How to overcome carb addiction
Monna2
Posts: 100 Member
Hello
I am almost 250 Ibs was down from 265. Thank God of course that I've lost those pounds.
But I still have a problem with carbs. The past few months have been ups downs for me: gain and lose , gain and lose .. but was never back or even near 265.
The point is I used to count calories and disregard the type of food, which is wrong I know. But I'm not a protein person. I can eat some meat and eggs, but I would jump into a bowl of cookies or donuts. They are so so much tastier and easier to eat. I love vegetables and fruit, but they don't cause the same effect. I know this is somehow a form of addiction. I haven't eaten pastries in a few days, and I'm kinda OK, but I'm wondering when would I learn to eat in moderation. If I decide to eat carbs and pastries , it's never enough to eat one or two pieces; I have to finish the whole box. My mom sometimes is driven mad as I almost finish a whole cake she made.
Is completely avoiding carbs a lifetime solution for me or is it just temporary and I'll feel neutral about them later? Have you had any experience with this?
Thank you
I am almost 250 Ibs was down from 265. Thank God of course that I've lost those pounds.
But I still have a problem with carbs. The past few months have been ups downs for me: gain and lose , gain and lose .. but was never back or even near 265.
The point is I used to count calories and disregard the type of food, which is wrong I know. But I'm not a protein person. I can eat some meat and eggs, but I would jump into a bowl of cookies or donuts. They are so so much tastier and easier to eat. I love vegetables and fruit, but they don't cause the same effect. I know this is somehow a form of addiction. I haven't eaten pastries in a few days, and I'm kinda OK, but I'm wondering when would I learn to eat in moderation. If I decide to eat carbs and pastries , it's never enough to eat one or two pieces; I have to finish the whole box. My mom sometimes is driven mad as I almost finish a whole cake she made.
Is completely avoiding carbs a lifetime solution for me or is it just temporary and I'll feel neutral about them later? Have you had any experience with this?
Thank you
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Replies
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Carbs aren't an addiction, so....
And counting calories irrespective of macros is fine. Plenty of people do that here. Tracking food type doesn't mean you'll lose weight or reach your weight management goals, it's simply a tool for body composition and for those with medical conditions. For weight loss, calories are king.
SW 188, CW 156, ate jelly beans and chocolate today. A cinnamon bun yesterday. Lots of other carby goodness every day as well.
If you want to cut them out then go ahead, but viewing it at an addiction isn't helpful. If you have a poor relationship with food (labeling things as good/bad, for instance) then you should probably work on overcoming that, which will also probably enable you to successfully practice moderation.0 -
Yes, I was a complete carb addict. I could never fathom giving up my bagels, breads, cereals, etc. Got myself up to over 300 lbs. happily eating these foods. Then when I finally realized my health is more important than bagels, I cut the carbs and haven't looked back. That was 2.5 years and 94 lbs. ago. I have no intention of going back even after I lose the remaining weight I want to lose.0
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Hello
I am almost 250 Ibs was down from 265. Thank God of course that I've lost those pounds.
But I still have a problem with carbs. The past few months have been ups downs for me: gain and lose , gain and lose .. but was never back or even near 265.
The point is I used to count calories and disregard the type of food, which is wrong I know. But I'm not a protein person. I can eat some meat and eggs, but I would jump into a bowl of cookies or donuts. They are so so much tastier and easier to eat. I love vegetables and fruit, but they don't cause the same effect. I know this is somehow a form of addiction. I haven't eaten pastries in a few days, and I'm kinda OK, but I'm wondering when would I learn to eat in moderation. If I decide to eat carbs and pastries , it's never enough to eat one or two pieces; I have to finish the whole box. My mom sometimes is driven mad as I almost finish a whole cake she made.
Is completely avoiding carbs a lifetime solution for me or is it just temporary and I'll feel neutral about them later? Have you had any experience with this?
Thank you
It is o.k. to disregard the type of food and build a diet mostly around carbs. Keep track that you are getting enough protein.
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Yes, I was a complete carb addict. I could never fathom giving up my bagels, breads, cereals, etc. Got myself up to over 300 lbs. happily eating these foods. Then when I finally realized my health is more important than bagels, I cut the carbs and haven't looked back. That was 2.5 years and 94 lbs. ago. I have no intention of going back even after I lose the remaining weight I want to lose.
Bagels, cereal, and bread didn't make you fat though. Excess calories did. So eating low-carb to create a deficit, totally fine.
