Just curious about realistic expectations. I’m in a decent shape, but want to get back to a great shape although as I got older career took over the routine. I’m trying to get some realistic goals and as part of it want to know is there a suffer through it period let’s say for lack of sugar? What should I expect as I cut it out
Definitely goes away. I eat some stuff now and then but once went 6 years without any processed sugars. First time i had a chocolate after that it gave me a headache.
But yes the cravings go away and far less sweet things that are healthier start to taste better and take their place really.
I’ve lost a lot of weight, over 100 pounds. In my experience doing that, the path to success is to aim to manage cravings rather than eliminate them. You want to plan out the diet so you can satisfy your cravings responsibly. For something like sugar that may mean just eating smaller portions or acquiring a taste for artificial sweeteners (I’ve heavily used them for so long I prefer them over sugar) or switching to fruit or whatever works for you.
I’ve also given up meat for over ten years and generally only crave weird shit like Scrapple for some reason so elimination is also possible, I just think it’s harder.
Healthy balanced diet of all macros is best way to control cravings. Keep protein intake to .7 to 1g/lb of bodyweight to keep satiated. I think we all have a craving at some point. The psychological side is more challenging. If you need to have a few M&M’s have them. Just don’t eat 3 packs a day.
In my opinion you should never have cravings. That indicates your body is missing something it needs. So listen to it and incorporate more of that into your daily diet.
Just wanting to eat and cravings are not the same thing. The just wanting to eat, that you need to practice mindfulness to get out of.
Mine have definitely subsided. I used to be able to eat a Krispy Kreme donut, now they’re so sweet I take a bite and wash it down with a gallon of milk. Now when my sweet tooth hits I drink sugar free powerade and that’s sometimes too sweet, I’ll let the ice melt to water it down
For me, it subsided massively. I used to eat a lot of junk food and drink sugary drinks and a couple of years ago I wanted to change that.
At first cravings were intense but eventually the healthy diet because the norm, and now I don’t get them at all. One mental trick I did is to remind myself that no food is off limits, but rather I choose not to eat it because it’s not healthy.
Not all cravings are bad, often times it’s your body informing you that you’re not getting enough of something in your diet. Then there’s bad cravings, where you’re wanting to eat or drink something for some other reason, such as comfort or out of habit. I usually am able to differentiate between the two pretty easily…..good cravings, for me anyways, are more along the line of I want something salty or sweet(I’m not concerned with what I satiate that craving with), whereas bad cravings, again - for me, are more of a specific nature, like wanting something like potato chips or a candy bar.