Diet tips for heavy carb addict?
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Bonushkie
Posts: 17
I LOVE carbs. I'd say it's become quite the addiction. Pasta, potatoes, any kind of dough, you name it. Especially things like pasta with alfredo sauce, ravioli etc.
Another problem is I'm not a huge fan of vegetables. I eat things like peppers, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers etc. but there are MANY vegetables I don't like and usually a salad doesn't do much for me. Most diets I've found seem to mostly include meals along the lines of 200g chicken breast and a salad with dressings such as lemon and olive oil(also does nothing for me, besides stuff like ceasar salads etc. all those vinegar based or "clear" sour dressings don't appeal to me at all), with meals like that it takes very little time for me to break and go back to my previous eating habits.
So what I'm asking, is there any sort of diet I can use that will be effective yet not completely cut out things I like? I'm aware I can't eat a ton of ravioli or pizza etc. every day and lose weight but I'm hoping there's some kind of middle ground between that and grilled chicken breast every day(damnit that stuff already looks nasty to me after eating it nearly every day during countless diets.
Also is there a way to reduce portions the RIGHT way? I'm used to eating huge portions, and often get yelled at by my family for not cutting down straight to each meal being a fist sized portion and no more. Maybe I'm wrong but doing that seems rather impossible at the moment.
Another problem is I'm not a huge fan of vegetables. I eat things like peppers, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers etc. but there are MANY vegetables I don't like and usually a salad doesn't do much for me. Most diets I've found seem to mostly include meals along the lines of 200g chicken breast and a salad with dressings such as lemon and olive oil(also does nothing for me, besides stuff like ceasar salads etc. all those vinegar based or "clear" sour dressings don't appeal to me at all), with meals like that it takes very little time for me to break and go back to my previous eating habits.
So what I'm asking, is there any sort of diet I can use that will be effective yet not completely cut out things I like? I'm aware I can't eat a ton of ravioli or pizza etc. every day and lose weight but I'm hoping there's some kind of middle ground between that and grilled chicken breast every day(damnit that stuff already looks nasty to me after eating it nearly every day during countless diets.
Also is there a way to reduce portions the RIGHT way? I'm used to eating huge portions, and often get yelled at by my family for not cutting down straight to each meal being a fist sized portion and no more. Maybe I'm wrong but doing that seems rather impossible at the moment.
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Replies
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our bodies love sugar. the more we take in, the more it wants. Its a fact.
switch to brown carbs (wheat, grain, etc). That outta help.
you should consider a scale too and when you eat pasta, measure it with a measuring cup. read your nutrition labels on the box of pasta or rice, etc - it'll tell you what a serving size is and you can measure it out.
IF i eat a potato, i want another one. Its just how the body works. Once you are off the stuff, its not so much of a craving or addiction.0 -
If you truly think you are an addict then you should try completely cutting out your drug of choice. I did and I feel AMAZZZZZZZZING. TRY IT. After a month without any wheat products I feel completely rejuvenated and it's so much easier to stick to my calories.
flour products were like CRACK to me. I mean I really felt like a drug addict. Pizza, breads, pasta.. you name it I wanted it in my belly. It didn't matter if it was whole grain or refined, I wanted all the wheat things. I couldn't succeed by simply reducing my portions because I just wanted more and more. I would even eat straight boiled cracked wheat for breakfast! I went cold turkey and for the first few days I thought I would starve to death... or perhaps murder someone, but by day four I started feeling much better and now I feel like a new person!
I'm not saying that everyone should do this, but if what you're saying is true and you're really addicted to these products, then try eliminating them and see what happens.0 -
I would suggest trying lower GI meals and watch the portions. To be honest I found that I just can't have pasta as the portion I can have caloriewise is not satisfying. For me at least rice I can handle. So maybe experiment with potions of different carbs. Could you try reducing portions one meal at a time or do it gradually???? It can be a matter of trial and error what works for YOU.0
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our bodies love sugar. the more we take in, the more it wants. Its a fact.
switch to brown carbs (wheat, grain, etc). That outta help.
you should consider a scale too and when you eat pasta, measure it with a measuring cup. read your nutrition labels on the box of pasta or rice, etc - it'll tell you what a serving size is and you can measure it out.
IF i eat a potato, i want another one. Its just how the body works. Once you are off the stuff, its not so much of a craving or addiction.
