Help for a carb lover

chuchi56579

I've been doing pretty okay with a 1200 calorie diet and have been steadily losing weight. However, being in college, the past couple of weeks have been filled with finals stress and I'm giving in to a lot of my carb cravings. I can cut out fat out of my diet, but I can't live without carbs. I'm still sticking close to my caloric limit but my diet has been 70-80% carbs. Does anyone know effective ways to curb my cravings?

PRMinx

Height? Weight? How much are you trying to lose?

ElliottTN

Find an aerobic activity to put those carbs to good use maybe?

jgnatca

This is your brain on snacks.

I say, get plenty of rest, walk to de-stress, and munch on nuts to provide a slow and steady caloric supply. (Watch the portions on nuts, though; they go up fast).

jimgatewood

Carbs are everywhere...but can't lose with Veggies. 70 to 80 % of everything I eat is plant based and I hold my carbs at 45% per day, if that helps you.

Brolympus

jgnatca wrote: »

This is your brain on snacks.

I say, get plenty of rest, walk to de-stress, and munch on nuts to provide a slow and steady caloric supply. (Watch the portions on nuts, though; they go up fast).

That paper is really interesting, thanks for sharing!

holly55555

I am just like you. But I have to tell you, overeating carbs leads to a carb belly - I know from experience! You just don't need so much if you're not using it for energy.

To help my carb obsession, I don't buy bread products or things like chips, french fries, etc. That way, my over-carb indulging is reduced just to when I eat out. I also buy a lot of fake carb (or just healthier carb) products - pasta made from squash, Quest chips (basically just whey protein), veggie or sweet potato chips, etc. You can find a lot of substitutions that will help you get your fix without sabotaging your weight loss.

13Strong

Try Whole30, Paleo, or Primal - a stricter way of eating may cause you to think outside of the box and break the addiction / cycle.

I'm not saying you have to stay on such restrictions, but it does give a whole new light to eating, and when you no longer can eat something - coming up with other options becomes natural.

PRMinx

LOL. Just a thought guys...

You have a 19 year old poster who is on a 1200 calorie diet. Did that not raise a flag for any of you?

Before giving advice on diets she should follow, don't you think it makes to sense to find out A) where she's at now B ) if her goals are reasonable and C) if a 1200 calorie diet is too low?

SMH.

amusedmonkey

I'm a carb lover myself, so I had to make a decision and I chose to just keep things as they are. There are a few things to consider: you need to know that you will lose more muscle mass if carbs overpower your intake to the point where your protein is too low, and you will likely feel more hunger than someone who eats higher protein.

If that's an acceptable trade off for you in exchange for staying on track longer, then go for it. Losing some muscle is better in the long run than going for something you can't sustain and ending up quitting.

If you think you can introduce more protein without feeling miserable, I suggest you go for things that give you the best protein bang for your calories: namely chicken and turkey breast, egg whites, and white fish. This way you would still have enough calories to spend on carbs if you want.