Cutting carbs and refined sugar
Replies
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lemurcat12 wrote: »It was a big thing in the '80s, that's what people mean. Doesn't really matter when it started.
The amount of fat we eat actually has increased, not gone down though. The relative percentage seems to have decreased a little (while total calories went up), because carb calories increased more (not the kinds of carbs that were actually recommended by the experts, though). However, it's hard to tell because people think they should eat lower fat (even now, weirdly) and that affects how accurate self-reported studies are (at least from what I've read it's believed that we actually eat higher fat than we report).
So people think they should eat low fat, respond somewhat to dumb "fat free" marketing, often on things that did not have fat anyway (like processed cereal products), and may overeat some snack foods on the basis they are fat free, but continue to also eat lots of lots of high fat food, like fast foods and breakfast sausages and chips and sweet treats that also include lots of fat.
To pretend like the issue with the US diet is just carbs or eating like the experts (see, e.g., Walter Willett) recommended is just untrue. People don't eat like Willett or even like the real anti fat sorts recommend (see the vegans or Ornish or McDougall for those plans). Those that do are generally reasonably healthy, since they actually pay attention to what they eat and there's a huge range of healthy human diets for those who actually pay attention. The issue isn't people following bad expert advice too carefully, it's that most people eat pretty thoughtlessly and just based on convenience and what seems tasty.
In todays culture, people have to eat what tastes good, and have to eat something different all the time. Convenience is everywhere. People like convenience, they like not having to work for things. And guess what? Fast food companies, chip companies, and soda companies know it. 100% of their profits are based on that. Fast food companies come out with new products all the time, and sell them like crazy because they know you won't put in the time to make it yourself (however unhealthy it is). Hell, a carls jr burger costs about $7 nowadays, but it would cost about $3 to make at home, considering energy use.
We have all eaten fast food. I am eating fast food right now. I just downed 8 Jacks tacos. But I am not really in a position to cook (I have no kitchen) and I can get tacos for a quarter. Since they have sufficient macros for me (55% fat, 30% carbs, 15% protein), I utilize them. This will be all I eat for the next 2-3 weeks bc I need to save money for college around the corner, and to fix my van. I can eat to satiety for about $4-5 per day, as opposed to $12-14 on my typical dairy, meat and avocado diet. I do it because it is practical and functional. Yes, I understand, they arent healthy on a micro level, but I am active enough that it wont damage me in the short term.
Point is, make food serve a purpose. Educate yourself. If you find a good routine with food, stick to it, and keep things simple. Humans are naturally lazy, and if you have to keep finding new ingredients to satisfy your taste buds, you will eventually burn yourself out. Most the food I eat (when life permits) already has enough flavor: avocado, cheese, ground beef, eggs, almondmilk, spinach, butter (to name a few), and even water to drink. Yeah, call me lazy, I don't want to cook meals many would consider "good"....but it serves a purpose.
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RockstarWilson wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »It was a big thing in the '80s, that's what people mean. Doesn't really matter when it started.
The amount of fat we eat actually has increased, not gone down though. The relative percentage seems to have decreased a little (while total calories went up), because carb calories increased more (not the kinds of carbs that were actually recommended by the experts, though). However, it's hard to tell because people think they should eat lower fat (even now, weirdly) and that affects how accurate self-reported studies are (at least from what I've read it's believed that we actually eat higher fat than we report).
So people think they should eat low fat, respond somewhat to dumb "fat free" marketing, often on things that did not have fat anyway (like processed cereal products), and may overeat some snack foods on the basis they are fat free, but continue to also eat lots of lots of high fat food, like fast foods and breakfast sausages and chips and sweet treats that also include lots of fat.
To pretend like the issue with the US diet is just carbs or eating like the experts (see, e.g., Walter Willett) recommended is just untrue. People don't eat like Willett or even like the real anti fat sorts recommend (see the vegans or Ornish or McDougall for those plans). Those that do are generally reasonably healthy, since they actually pay attention to what they eat and there's a huge range of healthy human diets for those who actually pay attention. The issue isn't people following bad expert advice too carefully, it's that most people eat pretty thoughtlessly and just based on convenience and what seems tasty.
In todays culture, people have to eat what tastes good, and have to eat something different all the time. Convenience is everywhere. People like convenience, they like not having to work for things. And guess what? Fast food companies, chip companies, and soda companies know it. 100% of their profits are based on that. Fast food companies come out with new products all the time, and sell them like crazy because they know you won't put in the time to make it yourself (however unhealthy it is). Hell, a carls jr burger costs about $7 nowadays, but it would cost about $3 to make at home, considering energy use.