To equate carbohydrate consumption to an addiction though... I don't have the energy to even properly get into that here. Not worth rehashing yet another addiction thread debate between posters.0 -
Yes, I was a complete carb addict. I could never fathom giving up my bagels, breads, cereals, etc. Got myself up to over 300 lbs. happily eating these foods. Then when I finally realized my health is more important than bagels, I cut the carbs and haven't looked back. That was 2.5 years and 94 lbs. ago. I have no intention of going back even after I lose the remaining weight I want to lose.
Bagels, cereal, and bread didn't make you fat though. Excess calories did. So eating low-carb to create a deficit, totally fine.
To equate carbohydrate consumption to an addiction though... I don't have the energy to even properly get into that here. Not worth rehashing yet another addiction thread debate between posters.
I was talking about myself only. I did not say everyone who eats carbs is addicted to them. And I was mirroring the OP's language to let her know that, yes, others have experienced the same issues.0 -
Add fats and proteins to your carbs. Eat smaller portions of the super carb-heavy foods.superhockeymom wrote: »I will say and I am sure people will disagree. NEVER I start eating carbs stiches like potatoes and pasta are my weekness and I can't stop and then before I know it I am back where I started or worse. Sorry I know not everyone has this issue but......
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superhockeymom wrote: »I will say and I am sure people will disagree. NEVER I start eating carbs stiches like potatoes and pasta are my weekness and I can't stop and then before I know it I am back where I started or worse. Sorry I know not everyone has this issue but......
This is exactly me.. And I notice that I retain water weight if I'm on a carb-based diet.0 -
Hi I also have trouble with carbs once I start eating them it can be a real danger zone. I think being aware of it is important. I try to eat mostly veggies and some lean meats healty fats and some yummy fats too and then treat any type of carb like a splurge food. If I eat too many carbs I feel hungry all the time. This makes sense to me because if you overload with foods that are not nutrient dense then your body thinks it is starving even though your diet is calorie dense a vicious cycle indeed. See if you can treat your favorite carb like a special treat that you get once in a great while. Track all of your calories so you know if you are crossing over that line and reel it back. It is a learning process and you are in good company here on MFP. We all have our struggles. I guess those who do not have a carb addiction specifically have a food addiction in general otherwise what are they doing here?0
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I don't know about the addiction part..... But from experience if I have a carb heavy meal it just leaves me wanting more and I don't feel truly satisfied0
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Unless you are diabetic or prediabetic, when it comes to weight loss, calories are the ones that matter, not where they are coming from. You are not losing because you are eating too many calories, not too many carbs.0
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Foods aren't addicting, there was a recent paper which stated this hasn't been proven yet.
However, saying that... people have trigger foods. It's often helpful to give those triggers up for a time if you find that you can't be moderate with them. So for me, I can be moderate with cookies, I might be moderate with brownies now that I've given them up for a good long time.
Carbs are a broad category which include plenty of nutrition packed foods including broccoli and raspberries. I don't see too many posts from people claiming to be addicted to those. A well-balanced diet will include these sorts of things.
And that's the key. Try to build a nutrient dense diet that has you in a deficit which avoids your triggers but include treats which you feel you can eat in moderation (maybe dark chocolate?) so you don't feel deprived. Maybe, as time goes on, you can work on reintroducing trigger foods back into your diet in a more moderate way. Be sure that you're getting enough protein so that you don't feel hungry and you should be good to go.0 -
Hello
I am almost 250 Ibs was down from 265. Thank God of course that I've lost those pounds.
But I still have a problem with carbs. The past few months have been ups downs for me: gain and lose , gain and lose .. but was never back or even near 265.
The point is I used to count calories and disregard the type of food, which is wrong I know. But I'm not a protein person. I can eat some meat and eggs, but I would jump into a bowl of cookies or donuts. They are so so much tastier and easier to eat. I love vegetables and fruit, but they don't cause the same effect. I know this is somehow a form of addiction. I haven't eaten pastries in a few days, and I'm kinda OK, but I'm wondering when would I learn to eat in moderation. If I decide to eat carbs and pastries , it's never enough to eat one or two pieces; I have to finish the whole box. My mom sometimes is driven mad as I almost finish a whole cake she made.
Is completely avoiding carbs a lifetime solution for me or is it just temporary and I'll feel neutral about them later? Have you had any experience with this?
