carbohydrate addicts diet

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shushy70
shushy70 Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
anyone doing this ? any success stories ?

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  • cline7310
    cline7310 Posts: 32 Member
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    what is it?
  • prudism
    prudism Posts: 149 Member
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    are you talking about south beach?
    low glycemic index carbs?
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    I hate to use the word 'addict' because I'm almost positive I wouldn't prostitute myself for a cookie (a double doozie cookie sandwich with frosting is another matter) but yes, I have a diet that avoids carbs and sugars because otherwise I crave and I'm hungry all the time and I hate feeling hungry and cranky because my brain is pestering me for things I don't need to be eating.

    So low carb it is, and I stay in ketosis for added appetite control. Works for me. So does counting calories and resisting cravings, but doing that saps so much more energy than just avoiding triggers in the first place.
  • shushy70
    shushy70 Posts: 26 Member
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    It is a series of books written by the Kellers about carbohydrate addiction and how to control how insulin reacts in your body .
    basically eat no carb breakfast and lunch , supper always starts with a salad or cut up raw veg , a low carb veggie side , protein , and a carb , even desert if you want , as long as your meal is in equal thirds ( protein , veg , carb)
  • SomeoneSomeplace
    SomeoneSomeplace Posts: 1,094 Member
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    Honestly I would just see what kind of success you have with regular calories counting, portion control and staying in your goals for protein, fat, carbs etc. The closest to low carb I would do is 40/30/30 (40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein, 30 percent fat) it's harder than it sounds but can serve as more of a life style change than a quick fix or fad diet. I've just had a lot of experience with bouncing from diet to diet. gaining and losing the same 20 pounds etc. Although I recently gained about 5 pounds thanks to the holidays and switching up my goals, I've maintained a weight of about 115-118 for almost a year now just by counting calories. It's also the same way I lots the weight and it was great because I could eat pretty much what I wanted by fitting it into my macros through exercise or other portion control. That way no food is off limits. Unless you want to do low carb for life or are doing it for a specific reason other then just weight loss (health issue, body building etc) then I say you'll just have better luck with just making a lifestyle change
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    It is a series of books written by the Kellers about carbohydrate addiction and how to control how insulin reacts in your body .
    basically eat no carb breakfast and lunch , supper always starts with a salad or cut up raw veg , a low carb veggie side , protein , and a carb , even desert if you want , as long as your meal is in equal thirds ( protein , veg , carb)

    If I ate the dessert I'd wake up the next morning just craving more, sad to say.
  • WhoTheHellIsBen
    WhoTheHellIsBen Posts: 1,238 Member
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    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR, instead of buying this book, jumping onto yet another fly by night bro science diet and then counting down the days until you yo-yo back to your heavier weight, you COULD, act like a grown up, exercise portion control, get a real workout plan, and make better life choices. You know, that little thing called diet and exercise that has a 100% success rate since the dawn of time.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    I do 120g carbs or less. Seems enough for me to not feel deprived and stops me craving loads more. Of I have one day over I just want more and more and more. Luckily these numbers also work very well for weight loss for me.

    Zara x
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR, instead of buying this book, jumping onto yet another fly by night bro science diet and then counting down the days until you yo-yo back to your heavier weight, you COULD, act like a grown up, exercise portion control, get a real workout plan, and make better life choices. You know, that little thing called diet and exercise that has a 100% success rate since the dawn of time.

    See, this is exactly the kind of post that would have made me want to rip off someones arm and beat him to death with it if I were fighting a carb craving while reading it. Low carb saves lives! :laugh:
  • shushy70
    shushy70 Posts: 26 Member
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    I have also tried just counting calories , it doesn't work for me . I am a carb addict no question , my body is insulin resistant , this regulates that and everything that goes along with carb addiction , such as mood swings , foggy thoughts and low energy .
    I know eating low carb regulates all that for me , but it gets restrictive so I am pleased about the reward meal on this diet .
  • shushy70
    shushy70 Posts: 26 Member
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    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR, instead of buying this book, jumping onto yet another fly by night bro science diet and then counting down the days until you yo-yo back to your heavier weight, you COULD, act like a grown up, exercise portion control, get a real workout plan, and make better life choices. You know, that little thing called diet and exercise that has a 100% success rate since the dawn of time.