Right--a lot of this is that things are convenient and people like convenience. It's not that food is more tasty now. I personally think a homemade burger is tastier than fast food and there's no contest between homemade baked goods and the store-bought stuff, but it's a lot easier to buy something at the grocery store than make it.
This is why focusing on eating only foods I really love and appreciate, mindfully, as well as on health and nutrition and the fact I do like to cook most of what I eat has made it easier for me not to eat a lot of extra calories without cutting out any broad food groups.0 -
Mandyrose1983 wrote: »so I've decided that I am going to cut all sugar and try to decrease my carbs as much as possible. I really really want to drop this weight. I want to keep sugar and refined carbs out of my life forever (or at least limit them from my diet forever). I want this to be a lifestyle change. I am huge on clean eating and I really don't eat junk. However, I have a hard time resisting the "feel good foods" when I am emotional or stressed. Any tips on how to transition to a low carbs lifestyle? Any tips on how to keep from reaching for the junk when my mood is not so good? Also, does anyone have any good substitutes for the "feel good foods"?
I have been on a diet similar to what you state above for the past 10 months. It may be being 64 years old and a long term carb abuser but I could not transition to a low carb lifestyle after trying for 2 months so I had to just quit eating most all carbs cold turkey. After being low carb high fat for 10 months it is the way I plan to eat until death. Fats are my feel good foods I guess. I wish I had made the change 40 years ago. You can do this and after you do it for a month you can do it for life based on my experience.
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Have you actually tried both to make that comparison?Mandyrose1983 wrote: »I mean that some people say that that have a bite of ice cream and it satisfies them. For me, as soon as I taste a little bit of ice cream, candy or sugar, I feel like it's a drug and I just want MORE. I truly believe sugar is as addictive as cocaine0 -
Thank you very much!!!! What did you cut??? No sugar? Candy? Do you eat dairy?? No breads or pasta (of course). Do u eat oatmeal or sweet potatoes?? Fruit?GaleHawkins wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »so I've decided that I am going to cut all sugar and try to decrease my carbs as much as possible. I really really want to drop this weight. I want to keep sugar and refined carbs out of my life forever (or at least limit them from my diet forever). I want this to be a lifestyle change. I am huge on clean eating and I really don't eat junk. However, I have a hard time resisting the "feel good foods" when I am emotional or stressed. Any tips on how to transition to a low carbs lifestyle? Any tips on how to keep from reaching for the junk when my mood is not so good? Also, does anyone have any good substitutes for the "feel good foods"?
I have been on a diet similar to what you state above for the past 10 months. It may be being 64 years old and a long term carb abuser but I could not transition to a low carb lifestyle after trying for 2 months so I had to just quit eating most all carbs cold turkey. After being low carb high fat for 10 months it is the way I plan to eat until death. Fats are my feel good foods I guess. I wish I had made the change 40 years ago. You can do this and after you do it for a month you can do it for life based on my experience.
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Mandyrose1983 wrote: »
Thank you very much!!!! What did you cut??? No sugar? Candy? Do you eat dairy?? No breads or pasta (of course). Do u eat oatmeal or sweet potatoes?? Fruit?GaleHawkins wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »so I've decided that I am going to cut all sugar and try to decrease my carbs as much as possible. I really really want to drop this weight. I want to keep sugar and refined carbs out of my life forever (or at least limit them from my diet forever). I want this to be a lifestyle change. I am huge on clean eating and I really don't eat junk. However, I have a hard time resisting the "feel good foods" when I am emotional or stressed. Any tips on how to transition to a low carbs lifestyle? Any tips on how to keep from reaching for the junk when my mood is not so good? Also, does anyone have any good substitutes for the "feel good foods"?
I have been on a diet similar to what you state above for the past 10 months. It may be being 64 years old and a long term carb abuser but I could not transition to a low carb lifestyle after trying for 2 months so I had to just quit eating most all carbs cold turkey. After being low carb high fat for 10 months it is the way I plan to eat until death. Fats are my feel good foods I guess. I wish I had made the change 40 years ago. You can do this and after you do it for a month you can do it for life based on my experience.