Thank you
What do you count as carbs? Carbs is such a wide group of foods from cakes pastries to fruit and whole grains. You do not have an addiction you have a problem with self control or foods that trigger you. Part of the problem OMO is demonising foods and putting them in good/bad categories. Teach yourself coping mechanisms, don't be scared to have the odd cake or pastry. Build your diet around variety and balance and you're more likely to keep it going long term and don't beat yourself off for enjoying certain foods on occasion.0 -
Only you know your own limits. Random strangers on the internet aren't going to be able to tell you if you can practice moderation or that you will need to remove carbs from the rest of your life.
If we're being really honest though it's not the food, it's you. You put the food in your mouth, you decide to eat a full cake instead of a slice, or one pastry instead of a full box.
I've been there, one of my all time favourite foods are maple and pecan Danish pastries, I regularly ate a box full. Now I fit them in to my daily calorie and macronutrient goals, if that allows me only one, I eat only one, if it's none, I eat none.
Once you learn that you have the power over food, and not the other way round, you win.
If you feel the need to eliminate carbohydrates from your diet, then go ahead, do this and create a calorie deficit and you'll lose body fat, just as you also would by eating a balance of food groups and creating a calorie deficit.
I'll leave you with this little bit of science.
No carbs = no cake = tears.0 -
See what you have is not a carb addiction, otherwise gulping down plain starch would satisfy your cravings, but it likely doesn't. Vegetables and fruits also have carbs, so does oatmeal and almost everything that isn't a meat or a fat.
You need stop looking at it like an addiction (something that is too hard to control) and start looking at like a habit. People are creatures of habit, and certain habits tend to be easier to acquire (because of immediate gratification) than others that have delayed gratification. The trick to change a habit is to replace it by another, either slowly (reducing the amount by one cookie a day) or abruptly (quitting all sweets altogether for a while).
While trying to control an undesirable habit, try at the same time to replace it (either gradually or abruptly) with another. You need to try and make it feel attractive if you are to stick to it. Put some effort into finding tasty lower calorie recipes that can easily be stored for a quick snack to eliminate the excuse of high calorie foods being easy to grab. Experiment. You may not like vegetables a certain way, but you may fall in love with them if cooked in other ways. Also, tastes change with time after introducing new foods and sticking to them. Willpower is a skill that can be trained, the more you work it, the more successful you are at it.
Basically, look at the root of the problem and try out solutions for it instead of saying "I can't" and stopping there.
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Just avoiding carbs is not the answer. If you eat only fat and proteind and snack ten packs of pork scratchings a day you'll still gain weight.
They key is simple, you need a calorie deficit. Yo need to see how many calories you use in a day and as long as your eat below that number you'll lose weight, no matter what you eat.
That way, like @cityruss and many other people, you could plan to still eat all the foods you love, as long as it is in moderation and staying below your TDEE.
Your battle seems to be about moderation. Why don't you try what @mamapeach910 says and try to avoid those things that trigger your voracious apetite for a time and once you feel you learned how to control yourself, start reintroducing them slowly in your diet?0 -
I don't have a carb addiction but I just wanted all the processed and ready eat things so I did not have to prepare food. It is easier to grab the cookies, potato chips, etc.. when you are hungry for "what ever".
I actually stopped all of this and starting preparing food (meals and snacks and even desserts). I will add that when I have a loaded "carby" anything I feel terrible. It makes me bloated and my energy and overall feeling at the time is horrible.
You need to listen to your body and make decisions on how you feel (your brain and overall feeling). No one can do this but you and you just have to listen to what your body tells you.
There is nothing wrong with your body telling you to eat the "carby" food, and to lose weight eat less of it and stay in a deficit. If you want to learn to eat healthier then you will have to learn to add those proteins and more fat in your diet (when you do, you will feel better).
All this said, yes this is a common issue among many, mine was just out of laziness and a craving or two here and there.. but I feel 1000% percent better with my new choices and decisions!
You got this... you posted your concern here .... so you are already self aware!!!!!!0 -
I had a waitressing job last night and there were 2 spare plates of sausage, mash and gravy. It took every bit of willpower not not eat it. Having a little taste is not an option. It's all or nothing!
My 'go to' foods are breast, potatoes and pasta. Although I know all foods are allowed when counting calories I find those foods very high in calories for the amount that I want to eat.
I now try to keep those foods to one portion a day so I'll either have a sandwich or pasta or rice, but only one portion a day.
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I'm not an expert in addiction, but I do know that dopamine, the chemical that makes us feel pleasure, is released when we eat. For some of us, simple carbohydrates flood our bodies with it. And it makes perfect sense from an evolutionary standpoint.
I can be quite mindless and completely in the moment when I binge. And when I binge, it's always on simple carbs. Followed immediately by remorse and self-loathing.
