Few problems with my diet

myname20

Hi everyone, just recently started low carb dieting and I have 2 problems I would like to solve. .. if possible

1. So of course the main point is to avoid carbs. I love pasta, rice, bread, potatoes. Ok, I can hold myself and not touch rice and potatoes. I eat pasta 1-2 times a week. But I cant stop myself from eating bread!! Bread ADDICTS, help me with advice, please!!! Is there any product which tastes similar but is low carb? Except the expensive stuff.. How do you stop yourself from touching bread? Yeah I could buy full package of some healthy bread and eat one piece a day, but then the rest would get old and.. you know whats the point? Help!!

2. I have no problems eating low carb at daytime and mostly also dinner. But I always get hungry after dinner - it is like a rule! I wonder what kind of snacks can I make for myself?! And I dont want to cook something complicated for snacking.. What do you eat when you want to snack? (carrots and few nuts really doesnt make me happy or full at evenings

deksgrl

There are recipes for low carb breads you can make.

The key to not being hungry is having sufficient fat intake. I used to be always hungry, and I had super blood sugar crashes if I didn't eat very regularly. Now I am rarely hungry and I don't crash like I used to. After a few weeks, if your fat intake is sufficient, that should solve the hungry problem. Add butter to your dinner, cook in olive oil, add cheese to your dinners.

Snacks: Cream cheese on veggies, or spread cream cheese on a slice of deli meat and roll it up. Cheese & Pepperoni. A can of tuna fish. A can of black olives. There are recipes for low carb desserts. We make a keto chocolate milkshake that we often have after dinner. Tonight I am trying out a recipe I saw here for keto cheesecake.

FIT_Goat

Ex-bread addict here. The best solution? Stop entirely. I know it's not what you want to be told, but it's the only real solution to getting over bread addiction. This is coming from someone who used to eat a loaf a day (or the equivalent in other breads), and baked his own fresh. If you were an alcoholic, trying to stop drinking, you wouldn't sit here and tell us that you can give up wine and liquor, but you need to find a way to make beer work in your alcohol-free lifestyle. You know how ridiculous that sounds. It's the same with bread.

Are there faux-bread substitutes? Yes. They all suck. None of them will scratch the itch. All they will do is feed the craving for "real" bread.

Snacking? This is something that goes away with time. Until you lose the desire, crumbled up bacon (or just cold strips of cooked bacon) is a nice snack. Pork rinds are also pretty awesome. Beef jerky works sometimes, although I make my own to avoid the added sugar in most jerky.

Edit: You also need to get over the idea that there is a such thing as "healthy bread." There's not. Bread, if it exists in your diet at all, is a treat food. It's a compromise between health and pleasure.

Sunny_Bunny_

I have to agree with @FIT_Goat
I had that problem with sugar. Candy specifically.
I had to just stop. Completely. I had to treat it like it was a drug or something.

AshleyC1023

I'm with FIT_Goat - beef jerky is my nice snack fix and I also make it myself. It's a lot cheaper than store bought too.
I was in that boat when I started this, and just had to decide what I wanted - do I want to eat bread and have trouble with my weight, or deal with the loss of it and move on? After a few days I got over wanting toast with eggs, and toast and hashbrowns with eggs and bacon was my absolute favorite breakfast.

CMYKRGB

Do you really get hungry, or is the evening snack a habit? Change your routine and see if that helps to kick the habit

SamandaIndia

Chia seed pudding is a high fibre dessert worth investigating. I loved bread and I love the smell of fresh bread (AKA kryptonite) but even walking into a bakery now I am not tempted enough to buy it. I agree with above folk. For me it is so much easier to say Doctors orders I cant have it. (Truth too) than to start on one little morsel and risk the well meaning peer or grandma pressure or my own lack of control so cold turkey for me. Drugs, smoking, alcohol, candy, cheese, nuts, spending, new shoes- we each need to make our own choices on how they impact our wealth and our health.

Do what works for you. BTW my girlfriend gave up smoking using Alan Cars book which focuses not on cigarretes but the habits that are associated with them. I suspect food addiction could be treated the same way.

lithezebra

I do really well with cauliflower tossed with olive oil, garlic, and salt, and roasted until it's browned and chewy. It doesn't taste like bread. It isn't a substitute for bread. But somehow it does it for me anyway.

TaraTall

@FIT_Goat has my vote.
After I was diagnosed celiac, breads was one of my challenges to eliminate. Now, I rarely -if ever - crave bread.

macchiatto

I agree with @FIT_Goat , too. For me the cravings have decreased dramatically over time.
When I find myself craving something sweet or a "treat" in the evening, I try to focus on foods that are flavorful that do fit the plan: pickles, pepper jack cheese, celery with chive and onion cream cheese, buffalo chicken dip, a fat bomb or cream cheese cloud, bacon, pepperoni, a "Skillet pizza" (just mozzarella and pepperoni), etc.