If you're really worried about cocaine like addictions, I hope you're aware that by cutting out foods, and thus making them more novel, you're going to increase the dopamine that comes from anticipating having them - dopamine being one of the chemicals cocaine causes to flood the brain.0 -
My doctor suggested Whole30 diet - which is kind of Paleo. Basically meat, fruit and vege (but not corn, peas or legumes). No dairy, no sweets or artificial sweeteners. It's very low carb (I average 50 - 60 per day) and I feel better and am losing weight. Google it. Lot's of free info on their web site.
The other thing I think to myself when people are "pushing" their sweets or carbs on me is "that is poison in MY system." Maybe melodramatic - but it helps me.
Good luck!!0 -
Thank you so much!! I'm gonna check it out in the morning0
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High carb on workout days and high fat on non-workout days. How about that ?0
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How can it be helpful to think of carbs or sweets as poison?
"Yeah, lets just be wrong because reasons."
You will always have problems if you think this way.
Learn moderation and you'll be laughing for life.0 -
Mandyrose1983 wrote: »I mean that some people say that that have a bite of ice cream and it satisfies them. For me, as soon as I taste a little bit of ice cream, candy or sugar, I feel like it's a drug and I just want MORE. I truly believe sugar is as addictive as cocaine
I don't know about everyone, but as someone who's been an addict with pretty much every narcotic there is at some point (I know, I know...lame...that's well behind me and it's going to stay there), I feel the same way about refined sugar. Once I start eating *kitten* sugars like cake or candy, it escalates quickly. I get ravenous for it. When I finally make the choice to stop, it sucks. I feel different in a bad way, and I crave it for a good while. But once it's been out of my system I'm okay. I think a lot of people experience this! Or at least some of the people I've talked to about how much I have to stay away from it... Everyone's different, obviously. But I can totally relate to your "dramatic" feelings about it hahaha internet forums are so ridiculous sometimes.0 -
susanofarrell wrote: »My doctor suggested Whole30 diet - which is kind of Paleo. Basically meat, fruit and vege (but not corn, peas or legumes). No dairy, no sweets or artificial sweeteners. It's very low carb (I average 50 - 60 per day) and I feel better and am losing weight. Google it. Lot's of free info on their web site.
The other thing I think to myself when people are "pushing" their sweets or carbs on me is "that is poison in MY system." Maybe melodramatic - but it helps me.
Good luck!!
I am on day 8 of the Whole30, after my mom and my sister successfully completed the Whole30 in may and are still eating this way to date. Mom has lost 25 lbs and sister has lost 15 lbs. I was the stubborn one, but their success has made me decide to give it a try.
I recommend reading It Starts with Food. I read it over the weekend and it really makes sense, especially the section about hormones, insulin, leptin, and cortisol. Cutting out grains, dairy, legumes, sugar and alcohol for 30 days sounds terrible, but it actually isn't that hard because you are eating enough protein, good fats, and vegetables and fruits to make you satisfied and not hungry. This is not a weightloss book, but weightloss is inevitable.
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This whole thread gives me a massive sad. Demonizing food is so wrong. Recognizing that food is nothing more than nourishment for your body takes away its power over you. It isn't some powerful drug that has any hold over your brain or body, and you aren't addicted to it. Avoiding an entire group of food is really problematic in the long run. People who have gone low-carb and lost weight have done so because they've cut calories out of their diet. Can you do this successfully? Yes, if you're able to do so long-term and not replace the carbs with other foods that add calories to bring your total count higher than your TDEE. Otherwise you're just going to gain the weight back.
Stop giving food power over you. You're are person with a mind and the ability to reason. To blame weight gain on food is like blaming a drunk driving crash on the booze or the car.0 -
Demonize sugar if it helps you. Demonize all the foods you want to demonize.
Whatever works!!0 -
Exactly!The high carb low fat fad started in the 70's. Before that most people ate lower carbs. I think the current way of eating is more likely a fad (thank you Ancel Keys).
I eat low carb and follow this guideline of foods to avoid (per Jonny Bowden, PhD).
• Potatoes
• Rice, wheat or other grains and starches
• Pasta
• Cereal
• Bread
• Sugar
• Alcohol
• Dairy
• Fruit if you have more than 15 pounds to lose
Exception: Everyone should eat 1 apple per day! If you need some variety or don’t like apples, you can have ½ cup of berries or a ½ grapefruit instead.
There are Essential Proteins (amino acids), Essential Fats but there are no Essential Carbohydrates.
If you doubt that, look at all the carbs in the Inuit diet. Not even a Klondike Bar.
So it becomes how many vegetables can one eat to get to the same carb count of one Oreo cookie?