    See, this is exactly the kind of post that would have made me want to rip off someones arm and beat him to death with it if I were fighting a carb craving while reading it. Low carb saves lives! :laugh:

    lol , I do my best to ignore ignorance , some people don't get it and are so unhappy they enjoy bringing others down , in person I would place him , but there is protocol on message forums .
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    It's not a big deal though, I started out here as an everything in moderation and I can eat it if I work it off person.

    I found out:

    1. Moderation is harder than just avoiding certain foods entirely, and why make this harder than it has to be?

    2. I can out-eat my exercise way too easily!
  • seanb66
    seanb66 Posts: 2 Member
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    May I suggest you U tube Doctor Greg Ellis who has made his life's work studying this subject and watching his u tube videos and then reading his books has convinced me to keep carbs below 25% of one's diet. Of all I have read which is extensive he makes the most sense and backs it with scientific research. Another great author confirming low carb is Gary Taubes "Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health"

    The food establishment continues protecting itself and refuses to look at the science. Check the web site

    http://www.byebyecarbs.com/
  • blu_meanie_ca
    blu_meanie_ca Posts: 352 Member
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    We (the IR people) have to do externally what our bodies can't do... keep our insulin levels lower. This does mean going low carb (100g net or less). Low GI combined with low carb is even better. Dessert every day may be fine for "normal" people, but now that I know what I could be doing (and what I've already done) to my I could not do that to myself daily. Once a week is challenging, and too often for me. I find it takes several days after "sweets" to get sugar cravings back under control (aka restore insulin balance).

    My new "love".... popcorn w/ coconut oil. I try to save carbs so I can have that almost every night. It's got enough fat and salt to satisfy those primal cravings, but is usually well with in my macros. I make my own micorwave popcorn by putting some seeds in a paper bag (folding it over several times), nuke for 2- 2:30... and it's popcorn. Be careful not to put too many seeds in your bag though, as it will blow out the bottom.

    (sorry if there are edit issues.. I'm having internet issues)
  • shushy70
    shushy70 Posts: 26 Member
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    The idea is to learn how to eat carbs so that they work like they are supposed to , that is why they allow a reward meal with carbs , because it is balanced and the veg & protein will help slow down the IR and to process properly , then eventually once you regulate your insulin , to find the right balance of carbs you can take in without getting symptoms or cravings again
  • blu_meanie_ca
    blu_meanie_ca Posts: 352 Member
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    Hmmm... the first time I did dietary couselling for gestational diabeties the belief was that x grams of protien would "balance out" x grams of carbs (and veggies didn't count).

    The second time I did gd counselling it was stressed that I stay with in my carb levels, and eat at least the min amount of protien.

    Now, we know that protiens are also broken down into glucose (just very slowly)... not such a good balancing act.

    If the book helps give you some guidelines on healthy eating... go for it. It's not going to be a metabolic miracle. I would caution against "eyeballing" your meal into 1/3s. Carbs sneak up very quickly. But, if you can fit "dessert" into your macros every day, and it works for you, then have at it.
  • Blenders75
    Blenders75 Posts: 2 Member
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    Jeez! Tough crowd, tough crowd.

    Here's my 2 cents, as a professional dieter for much of my adult life, I've learned a couple things along the way:
    1.) Dieting is hard! No matter which diet it is, it's hard and stressful to diet and even harder to maintain this WOE for life.
    2.) What has worked well is the past, might not work well now. Your body changes. We get older, we have children, we are perpetually dieting. All this ruin one's metabolism making it even more tiring and frustrating to diet (leading back to #1).

    I've done Atkins for years and finally my body stopped responding to it. Even zero carbs. Even a fat fast. My body wanted carbs! So, I let it have it. For 6 months. Gained 30 lbs on top of an already heavy frame. Now, I'm getting things under control again.

    It's all about finding what works for your body. CAD (carbohydrate addict's diet) has allowed me to limit my carbs for two meals a day while, literally, having my cake and eating it too, once a day. I've done cheat meals before, once a week or whatever, that would spark cravings and bingeing, but having these daily "cheat meals" is not as insane as it may sound. Sure, you go crazy the first few days, but then your "reward meal" naturally becomes more sensible and balanced.

