Craving Carbs

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Replies

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    tabithahayes2000 wrote: »
    It just seems that I cannot honestly fit my food intake into a realistic goal percentage(protein/.carbs/ fat. Eat healthy and nutritious is my goal so I think I need to find perhaps more of a Whole Food type of group? Thank you SO much for the low carb list! I love reminding myself of the low/high foods. Thank you so much!

    You can change your goals to be for whatever amount of carbs you want. Like I said in my last post, if you are getting adequate fat and protein eating more carbs is fine.

    I don't tend to go over sugar since I eat more vegetables than fruit, but I eat fruit and unless one is at a low calorie level that shouldn't blow the sugar recommendation. That said, I ignore sugar from nutrient dense foods like fruit and simply glance at the sources of my sugar (if you know what you eat it should not be a surprise). Many people track fiber, not sugar, which might be a better approach for you.

    MFP does not require that you focus on macros or sugar or hit certain amounts, those are just options.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    nmagdy2017 wrote: »
    Wow! You are such an amazing community. Thanks for your willingness to help. To answer all the questions:

    My calorie intake is 1300 per day
    Weight: 73 kg
    Height:165 cm
    I am trying to reduce carbs in my daily intake so the distribution is:
    - 45% protin
    - 25% carbs
    - 30% fats. (To be honest, I haven't been keen to get healthy fats).

    I started noticing the crave with grapes then my main weak point is bread

    Ah, sorry, I see you already answered this.

    1300 may be too aggressive at your current activity level.

    Personally, the macros you indicate would not work for me, as they are so high in protein. I'd need more fat to be satisfied, others would likely need more starchy carbs. Maybe try budgeting for a bit more bread (if you miss it), and fruit? I assume you are already eating your veg.

    Why are you trying to reduce carbs? I did it because I felt more satisfied on lower carbs/higher fat, and also it just seemed to be naturally how I liked to eat, but I wouldn't force it.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    nmagdy2017 wrote: »
    Wow! You are such an amazing community. Thanks for your willingness to help. To answer all the questions:

    My calorie intake is 1300 per day
    Weight: 73 kg
    Height:165 cm
    I am trying to reduce carbs in my daily intake so the distribution is:
    - 45% protin
    - 25% carbs
    - 30% fats. (To be honest, I haven't been keen to get healthy fats).

    I started noticing the crave with grapes then my main weak point is bread

    That's pretty low. Unless you have a medical reason or are trying to get into ketosis, there's no benefit to cutting carbs that low, and if it's leading you to eliminate nutritious foods such as fruit from your diet, that's not optimal.

  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    CynthiasChoice wrote: »
    Reading your post reminded me of how I used to feel and behave when I was eating more carbs than my body could handle. People who are frequently craving crackers, potatoes, breads, pasta, chips, cakes, etc are possibly suffering from the effects of unbalanced blood sugar and insulin response. If you completely stop eating these kinds of carbs for a week, just to experiment, you might notice that by the end of the week you don't crave these foods quite so much. If that's the case, do another week. Hard as it is to believe, maybe you're happier without those foods because a life without cravings is pretty peaceful. Or maybe not.

    You're going to get conflicting advice on carbs. The bottom line is, you need to determine for yourself what is the right amount of carbs for you through trial and error. All I can do is tell you what works for me, but what works for me is not universal. I do recommend that you experiment with my way and experiment with someone else's way. You'll discover what makes you happy and satisfied that way.

    This is what works for me:
    I consume around 80 - 90 grams carbs a day on a 1250 - 1300 calorie diet. (I'm sedentary due to physical limitations.)
    I try not to eat more than 40 grams of carbs in one meal.
    I ALWAYS eat around 30 grams of protein before consuming carbs, unless the carbs come from veggies or yogurt.
    I think of grains, rice, starchy veggies like corn and potatoes, refined sugar and fruit as treats to eat only after I meet my protein goal and eat a variety of veggies and some healthy fats.
    No foods are off limits. I just recognize that if I eat cake, I will be hungry and cranky and pestered by cravings every 1/2 hour for a few days afterward. I don't claim to know the physiology behind this. I just know it's true for me.

    This way of eating has helped tremendously in taming my cravings for grains, starches and refined sugars. Maybe it's worth a try for you. If it doesn't calm down your cravings, then it's not the right approach for you. Best wishes!

    This way of eating is very similar to what I do - but I'm diabetic. It benefits me because my pancreas and liver don't work properly and anything more than about 45g of carbs raises my blood sugar to unsafe levels. But there is no reason to believe the OP has a health problem, and most healthy people can tolerate quite a few more carbs than this without issues.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Indeed, if OP has been craving carbs since trying to do 25% at 1300, it sounds like the craving may actually be the result of going down to 80-90 g of carbs a day, and not going to solved by it.
  • CynthiasChoice
    CynthiasChoice Posts: 1,047 Member
    I didn't notice the 25% carbs at 1300 calories. If the OP is actually doing this consistently over at least a week with no cheat days, and spreading those carbs out through the day, not in just one meal, then the OP has already tried my method of eating aimed at reducing cravings.

    Has anyone mentioned that a proper amount of sleep and staying hydrated helps a lot with cravings?

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