.......and yes, the calories count too!0 -
Exactly!The high carb low fat fad started in the 70's. Before that most people ate lower carbs. I think the current way of eating is more likely a fad (thank you Ancel Keys).
I eat low carb and follow this guideline of foods to avoid (per Jonny Bowden, PhD).
• Potatoes
• Rice, wheat or other grains and starches
• Pasta
• Cereal
• Bread
• Sugar
• Alcohol
• Dairy
• Fruit if you have more than 15 pounds to lose
Exception: Everyone should eat 1 apple per day! If you need some variety or don’t like apples, you can have ½ cup of berries or a ½ grapefruit instead.
There are Essential Proteins (amino acids), Essential Fats but there are no Essential Carbohydrates.
If you doubt that, look at all the carbs in the Inuit diet. Not even a Klondike Bar.
So it becomes how many vegetables can one eat to get to the same carb count of one Oreo cookie?
.......and yes, the calories count too!
There are no essential carbohydrates because your body is so dependent on them you would die if they were and you went without them for a short time.0 -
The Eskimo (Inuit) population dispelled that myth a long, long time ago.stevencloser wrote: »There are no essential carbohydrates because your body is so dependent on them you would die if they were and you went without them for a short time.
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The Eskimo (Inuit) population dispelled that myth a long, long time ago.stevencloser wrote: »There are no essential carbohydrates because your body is so dependent on them you would die if they were and you went without them for a short time.
Read my post again.
Your body needs glucose. You just don't need to eat them, because your body can make it itself out of other food sources and your body stores.
Essential in dietary terms means that your body can't make it out of other things, it needs to be eaten to be present in your body.
There's a few bodily functions (very important ones, brain stuff mostly) that rely solely on glucose, no substitutes accepted.
So here's what would happen if carbs WERE essential and you wouldn't eat them(to the extend of my knowledge, feel free to correct me):
Your blood glucose would drop, your body uses its glycogen stores to bring it back up again, that goes well for a few days until the glycogen stores are depleted (since you're not eating carbs to replenish them and your body can't make more), your blood glucose would drop again, you'd enter hypoglycemia, then die.
We'd probably be extinct if carbs were essential.
You can go a pretty long time eating no fats or proteins without dying because your body has long term stores for them in form of your fat tissue and lean body mass respectively. There's not much stores for glucose though, only the glycogen storage in your muscles and liver, and that runs out fast when there's nothing to replenish it.0 -
Mandyrose1983 wrote: »I mean that some people say that that have a bite of ice cream and it satisfies them. For me, as soon as I taste a little bit of ice cream, candy or sugar, I feel like it's a drug and I just want MORE. I truly believe sugar is as addictive as cocaine
I don't know about everyone, but as someone who's been an addict with pretty much every narcotic there is at some point (I know, I know...lame...that's well behind me and it's going to stay there), I feel the same way about refined sugar. Once I start eating *kitten* sugars like cake or candy, it escalates quickly. I get ravenous for it. When I finally make the choice to stop, it sucks. I feel different in a bad way, and I crave it for a good while. But once it's been out of my system I'm okay. I think a lot of people experience this! Or at least some of the people I've talked to about how much I have to stay away from it... Everyone's different, obviously. But I can totally relate to your "dramatic" feelings about it hahaha internet forums are so ridiculous sometimes.
Yeah, I have had to keep my fingers silent on many of these comments. I so appreciate the support and even the constructive criticism. I guess I can't get mad at people who don't know me but presume that I am being dramatic or that I haven't tried everything that I can think of before coming to the conclusion that I might have to cut carbs and see what happens. I also know what addiction feels like and yes, the way my heart races and my breath gets shallow and I am suddenly bursting with energy is tantamount to cocaine. Oh well. I guess I really can't expect everyone to empathize with my journey. Just glad I can find some like minded and supportive people on this site.0 -
Demons are the blind fears of primitive thinking, the boogie-men of children. It becomes pretty clear that to demonize something is to give it a power over you, to tacitly give it the power to make you afraid because you don't understand it.
Why would you want to give a food that power? Why would anyone want to live in fear of a food for the sake of fearing it? I would like to live in the modern world free of demons - a world where such things are gone because we have rational enlightenment and understanding.0 -
stevencloser wrote: »Read my post again.
Your body needs glucose. You just don't need to eat them, because your body can make it itself out of other food sources and your body stores.
Essential in dietary terms means that your body can't make it out of other things, it needs to be eaten to be present in your body.
