compulsive carb cravings

bluecrayonz

All day i can walk away from a cookie....i can eat perfectly within my diet and calories. Boom nighttime comes and i crave carbs like someone with a drug addiction. sometimes i can hold out til 830...sometimes 10 sometimes even 12....but it just gets worse as time passes and i cant help but eat. I'm at my wits end. Anyon eelse have this problem or a solution?

agulamali

I get carb cravings too. My suggestion is to do plenty of anaerobic exercise so that you can indulge a little on carbs at night. This way, they work for you, not against you.

jonnythan

All day i can walk away from a cookie....i can eat perfectly within my diet and calories. Boom nighttime comes and i crave carbs like someone with a drug addiction. sometimes i can hold out til 830...sometimes 10 sometimes even 12....but it just gets worse as time passes and i cant help but eat. I'm at my wits end. Anyon eelse have this problem or a solution?

So eat some carbs. Plan the rest of your day to leave room for some at night.

taso42

If i could see your food diary I might have an opinion.

Goal00128

You are fighting your biology. Your body responds to carbs (glucose) by producing insulin. The insulin then decreases the amount of glucose in your system. Next things you know, you are eating carbs again. It is a cycle. If you significantly decrease the carbs in your diet and instead eat high protein foods you will dramatically reduce your cravings. It really really works. Processed carbs are the worst. Simple carbs in fruits and vegetables are much better and healthier. Healthy fats in moderation are ok because they fill you up.

Hope this helps

bluecrayonz

I opened my food diary

jbruced

I used t have that kind of craving. Ihave pretty much eliminated starches and refined sugars from my diet and those
cravings went away. It is my belief that cravings are a result of some nutrient missing from the diet. I think it is usually
the minerals or the various phytochemicals. It seems to me that a diet which includes a wide variety of vegetables and
fruits provides the best chance of getting the minerals and phytochemicals.

bluecrayonz

You are fighting your biology. Your body responds to carbs (glucose) by producing insulin. The insulin then decreases the amount of glucose in your system. Next things you know, you are eating carbs again. It is a cycle. If you significantly decrease the carbs in your diet and instead eat high protein foods you will dramatically reduce your cravings. It really really works. Processed carbs are the worst. Simple carbs in fruits and vegetables are much better and healthier. Healthy fats in moderation are ok because they fill you up.

Hope this helps

so i figured thats a good idea and today i limited my carbs and i was fine all day but at night i got the cravings again....is it the kind of thing that i just need to fight for a few days and itll get better?

nxd10

A tablespoon of your favorite ice cream with some nuts on it. Save up those 100 calories. So worth it.

xxrox123

the carbs at night thing.....me too, uncontrollably, it takes over my thinking it is crazy! If anyone has any Ideas to stop them or weaken them would love to know!

Toomanytwinkies

I stumbled upon the answer, for me, anyways. I have even been getting out of bed at night for carbs! Bad, I know. This week I started drinking half a lemon squeezed into a coffee cup of hot water in the morning. I do the same around 6 at night. I can't believe I'm saying this but I just don't care about the carbs now. The lemon is supposed to level your glucose levels out, among other benefits. Google it, I am sooo happy with my new find!

taso42

I opened my food diary

Ok. So you've only logged today - very low calories. And then a whole bunch of blank days, and then many days back, a few days again with very low calories.

You're just hungry due to undereating. So eat. Carbs, protein, fat. Whatever. Just eat.

ETA: and as usual, every other response in the thread is tossing out random advice without paying attention to the context.

AABru

I'm bumping because I'd like to see more responses too. I have this same issue. When I'm not busy (translate :moving constantly), I swear I can hear the food calling me from the cabinet...and never when it's early...and never a nice healthy piece of fruit or a vegetable! I try to move more during the day so I can still eat the cookie or half peanut butter sandwich or cupcake without negating the rest of my day's work. I try to keep all sweets and breads from the house, but my 4 year olds birthday was this week...oh, the agony of the last piece of cake screaming at me all night. I finally had two forkfulls and put the rest of the cake in the trash (I haven't stooped so low as to eat out of the trash bin yet).

kristafb

I have PCOS and one of the side effect are uncontrolable carb cravings so I know how you feel. Nights are the worst. The thing that helps me is cutting out sugar & keeping my carbs around 100 a day, mostly eaten earlier in the day. The more sugar/carbs I eat the more I crave.

