Any thoughts on Carbohydrate addiction

We consume complex carbs every day, but as with anything moderation is key. I am not a fan of any plan, such as Atkins, that has you cut out an important food group. It is not healthy and you will just put that weight right back on as that diet is just not sustainable for life.
Enjoy a few servings of your favorite carbs each day, but keep the portion size small. This way you are not depriving yourself and enjoying the things you love.
I eat what I want, but keep the portion size in mind depending on what it is.

This was on Dr Oz yesterday, about addiction to carbs.......Kinda scarry. I think , for the most, what they were trying to enforce, was high complex carbs , versus low complex, ie, sweet potatoes, whole wheat grains, etc versus, chips, fries, white bread, etc

The whole point of Dr Oz show was to get people weaned off of carbs and onto grains and fruits.............I think eating wheat, rye, whole grains is OK, just in portion control.....Lloyd

Can you take a first step of changing the carbs you are eating - maybe swapping fries for sweet potatoes, nuts (lightly salted) for the chips? One thing that seems to be working for me right now is only eating carbs at a certain time of the day when I have already had a meal - I am only allowing myself carbs after dinner - when I have already had protein and I am not as hungry. Maybe you can try something like that too ( I have only been doing this 2 days, so can't tell you if it will work long term for me)

I don't know if you watch the Dr Oz show, but his topic yesterday was just that. Check it out on his website. It is still on the home page.

http://www.doctoroz.com

I have always been a chip /french fry person..sweets never got to me ...crunch and salt I guess are my weakness....I read a few things that lead me to view myself as a carb addict..I get sleepy after I eat carb loaded foods...I did awesome when I went on Atkins ..but of course over did it and didnt stick to it ...anyone out there who knows about Carbs and would like to share some insight on how to cut them down ..with out over doing it and cutting them out ? I was eating 10 or less a day and lost 35-40 ish pounds in a month and a half ... but gained it all back and more ....I can be in full ketosis within 24-48 hours where it takes others 2 weeks or more ....probably because I over do it ..and they use the good sense to ease into it.

Are you a person that if you eat a little carbs, you go overboard (points to myself! haha)? Some people (me included) have to have a structured diet to keep from sabotaging their efforts. I have the same effects you described when I indulge in carb loaded food. I can never go as extreme as Atkins for an extended period of time (unless I'm fasting after a splurge), but I have found a way to control my cravings and still have my carbs everyday and still lose weight. Let me know if you're interested and I'll PM ya.

There are tons of articles out there about carb addiction, and really how it's all related to your insulin levels. You eat carbs, your insulin goes up dramatically (as opposed to other macros), and when your insulin crashes down, you burn out, and immediately crave that carb feeling again. It's a roller coaster of insulin ride. Some people have less of an issue with this, others (like myself) , it's pretty dramatic.

I now eat a low carb diet (not no carb), and most of my carbs come from the fruits/veggies I eat. I can tell you that as soon as I eat bread, cereal, pasta, or whatever else like that, I want more and more, sooner and sooner, It's a vicious cycle for me, that I couldn't break until I cut that stuff out of my diet. Now, the weight just melts away with little to no effort, and I don't have those terrible cravings or feelings of, "OMG I have to eat NOW!!!!" like I used to. I feel more "even keel" so to speak.

So yes, I do believe in carb addiction. I am a carb addict. A recovering one. I still will have bread from time to time, or have a waffle on Sunday morning, but I am much more conscious about what/when I put something into my body, b/c I know the effects it has on my system. So now, I have a pretty primal lifestyle, which is working great for me (look at my before and after pix).

Oh, and how to cut them out? I just started eating "differently". Breakfast was the hardest, b/c I'd always eaten cereal. Now I have something high in protein - eggs, greek yogurt, or ricotta cheese and fruit.

Lunch - no more chips, bread (ah, sandwiches....), but I eat a large salad full of nuts, cheese, with some turkey breast on the side

Dinner - that's easy. protein (meat, chicken, fish) with a side of veggies. (my hubby and kids will get some addn'l starch)

Hope that helps! But once you cut down on that stuff, you'll find that the cravings are less and less. And the less you crave it, the less you eat it.

Another recovering carb addict here. Its no wonder you feel sleepy after carbs and then are hungry again, that's the insulin talking.