There's a few bodily functions (very important ones, brain stuff mostly) that rely solely on glucose, no substitutes accepted.
So here's what would happen if carbs WERE essential and you wouldn't eat them(to the extend of my knowledge, feel free to correct me):
Your blood glucose would drop, your body uses its glycogen stores to bring it back up again, that goes well for a few days until the glycogen stores are depleted (since you're not eating carbs to replenish them and your body can't make more), your blood glucose would drop again, you'd enter hypoglycemia, then die.
We'd probably be extinct if carbs were essential.
You can go a pretty long time eating no fats or proteins without dying because your body has long term stores for them in form of your fat tissue and lean body mass respectively. There's not much stores for glucose though, only the glycogen storage in your muscles and liver, and that runs out fast when there's nothing to replenish it.
Very well explanation.
Perhaps if I had phrased it this way:
You can live and thrive on a diet solely of Proteins and Fats but void of carbohydrates. You cannot survive on a diet of Proteins and Carbohydrates or Fats and Carbohydrates.
The proof of this fact is (as I said before) in the Inuit diet. There are months where there are absolutely no source of carbohydrates available yet they fare pretty well. Even their source of vitamin C is coming from the animal sources they eat.
It's an interesting read if you research it ........ but I have no plans to relocate.
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@stevencloser - doubly funny thing - I recently had someone tell me the Inuit, even during the winter when they subsist on meat, do not actually enter ketosis during that time. They still get a fair amount of glycogen in the raw meat they eat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketosis#Controversy
So now the Inuit response is approaching fractal wrongness.0 -
Mandyrose1983 wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »I mean that some people say that that have a bite of ice cream and it satisfies them. For me, as soon as I taste a little bit of ice cream, candy or sugar, I feel like it's a drug and I just want MORE. I truly believe sugar is as addictive as cocaine
I don't know about everyone, but as someone who's been an addict with pretty much every narcotic there is at some point (I know, I know...lame...that's well behind me and it's going to stay there), I feel the same way about refined sugar. Once I start eating *kitten* sugars like cake or candy, it escalates quickly. I get ravenous for it. When I finally make the choice to stop, it sucks. I feel different in a bad way, and I crave it for a good while. But once it's been out of my system I'm okay. I think a lot of people experience this! Or at least some of the people I've talked to about how much I have to stay away from it... Everyone's different, obviously. But I can totally relate to your "dramatic" feelings about it hahaha internet forums are so ridiculous sometimes.
Yeah, I have had to keep my fingers silent on many of these comments. I so appreciate the support and even the constructive criticism. I guess I can't get mad at people who don't know me but presume that I am being dramatic or that I haven't tried everything that I can think of before coming to the conclusion that I might have to cut carbs and see what happens. I also know what addiction feels like and yes, the way my heart races and my breath gets shallow and I am suddenly bursting with energy is tantamount to cocaine. Oh well. I guess I really can't expect everyone to empathize with my journey. Just glad I can find some like minded and supportive people on this site.
Anyone who's actually been addicted to a narcotic substance or alcohol should actually be insulted by the insinuation that food is addictive. It's not. 'Shit sugars'? Come on. Your body does not know the difference between sugar from sugar cane or sugar beets or corn or any other source, or a piece of fruit. Neither does your brain. Does this reaction happen when you eat a potato? That's a carb also. How about a piece of whole-wheat bread with nothing on it?
Are you lining up sugar out of the bag and licking it off of the counter? Eating spoonsful of it? Because that's addictive behavior. If you're just worried about eating an extra donut because you really enjoy the taste - guess what - that's not sugar addiction. That's you enjoying the flavor combination of carbs and fats. That's what happens with a lot of the foods usually mentioned, like pizza, cookies, that piece of bread with butter and peanut butter on it.
Sometimes if you realize you really like the taste of something, and indulgence is the only way eating it will make you feel satisfied, you have to learn to make room for it in a calorie deficit. That's possible. You undercut your calories several days in a row, so that you have a large chunk of calories available on the day you want to indulge. Then you eat that indulgent food.