I can get full on carbs0 -
I don't know that I would completely cut anything out, however maybe start considering your pasta a side dish instead of the main course. It takes 21 continuous days for a habit of anything to form. Maybe if you go on a "fast" of one thing at a time it can help you ween yourself off of them, I went a year with no soda and I have no taste for it at all.0
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Eat 1g\lb of your LBM in protein and .45g\lb of LBM in fat every day and fill the rest of your calories with carbs. "Problem" solved. I promise.0
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there are ways to sub in vegies for carbs - there are a few recipes floating around in different threads, things like making noodles/spaghetti out of zucchini (i havent tried this but others swear by it).
i have to agree with the others about trying to reduce your sugar carbs if you really are that hung up on it.
i used to drink a couple of litres of coke zero a day, then switched to soda water with lime. coke zero tastes weird now and i generally find i dont have the cravings for sweet things that i used to (although i still love sweet foods and have the occasional treat). apparently our taste buds get replaced every couple of weeks, so see if you can stick with it (although it will be hell and you will initially feel cranky and tired).
the other suggestion is to try and time carbs around exercise? that way they are actually serving a specific purpose. this will depend on what youre doing, but i used to love the chance to 'carbo load' for long bike rides. also, studies suggest eating carbs within 20-30 minutes of weight training as the body is supposed to be primed to replace glycogen stores in the muscles and help with recovery.
i can understand the un-appeal of chicken breast, its not something i really eat at all. if if fits your cals you could also try heaps of different ways of marinating it, and roast chicken is pretty tasty but you have to be mindful it can be a bit higher fat and watch the skin. experiment with other types of lean meat - i LOVE steak and salmon! you might find the increased protein helps you feel fuller, also. i will happily bbq most nights bc i love it, so see if you can find something that works for you, it will make it heaps easier to stick to - remember, try to make permanent lifestyle changes for keeping the weight off, not just "dieting".
im not a big fan of vegies either but i have some staples i like so i got nuts on them. you can still eat pizza and pasta, etc, but watch the portions, and recognise they are probably better as "treat" meals.
im not sure what the problem is with reducing portions? if your family is yelling at you for not going "cold turkey" small servings bc you cant, then even gradually reducing portions over time is going to help in the long run, i would suggest weighing everything and setting guidelines (ie, i will eat 5% less every day until servings are realistic) so you dont get lazy or think of excuses why you have to keep eating heaps. if your body is used to getting heaps of food it might take a little while of being a bit hungry for it to adjust, if that makes sense.0 -
going cold turkey would be too difficult for me. start cutting back on things. use brown rice instead white rice, whole wheat pasta instead of regular, try quinoa, if thats too difficult try using angel hair instead of penne. I found that much less noticeable at first. use sweet potato instead of white.
For salads, find different dressings that do, do it for you. I'm not a fan of vinegar either, but I use half oil half something else so the ratios are 1:1. Two I like are 1/4 c walnut oil 1/4 olive oil 1/2 orange juice with some curry powder.
Also a sesame soy vinegarette, it contains soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey & canola oil. It was from Epicurious's website and is very tasty. I usually put ginger, garlic, pepper, red pepper flakes. I dont' have the recipe or the link for it at the moment.
Have you tried butternut squash? spring greens? green beans? beets?0 -
I've had a completely similar experience. Going wheat free took care of all those cravings. Great advice!0
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I LOVE carbs. I'd say it's become quite the addiction. Pasta, potatoes, any kind of dough, you name it. Especially things like pasta with alfredo sauce, ravioli etc.
Another problem is I'm not a huge fan of vegetables. I eat things like peppers, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers etc. but there are MANY vegetables I don't like and usually a salad doesn't do much for me. Most diets I've found seem to mostly include meals along the lines of 200g chicken breast and a salad with dressings such as lemon and olive oil(also does nothing for me, besides stuff like ceasar salads etc. all those vinegar based or "clear" sour dressings don't appeal to me at all), with meals like that it takes very little time for me to break and go back to my previous eating habits.
So what I'm asking, is there any sort of diet I can use that will be effective yet not completely cut out things I like? I'm aware I can't eat a ton of ravioli or pizza etc. every day and lose weight but I'm hoping there's some kind of middle ground between that and grilled chicken breast every day(damnit that stuff already looks nasty to me after eating it nearly every day during countless diets.