I used to think I could never give up my carbs. My mindset has changed, and now I enjoy high protein, high fat food (I eat paleo, google it) and my attitude towards eating has really changed as a consequence of my food intake, as I don't feel hungry until a lot later than my previous diet, and I seem much more in tune with my satiety when I eat, too.

I allow myself a carbs day once a week, so that I don't feel deprived (although alcohol is sneaking in for a few days, I must control that one!). I have carbohydrates daily in the form of any lovely vegetables including carrots and sweet potatoes, just not from processed stuff or grains.

Their website seems to be down at the moment, but there's usually lots of support and articles on Nerd Fitness' site for Paleo style eating, and they have a great forum you can join.

This was on Dr Oz yesterday

then it must be bull****.

Fortunately it's fairly easy to END your carbohydrate addiction.

The secret is the magic number: 72 grams of carbs. Eat exactly 72 grams of carbs per day. If you can keep this up for about 4 to 5 weeks, your whole psychology - your mind, your soul if you will! - will completely change.

You'll find yourself walking about amazed that you were ever overly interested in potatoes, pasta, sweets.

This "magic" figure of 72 grams a day was figured out by Dr. Lutz based on his vast clinical experience and the scientific reasoning he explains in his book.

I urge you to buy a copy of "Life Without Btread" by Dr Wolfgang Lutz (or if you happen to read German, the original "Leben Ohne Brot").

Once again, you can get by USING WILLPOWER, but who wants to do that? You have to actually CURE your mind - change your very "soul" if you will, even though that sounds overly dramatic - so that you actually DO NOT WANT to eat carbs.

Imagine if (bizarrely) you literally DID NOT WANT to eat carbohydrates.

This can be done. Fact. And it takes about 5 weeks. The secret is you have to eat EXACTLY 72 grams of carbs a day -- you have to be very accurate - and you can't blow it even one day. Start today and in 5 weeks you'll become one of these freaky people who runs around everywhere yelling at people they should read Dr Lutz book

It's only five weeks - try it. It makes you literally "a different person" so expect drama in your life.

(There will be significant, real and sometimes bizarre changes in your life. For example you will sleep considerably less each night. A huge and bizarre change. You will have a strange feeling that you have more time in the day (since you spend no time thinking about food). Health issues such as asthma-like or inflammatory issues will dramatically change. Your sex drive will skyrocket. Your sense of smell will wildly improve (also very weird). People you like and don't like will change. If you snore, you won't. And so on. But overwhelmingly, the biggest change is you'll be walking around saying "this is bizarre I don't want CHO, what's up with this?" - it's strange to suddenly be a completely different person.)

72 grams is the magic figure. If you try a lower number of grams it won't work, you just get angry and fail and your body fights it. If you try a higher number it won't work, it's too high to kick in the effect.

The only downside is it is very important you don't blow it EVEN ONE DAY in the initial four or five weeks. After a couple of months, it's no problem at all if you go a little high one day. But in the first 4-5 weeks, before "the change", if you blow it EVEN SLIGHTLY, just one day, you've completely wasted all that time and you have to start again from day one. AGAIN: you cannot blow it for even ONE DAY in the first 4-5 weeks.

You - anyone - (other than profoundly sick older people) - is only 5 or so weeks away from a completely different "soul" (the change is so dramatic it's hard to know how else to describe it). It's February 12 now, so by the end of March "carbo addiction" could just be a strange memory for you !

I hope it helps you as much as the increasing number of people (colleagues, extended family embers, etc) i've suggested Dr Lutz book to and it has utterly changed their lives.

You have utterly hit the nail on the head: you must CURE your carbohydrate addiction, and everything else will easily follow.

I've been hearing lots and lots of things about there being a physical addiction to gluten. That like booze or drugs, once you over-do it on a regular basis, your body becomes physically dependent.

I just finished a 3 week detox (no gluten among other items I tend to binge upon) and after the first week the cravings went away. This week, just added back 1 serving of gluten containing grains per day. I'm curious to see if that is going to trigger the cravings again or will be enough. It's been so liberating last two weeks not to be craving what I typically crave: breads, cake/cookies, chips, pizza, fries, nachos/tacos, hamburgers (mostly about the bread) and battered and fried various goodies.