. I’d rank it right up there with the other “hard” things I’ve done. And it’s only been two days!

I’ll admit I’m NOT a fan of tough love so maybe that’s it but like...this is hard. Very.

I certainly hope it gets easier.

 

[Pandora Black]

Oh also my carb flu sugar detox whatever the f is going on is like really terrible! I thought the book was exaggerating. They were not.

i feel like I have the flu, not kidding. And my head is killing me. I was a habitual soda drinker 3-5 a day every day. I read that the level of suck you experience during this phase is directly proportional to how many junk foods you ate. I believe it, absolutely. 

[laura_juggles]

So, it's Day 2...if you're coming off drinking a fair bit of soda or eating a typical American diet, it's going to hit you hard. 

Make sure you're eating enough. The headaches may also be from missing the caffeine from the sodas, so if you don't usually drink coffee or caffeinated teas, you may want to give that a try to see if it helps with the headache. 

You can do it. 

[Jihanna]

The cravings are going to be very personal, and as such there's no one simple answer for when they'll subside. For me, it was very much a psychological thing. I figuratively sat down with myself and gave myself the hard truth -- what my body was asking for not helping it, it was hurting; in some cases, what it wanted was basically poison to me, due to several known allergies; that the hill is steep (oh goodness, was it!) but that the other side would be much easier to traverse, if I could just... make it... over... the top.

I was dealing with sugar detox, dehydration, and my period starting, all on day 2. It was beautiful, in the most horrific way possible, and it forced me to take medication for both nausea and the massive headache that kept plaguing me... but it was worth it. It was less difficult to give up my soda habit (1-2 liters daily) than I thought it would be, but going through the sugar withdrawals definitely sucked, and I agree that it's way worse than natural childbirth (been there, done that, preferred it compared to an epidural, no lie), but YOU CAN DO THIS and you will be so much stronger and healthier on the other side of this hurdle.

Embracing the psychological side of Whole30 is something I will always suggest. Doing this not only got me through my W30 experience, it also made it more worthwhile because I came out of this having discovered important things about the physical effects certain foods have on me but I also learned a lot about why I craved certain foods, why I turned to food in certain situations, and just how deep this whole love/hate relationship with food has been for nearly my entire life.

I'm so sorry you're suffering, but from my own experience I will say that it does get so much better.

[Pandora Black]

Thanks, both of you. The headache is still bothering me and yes I did try more caffeine which shockingly didn’t help. I’m definitely eating enough, I’m certain that’s not the problem. 

I definitely think all the bread and vegan treats I was eating is contributing to this phase. I ate a lot of sugar and simple carbs! And definitely I’m an emotional eater. Figuring out if I’m actually hungry or experiencing a craving has been an adventure so far.

[Pandora Black]

Day 4 and I’m feeling much better. And I don’t want to kill all the things at all. Yet.

[Pandora Black]

Although I’m still craving Starbucks.

[EmilyK]

My first two rounds I felt markedly better physically by about day 4 or 5. It took about another week or ten days to really feel like I was in control of my brain as far as cravings go.

Two things that helped me: making sure I got enough fat at every meal (when in doubt, toss half an avocado on it!), and making sure I had a really solid breakfast that did not include any fruit.  Any time my breakfast was not optimum, I was battling cravings all day.

Good luck--you've got this!

[EmilyK]

On 5/4/2019 at 8:07 PM, Pandora Black said:

Although I’m still craving Starbucks.

Also, there are some compliant things at Starbucks...my 10 year old daughter and I get Starbucks and get our nails done a couple of times a month, it's one of our Things. And I've found that the Iced Passion Tango tea (unsweetened) is a decent substitute.  It's got a nice tangy kick to it and it's very refreshing now that the weather is starting to warm up again. 

[Jihanna]

If tea is your thing, fruit teas are definitely worth looking at. I like tea anyway, but fruity tea is part of how I conquered sugar and got to a point where Coke wasn't my master. Kroger has a nice Elderberry blend, and Celestial Seasonings has an array of compliant flavors. Be sure to check the ingredients, as always, but I found that the fruit tea sampler box worked well for me. Sometimes I'd drink just the fruit tea by itself, sometimes I'd toss a bag of fruity stuff in with black tea. I found them to be quite good warm or with ice.

If coffee is more your speed, you can try add-ins to help flavor it without sugar. I had (somehow) gotten down to black coffee before my W30 started, but during it I read about how some people put cinnamon powder in with the coffee grounds before brewing... so I tried it, and was pleasantly surprised by how much of a difference it made. Even now, I still put cinnamon in mine every morning that I brew it.

I agree with not having fruit, as much as possible, at least until those cravings are under control. I found that I did much better on days when I hadn't had any fruit at all than I did on days when I'd included fruit at any time of the day. What happened, too, is that other food started tasting sweeter (hello, roasted sweet potatoes or butternut, oh em gee)... and when I did finally start adding fruit into meals, the fruit tasted so much sweeter than I remembered it being, even for things that normally struck me as more tart than sweet prior to doing my little fruit-fast.

[EmilyK]

15 minutes ago, Jihanna said:

I agree with not having fruit, as much as possible, at least until those cravings are under control. I found that I did much better on days when I hadn't had any fruit at all than I did on days when I'd included fruit at any time of the day. 

 

I'm on day 15 of my third round (but my first one since 2015!) and this time has been so much smoother in the cravings department--and this time, I didn't include any fruit for the first 12 days because I was worried it would keep the sugar dragon around.  And I've had one tangerine and a couple of strawberries in the past few days and haven't noticed any ill effects, but I also had a few meals where I intended to eat some fruit and after I ate all the rest of my meal, I didn't really want it anymore.

@Pandora Black, if you're still having craving issues, see what happens if you cut fruit out entirely for a little while.  That, along with getting enough fat, should hopefully help you curb a lot of them.

[Pandora Black]

I agree about cutting out fruit. I wasn’t eating much (1 serving/day) but it does seem to make the cravings WORSE! I’m going to try that and see how it goes. Also apparently I need to increase my plated fat and vegetables.

 

[RandiW]

Kicking the sugar habit is hard! Just as hard as other addictions (speaking from personal experience too!). Sounds like you're over the hump, but knowing it's gonna suck helped me. Telling myself I've been through hard shit and just keep putting one stupid foot in front of the other and that it WILL get better helped some. It didn't stop me wanting to eat sugar, candy, pastries, chocolate, etc. But I'm stubborn and I just kept eating my template and a week later it was easier. Every day got easier. The longer I was away from sugar, the less I wanted it. Hope you're feeling better, @Pandora Black