New here - will cravings ever stop?

[Alexandra]

Hi 

I am new here and seeking support. I am not a native speaker so pls apologise for any mistake. I am a 43 yr old female from Europe and trying to improve my mental health. 
I went keto about six weeks ago. I eat almost carnivore. I went completey carnivore about a week ago - not even dairy or veggies. I am having some coffee though. 
I still experience these massive cravings. I can have as much fat as I want, it won‘t stop. I also take electrolytes and drink enough water. 

My work day is quite stressful - not sure if it has to do with that.

Will it ever stop? I mean, I can cope with it for some time, but I can‘t live like that forever. It is pure torture.

Does anyone have had a similar experience?

for Information: I am at a normal weight - not losing or gaining.

cheers,

Alex

 

[Geezy]

Alex, welcome to the group. 
Yes the cravings in the beginning can be quite normal. Your body has not become fat adapted yet and your body may be crying out for carbs. It wants that glucose for energy. It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to get past the addiction of craving carbs. 
In the meantime eat as much as you feel you need to in order to satisfy your cravings but just make sure it’s fatty meat. When I first started I kept a pound of bacon already cooked up in the refrigerator so I could grab a quick bite when I needed to. I kept hard boiled eggs on hand as well as hamburger patties. If you can find some clean jerky or meat sticks or biltong that would help. 
Give it some time and stay committed to getting past this stage. Having the right attitude will do more for you than anything. 

[Alexandra]

1 minute ago, Geezy said:

Alex, welcome to the group. 
Yes the cravings in the beginning can be quite normal. Your body has not become fat adapted yet and your body may be crying out for carbs. It wants that glucose for energy. It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to get past the addiction of craving carbs. 
In the meantime eat as much as you feel you need to in order to satisfy your cravings but just make sure it’s fatty meat. When I first started I kept a pound of bacon already cooked up in the refrigerator so I could grab a quick bite when I needed to. I kept hard boiled eggs on hand as well as hamburger patties. If you can find some clean jerky or meat sticks or biltong that would help. 
Give it some time and stay committed to getting past this stage. Having the right attitude will do more for you than anything. 

Thanks for answering. Not sure if I made myself clear: I started six weeks ago having almost only meat. So it is more than a month now. Out of desperation I now have cut out dairy and that little bit of veggies, to get over the cravings. It didn‘t improve…

That is why I wanted to know whether there are ppl where it simply took a bit longer to overcome these massive cravings…

Thanks

Alex

[Scott F.]

Geezy is spot on, he has become my 'go to'. LOL

I think the biggest thing is the carnivore diet is about eliminating things from your diet, maybe even moreso, than what you are eating now. 

I would think you need more than a month of adjustment, most do. I started on May 8th, but I had just bought a 12 pack of Mountain Dew and a tub of ice cream. I could not force myself to toss it out so my first week of Carnivore was far from Carnivore. Maybe I actually started around the 15th or so. 

I didn't really have any cravings as I had a really high protein and high fat content but I did start off with great hydration nor electrolytes. I didn't read the directions.

I think what stopped my cravings was I have never been big on drinking water. I used the flavored packets. They were advertised as Zero Sugar but the artificial flavorings had to have had some sugar. Maybe that weaned me to where I am now just drinking water. Not sure.

I would say you are on the right path and maybe you (as an individual need five weeks or six weeks or whatever).

Good luck. Stop by. I'm a big fan of other people's experiences. 

 

Scott

[Geezy]

5 hours ago, Alexandra said:

Not sure if I made myself clear: I started six weeks ago having almost only meat. So it is more than a month now. Out of desperation I now have cut out dairy and that little bit of veggies, to get over the cravings.

You were clear but what you weren’t completely carnivore. You said you’ve only been carb free for a week. 
Because you were still eat some veg and dairy you were still taking in carbs. So it may take a little more time to drop those cravings because of that. 
I was struggling with cravings myself even after a year because I was eating too much dairy. Dairy contains lactose and that is a sugar. It can be highly addictive especially for someone who is carb free because that may be the only sugars that their body is getting and that can exasperate the cravings. It took me two months before I could say that I had kicked the dairy habit and I stayed away from it until I reached my maintenance stage. I will eat dairy now but in limited quantities only. I’ve learned how to control it. 
Just eat plenty of animal fats, animal protein, salt and drink only water and take some vitamin P (patience) and give it more time. 
This is a lifestyle commitment, a journey of healing not a race. I think you’ll be fine with time. 

[Scott F.]

I need to buy some of that Vitamin P. 

LOL

Scott

[Orweller]

Welcome to the forums. You'll stop cravings when enough time has passed, a lifetime of carbs, it will take a while, depending on how much carbs you ate. Easpecially for vegans it can be tough. Another reason is; you may have to find the right amount of fat and protein, or rather, the ratio. Even 7 months in I had cravings to eat, and found I was eating too much fat and too little protein, or the other way around. 
 