    Btw, the authors of the Carbohydrate Addict's series are real doctors and researchers. It may sound like a fad diet but much thought, research, and clinical trials have been performed.

    Anyway, my point being is that you need to find what diet works for you. Atkins was good to me for many years, but failed miserably this past year. My body has changed, so I needed to change my diet.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    Jeez! Tough crowd, tough crowd.

    Here's my 2 cents, as a professional dieter for much of my adult life, I've learned a couple things along the way:
    1.) Dieting is hard! No matter which diet it is, it's hard and stressful to diet and even harder to maintain this WOE for life.
    2.) What has worked well is the past, might not work well now. Your body changes. We get older, we have children, we are perpetually dieting. All this ruin one's metabolism making it even more tiring and frustrating to diet (leading back to #1).

    I've done Atkins for years and finally my body stopped responding to it. Even zero carbs. Even a fat fast. My body wanted carbs! So, I let it have it. For 6 months. Gained 30 lbs on top of an already heavy frame. Now, I'm getting things under control again.

    It's all about finding what works for your body. CAD (carbohydrate addict's diet) has allowed me to limit my carbs for two meals a day while, literally, having my cake and eating it too, once a day. I've done cheat meals before, once a week or whatever, that would spark cravings and bingeing, but having these daily "cheat meals" is not as insane as it may sound. Sure, you go crazy the first few days, but then your "reward meal" naturally becomes more sensible and balanced.

    Btw, the authors of the Carbohydrate Addict's series are real doctors and researchers. It may sound like a fad diet but much thought, research, and clinical trials have been performed.

    Anyway, my point being is that you need to find what diet works for you. Atkins was good to me for many years, but failed miserably this past year. My body has changed, so I needed to change my diet.

    Really good post and brings up a really good point. Even if something was working, if it stops working find something else and try that.

    I'm not saying give up after a week long stall, but after two or three months of gaining or not losing, what can it hurt to give something else a try?

    That attitude shift (from seeking the be-all end-all solution to being more flexible) has really kept me going.
  • albertabeefy
    albertabeefy Posts: 1,169 Member
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    I have also tried just counting calories , it doesn't work for me . I am a carb addict no question , my body is insulin resistant , this regulates that and everything that goes along with carb addiction , such as mood swings , foggy thoughts and low energy .
    I know eating low carb regulates all that for me , but it gets restrictive so I am pleased about the reward meal on this diet .
    If you KNOW for a medical certainty that your body is insulin-resistant and strongly believe you have a carbohydrate addiction (there is no medical consensus yet on if this is a real thing - though I personally do believe it so), then the ONLY diet I would follow if I were you is a VLCKD (Very Low Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet).

    The ONLY medically required reason for following a VLCKD (Whether Atkins, generic LCHF, whatever) is to control diabetes, insulin-resistance/metabolic syndrome or epilepsy, or for the morbidly obese to lose weight. People that don't fall into these criteria really do not need to eat this low.

    I must admit I haven't read the books and am not familiar with the "carbohydrate addicts diet" (though I've at least heard of it) but if you believe you are addicted (and there is enough evidence to suggest a neurochemical pathway for addiction to refined carbohydrate exists) then you should go VLCKD.

    1. Eliminate (not just cut down on) refined carbohydrate. (All flours/sugars from any products)

    2. Get all your carbohydrate sources from non-starchy vegetables (avoid potato, corn, parsnip and be moderate with carrots) and limited lower-GI fruit (mostly berries and cherries.)

    3. Consider berries and whipped cream (without sugar, use stevia or erythritol as a sweetener if you want) your dessert, or a little-to-no-carb cheesecake (yes, such a thing exists...), sugar-free jello or some similar item.

    4. Get daily exercise - of which HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) has been shown the most effective for improving insulin sensitivity.

    It sounds extreme, but if you are truly an insulin-resistant carbohydrate addict, then you really should follow these steps - it could quite literally save your eyesight, feet, cardiovascular system and life.

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