Out of control carb cravings...

angelfish24

I don't know if I can be of help but I'll tell you what worked for me. I started by just going to a gym and eating healthy. I work with a trainer once a week but what really helped me is to monitor my calories and do more protein. I prob. eat about 30 or more percent of protein. I track my calories and eat between 1300-1500 cals a day and exercise 4-5 times a week. The protein shakes like muscle milk light mixed w/ non fat milk and fruit and ice really fill me up and stopped the cravings. I also think the high protein bars like Luna Nuts over chocolate really curb my appetite. I'm not sure if it this or the exercise endorphins and eating low carbs like veggies and fruits and not white pasta or bread but the cravings are gone. Also I eat 5 times a day 300 cals at the most the the trainer says to eat a little carbs with protein. Such as a greek yogurt with some lowfat granola or some beek jerky and then a piece of fruit or some almonds and a veggie. He says the combo together is key to keep my body from burning the lean muscle tissue and eat the fat (I'm weight lifting too).
Not to say I don't have the occassional treat but I mainly eat at home and plan my meals. I'll have an occassional skinny cow ice cream or something but I try to watch the sugar as it makes me crave other things i think. Something must be working as I've dropped -50 pounds in the last 5 months.
Good luck on your weight loss journey!

TheBraveryLover

I'm curious to know how your protein intake is if you tend to eat a lot of and crave carbs. Perhaps if you increase protein that may help. Otherwise, your idea of low carbing it (100 grams or less) for a few weeks will probably do the trick.

Pronoiac

Lots of good suggestions above. Any of them could be relevant to you. I also have the 'more carbs I eat, the more I crave them' syndrome. Many people do. It's an evolutionary based drive to consume as many carbs as possible while they are available, preparing for the lean times. Since this drive to consume carbs is often serotonin related, 5htp can help balance that element of brain chemistry. Try to take it an hour after dinner but before the cravings take hold. Good luck!

Eating higher rations of protein and fiber at dinner also helps me.

stephreed11

Thank you for all of your great suggestions & advice! I really appreciate it. If i want to slowly reduce carbs/not cut them out completely at the beginning, what should my daily carb intake be? & should my protein go up? I'll be honest & say I haven't really looked at macro-nutrient numbers since I've started here, only calories. I think it's time to look at my ratios! Right now it's set to:

Fat- 57
Carbs- 234
Protein- 64

Those were automatically set by MFP. Is there a site I can go to that has ratio plans for lower carbs/higher protein, etc. so I can manually change my ratios? Thanks again!

nanodot

You can change your macros here on MFP. Go to My Home: goals: change goals: custom.

As for how many carbs you need, http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-carbohydrate-continuum/

khua0808

Though I recently began to adapt to moderate carbs (around 150 a day, all low GI, <30 sugar a day) I lived the low carb <50 net carb lifestyle for around 5 months and had great results. But yes when you are on low carb and especially in ketosis you don't miss the carb because you eat more protein. But one advise I can give you is that when you are on low carb, try to not snack on anything but protein because protein has one of the highest satiety index there is (so if you can't find lean meat snacks then do invest in protein drinks as one 50 g drink can really make you feel full).

fancydancyme

I didn't realize that craving carbs was a sign of being over tired! That sure explains a LOT! I crave carbs every night... part of it is habit but I just realized that I am usually really tired when my craving is at it's highest, like tonight. Thank you for this information. One of my goals is to get more sleep and your comment has made me realize one more reason why I need to. Thanks so much for this info!

kalexander2005

If i want to slowly reduce carbs/not cut them out completely at the beginning, what should my daily carb intake be? & should my protein go up?