If eating a lot of it isn't the answer (in the long run, for most people, a small serving is better and will make you happier), you learn to weigh your food and have a small serving and just enjoy that. You train your brain that the food is not your master and don't react the way that you have in the past.-2 -
Mandyrose1983 wrote: »
Thank you very much!!!! What did you cut??? No sugar? Candy? Do you eat dairy?? No breads or pasta (of course). Do u eat oatmeal or sweet potatoes?? Fruit?GaleHawkins wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »so I've decided that I am going to cut all sugar and try to decrease my carbs as much as possible. I really really want to drop this weight. I want to keep sugar and refined carbs out of my life forever (or at least limit them from my diet forever). I want this to be a lifestyle change. I am huge on clean eating and I really don't eat junk. However, I have a hard time resisting the "feel good foods" when I am emotional or stressed. Any tips on how to transition to a low carbs lifestyle? Any tips on how to keep from reaching for the junk when my mood is not so good? Also, does anyone have any good substitutes for the "feel good foods"?
I have been on a diet similar to what you state above for the past 10 months. It may be being 64 years old and a long term carb abuser but I could not transition to a low carb lifestyle after trying for 2 months so I had to just quit eating most all carbs cold turkey. After being low carb high fat for 10 months it is the way I plan to eat until death. Fats are my feel good foods I guess. I wish I had made the change 40 years ago. You can do this and after you do it for a month you can do it for life based on my experience.
My initial goal was only to manage my arthritis joint and muscle pain by diet to prevent starting Enbrel injections due to bad side effect risks.
At first I cut most all food that was mainly carbs including ALL grains and fruit plus dairy. I have since added back very low carb dairy and no carb dairy like heavy whipping cream for my coffee to help fill my fats macro of 80%. So not breads, pasta, oatmeal, sweet potatoes or fruit and the like carb foods.
For breakfast I have coconut flakes and almonds with 200 calories from each. Then I have an 800 calorie cup of coffee because I add 5 tablespoons of coconut oil (best to taper in by starting with only 1 teaspoon trust me) and about 2 oz. of heavy whipping cream. Most days I have a boiled egg coated well with salt then green tea and celery.
At 3-5 pm I eat again and that is 5 fried eggs and 6 pieces of bacon and four cups of coffee with about 200 calories of cream or half and half added to each cup.
This gives me about a 1.5 pound a week loss rate on average. When I maintain (did it for three months in the spring) I eat again in the 9-11 pm time window. I love cottage cheese then and may eat some more coconut flakes and almonds or about anything that contains no carbs. I do have to watch my protein since the body converts about 50% of those calories to glucose and that is how I get my glucose without carbs for the brain to use where carbs are required.
Basically I do not eat food containing carbs and it really that simple and easy to do. I keep my total daily carbs in the 30-50 grams daily so I really only have one constriction to live with and plan to do so the rest of my live.
For 10 months I have lived in nutritional ketosis. Going over 50 grams of carb in one day will know me out of ketosis because the carbs will know down my level of ketones that I have to power my muscles and much of my brain and other organs at will run on fats as well or better than on carbs.
Arthritis pain dropped just under radar in about 30 days of very low carbs. IBS started to clear after 90 days then totally was GONE. There are many other good results health wise.
Remember I was 63 when I started this for real Oct 2014 and was fully aware my life was at risk due to abusing carbs for 40 years. I would keep doing LCHF if it only managed my arthritis pain but it does much more. I do not preach LCHF that has no interest or need of such an eating lifestyle. Side effects of LCHF I feel are helping me prevent Type 2 diabetes, heart attack, Parkinson, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer's and other causes of death.
One day I will die but it is now my goal to be walking and talking until the day of my death. Just a year ago I had to have help just getting in and out of cars when traveling. Airports were more trouble than they were worth. Now I am under 200 pounds for the first time in 22 years and the kids are about to turn 18 so I have have many more reasons to eat for life than to continue in my case eating for a nasty and premature death.
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Mandyrose1983 wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »I mean that some people say that that have a bite of ice cream and it satisfies them. For me, as soon as I taste a little bit of ice cream, candy or sugar, I feel like it's a drug and I just want MORE. I truly believe sugar is as addictive as cocaine
I don't know about everyone, but as someone who's been an addict with pretty much every narcotic there is at some point (I know, I know...lame...that's well behind me and it's going to stay there), I feel the same way about refined sugar. Once I start eating *kitten* sugars like cake or candy, it escalates quickly. I get ravenous for it. When I finally make the choice to stop, it sucks. I feel different in a bad way, and I crave it for a good while. But once it's been out of my system I'm okay. I think a lot of people experience this! Or at least some of the people I've talked to about how much I have to stay away from it... Everyone's different, obviously. But I can totally relate to your "dramatic" feelings about it hahaha internet forums are so ridiculous sometimes.