CristinaL1983

This may sound kind of "outside the box" but have you tried a cup of coffee (with caffeine, yes even at night).

I only ask because for me, when I am tired (either late at night or if I haven't slept well) I crave simple carbs (like I want to stuff my face with anything from cookies to bread sticks or anything with sugar, you get the idea). If I have a cup of coffee, the cravings go away. Obviously, it depends on the person and reason for the cravings but without fail, this works for me. (I should also mention, I'm not particularly sensitive to caffeine and can pretty easily drink a carafe of coffee and still fall asleep with no problems. If you are, this would be a very bad idea).

Additionally, as mentioned, you could save up some of your calories for the evening. I do most of my eating in the late afternoon early evening so I make sure most of my calories are saved up for later in the day.

taso42

the carbs at night thing.....me too, uncontrollably, it takes over my thinking it is crazy! If anyone has any Ideas to stop them or weaken them would love to know!

10 bucks says you're eating 1200 calories or less per day too.

NRSPAM

OMG, it's like we're twins!!! I have found that it is a cycle for me too. If I have a bite of processed sugars at night, I'll crave more and more! Having a piece of fruit has helped me in the past. Right now, I just tell myself no from eating any in the first place, at night. I don't crave this stuff during the day, either. I'm so good all day, and then it just hits me, like you said, I feel like a drug addict! Lol. I wish I could just understand it, and figure out what the problem is! I've heard so many opinions on this, and most of them make sense, but IDK which ones are true, or what to do to fix the problem!

NRSPAM

I stumbled upon the answer, for me, anyways. I have even been getting out of bed at night for carbs! Bad, I know. This week I started drinking half a lemon squeezed into a coffee cup of hot water in the morning. I do the same around 6 at night. I can't believe I'm saying this but I just don't care about the carbs now. The lemon is supposed to level your glucose levels out, among other benefits. Google it, I am sooo happy with my new find!

I will certainly be trying this! Heck, I'll try anything!!! Lol

bluecrayonz

I opened my food diary

Ok. So you've only logged today - very low calories. And then a whole bunch of blank days, and then many days back, a few days again with very low calories.

You're just hungry due to undereating. So eat. Carbs, protein, fat. Whatever. Just eat.

ETA: and as usual, every other response in the thread is tossing out random advice without paying attention to the context.

cuz i stop logging after i cheat so it looks like im eating very low but really im eating plenty

JoshuaL86

If I only ate 1000 calories a day, I would be mad, and hungry, and I would probably be craving carbs as well. Really, you may try eating more during the day, with emphasis on fats and protein.

jonnythan

cuz i stop logging after i cheat so it looks like im eating very low but really im eating plenty

Sounds like a recipe for progress.

Log everything.

taso42

I opened my food diary

Ok. So you've only logged today - very low calories. And then a whole bunch of blank days, and then many days back, a few days again with very low calories.

You're just hungry due to undereating. So eat. Carbs, protein, fat. Whatever. Just eat.

ETA: and as usual, every other response in the thread is tossing out random advice without paying attention to the context.

cuz i stop logging after i cheat so it looks like im eating very low but really im eating plenty

Don't stop logging. Build up a few weeks of actual accurate history and then let's reassess. Besides, your idea of what cheating means might be warped.

