I'm having problems with an addiction to CHIPS! It seems like if I even think about chips I start to crave them and it ends up in me buying a bag of (GF) doritos. But then I feel like absolutely hell... and still crave them.

So whatever wisdom you have please send my way!


12 hours chip free

Hi Nancy,

I have found that for me craving chips is a salt craving. We have these good local potato chips (Cape Cod potato chips) and the sour cream and onion ones do me in. I really don't even like potatoes, unless they're deep fried of course.

So, when they're around the house, I try to replace the salt and crunch with things like celery and cream cheese (or nut butters, since you don't eat dairy). I have also made turnip chips and salted the daylights out of them. These foods may help you in a moment of weakness.

Hi Nancy, so you traded the coconut flour for the corn flour?

Honestly, I'm going through the same thing with my old nemesis (that legume which shall not be named). I'm not buying any more. I'm also not buying any more honey, maple syrup, or fruit (except for the occasional berries). I pigged out on watermelon last night.

Paleo or not, what we are experiencing are eating issues, unrelated to a healthy diet. If you rationally don't want to eat something, but have a compulsion to eat it anyway, then that's a problem - like alcohol or nicotine addiction. I got it bad and I suspect I always will have to "reign" myself in periodically.

We're all weak for something, and all I can suggest, without sounding cheesy, is a moment, hour, day at a time...

Nail this problem at the moment when you are buying that food. Put the thought out of your head anyway you can, tell yourself you'll buy them later in the day instead, head for the nut shelf and tell yourself you want to eat macadamias instead, think about some research study where people dropped like flies after eating doritos, study the ingredients and try to imagine the last time anything in the doritos bag was real food (for the ingredients that ever were). Get away from the store and spend all day craving them by all means, but whatever you do just don't... buy... them...!

Doritos always smell like dirty feet to me. Maybe that'll help.

You know, it worked so beautifully to tell myself that Wheat is poison and that by eating wheat I was eating a horrible poison that would cause a slow and painful death. I KNOW that eating those danged chips is doing horrible things to me and my blood sugar. I woke up with my heart absolutely pounding in the night and I'm stiff and sore today. Obviously I just need to update the message I tell myself about wheat to include chips, even corn chips.

I'm never remotely tempted by wheat containing things.

Ok, I'm going to put my "chip free" status in my signature so everyone will know how I am doing. Perhaps I can shame myself into giving them up.

You can do it Nancy! If you find yourself putting a bag of chips into your cart, you still have lots of time to kick some sense into yourself before you actually pay for them. Don't let the chips win!

I'm a chip girl too ....I have not eaten a Dorito in 3 yrs...but I have tried and do eat as a treat, those soy crisps that are salty and crunchy.

I also got a small bag of the Terra chips the other day. All root veggie chips in a 200 cal portion bag. It was a true treat! Now if I bought the big bag, all bets would be off that Id finsih the whole bag within 24 hours. No Control!! grrrrr!!!!

The Sweet Potato ones are my faves.

There is something about salty-crunchy, isn't there. I can go for weeks, even months without having any kind of chip, but once I start, I really struggle to stop.

The salt craving used to be tied to my monthly cycle and I could see it coming, but since that is now a distant memory (oh happy day, calloo callay!!) it can blindside me.

I am a chip fanatic too. Cape cod chips for me too! The orginial or the new cheddar sour cream. I am also an entire family size bag in a day or two kinda girl also

I try to eat nuts or cheesecrisps instead. I have no wisdom for you, sorry. Every day is a battle.

Noooo! Please don't extrol the virtues of the chips you love, I'm dealing with demons and that doesn't help! Makes me crave them again.

It IS the salty crunchy thing. Once I get started on it I have a very hard time stopping. Replacing it with something else that is salty and crunchy is just going to make me crave the evil chips again.

Okay... I quit smoking and THAT was very, very hard. This should be simple in comparison to that, right?

I think I will write an essay about WHY chips are evil and poisonous and dangerous and that might get my mind in the right place.

I have been there myself.
Even though it may actually be the salt you crave, I don’t believe it is entirely that simple. There is always a psychological component and the it just tastes so darn good component.

I have to wonder, what is the longest period of time you have gone without carbs. including those chips?

It became much easier for me once I got past the 1.5 weeks mark.
This timeframe varies from person to person and varies with the amount of exercise you get. But for me, generally, once I got past the week and a half mark without eating carbs, my cravings became manageable.

No real tricks to make it 1.5 weeks, only shear will, and totally avoiding temptation.

Hope that helps some.

Well, I went for years! When I first went low carb I never was bothered by chips. But something happened a couple years back. Maybe it was finding out about my gluten issues. I realized I *COULD* eat corn based things. Perhaps I rebelled at my diagnosis. At one point it was Cheetos I was totally addicted to. I was having binges at times eating 3 bags out of the vending machine (I never buy the full sized bags...). Then I threatened myself with dire consequences if I ate another bag of Cheetos. And I was able to break that addiction. I had a bag awhile back and it didn't taste good at all.

But now it is Doritos Cool Ranch, which I think I transferred my addiciton to. Horrible stuff!

I'm with you, it isn't just the salt. It's the salt and dry crunch.

I have made low carb crackers before but it tends to be something I eat too much of so I avoid them too.

Thanks everyone for the support and ideas. I am feeling stronger.