Carbs are not a sin. If you start think of them as such you will associate them with indulgence and you will indulges upon partaking in them. For some people, low carb is beneficial and necessary. For some people it is not. The only reasons I would see the consumption of safe carbs as an issue is if a) nutrients are being neglecting b) goals, especially weight loss goals, aren't being met. Perhaps, your body is just craving glucose. Fighting that craving could be unhealthy. Try adding eggs to your mashed potatoes (raw preferably) to make them more satiating.

If I eat potatoes or fruit, I will crave sugar all day long. but for whatever reason, lentils don't bother me. I know they're not paleo (and I've been strict paleo for almost 2 years), but I needed to do something to help get me through my 14 hour days as a trainer and a chef. a 1/4 cup in my eggs and veggies in the morning or with my meat and veggies at lunch, and I have tons of energy without any of the sugar cravings any of the other carbs trigger. Good luck!

Carbs are addictive, as whatever their form they get metabolised into sugar and from an evolutionary standpoint are desirable to create easy fat stores when lean times next arrive. Read Gary Taubes or Barry Groves or Chris Masterjohn and you will see that carbs are purely an energy source and that if you have a blood sugar imbalance or insulin resistance, they will cause problems, and cravings. You might also have a gut imbalance- bad bacteria, yeasts etc, which thrive on glucose and other sugars. Definitely balancing your carb consumption with plenty of fat and protein in the same meal is the way to go, and then maybe don't eat them again for the rest of the day.

I'm new to this -- having come out of Zero Carbing for a year, then low carbing for another. But what I've found is that the craving for carbs is linked to not eating enough calories (fat or otherwise).

I thought I was doing fine calorie-wize. Fatty meat, butter, heavy cream, the occasional salad. But I did note that was feeling worse over time. Energy was crap, digestion was horrible (it had improved on ZC, but got worse after the year mark).

Then discovered that I was eating about 1000-1500 cals a day regularly. It wasn't enough for me.

I should point out, I was not "cutting calories". It's just once I cut out sugar, grains, and starches, there weren't that many calories left in what I'd been eating. I also never had much of an appetite. And of course, as I mentioned -- digestive problems. That didn't help.

My cousin and I are trying to solve the problem by "Reverse Counting Calories". Basically, we've found, that if we eat under 1800 cals a day, the next day we have less of an appetite, eat less, and feel really low and crappy. And we crave carbs. Probably because our body is screaming for fuel. But that's a downward spiral. If we stay above 1800 cals for two days straight, we feel invigorated again. But it's tough to eat enough.

Count yer calories!

It sounds like you have some binge eating disorder issues to address, not a particular carb obsession. Eating 3 whole potatoes in a single sitting would be physically uncomfortable / moderate pain in most situations.

Completely going zero carb is not necessarily a holy grail of good health. Looking at why you would go off and eat any food in great excess, and consider your emotional state at the time. Overt calorie restriction and intent over time can also build up issues.

What do your meals normally look like? Have you tried adding in more fat? or, perhaps more fibrous vegetables (broccoli, cauiflower, zucchini, asparagus, etc.) could help drive satiety.

You can't have a carb addiction any more than you can have a protein addiction or a fat addiction. Potatoes are not heroin. You had some starch after not having it for awhile and your body wants more. This happened to me when I started eating meat after being a vegan and when I started eating fat when I first did WAPF. Both instances I started off a bit cautiously and then I basically said "screw it" and I was inhaling red meat and butter. Yes I gained a couple pounds, but after a few weeks the obsession passed and my weight and eating went back to normal and I felt loads better having meat and fat in my diet.

You can either let yourself gorge on potatoes for awhile and see if your cravings subside or you can exert some effort to control what you are eating. If I were you, I would stop eating the fruit during your potato experiment, especially the sugary raisins. Sugar cravings are a whole other matter. I eat my tubers with plenty of fat and protein and the only sweet fruit I eat is 1/2 C. of blueberries or 2 oz. of banana a day and I have no added sugar at all. I haven't had any problems with hunger or craving fruit and sugar. Don't fear the potato!

I'm eating sweet potatoes myself, to ensure I've got energy. I'm halfway through my 2nd week of pretty strict paleo and finally starting to get some energy again.