Who knows if it's an addiction or a habit or a hybrid of the two. The outcome is the same and, as mentioned earlier, it is definitely a trigger.
I know what is helping me is to have a good amount of protein in my meals. I don't want to eat a lot of meat either, but I do like eggs and albacore tuna. A half a can of tuna with my lunch will really stave off cravings. In the late afternoon, I'll drink a cup of decaffeinated tea which holds me over until dinner.
I eat only at the table and never between meals or after dinner. For me, mindless eating and simple carbs go together.
I think weighing every little thing down to the gram before it goes in my mouth, has a significant psychological effect. That has been helpful too.
If it truly is an addiction, then you have just stop (not simple, I know). That's what I did when I quit smoking. Give yourself only complex carbohydrates, quality protein and fats. Fill up your free time with distractions. If your trigger is TV and noshing, TV is not the thing with which to fill your time.
Being tired is a trigger for me, of all things.
Coming here several times a day and reading threads helps me a great deal. It really keeps me on track. I've only been here a short amount of time, but the support I received from MFP friends and some of the other supportive people in the threads has been huge.
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I will add this... Once I start eating the cakes, cookies, chips, ice cream, candy it is hard to put them down. I want to eat them until I am full but it never really makes me full or satisfied! And again, I feel terrible afterwards.
I now eat full breakfast (sometimes it is a sugary cereals, waffles or these types choices) I just put it in my number calories for the day and I also eat a full lunch and full dinner meal and I do not snack all day like I used to. But the snacking is on low carb things I can fill up on easy when I need a snack.. I thought I would never eat like this...
Since I work out I put things in my body to help me with nutrition benefits for energy, recovery and retaining muscle mass.. I think changes in goals and what it is you want to achieve also drives you to make nutrition choices that are appropriate to you lifestyle.
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I just want to add this to the thread. The dopamine argument is one that is often introduced to these types of threads. A LOT of things release dopamine, including petting a kitten and pain.
The picture with food is a lot more complex than just dopamine release. We all have a very, very complex relationship with food, and the physiological response to food for most people who overeat probably pales in comparison to the psychological/behavioral issues involved. (Barring confounding medical conditions, of course.)0 -
mamapeach910 wrote: »I just want to add this to the thread. The dopamine argument is one that is often introduced to these types of threads. A LOT of things release dopamine, including petting a kitten and pain.
The picture with food is a lot more complex than just dopamine release. We all have a very, very complex relationship with food, and the physiological response to food for most people who overeat probably pales in comparison to the psychological/behavioral issues involved. (Barring confounding medical conditions, of course.)
While I agree, I just wanted to bring up dopamine because it is a key player in real addictions. I'm not saying that the OP has an addiction. I don't know. Petting a kitten is not adverse to your health and I doubt that the reward centers are as great as when food - especially significantly rewarding food - is ingested, by comparison.
Whether an addiction or not, one of the most complicating factors for me is that I have to eat something. It's not like when I quit smoking. I could cut it out completely and there was no one around me to encourage me differently.0 -
I see it like this. And I didn't read any responses so excuse me if I parrot what others may have said.
Eating at a deficit will leave you feeling hungry no matter what your macros entail. For me there is always going to be a level of hunger and temptation. Always...not so much for certain things like carbs only or fats only, but to break the bank completely because, well, I love food. Throughout my life I made poor decisions when I ate and those habits are hard to break. A deficit will also do things to the mind and make our brains act differently.
People absolutely can be addicted to food the same way one may be addicted to painkillers. There are a few exercises I have used in my journey and they seem to help.
One is called the PLATE PUSHAWAY. It is a pretty simple exercise that requires very little effort. Just keep your elbows in tight to your sides, using thumbs down and fingers straight and push the plate away from your body. Simple!
Next is the one that has been trending all over the world and I am sure you have seen it many times. FORK PUTDOWNS. Simply drop the fork after completing your calorie intake for the day and don't pick it back up.
No in all seriousness, cutting out carbs completely is not something I could ever do. I have tried and I turn into a psycho. Some can but not this dude. I keep them at bay, for body comp. And like how I can manipulate them to my advantage but I need them to function.
Takes time to learn what works for each individual.
Best of luck0 -
For me, eating carbs and processed snacks triggers more hunger, and overeating. I can keep my calories at a deficit for the day if I avoid too many carbs. I can stay on track better if I focus not only on how much I eat, but what I eat. I find it much easier if I just don't eat them at all. If I'm having a real bad craving, or hunger, I'll allow myself a whole wheat wrap, or a handful of pretzels, for example.0
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