I want to underscore this, it is a huge issue, for many. Maybe everyone! We are addicted to food in various ways, this is quite distinct from hunger. There is what I'd call an "oral addiction," I want to put something in my mouth. Yes, it can be associated with 'boredom," but it can be simpler than that. If I am not engaged with something that keeps me engaged, I then look to something to fill the space, to take up the time. There are many ways to satisfy this besides actually stuffing my face!

(And filling space is not actually necessary, and the desire to do that is a clue that we have some underlying anxiety, and it is well worth becoming curious about that!)

What is really important is to distinguish all this from hunger. It is not hunger, it is, as said, habit. Under the habit will be many old and new causes, worth looking at. What I consider urgent is to develop choice, and depth. With practice (and training is even possible), we can create new habits with more benefit and less harm. Habits that we choose from a more mature, more experienced position than we were in when the original habits developed. (We may have been small children, even.)

I strongly urge avoiding the blame game, the ready labeling of our behavior as bad and wrong, which generally increases habitual response. Rather, look to and focus on what inspires, the rest will follow.

As to the original topic here, appetite suppression:

Yes, it is better to describe it as normalization. If appetite is the ability to enjoy food, even to superlatively enjoy it, then appetite is not suppressed at all. If we are not sated, we have not recently eaten, and we are in ketosis (and we have plenty of body fat, normally) we will not exactly be "hungry," but we can still look forward to eating a delicious meal. If it is not delicious we will not be interested!

So much of the trick of low carb is identifying and choosing food that we will thoroughly enjoy and that will not harm us.

I recently was treated to a meal at a fantastic restaurant, and I did not restrict myself to low-carb, I just pushed my choices in that direction a little. What were the parts of that meal that were the most memorable? (Because I was literally raving about how good it was at the time.)

At the top was the salmon, nut-encrusted, gently cooked and moist and utterly delicious. About as good as the salmon I make at home from frozen!

Then there was the spinach, which had some kind of sauce, probably fatty, might have had some carbs in it.

For soup before the meal, there was clam chowder. It tasted like it was made with heavy cream. This was Boston and I was not going to pass up the clam chowder! Might have had some carbs, or not.

Then, nice but not exactly spectacular, some mushroom ravioli. The quantity was small, four squares. I did not feel like leaving it, so I ate it.

And then there was the dessert. Cheesecake. There went a weeks' worth of carbs, down the hatch.

What I notice is what I enjoyed the most, and the least. The cheesecake was good, but it was at the bottom for that meal.

The best part of the meal was what I routinely eat. I will eat a meal like that, at a restaurant, maybe once every six months. I was carefully watching my weight over that period, and from the one meal ... maybe I gained a pound, and back to VLC, it's gone within a bit more than a week.

(So that routine meal is a piece of flash-frozen salmon, individually plastic-wrapped, from Aldi. Cheap. I toss it in a bowl of water (in the package), then, when thawed, cut the package open and put it in a toaster-oven broiler at 450 F, sprinkling it with parmesan cheese, for about five minutes, turn it over and do the same with the other side. It is not overcooked, it's easy and quick, and utterly delicious. Another even easier meal is a piece of sushi-quality tuna from Aldi, thawed and then eaten raw with soy sauce. Zero carbs, and heavenly, melts in the mouth, -- this is essentially sashimi that one will pay a lot for at a Japanese restaurant.)

Tastes will differ, so learn what truly works for you! Sugar and processed carb addiction was not natural for us, it was induced by massive exposure.

Think about ice cream. Consider low-carb ice cream vs low-fat ice cream. Low-fat ice cream misses the point!

I take frozen blueberries and pour heavy cream over them. With or without some stevia sprinkled on it, delicious and like ice cream (the cream congeals around the icy blueberries.)

(Blueberries are not VLC, but are highly recommended for moderate carb foods, because of many excellent qualities.)

Eat slowly and savor the food! At that restaurant, I was sitting there, taking one bite, and then making noises like I was in ecstasy! And I do this at home. It's a way to live.

(So I am differing from a plan of "never" eating high glycemic index foods. Yes, they can retrigger the addiction, but that's not likely to happen if one has become thoroughly aware of the issues. In Alcoholics Anonymous, they say, "you can't get drunk if you don't take the first drink," which is obviously true, but it is also true about the second drink. (And AA promotes the first drink idea for very good reasons.) Where I need to be very careful is about the foods I buy and keep at home. What is in my kitchen I am constantly exposed to, and can easily slip into including them. From eating that cheesecake, I noticed no sugar craving. I have much more craving for "crunch." I.e., I want to eat chips. I have had bean chips and other high-fiber chips. At this point, I need to stay away from them, even though I eat them with sour cream. I should probably get some flax crackers. I've made them, they are not difficult to make. Low carb, high fiber....)