Carbs are delicious.
The smell of freshly baked bread, pizza or a nice toasted bagel is enough for anyone to forget about their diet. Pastas, brownies, cookies – there’s a lot to love about carbs.
But carbs will cause you to fall out of ketosis and can stall all of your progress.
If you’re craving carbs, you’re not alone. Everyone has carb cravings, especially when a person is just starting the keto lifestyle.
Stopping these cravings is the key to keto success.
How can you stop craving carbs?
1. Eat More Often
Your body may be struggling to keep blood sugar levels under control. When your blood sugar falls, it will lead to:
- Hunger
- Cravings
Going too long between eating is often the reason for carb cravings. Try maintaining a diet of three meals and two snacks per day to keep blood sugar levels under control.
2. Give It Time
Are you still in your first two weeks of dieting?
If so, you’re going to go through a lot of cravings as your blood sugar spikes and drops while trying to adapt to burning fat instead of carbs for energy. When your body has adjusted, the cravings will subside.
Most people’s bodies will adjust within two to three weeks, which will help alleviate many of the cravings you experience early on in the diet.
3. Drink Water
Drinking water is key to keeping cravings and hunger under control. If you find yourself feeling hungry, drink a cup or two of water. You should be drinking eight cups of water per day to help stay hydrated and also help food move through the body with greater ease.
4. Leave the House
Seriously. When you have cravings, it may be because you’re bored. One trick is to get up and move around. Go for a walk outside, or take your dog to the park to get your mind off of the cravings.
It will take a lot of effort to overcome your cravings.
Changing your surroundings and just taking your mind off of your cravings can help you overcome them until your next snack or meal.
5. Pair Fruits with Fats
Fruit has natural sugars, and it may seem like a great snack that fits into your daily carb limit.
But a lot of people start to notice that their carb cravings are shot into overdrive when they have fruit. Fruit can cause blood sugar spikes and cravings.
Combine fruits with healthy nuts to help alleviate blood sugar spikes. You can choose berries and nuts, or some other form of a healthy fat that will add some balance to your snack routine. You can also try adjusting the types of carbs you eat. Consuming slow releasing carbs, for example, won’t cause the blood sugar spike that cookies or candies will cause.
Studies show that when you start to consume fewer carbohydrates, you’ll eventually start craving carbs less often. The period until the cravings subside is hard to reach, but the tips above can help you stay on track with your carb restriction.