That was my experience about all the diabetic dietary changes I had to make. Cutting back and staying cut back was vastly harder than cutting out entirely.
Now, a decade on, I’ve lost a lot of my old time religion. So I eat some simple carbs pretty routinely. And you know what? Despite the years of good habits, I’m finding it extremely hard to now cut back, except by cutting out. And staying cut out.
IME/IMO …
Eating simple carbs produces a strong subconscious desire to eat more simple carbs. Have a bunless burger? No problem. Have a burger & eat the bottom bun only? Now I want fries or a dessert something fierce. It is extremely hard to resist that pull.
It might take a month of eating nil simple carbs to break the habit towards reflexively having bread with soup or fries with a hot sandwich lunch. But once the habit is broken and the “betcha can’t eat just one” is broken because you’re not trying to cut back, you’ve cut out, then it really does get very easy. You don’t crave it, you don’t want it, you don’t miss it.
It’s a journey, but one worth making.