Yeah, I have had to keep my fingers silent on many of these comments. I so appreciate the support and even the constructive criticism. I guess I can't get mad at people who don't know me but presume that I am being dramatic or that I haven't tried everything that I can think of before coming to the conclusion that I might have to cut carbs and see what happens. I also know what addiction feels like and yes, the way my heart races and my breath gets shallow and I am suddenly bursting with energy is tantamount to cocaine. Oh well. I guess I really can't expect everyone to empathize with my journey. Just glad I can find some like minded and supportive people on this site.
Anyone who's actually been addicted to a narcotic substance or alcohol should actually be insulted by the insinuation that food is addictive. It's not. 'Shit sugars'? Come on. Your body does not know the difference between sugar from sugar cane or sugar beets or corn or any other source, or a piece of fruit. Neither does your brain. Does this reaction happen when you eat a potato? That's a carb also. How about a piece of whole-wheat bread with nothing on it?
Are you lining up sugar out of the bag and licking it off of the counter? Eating spoonsful of it? Because that's addictive behavior. If you're just worried about eating an extra donut because you really enjoy the taste - guess what - that's not sugar addiction. That's you enjoying the flavor combination of carbs and fats. That's what happens with a lot of the foods usually mentioned, like pizza, cookies, that piece of bread with butter and peanut butter on it.
Sometimes if you realize you really like the taste of something, and indulgence is the only way eating it will make you feel satisfied, you have to learn to make room for it in a calorie deficit. That's possible. You undercut your calories several days in a row, so that you have a large chunk of calories available on the day you want to indulge. Then you eat that indulgent food.
If eating a lot of it isn't the answer (in the long run, for most people, a small serving is better and will make you happier), you learn to weigh your food and have a small serving and just enjoy that. You train your brain that the food is not your master and don't react the way that you have in the past.
No need to get hostile. If you don't agree with me or the way I think, move on and have a nice day.0 -
Mandyrose1983 wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »I mean that some people say that that have a bite of ice cream and it satisfies them. For me, as soon as I taste a little bit of ice cream, candy or sugar, I feel like it's a drug and I just want MORE. I truly believe sugar is as addictive as cocaine
I don't know about everyone, but as someone who's been an addict with pretty much every narcotic there is at some point (I know, I know...lame...that's well behind me and it's going to stay there), I feel the same way about refined sugar. Once I start eating *kitten* sugars like cake or candy, it escalates quickly. I get ravenous for it. When I finally make the choice to stop, it sucks. I feel different in a bad way, and I crave it for a good while. But once it's been out of my system I'm okay. I think a lot of people experience this! Or at least some of the people I've talked to about how much I have to stay away from it... Everyone's different, obviously. But I can totally relate to your "dramatic" feelings about it hahaha internet forums are so ridiculous sometimes.
Yeah, I have had to keep my fingers silent on many of these comments. I so appreciate the support and even the constructive criticism. I guess I can't get mad at people who don't know me but presume that I am being dramatic or that I haven't tried everything that I can think of before coming to the conclusion that I might have to cut carbs and see what happens. I also know what addiction feels like and yes, the way my heart races and my breath gets shallow and I am suddenly bursting with energy is tantamount to cocaine. Oh well. I guess I really can't expect everyone to empathize with my journey. Just glad I can find some like minded and supportive people on this site.
Anyone who's actually been addicted to a narcotic substance or alcohol should actually be insulted by the insinuation that food is addictive. It's not. 'Shit sugars'? Come on. Your body does not know the difference between sugar from sugar cane or sugar beets or corn or any other source, or a piece of fruit. Neither does your brain. Does this reaction happen when you eat a potato? That's a carb also. How about a piece of whole-wheat bread with nothing on it?
Are you lining up sugar out of the bag and licking it off of the counter? Eating spoonsful of it? Because that's addictive behavior. If you're just worried about eating an extra donut because you really enjoy the taste - guess what - that's not sugar addiction. That's you enjoying the flavor combination of carbs and fats. That's what happens with a lot of the foods usually mentioned, like pizza, cookies, that piece of bread with butter and peanut butter on it.
Sometimes if you realize you really like the taste of something, and indulgence is the only way eating it will make you feel satisfied, you have to learn to make room for it in a calorie deficit. That's possible. You undercut your calories several days in a row, so that you have a large chunk of calories available on the day you want to indulge. Then you eat that indulgent food.
If eating a lot of it isn't the answer (in the long run, for most people, a small serving is better and will make you happier), you learn to weigh your food and have a small serving and just enjoy that. You train your brain that the food is not your master and don't react the way that you have in the past.