I would recommend changing your goals to half the grams of carbs you currently have and increase protein by double, without changing your calories. Also, make sure any carbohydrate foods you are eating are whole and not processed, ie. instead of white flour, eat whole grain flour products, instead of white rice, eat brown rice, no white sugar at all. If you haven't noticed a difference after two or three weeks, you might want to further restrict carb intakes. I do 20-60 grams per day, and I can say honestly that I really don't have cravings. I'm losing approx 2 pounds per week on this regimen so far. You're mostly talking about cravings, so I would take the suggestion seriously about giving up grains altogether, at least for a while. You can eat very healthy on meat and veggies alone, but you will have to decide for yourself what you are willing and able to do.

sarahp86

I'm currently seeing a dietician at the moment. I'm a week into my new eating plan. I am the biggest chocolate/ carb addict going!
My boyfriend reckons I'm a junkie and even the dietician said I'm like a drug addict with sugar.
SO for the month I have cut out practically all carbs. No rice/ bread/ Pasta/ potatoes/ white bread.
For breakfast I have a 30g bowl of cornflakes and If i feel I need it, two slices of wholemeal bread a day. It has been all meat & veg and fruit.
The reason for this is so she can reintroduce carbs slowly into my diet so I'm not so dependant on them. I had the shakes for the first three days, I had a headache on day 4 & 5 and I have been very very moody!!

I'm craving foods I've never craved before and it's all about will power but I'm determined to do it. I'm on day 7 and I was told by day 10 I should feel better and stop craving these foods. I can't wait for 9th November when I go back to her and I can start eating carbs again!! If you want add me and have a look at my diary, will give you an idea of what my diet consists of. It is hard but if I can do it, anyone can!!

ajbeans

I'm all for "everything in moderation"...but the carbs are literally controlling my life. Sounds silly, but I'm pretty sure I'm completely addicted to carbs. I plan my day & stay within my calorie goal-until around 9pm every night, then it's all downhill. I'm sure it's just turned into a habit now, but I literally start thinking about chips, chocolate, any kind of carbs, & have gotten to the point where I feel like I'm completely out of control, & end up overeating those things every night. Every night I say I'll "start over" tomorrow, & get back on track. The next night-same exact thing. I'm starting to think the only way to control it is to maybe go low carb for a couple weeks? Until I get all of it out of my system...then maybe I won't crave them & have no control with them. Until I can control myself with them in moderation, do you think that would be a good idea? Should I just track my carb/sugar intake on here & not look at calories for awhile? For those of you with experience with this, when will I know when I can start introducing carbs again without gaining weight, etc.? I'm not looking to do low carb as a lifestyle, just to break this terrible habit. I'm looking at atkins.com right now for food ideas. I appreciate any advice you have to offer!

Maybe it's happening because you need more rest. Generally carb cravings happen when you're needing a quick energy fix, and since yours are happening at night, I would guess that's the problem. How much sleep are you getting? Are you getting enough water?

I know that I also tend to crave carbs more when I have sweets. If I just cut sweets out for a few days, I no longer crave them. I have never gone "low-carb," but I do try to avoid cookies and other sugary treats, because once I have them, I can't stop. Try just avoiding those things for a few days. If you get a craving, drink a glass of water and go to bed. Once you get it out of your system, it should be easier.

Good luck!

amycal

http://fitbie.msn.com/eat-right/tips/8-reasons-wheat-making-you-gain/tip/0

Here's a link to an article that goes in detail about those cravings and carb addiction. I am a recovering carb addict, and have eliminated grains from my diet. I honestly do not crave them anymore. At all. And I feel great, and am very happy to keep eating this way.

Wow thanks for sharing this link. I get the emails from fitbie but their slide show format bugs me so I don't always read them but I am so glad I took the time to read this. I have recently started following a diet outlined by a local doctor who practices integrative medicine and it is gluten-free. At his last seminar on gluten he talked a lot about how gluten intolerance leads to many neurological disorders such as Alzheimers and migraines because of this (quote from article)

" Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that polypeptides in gluten have the ability to penetrate blood-brain barriers. Once they gain entry into the brain, wheat compounds bind to the brain’s morphine receptors, the same receptors to which opiate drugs bind, producing a sense of reward or mild euphoria."

That whole blood-brain barrier thing breakdown is BAD. It was enough for me to try to be gluten free even though I don't really know that I am intolerant. I have not felt dramatically better, although I did have a beer last night and kind of a "cheat" meal that didn't strictly follow the diet and I am up 1.5 pounds from yesterday. I am hoping it is sodium due to eating out but now I am thinking if possibly having had some wheat in my food led to it as well. I am back to the strict adherence today to hopefully drop back in a day or 2 and then lose more! Also probably 90% of my excess fat is in my belly so I really am determined to be wheat/gluten-free!