KarlaYP

I began thinking of bread (and almost all sugar!) as poison for me, because it made me sick! I can't see a successful LCHF woe with bread in it. I too agree with @Fit_Goat!

daylitemag

Nuts and blackberries are my go to evening snacks. Easy, no prep and keto friendly. I also like a large glass of soda water flavoured with a sweetener like MIO but I try to avoid artificial stuff and look for stevia. With regard to bread if you give yourself time you may find you get over the cravings - at least I did. I really don't miss bread and doubt I will ever eat it again. I won't go so far as to call it poison but the downside of eating it is greater than the up. I've found a couple of things I can do with my eggs that help me not miss toast. I add either: peanut butter, small amount of ketchup or a couple Tbsp of mayo. I find those flavours jazz up the eggs enough that I'm happy without bread. Before using these ingredients I was starting to get bored with eggs.

BTW, the two suggestions above are both thanks to the fine folks on this forum who have been most helpful to me. I've learned a lot from this group.

lovesretirement

Since going keto, I have avoided all breads, crackers, chips, and starchy/salty stuff. I am not making any keto recipes that even resemble bread. I know that I would end up eating the entire batch! I won't even try the cheese crackers! Avoidance of all is best for me.

anglyn1

I have celiac disease so I gave up "real" bread 6 years ago. Lucky for me gluten free bread is easier to give up. While it's not terrible it's basically lacking the airy texture that would compel anyone to eat a whole loaf.

I agree with the above that keto and bread probably can't mix, especially not if it's a food you lose control around. When I feel snacky in the evening but know that I'm not truly hungry I have a cup of hot tea with a splash of heavy whipping cream and it does the trick. Maybe try that until you can get a handle on the cravings? Good luck!

DelilahCat0212

I've been experimenting with baked goods and breads with coconut and almond flours. There are some good recipes out there and my weight loss hasn't stalled.

sault_girl

I was also a complete bread addict (I lovingly baked my own bread from scratch) and there is really no other way for me to deal with it except to give it up completely.

To deal with evening eating, I push dinner back to about 8:30-9pm most nights. Then by the time I'm done eating, cleaning up, it's almost time for bed.

JessicaLCHF

myname20 wrote: »

Hi everyone, just recently started low carb dieting and I have 2 problems I would like to solve. .. if possible
...

2. I have no problems eating low carb at daytime and mostly also dinner. But I always get hungry after dinner - it is like a rule! I wonder what kind of snacks can I make for myself?! And I dont want to cook something complicated for snacking.. What do you eat when you want to snack? (carrots and few nuts really doesnt make me happy or full at evenings

I had the same problem! When I started I'd eat around one (first meal) and do pretty good, and by nine I would be eating everything in the house. I looked it up and found an article on NES (night eating syndrome) that resonated with me. I figured I'd try his solutions.

The eating bfast by nine really worked wonders. I used to never ever eat bfast and it was a huge hurdle making it a habit, but I set an alarm and just did it. I also set an alarm for seven pm and made a mental note: the kitchen is CLOSED.

I think the combination of getting my body "going" earlier, my willpower waning at night when I was TIRED, and never hitting that, "I'm hungry, I need to eat NOW" in my day is what worked for me. I also made it a point to get morning sunlight every day - which happened to help with my low vitamin D issues.

I get it that a lot of ppl will tell you not to eat bfast. I'll tell you to. Try it and see what works for YOU.

I'll link the article, it's from Mark's Daily Apple. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/night-eating-syndrome-causes-solutions/#axzz31AseRp4q

Sunny_Bunny_

I've had some periods of hunger that I had trouble controlling a little while ago. I knew I didn't want to eat and blow my whole day, so what often helped me was simply drinking a hot beverage. Whatever you like, tea, coffee, broth... If I had some calories available and I didn't think just the drink alone was enough, I would add some butter or MCT oil to help kill the hunger. Even if I didn't have calories available, if I couldn't get it under control I would add the fat anyway because I would rather fat be what puts me over than anything else.
I realized the source of my hunger was connected to how much artificial sweetener I was using. Once I cut my usage in half, I had an immediate change and I was back to enjoying control all day again. Consider that as a possible hunger trigger. It's incredibly common. I can handle a little with no issues, but if I take even an extra teaspoon of coffee syrup in the morning, I can really feel the hunger monster coming. And it's not even specifically a sweet craving I get. Just feeling like I want to eat. Anything. Everything.
Anyway, stay focused and if you're working the plan well, and stay away from the grains, you'll find it eventually becomes manageable or goes away entirely.

slimzandra

As mentioned, you can try these bread recipies if you like to cook, I think the low carb value varies, but it's a good starting link. It's interesting to explore, but as @Fit_goat mentioned, the taste and texture remains subjective at best. Perhaps experimenting with gluten-free breads with help you wean. http://authoritynutrition.com/15-low-carb-bread-recipes/

I snack on berries and cream at night. MCT oil in an herbal tea is a fix for me as well. Getting in a pinch more fat, helps the urge to nosh. I'm usually full after dinner - for at least 2 hours, getting in lots of fat and at least 500 calories for that last meal of the day helps me.