I apologies if I have missed it, are your cravings for carbs? or for food in general. I am assuming carbs. I'd like to wish you good luck and your English is better than mine. 

The most important thing is to keep truckin', yes the cravings will eventually go away. 

[Meathead]

Welcome Aboard Alex. 

This journey is unique for everyone.  What works for me may/not work for others.  Electrolytes, fatty meat or eat chunks of suet (beef,lamb fat) which is your energy. Don't worry about weight loss, worry about healing yourself 1st. The body will prioritize healing over burning fat 

Links in my signature for more information. 

Good luck on your journey. 

[Bob]

So for reference, back at the beginning, any small amount of carbs in the form of sugar (milk, processed food, fruit) would make me crave more. I didn't have this problem with keto-friendly vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts, etc. I started with keto and then transitioned into carnivore in May 2023. In October, my wife baked pumpkin bread and wanted me to just "taste" it to see what I thought (it was my mom's recipe). She knew I wouldn't have a whole slice, but I agreed to just one bite. I hadn't had sugar or grain in 5 months. 

After taking a bite, something came over me that I never felt before. I can only imagine it is the same feeling that a crack/heroin addict feels, because all of a sudden I was STARVING, CRAVING, and JONESING for MORE. I did not give in, but I went downstairs and at a bunch of meat and cheese trying to calm the appetite. It was unreal, surreal feeling. It was addiction. I still had it even being 5 months off the carbs.

Today, I am over the addiction. I don't have this reaction anymore whenever I have just a "taste" of something.

So the moral of the story is, yes, it takes time. But in time, you will conquer and rise above those cravings from your former life.

[Alexandra]

Thanks to all your kind words. Meanwhile I feel better. Not 100% where I hope to be but much better.

Sometimes I feel like being kind of „high“ - don‘t know. It somewhat scares me and I quite like it at the same time. Weird.

Cheers!

[Scott F.]

I started in May of this year and never really had serious cravings.

Fast forward to today and I stopped by my Mom's house. She was making/had made Christmas candy. My all-time personal favorite is the homemade Reese' Cup balls. I can remember eating them by the bucket. 

Today they smelled good, but I didn't really have an urge or craving for them. However, I did think about eating one just to see if it still tasted like I remember. I passed. I'm not sure if it would have had addiction type affects or not, but it didn't reach out to me. 

I'm not sure where that lands me on the cravings-addiction scale. 

Scott

[Geezy]

2 hours ago, Scott F. said:

I started in May of this year and never really had serious cravings.

Fast forward to today and I stopped by my Mom's house. She was making/had made Christmas candy. My all-time personal favorite is the homemade Reese' Cup balls. I can remember eating them by the bucket. 

Today they smelled good, but I didn't really have an urge or craving for them. However, I did think about eating one just to see if it still tasted like I remember. I passed. I'm not sure if it would have had addiction type affects or not, but it didn't reach out to me. 

I'm not sure where that lands me on the cravings-addiction scale. 

Scott

Scott you have reached what I would call nirvana of carnivore. The things that you used to love no longer appeal to you. That’s called freedom. 

[Scott F.]

I guess that is not a bad place to be. LOL

My wife is struggling a bit, and my son is doing better, but I'm not sure he will abstain thru the Holidays. I'm hoping and being supportive, time will tell.

I think an advantage going in was I have always been really boring when it comes to eating. I could eat a Bologna sandwich every day and never complain, nor get tired of it. If you were to say bologna every day with a PB&J on Sunday, I would have been on top of the world. 

Granted, I ate a dumpster diet, and for the most part I ate too much each time I ate from that dumpster (~320lbs), it didn't really matter what I ate.

Fast forward to now. I'm still boring in my approach but the target foods are now much cleaner.

Maybe that makes sense.

Scott

[Geezy]

5 minutes ago, Scott F. said:

My wife is struggling a bit, and my son is doing better, but I'm not sure he will abstain thru the Holidays. I'm hoping and being supportive, time will tell.

Unfortunately people tend to have an emotional attachment to certain foods. The addiction can be both physical and mental. Being supportive is the best strategy and being a good example as well. 

[Scott F.]

I didn't mean to take your post off topic.

My wife just started about 10 days ago. She dropped 6lbs the first week and her first week went really well. 

The start of the 2nd week has been filled with cravings. She says it feels weird because it is not 'I'm hungry and I and craving this or that. It is more like I am just thinking about what I would have been eating around this time of the day".

The more I read other people's experiences I think I have been a bit lucky with cravings.

 

Scott

 

[Orweller]

I think cravings really depend on how you ate previously, before heading into a carnivore type diet. I was also just fine with a peanut butter sandwich everyday.