No need to get hostile. If you don't agree with me or the way I think, move on and have a nice day.
I'm sorry if you think that being realistic comes across as hostile. It shouldn't. There's nothing 'mean' there.0 -
Mandyrose1983 wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »Mandyrose1983 wrote: »I mean that some people say that that have a bite of ice cream and it satisfies them. For me, as soon as I taste a little bit of ice cream, candy or sugar, I feel like it's a drug and I just want MORE. I truly believe sugar is as addictive as cocaine
I don't know about everyone, but as someone who's been an addict with pretty much every narcotic there is at some point (I know, I know...lame...that's well behind me and it's going to stay there), I feel the same way about refined sugar. Once I start eating *kitten* sugars like cake or candy, it escalates quickly. I get ravenous for it. When I finally make the choice to stop, it sucks. I feel different in a bad way, and I crave it for a good while. But once it's been out of my system I'm okay. I think a lot of people experience this! Or at least some of the people I've talked to about how much I have to stay away from it... Everyone's different, obviously. But I can totally relate to your "dramatic" feelings about it hahaha internet forums are so ridiculous sometimes.
Yeah, I have had to keep my fingers silent on many of these comments. I so appreciate the support and even the constructive criticism. I guess I can't get mad at people who don't know me but presume that I am being dramatic or that I haven't tried everything that I can think of before coming to the conclusion that I might have to cut carbs and see what happens. I also know what addiction feels like and yes, the way my heart races and my breath gets shallow and I am suddenly bursting with energy is tantamount to cocaine. Oh well. I guess I really can't expect everyone to empathize with my journey. Just glad I can find some like minded and supportive people on this site.
Anyone who's actually been addicted to a narcotic substance or alcohol should actually be insulted by the insinuation that food is addictive. It's not. 'Shit sugars'? Come on. Your body does not know the difference between sugar from sugar cane or sugar beets or corn or any other source, or a piece of fruit. Neither does your brain. Does this reaction happen when you eat a potato? That's a carb also. How about a piece of whole-wheat bread with nothing on it?
Are you lining up sugar out of the bag and licking it off of the counter? Eating spoonsful of it? Because that's addictive behavior. If you're just worried about eating an extra donut because you really enjoy the taste - guess what - that's not sugar addiction. That's you enjoying the flavor combination of carbs and fats. That's what happens with a lot of the foods usually mentioned, like pizza, cookies, that piece of bread with butter and peanut butter on it.
Sometimes if you realize you really like the taste of something, and indulgence is the only way eating it will make you feel satisfied, you have to learn to make room for it in a calorie deficit. That's possible. You undercut your calories several days in a row, so that you have a large chunk of calories available on the day you want to indulge. Then you eat that indulgent food.
If eating a lot of it isn't the answer (in the long run, for most people, a small serving is better and will make you happier), you learn to weigh your food and have a small serving and just enjoy that. You train your brain that the food is not your master and don't react the way that you have in the past.
No need to get hostile. If you don't agree with me or the way I think, move on and have a nice day.
I'm sorry if you think that being realistic comes across as hostile. It shouldn't. There's nothing 'mean' there.
Your post was very kind and helpful. Well said.0 -
Demons are the blind fears of primitive thinking, the boogie-men of children. It becomes pretty clear that to demonize something is to give it a power over you, to tacitly give it the power to make you afraid because you don't understand it.
Why would you want to give a food that power? Why would anyone want to live in fear of a food for the sake of fearing it? I would like to live in the modern world free of demons - a world where such things are gone because we have rational enlightenment and understanding.
When you demonize people who demonize food, does that give them power over you? Or does this "Relinquishment Of Power" theory only hold true for foods?0 -
Demons are the blind fears of primitive thinking, the boogie-men of children. It becomes pretty clear that to demonize something is to give it a power over you, to tacitly give it the power to make you afraid because you don't understand it.
Why would you want to give a food that power? Why would anyone want to live in fear of a food for the sake of fearing it? I would like to live in the modern world free of demons - a world where such things are gone because we have rational enlightenment and understanding.
When you demonize people who demonize food, does that give them power over you? Or does this "Relinquishment Of Power" theory only hold true for foods?
Saying that people demonize something isn't 'demonizing' those people. (see the definition of demonizing above, as giving it power over you, or being afraid of it because you don't understand it). Neither of those definitions fits people who say that people demonize food, now does it?0
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