Carb addiction

Advice from our low carb programme participants

Colne Valley Low Carb Support Group

Start off with awareness and kind acceptance of yourself

“The fact that you have ‘come out’ and want to change is a huge start.”

“It’s hard with life’s buffering and stuff. But we can do it with the right mindset. Don’t beat yourself up about it though because that’s not good.”

“ … be kind to yourself and don’t beat yourself if you do eat things that are not good for you.”

“ … be kind to yourself and don’t beat yourself if you do eat things that are not good for you.”

“ … it’s about learning to love / like accept yourself …. you can weave a very intricate web around yourself with food in an attempt to make yourself feel ok, even when you know that in the end that isn’t the answer. It’s like eating to fill the empty space inside you, that’s nothing about feeling hungry!”

“Love yourself and just do what you need to do to change your life. … Whatever you do I wish you the very best of luck! Today is the first day of the rest of your amazing life!”

Do your research and then plan

“Sugar and ultra-processed foods are addictive, so it’s not surprising that we have difficulty giving them up. I recommend reading Gary Taubes book ‘The case against sugar’….”

“Dr Robert Cywes on YouTube has a lot of strategies for carb addiction.”

“Have a look at this “Moderation is a Fariytale” page from Dr Tro’s Medical Weight Loss website”

Go ‘cold turkey’ on sugar

“I went cold turkey on sugar but was probably helped by the fact that I have had IBS for years so I already had the mindset that there were foods that were fine for other people but were poison for me, so mentally I put sugar in the same category as IBS trigger foods and that worked for me.”

Reflect on your use of artificial sweeteners – are they helping or hindering?

“If you can manage to give up sugar without substituting with sweeteners, you should find that your taste buds change and the old sweet foods become too sweet.”

Some people find lower carb snacks or ‘treats’ helpful

“I have been going with the hot drink option”

“I nibble nuts, apples, oranges”

“… pork scratchings”

“Maybe have goals and plan a treat every now and then. Bake some cookies with carb free flours etc.”

“ … having a batch of soup in the fridge is a great go to for a nice hot bowl of deliciousness.”

“Soup and a stash of hard-boiled eggs are usually a good standby for me.”

“I have Lindt 90% dark chocolate and I used to make a lot of treats of keto chocolate mousse (egg white, cream, 85% chocolate) or fruit fool (cream plus defrosted frozen raspberries or stewed gooseberries). In summer, ice lollies made of full fat yoghurt with berries are a great treat.”

Non-food rewards and distractions 

“I decided to put a pound in a jar every day I don’t overeat or eat sugary treats, my downfall! Then I will donate the money at the end of each month to the food bank.”

“Walking my new puppy.”

Having a ‘cut off’ rule of when to stop eating 

“ …. my cut off in the evening is 7 to 8pm”

Identifying and dealing with ‘trigger’ situations

“I would be embarrassed to tell you what I used to buy from BP … on long journeys (without a plan)”

“ … imagine his belly growing bigger and bigger 'so' he’ll soon go pop” (someone eating carbs next to you!)

Ask family members for support

“Could your partner … go without 'your' danger foods for a bit.”

“I’m lucky that my wife is also taking part in the plan so temptation is largely removed from home.”

Get some outside support

“If you need outside help then get it.”