Maybe try OMAD?
I’m only 2 weeks into OMAD but I’m really surprised by how my cravings for sugar and carbs have completely gone away. On my first week I allowed myself to eat sweets after dinner, but since I didn’t really crave it anymore, I only ate 90% dark chocolate or fruits on the second week. I’m hoping to cut out added sugar completely through reducing it little by little.
I recommend a book called The Craving Mind by Judson Brewer. It’s a really good read to understand the science behind cravings and how to break the reward-based loop that causes them. The short answer is meditation. When you’re in a meditative state the part of your brain that is associated with operant conditioning (reward-based learning) actually shuts down.
I think the beginning is the hardest. You just need to go over that big hurdle. I recommend getting an audiobook or two, start listening, and you may find the motivation you need. Audiobooks work like pep talks to me 😄.
I love carbs and had cravings, so it was definitely a change for me, too, but it’s doable. You’ve done it before!
I personally don’t pay attention to carbs and just fast. 18:6 for five days a week. Fasting helped me naturally become full faster so I eat less in general. I have a sweet tooth so I still have candy just in smaller portion sizes. I buy skinny pop kettle corn in small bags, mini Hershey chocolate (6 equals like one candy bar), hard candy like jolly rancher’s. It tricks my mind into thinking I ate more than I did. I don’t feel deprived and I still eat less than before.
How is your fasting insulin levels? I developed metabolic syndrome with fatty liver & craved carbs, sugar & gained fat on calorie restriction even fasting until I got the insulin levels down. I have been seeing studies showing that even children in the West are now coming down with fatty liver, insulin resistance & metabolic syndrome at early age. Set us up for CoVid complications & early death.