Low carb diet leading me to constant binges - help! -

Not sure why but maybe low carb isn't for you?

mita271 wrote: »

But thats the only way the scale moved after 2 months stuck ... I feel if i go back to just watching calories nothing will happen

If you keep binging nothing will happen either. ....

I can only offer my experience... I too have PCOS & was advised to decrease carbs by my doctor. I do low carb, high fat, moderate protein. I am the same height & have gone from 164 to 129 in 7 months. So it can work. The calorie deficit comes from the fat...that's what will keep you full & make you less likely to binge. The first two weeks were HARD, but if you push through, it's worth it. Weight loss was a bonus... I also now have no pain & no cysts. You CAN substitute with sugar free sweets if desperate, but it's a slippery slope. Just don't deprive yourself of good fats with texture...that can help the carb cravings. And, of course, berries & other fruit can work too. Good luck!

If low carb is making you do this...do you think it's an optimal choice for you? There are so many ways to go about creating a diet you can adhere to, that won't make you binge. Just because someone tells you to eat a certain way, it doesn't mean it is the best way-or the best way for YOU.

Maybe allow room for a small carby thing that you crave every day?

If you and your doctor think low carb is the way to go, do low carb high FAT, moderate protein.

And join these two groups for support and guidance:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3070-p-c-o-sis

What, exactly, is low carb for you? 20g, 150g? I struggled with the same trouble when I tried atkins a decade or so ago. I couldn't make it work for me. Zero to few carbs of the grain variety leads me to feeling strung out and irritable, which led back to binging.

It took a great deal of retraining on the portion control side of things, but now I rarely have a meal without a grain or potato. My morning smoothie has oatmeal, my protein drink is low carb but veggie protein, if not in a rush I'll make egg salad or peanut butter and jelly on ONE whole wheat slice of bread. Dinner will have potatoes, rice, sometimes pasta that I mix with spaghetti squash and the combo works for me.

I'm still getting the flavors and emotional sustenance, my blood sugar stays level because each of those meals also has a good amount of protein, and I don't hide from fat.

I keep it all within my calories, and if I want more I get it on a workout day, or I preworkout to prepare for a holiday, and/or post workout to compensate for any calorie overages.

I don't feel the need to binge anymore since I get what I like as a matter of course. My sweet tooth is mostly chocolate related, Reeses Peanut butter specific.

I mix Orgain chocolate protein with PB2 powdered peanut butter as a POST workout drink. This specifically is like a reward for me to workout.

Before I found those 2 products I'd post workout eat 1/2 a banana with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Same general calories and very sweet to me. No chocolate though.

I also have cocoa powder in my coffee sometimes, I use stevia to sweeten. Cafe Mocha.

And as I've said, the pasta craving is really mostly for the sauce, so I make a rich meat sauce with ground turkey and ladle it on spaghetti squash with just a minimum of whatever pasta the rest of the family is having. Its not quite the same but it works.

If you find it hard to cut out carbs I would start gluten free and whole grain. Having Gluten and refined grains increases your insulin resistance and won't allow you to use the insulin you're taking in. You might notice that you feel fuller and then you can gradually lower the amount of breads, pastas, etc. Having less sweets you'll also notice you crave it less. You could try stocking up on fruit and eating that when you crave cake/cookies/whatever and then if you still crave it just have a small portion.

It could be that low carb isn't the best option for OP - it definitely isn't doable for everybody. Some thrive on low carb, but if you're having real trouble... Count calories instead.

OhReally42 wrote: »

If you find it hard to cut out carbs I would start gluten free and whole grain. Having Gluten and refined grains increases your insulin resistance and won't allow you to use the insulin you're taking in. You might notice that you feel fuller and then you can gradually lower the amount of breads, pastas, etc. Having less sweets you'll also notice you crave it less. You could try stocking up on fruit and eating that when you crave cake/cookies/whatever and then if you still crave it just have a small portion.

I believe gluten only adversely affects people who have celiacs. There's no benefit to just going gluten free and whole grain.

successgal1 wrote: »

I struggled with the same trouble when I tried atkins a decade or so ago. I couldn't make it work for me. Zero to few carbs of the grain variety leads me to feeling strung out and irritable, which led back to binging.
It took a great deal of retraining on the portion control side of things, but now I rarely have a meal without a grain or potato. ...
I don't feel the need to binge anymore since I get what I like as a matter of course.

I also had this problem when I tried Atkins. Either it was too much too fast or very low carb isn't my thing. These days I just try really hard to substitute and cut the portions of carbs and focus on the not binging part.

Do everything you can think of to keep from binging! If you can't keep your macros then at least control your calories! For one, never buy food or ingredients of things you'd binge on. Try to associate junk food with the bad post-binge feeling.

If very low carb is still important to you then I'd agree about raising the fat and maybe even ignore the calories for a while until you can control the carb cravings.

OP: Before you try anything else, definitely try to raise your healthy fat intake. If you like avocados, they are a delicious way to add healthy fats... as well as cooking oils, nuts and nut butters... but avocados in salads helped me a lot back when I did low carb.

I too have PCOS. From the previous posts, I keep reading low(er) carb, moderate protein, and high fat. What percentages does everyone use? I am at 40/30/30.