Toomanytwinkies

Well, I'm watching my son eat extra butter n salted popcorn right now. Last week I would have had visions of stealing it from him n locking myself in the bathroom with the bowl until it was done! Seriously! I'm not having a problem with it at all now. Two words...lemon water

girlykate143

get more lean proteins in early in your day. Do stuff without added sugar (if peanut butter, do it without sugar or fake sugars, if yogurt, go with 2% plain). Your body needs to adapt to less sugar. I used to crave carbs at night too. It can be a vicious cycle. Feed it good stuff and it will reward you. Eat some bad carbs only once in a while, like maybe 2 meals out of each week, include it, but don't make that bad carb the centerpiece of your meal. Or, get the stuff out of your house entirely if you can. That way, you won't give in to the temptation as easily.

nannukka

Very interesting thread! I'm newbie and this hit home. Sweet things and carbs are my thing too and the evenings are hard. It is lot better for me now since I do not have time to watch TV during a week and I go to bed early so the window for eating the "naughty stuff" is smaller. But I can so relate - since it's never just one cookie people. Never. I do think it is true that you do have to log either all of the foods or none. Logging just some is pointless. It is an eye opener to see how much you actually eat, but sometimes also surprising that there is actually "room" especially the days you exercise hard. you start making the connections with exercising and eating and "is this worth eating since I have to log it". It is a process. The logging helps and it keeps you accountable. But also reminds you to eat more when you used lots of calories (which can be hard for us women).

bluecrayonz

I opened my food diary

Ok. So you've only logged today - very low calories. And then a whole bunch of blank days, and then many days back, a few days again with very low calories.

You're just hungry due to undereating. So eat. Carbs, protein, fat. Whatever. Just eat.

ETA: and as usual, every other response in the thread is tossing out random advice without paying attention to the context.

cuz i stop logging after i cheat so it looks like im eating very low but really im eating plenty

Don't stop logging. Build up a few weeks of actual accurate history and then let's reassess. Besides, your idea of what cheating means might be warped.

tonight cheating=2 chocolate bars 2 bowls of cinnamon toast crunch a chocolate munchie pringles mike and ikes gushers and lemonade. definitely not warped....and the retarded thing is that after eating all this i dont even feel stuffed and sick just full :0

taso42

I opened my food diary

Ok. So you've only logged today - very low calories. And then a whole bunch of blank days, and then many days back, a few days again with very low calories.

You're just hungry due to undereating. So eat. Carbs, protein, fat. Whatever. Just eat.

ETA: and as usual, every other response in the thread is tossing out random advice without paying attention to the context.

cuz i stop logging after i cheat so it looks like im eating very low but really im eating plenty

Don't stop logging. Build up a few weeks of actual accurate history and then let's reassess. Besides, your idea of what cheating means might be warped.

tonight cheating=2 chocolate bars 2 bowls of cinnamon toast crunch a chocolate munchie pringles mike and ikes gushers and lemonade. definitely not warped....and the retarded thing is that after eating all this i dont even feel stuffed and sick just full :0

don't worry. just log it! it's the least you can do. make a vow to log everything (you can make your diary private again if that helps you stay accountable to yourself). you really do need to start there. and sometimes, just from the very fact that you have to log it, might make you think twice about eating it. but for starters, log everything for a while.

do it! will you do it?

bluecrayonz

sure why not....ill give it a shot thanks!

erin4455

All day i can walk away from a cookie....i can eat perfectly within my diet and calories. Boom nighttime comes and i crave carbs like someone with a drug addiction. sometimes i can hold out til 830...sometimes 10 sometimes even 12....but it just gets worse as time passes and i cant help but eat. I'm at my wits end. Anyon eelse have this problem or a solution?

So eat some carbs. Plan the rest of your day to leave room for some at night.

Agree with this.

kgoodman0108

You are fighting your biology. Your body responds to carbs (glucose) by producing insulin. The insulin then decreases the amount of glucose in your system. Next things you know, you are eating carbs again. It is a cycle. If you significantly decrease the carbs in your diet and instead eat high protein foods you will dramatically reduce your cravings. It really really works. Processed carbs are the worst. Simple carbs in fruits and vegetables are much better and healthier. Healthy fats in moderation are ok because they fill you up.

Hope this helps

^ This. High protein/fat will curb your cravings and keep you satisfied.

Goal00128

Your calories are to low. You are setting yourself up for failure.