neohdiver wrote: »

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

When people refer to carbs causing cravings, particularly in someone like I have mentioned is Insulin Resistant, it is not a shot in the dark to guess that reducing them will help reduce cravings and hunger when replaced with fat. It's not a guess that it might work. It's more like, to what extent will it work?
Everyone obviously knows it's not magic but you'll certainly hear people that finally found a way to get control of their out of control sugar/carb binges singing its praises as if it were actual magic, because when it works, which it does more often than not, when done properly, it sure as hell feels like magic!
Maybe you don't know how insulin and insulin resistance work? The hunger is a hormonal response that is not emotional in any way. Emotions are their own battle when it comes to food.
Even non insulin resistant people get hungrier with an insulin response. My Type 1 daughter will be kinda hungry and ready for dinner, then take her insulin injection when almost ready to eat, and almost immediately be starving! And if she waits to take the shot right after eating, she will often suddenly want more food even if she was just full.
Insulin resistance and T2D is a problem where too much insulin is being produced. Too much of a hormone that stores fat and makes us hungry is a recipe for out of control obesity, most certainly leading to much more suffering.
Fat provides a steady, non glucose energy that burns slowly and sticks with you. I don't have a clue why it doesn't work for you. I don't recall any posts where you've talked about it. Maybe I missed them? I do know there's a whole lot of other great choices for good high fat foods besides bacon and I'm sure there's a perfect balance for you.

Please don't discount my personal experience. I have lost (collectively) close to 150 pounds and have maintained the weight loss (collectively) for more than a decade. When my weight has gone back up is when the stress in my life reaches a breaking point and I shift into survival mode - and that means doing what is efficient, meets my emotional needs, but is not necessarily healthy. I do not experience hunger, nor do I have cravings when I eat a calorie deficit, traditionally balanced diet that eliminates all added sugar and most fats, but includes the traditional amount of good quality carbs. I know very well what causes my cravings, and what doesn't, and whether I experience hunger or not. That self-knowledge is what has allowed me to very easily shed from 30-60 lbs, during the few times in my adult life that have been stress-free enough that I can devote the attention to it - rather than just grabbing whatever is convenient when I head home at 2 AM, or hitting the pizza buffet when I manage to head home early because I love the taste of barbecue pizza and it gives me a brief break during which no one (work or home) is making demands on me.

It is not a matter of not knowing how insulin resistance works. I am insulin resistant, and I am telling you what I actually experience - not the theory of how it is supposed to work. I doubt that I'm any kind of special snowflake for whom a moderate amount of high quality carbs is one of the things that keeps my cravings away - and fat is one of the things that trigger them.

I don't disagree that others have a different experience - your daughter's experience is not mine. Nor is my experience your daughter's. That does not invalidate either experience.

Low Carb, Moderate Protein will be a struggle for me long term - because I can't have the carbs that stave off cravings and I have to eat fats that cause them in order to consume the calories my body needs. For me it will be a matter of figuring out which ones I can eat that trigger the most manageable cravings - and how to cope with the cravings I can't stave off with a good multi-grain roll.

(You haven't seen posts on this issue for me, since I have just been forced into a low carb diet. My knowledge about when I experience hunger and cravings is based on 30 years and at least three large weight losses, and 3 extended maintenance periods. Refining the cravings caused by fat is new to me, since - in the past - I have addressed the cravings by eliminating most fat from my diet. Problem solved. Can't do that this time, since substituting protein for carbs is not healthy - at least for someone with diabetes. So I have to tinker, and I am in the process of refining which fats cause the least cravings. So far cheese & nut butters seem ok. Bacon, not so much. Can't stand avocados. Full fat, or fat added yogurt, fixed the way I like it, has too many carbs (and I'm not fond of the taste of the full or added fat - but I'm working on other alternatives.)

wabmester wrote: »

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

I have a friend on here that has posted about how they don't understand how others are able to have such low calories, because though they try so hard, they struggle every day trying to stick to goal.

All of the books and movies seem to miss the central point -- the one about appetite and cravings. Maybe it's because the mechanisms are poorly understood.

So I would let her know that it's still a well-kept Secret. The struggle is real for those people. Your body will fight you if you try to restrict calories using willpower.

Our Secret is that we've found a way to reduce calories without willpower. We've discovered that if you eliminate certain foods that have an almost-drug-like effect on you, your calorie intake naturally drops, and the fat just melts away.

So if she has tried other approaches and is frustrated, I would frame it as "why not try this for 30 days."

Now you know that I believe it can work with higher carb intake, but restricting to something like 20g carbs will ensure that she dumps all of the drug-foods. So tell her to simply restrict to 20g carbs, no artificial sweeteners, and double her sodium intake for 30 days and then let you know if The Secret worked for her.