Also is there a way to reduce portions the RIGHT way? I'm used to eating huge portions, and often get yelled at by my family for not cutting down straight to each meal being a fist sized portion and no more. Maybe I'm wrong but doing that seems rather impossible at the moment.
You are the one that use the word addiction, then go on to ask if there are diets that include your favourite foods. Are there effective treatments for smokers, drug addicts, alcoholics that include their drug of choice? Chicken breast is really not that nutritious, you absolutely don't have to eat it ever if you don't really want to.
Leafy salads are a nightmare for hitting your nine a day because 80-120g of leaves is just a crazy amount - weigh it. Many of us are not born loving vegetables loads of people don't like mixed salad or sides of dry veggies, you are not a special snowflake and there are a ton of threads addressing this. Retrain yourself, keep trying new foods regularly and change your tastes. Try different recipes - soups, stews/ casseroles, curries, stir fries, roasted veg, houmous and vegetable sticks, fruit salad and so on. Change the texture, drown them in sauce. Don't let yourself get sick as I did before you change. Food is fuel you don't have to love every food or every meal.
If you want to change you do have to play the long game, you do have to have some willpower and strategies for dealing with temptation. Where do you get the old foods from when you 'break' what is every step in the process? Think hard on your triggers, even writing them down, and make it easier to have healthy food than junk - don't drive or walk that route, don't carry money or cards, grocery shop on a full stomach with a list.0 -
I'd highly suggest eating your carbs that you enjoy so much, but pre-logging your food for the day before you eat. Pre-plan your portion sizes and find combinations of meals that make you full. I'd advise against completely cutting out something that you enjoy.
I also LOVE carbs and I just moderate them instead of denying myself.
ETA: If you haven't already, buy a food scale. Pasta and dough and things are tricky to guess weight/portion just by looking at them.0 -
You are actually a sugar addict. The body treats most carbs like sugar. Simple carbs like pasta are so refined and processed that your body gets a glucose spike, then you release insulin to bring down the glucose (belly fat) and you want more. If you start this process early in the morning you set yourself up to binge all day.
For breakfast have steel cut oats. Less processed and slower to digest. Eat some eggs.
Nothing will taste good until you give up the crappy carbs. Experiment with getting a different vege each week and google how to cook it. If you don't like veges, you aren't cooking them right or you aren't hungry enough. If you can fill your body with good nutrition, you will crave junk food less. Try to stick with plain meats, fruits and real veges.
I used to be a sugar holic and now I am gluten free and feel like a million bucks.0 -
A trick I read on pinterest was when eating a sandwich with lunch meat, replace the bread with a cucumber to help lower carb intake during the day. http://makethebestofeverything.com/2012/07/cucumber-subs.html0
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Edited to try and sound less like a pathetic sob story.
*until age 10 eat whatever, not skinny but not fat either. Then I move to a new place and all of a sudden my mom is telling me what a fatass I am and constantly hiding food/taking it away from me. Add that to constant bullying from other people in area which probably was the cause of later depression. Maybe that and the fact that eating something tasty was the only part of the day I could look forward to generally lead to some sort of food obsession.
So it's basically either "today was complete ****" or "today was complete **** but at least I got some pizza to make up for it" in a way, or as my last therapist said, my brain is just reacting to me having been exposed to constant harsh criticism every day ever since I was a toddler and somehow translated it into a fixation with food.
That's at least how it's been explained to me so far.
Either way not sure how I managed to expand my stomach to the point where I can eat family sized dishes in one sitting, but I do know that my brain seems to be dependent on having some good tasting food at least once a day and that depression makes me stuff my face.
Is buying each meal at a time also a problem? I currently have 2 possible situations:
* Visiting parents at home, generally eat more vegetables and soups(though I was told that the ingredients in the pea/bean soups I usually eat here make them worse than heaps of pasta), stir fried veggies and more healthy dishes because I have more options of ingredients to cook with and help from people who are more experienced at cooking than I am, but also eat out quite a bit(usually sushi) because I have access to a car and it's easier to get to.
* In college, I eat out a whole lot and/or buy pre made meals because A. no time to cook because college and B. if I buy anything that is left in the kitchen for over an hour my thieving roommate takes it then gets pissed at me because he/his gf wanted it and apparently denying them food I payed for makes me a world class *****.
