How do you stay on track when cravings hit?
, medical content by Bitten Jonsson, RN
in Addiction, Q&A, Sugar/fructose, Weight loss 
How do you stay on track when cravings hit? Is it harder to lose weight after pregnancy? And can you break your sugar addiction without a keto diet?
These questions are answered this week by our food-addiction expert, Bitten Jonsson, RN:
How do I stay on track when cravings hit?
Dear Bitten,
You have been a true inspiration, and your videos on going through a sugar detox have been so motivating. They have helped me a lot and the tips are very effective.
However, this last week, I’ve had more cravings for fruits and potatoes. I’m very worried that this can be the start of a relapse. I’ve been on a sugar detox for the last 51 days and would love to continue. Would appreciate your tips on how to stay on track.
Many thanks!
Rosherman
Dear Rosherman,
I’m grateful to hear that my knowledge and experience is of help to you. And I know very well that we all have periods of more cravings and it feels tough to stray on track. Sometimes it’s just being bored with our food plan and our addictive illness wants us to have our ‘drug’ back. This happens to all of us.
First, I give you one of my favorite tools. Take it one day at a time. Make a commitment every morning to stick to your food plan just for today. That takes some of the pressure off.
Then we need many more tools to deal with our sugar addiction and life in general. I advise you to read an old but great book called Staying Sober by the late Terence T Gorski. That book has helped me more than any other book. Just switch out the word alcohol for ‘sugar’.
Look over if there are any risk situations. Usually, they’re stress factors, but don’t have to be. Sometimes cravings come out of the blue.
We also need support from others who are on the same journey as we are. It’s very important to have some people to talk to and ask, “If this were your problem, what would you do?” Listen to the answers you get. The cravings can fog our brain, it can be like a dull pain attack where we don’t see the most obvious solution ourselves. If you need, I have several professionals in my team that can help you get over this hurdle. Just send an email to bitten.jonsson@bittensaddiction.com and I’ll answer. I like to send you a huge congratulation to 51 days off sugar.
Warm regards,
Bitten
Is it harder to lose weight after pregnancy?
Hi there,
I’ve been successful on keto and lost 88 pounds (40 kilos) in one year prior to my pregnancy. But I went off keto during my pregnancy and gained all the lost weight back. Now I’m six and a half months postpartum, and I’ve been on keto (with a couple of cheat days) in the last three to four months and I cannot lose weight.
I do 16:8 intermittent fasting. I do everything the same way as I did prior to my pregnancy, but somehow it doesn’t work this time. Does pregnancy change things in a way that stops keto from working? I obviously sleep less and I’m more stressed, but I don’t breastfeed anymore.
Kamilla
Kamilla,
Yes, pregnancy does change a lot of things. Our female bodies are amazing in that we can become pregnant and give birth. But if you’re a sugar addict (it sounds like you are) who’s relapsed during pregnancy, it will be much tougher to get your body back in shape. It will take time.
My advice is to contact one of my specially trained counselors to help you. There is a lot of information you need to get back on track. Email me, bitten.jonsson@bittensaddiction.com, and I will get you in touch with one.
Warm regards,
Bitten
Can I break my sugar addiction without keto?
I’ve done the keto diet three times before, for two, four, and seven days respectively. I always end up with heart palpitations and weakness, and it feels like eating so few carbs doesn’t work for my body. Can I heal my sugar addiction without doing keto? And how would I do that?
Tina
Dear Tina,
When you’re dealing with sugar addiction, it can be very tough for your sensitive body and brain to go from high carb to keto, and consequently, you experience many withdrawal symptoms (listed below).
My experience is that keto is the best food plan for us in the long run, we just need to adapt slowly. I recommend my clients to learn about the addicted brain and Food Junkies by Dr. Vera Tarman is a great book to start. Knowledge is power.
Detoxing can be very tough and you need to be kind to yourself. I recommend you start with a liberal low-carb diet and that you do that until you feel stable.
Then, gradually lower the carbs. For us sugar addicts, it’s often important to stay away from all dairy products except for butter and ghee. When this way of eating feels stable you can slowly proceed to a keto diet.
Don’t forget to give yourself time and patience. Many of us are too harsh on our bodies, and we forget that it took a long time to become sick and that it will take some time to become healthy again.
It’s also very important for us sugar addicts to know that changing what we’re eating is only the first step. We need many new tools in order to change and maintain our new lifestyle.
Relapse prevention is one of the most important tools for us to learn. We also need the support of likeminded people who understand what it’s like to suffer from sugar addiction. So please join our group on Facebook. And we have many very skilled counselors worldwide today that you might want to contact.
Live softly,
Bitten
Withdrawal symptoms
Feeling restless and wired, headaches, migraines, nauseousness, irritability, nervousness, anxiety, confusion, concentration problems, joint aches, edema, muscle pain, constipation, diarrhea, perspiration, weakness, shivers, euphoria, depression, exhaustion, having a runny nose, vomiting, sleep disturbances, dizziness, hopefulness, itching, etc.
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