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Ok, so I'm not sure exactly what I need other than relief from compulsive eating of fatty foods that I crave: especially coconut butter (or anything coconut actually other than the oil) and cheese/full fat dairy. Now I do a good job of eliminating dairy but I get these intense cravings for full-fat heavy cream and cheeses and then find myself eating cream cheese that is at work or straight butter. Or more likely, I go around NOT eating the cheese but trying to satisfy my cravings by shoveling coconut butter and fatty meats down like extra bacon or uncured grass fed beef sausage.

I have been paleo for 3 years obviously struggling with the no dairy part even knowing how addictive it is chemically. Cheese is my only cheat- let's put it that way. I have had no sugar of any kind for over a year- "natural" or otherwise with very rare stevia additions. I do not crave grains or carbs and am VLC right now- usually below 30g/day. I am trying to lose last 10# and this cycle is obviously not helping...

Does anyone else have this issue? Cravings are not new for me- I just started a deep VLC diet as was doing a "faileo" low fat, low carb, high protein paleo before so is it just adjustment? Should i eliminate the coconut butter, ghee, and butter? Any advice at all would help- or even just some commiserating?

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It sounds like you needed to add more fat sources, and coconut butter and ghee are great options- and a lot of people do eat butter if they can tolerate it. If you can tolerate these things well and are achieving your health goals, I see no reason to eliminate these things you enjoy :) – Jen May 5 2012 at 18:34

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JASmith, I used to get milk & cream cravings when I cut weight for fights. Always thought it was because of the sugar & fat mix. I eventually read somewhere how milks electrolytes are in an ideal ratio.

So I included mineral water & lightly salted my food. Which did the trick for me. You can give that a try but it seems to me you're craving salty foods (bacon, cheese, sausage)

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I used to have ice-cream and cream cravings. I also had 100% chocolate cravings, as well as sugar cravings. Now, after my herbal experience, I do not have them anymore.

I do not think you should eliminate them. If your body tolerates them well, why give them up? Just limit them (if you can).

But something to consider - I am not a professional doctor of any sort, just talking from my experience - I realize now that all the fat cravings came from my liver. It was deficient of some essential nutrients or needed a stimulant. Do all the foods you crave have the same nutrient in them? You body might crave something it is missing. Try eating choline rich foods for a while. My guess is you need more choline.

If that does not help, seek a certified herbal doctor/nutritionist's advice.

Once my liver got what it wanted from herbal remedies all cravings (and I had them for the last 20 years) have stopped cold turkey on their own.

Good luck!

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I am trying to figure out what I could be deficient in that might cause this- usually I blame it on too much excercise and trying to keep in a deficit. I do eat eggs quite frequently. I also do not have sugar cravings...it literally seems to be the fatty dairy products like cheese, butter, and cream. The thing is is that I do not tolerate casein well- I seem to get rashes from it although not from lactose. – JASmith May 5 2012 at 10:47
OMG - me too! I always get rashes from milk products! They make me itch like hell! Anyway, I think your body is craving something and I am 100% sure it is NOT CASEIN. Try different things 1. have only protein for breakfast. 2. Have 9 cups of veggies per day (Terry Wahls style) 3. Try to drink some things for your liver - like dandelion root tea 4. Try DGL (look it up on Google) 5. Try things others suggest. If nothing helps, talk to a good nutritionist. Find out what it is, because it is not normal. – VB May 5 2012 at 15:13
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Are you supplementing properly? Almost everyone could benefit from supplementation, but on VLC the deficiencies show up sooner and my hubby and I had to do the following ...

http://paleohacks.com/questions/111743/what-supplementation-foods-have-you-dramatically-changed-when-shifting-from-highe#axzz1u0dt43JC

Do you have a proven casein and/or lactose allergy or response? If so what is it?

Can you 30 days dairy-free Paleo?

Do you consume butter and/or ghee?

Good luck!

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I take a ton of supplements (probiotic, vit D, fish oil, Ubiquinol, herbs, black currant seed, vit c, and B vitamins- although no multi currently. I have done 30 days DF Paleo and longer and I notice I have a tolerance level for cheese- I m ok with lactose, whey is huge NO for me however. I just recently started cooking with ghee and butter again – JASmith May 5 2012 at 18:23
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Eat cheese if you tolerate cheese.

It's not cheating.

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The only nutrients to consume are protein, fat, and carbohydrate. If you're not eating carbs you are going to have to eat a lot of fat. You are probably just craving fatty foods because you're hungry.

Or one could raise the question whether VLC is really the way to go for what you want to accomplish, but that's not something I've dealt with so I'll let others deal with it. I'll just say it seems as easy or easier to maintain my goal weight now that I've turned towards the PHD and am eating quite a lot more carbs. But I'm a pretty skinny middle-aged woman and you probably are not.

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Yeah I'm a muscular 26 year old female who is hypo and I felt worse on higher Paleo carbs before I went VLC – JASmith May 5 2012 at 18:18

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