My main issue is the portions though. I've managed to eat what is considered 5-8 servings all by my self in one meal, not sure how I got to this but at the moment it seems going down to normal portions feels impossible and I'm hungry all the damn time.
If it also helps I generally don't eat meat, maybe once every week or 2 but I normally avoid it.0 -
I just thought there might be a possible way to do this without going cold turkey.
You mention being depressed. You mention your sugar addiction. I've been there.
(1) eat the pasta, eat the bread (in moderation). But look at the label. Make sure the FIRST ingredient in these foods is "100% whole grain x". This will make sure you're getting complex carbs and not just simple carbs and will help the carbs you do eat be more "filling" and "last longer" in your belly. If the first ingredient isn't "100% WHOLE GRAIN X", then just look on the shelf for another brand.
(2) Portion control/weigh the pasta/bread/etc. that you do eat to make sure you're getting the amount you think you should
(3) EAT YOUR SALAD! If you like it with creamy dressings, try making your own ranch/creamy dressing with non-fat yogurt.0 -
I want my lamp back. I'm gonna need it to get out of this slimy mudhole0
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Switching from processed or "white" breads to 100% whole grain would be a good first step. Whole grains typically have more nutrients plus they contain fiber which most people find more filling so they can eat less.
When eating pasta, cook it al dente as this can get rid of the blood glucose spike (or sugar rush) and the inevitable crash that can lead to wanting to eat more. Also, use a little more sauce and a little less pasta. Use tomato or mushroom based sauces more often than alfredo sauce. Add finely chopped or pureed vegetables to the sauces and you may not even notice them. Make or buy reduced fat alfredo sauce, and add veggies. Spinach or broccoli alfredo sauce is delicious.
If you like high carb meals, maybe eat very low carb for most of the day, and then eat your entire days worth at one meal. Then you may not feel so deprived.0 -
A trick I read on pinterest was when eating a sandwich with lunch meat, replace the bread with a cucumber to help lower carb intake during the day. http://makethebestofeverything.com/2012/07/cucumber-subs.html
I'm going to try this, though I'll have to make more of them since the cucumbers here are small. No super sized veggies or buying anything in bulk where I live.
I really do need to get around this thing where my brain seems to reject all healthy low calorie food.
I do eat stuff like lentils/beans etc a lot during the times when I eat less crap, heard that's somewhat helpful.
So far suggestions people have given me were basically all variations of "suck it up, stop eating foods you like and get used to eating only unsatisfying things for the sake of getting enough nutrition to not die."
A big bulk of the weight I put on has been after my landlord moved my erm... questionable roommate into the apartment. I'm hoping now that I'm not there and any food I buy does not automatically get sucked into the black hole that is that sleazy creature I'll have more options.0 -
Sorry, call me the jerk here, but I have to say it. The first thing you should try changing is your attitude. You have a very negative attitude towards "healthy" or "clean" foods. If you continue to tell yourself all these negative things about how you DON'T like all these various foods, you will never grow to tolerate or like them. There is no short cut to healthy living. There is no pill that will keep weight off you for life, transforming your body into that of a healthy and fit individual. The only thing that works is to do the work, make the positive changes in your lifestyle, and strengthen your mind and body.
I tried this "substitute" game for a year or so before realizing that you can't pretend and be real at the same time. If I wanted to be healthy, lean and fit, I had to eat, train, and live like a healthy and fit person does....every day. Not on weekdays or all the months, except around my birthday, the holidays, my mom's birthday, my anniversary, my boss's retirement party, etc....life happens every day and you will be equiped with an excuse to CHOOSE to eat like crap every day if you want. Weigh out what you want more, to lose weight and be healthy, or to enjoy five minutes of pleasure that you get from eating carbs. I don't know about you, but I CHOSE life over food. Now, two years later.....there is no looking back. Buckle down, push through the cravings for a few weeks while your body detoxes, then live the next six months learning to build a new lifestyle. It will take patience, but it WILL be worth it. After the first six months....it gets easier every day. I promise. Good luck!0 -
So far suggestions people have given me were basically all variations of "suck it up, stop eating foods you like and get used to eating only unsatisfying things
There's always ways to make the foods you do like to eat healthier without sacrificing flavor/texture. I hope you find a mentor, maybe, that can give you tips on making better choices every day while not sacrificing the things you love.
Are you on any mood medication? Those can really effect the way your brain "handles" hunger and flavor. Just FYI.0
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