I have to reiterate in bold, what @deksgrl advised, because it made a total difference for me: The key to not being hungry is having sufficient fat intake.

tlflag1620

I agree with Fit_goat - cutting out bread entirely is essential, low carb substitutes can be concocted, but they are not going to taste the same and may cause cravings to persist. Cutting it out completely is your best bet. After a few weeks the cravings will subside and if at that point you want to incorporate a small serving of the real deal as an occasional "treat" you can, but even small amounts once in a while may trigger cravings, you'll have to experiment and see how you react.

I also tend to like to eat later in the day; what I've found helpful is skipping breakfast. I'm not particularly hungry in the morning, especially since eating LC, so I don't usually eat "breakfast" until noon, and it's generally pretty small (a couple of eggs or a salad with meat, cheese, seeds or nuts, hard boiled eggs if I have them on hand, and olive oil and vinegar). I then have dinner at a normal time, which leaves me plenty of room for second dinner or a big snack at around 9 pm. As for fast easy snack ideas, you've gotten plenty of ideas so far, but my go-to evening snacks (when I'm not hungry enough for second dinner, lol) are cheese and nuts, heavy cream with berries and a sprinkle of cinnamon, or a couple squares of very dark chocolate. I also second slimzandra's and deksgrl's advice to make sure you are getting enough fat. That really does do wonders for suppressing appetite and keeping the munchies at bay.

MilllieMoo

I love bread almost as much as I love my husband!
I just stopped eating it. I never thought I would ever be able to give up bread, but I did. And you know, it really wasn't hard.

As for after dinner hunger, I find a fat bomb or two works wonders.

Good luck.

JQuinnLife

myname20 wrote: »

1. So of course the main point is to avoid carbs. I love pasta, rice, bread, potatoes. Ok, I can hold myself and not touch rice and potatoes. I eat pasta 1-2 times a week. But I cant stop myself from eating bread!! Bread ADDICTS, help me with advice, please!!! Is there any product which tastes similar but is low carb? Except the expensive stuff.. How do you stop yourself from touching bread? Yeah I could buy full package of some healthy bread and eat one piece a day, but then the rest would get old and.. you know whats the point? Help!!

Bread has always been my weak point too. Most of my life, bread came as a requirement with every meal.

Then one day I woke up and told myself I want to live the Keto life. And just like that, I forgot entirely that bread existed.

I'm against attempting to make carbohydrate recreations, like using some sort of low-carb flour to make bread. It makes a poor excuse for real bread, and all it does is make me want to eat some real carbs.

Just quit cold turkey and don't look back!

myname20 wrote: »

2. I have no problems eating low carb at daytime and mostly also dinner. But I always get hungry after dinner - it is like a rule! I wonder what kind of snacks can I make for myself?! And I dont want to cook something complicated for snacking.. What do you eat when you want to snack? (carrots and few nuts really doesnt make me happy or full at evenings

Protein shake. Having one before bed time is probably one of the healthiest things you can do for your body.

It's also filling, and if you get the right flavor, pretty much a dessert before bed.

On some nights, when I ate too early and not enough calories, I'll add some different oil to the protein shake to add more calories and healthy fats. Any oil would work, hemp, flax, olive, coconut.

AKARonab

Try low carb tortilla. I like flat out tortilla shells. I use them for making pizza, wraps, fajitas, tacos etc.

LowCarbInScotland

myname20 wrote: »

Hi everyone, just recently started low carb dieting and I have 2 problems I would like to solve. .. if possible

2. I have no problems eating low carb at daytime and mostly also dinner. But I always get hungry after dinner - it is like a rule! I wonder what kind of snacks can I make for myself?! And I dont want to cook something complicated for snacking.. What do you eat when you want to snack? (carrots and few nuts really doesnt make me happy or full at evenings

I'm a nighttime snacker. That's definitely when I gained all my weight With this woe I don't get so hungry anymore, so I started eating dinner later, at the time when I used to start snacking. And then I pre-plan my day to include one snack after that. Before my recent Quest low carb PB cup addiction, I'd have 20 g of cheese with a big cup of tea and that tided me over until bedtime.

Yi5hedr3

I gave up Bread and Cows Milk years ago. Don't miss either one at all! Once you understand how bad they are for you, you won't miss them either!