Carb Addicted
mcquistions
Posts: 6 Member
I know my weakness... it gets me every time... CARBS!!! Oh give me a loaf of bread and milk chocolate and I'm in heaven. But it truely is an addiction for me. So starting over, yet again. Its been 8 days with almost no carbs and sugar. I feel great! But its not reality, sustainable, they are EVERYWHERE. Need the strength to make them disappear forever!
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Some people will tell you you’re ridiculous to think you’re addicted to carbs, but I know sugar addiction is a real thing! Very recently, I’ve learned to treat it like any other addiction. I know I can’t eat sugar “in moderation” and be healthy. Eating it in moderation leads to intensified cravings and overeating. Just like you wouldn’t encourage a recovering alcoholic to drink "just a little" because it’s New Year, a birthday party, promotion, etc. I’m on day 72 of no added sugars and no flours. I still eat natural sugar (fruit) and whole grains, but nothing refined. I can’t believe how much my cravings have been reduced!! I no longer wonder each day if I’m going to go home from work and binge that night. I’ve never felt more in control of what goes in my mouth. My goal is to keep this up at least until I reach my ultimate goal weight – possibly for the rest of my life. My relationship with food is not healthy.0
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Something to help this is to go on a 2-3 day fast.....either with water only or natural fruit juices. I did this and it reset my palate to crave what I put in front of me after the fast (the rainbow of foods). Also, you could try the 10 day green smoothie challenge that everyone is craving about.0
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Carbs aren't the devil. Everything in moderation.0
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mcquistions wrote: »I know my weakness... it gets me every time... CARBS!!! Oh give me a loaf of bread and milk chocolate and I'm in heaven. But it truely is an addiction for me. So starting over, yet again. Its been 8 days with almost no carbs and sugar. I feel great! But its not reality, sustainable, they are EVERYWHERE. Need the strength to make them disappear forever!
Have you considered cognitive behavioral therapy to help? I know some people scoff at therapy, but if your food issues are affecting you to the point that you feel like you can't control them then it might be worth looking into.0 -
It can be sustainable. I have been very low carb high fat for about 10 months. I think I've had a corner of a slice of bread in all of that time, and I don't miss it.
I chose to treat carbs like an addiction and cut them out of most of my diet. When I keep carbs low my cravings are minimal. The more I have, the more I want. I no longer eat sugar added foods or foods from grains (Corn, rice, most baked goods, etc). I limit my fruit and starchy root vegetables too. It works for me.0 -
If you like carbs, consider a good high carb diet. Might be easy on you.
Lentils, quick oats, beans, barley, sweet potato, quinoa, chick peas, brown rice.
Fill up on veggies. Try to leave the processed foods alone.0 -
Carbs and fats have been demonized for years. But that is just BS, your body needs carbs, fats & protein. There is no "BoogieMan" food, I wished there was, that would make weight loss easy. What you have to do, is really pretty damn hard, you're going to have to say "No, I can't have anything else" to yourself when you get to your calorie limit. It sure sucks to not have half a bag of Doritos and a 24 oz of Dr Pepper when watching The Walking Dead when you're used to it, but if you're out of calories, that is what you have to do.
Another thing, since I just want you to be successful...I threw nutrition out the window when I first began tracking calories. I know that sounds terrible, but I hated the idea of not getting to eat what I wanted. So, I ate whatever, but did use a digital scale and tracked everything. Damn, some days I just had Burger King and cheesecake, but I kept under calorie goal, I lost weight. Maybe that isn't for everyone, but it's just an idea I thought I would share. Anyways, once you get used to stopping when you're out of calories, then maybe work on the nutritional side.
I sort of regret sharing this idea now, I'm imagining you eating 12 Hershey's bars a day thanks to my advice
GiMMIE CHOCOLATE!0 -
CrabNebula wrote: »Carbs aren't the devil. Everything in moderation.
Yes, this.0 -
100 grams of milk chocolate has 535 calories, of which 45% are from carbs and 50% are from fat.
100 grams of lentils (dry) have 352 calories, of which 72% are from carbs.
People use "carbs" to mean lots of foods they consider tasty or (often) bad for them, because high calorie, ignoring the fact that the same foods are often as high or higher in fat and lots of nutrient dense foods they have no problem not overeating are also (or a higher percentage of) carbs.
THAT'S one big reason why I don't think the issue is ever carb addiction. Do people have foods that for psychological or taste reasons act as "trigger" foods (often because they have become comfort foods, which many foods which are a mix including carbs do -- personally the mix of protein, fat, and carbs in my mom's lasagne=comfort food). Sure.
Anyway, for advice, I'd say try to be more specific: what foods do you have trouble controlling (specific foods, not "carbs")? When do you have trouble? It might help to keep notes for a while of when you crave things or struggle.
For me, I have a history of misusing food for emotional purposes. I'm less likely to do this if I eat an overall balanced, satisfying diet with enough protein. I don't seem to have a problem eating the foods I've overeaten in the past in moderation if I plan to eat a specific amount (not until I'm finished -- I measure out the correct amount) after dinner when I'm not really hungry. I DO have a problem if I let myself graze on them, especially if stressed or upset. So for me it works to mostly not snack and to mostly do "treats" after dinner (and not to be overly restrictive at other times -- if I eat something, it's delicious).0 -
mcquistions wrote: »I know my weakness... it gets me every time... CARBS!!! Oh give me a loaf of bread and milk chocolate and I'm in heaven. But it truely is an addiction for me. So starting over, yet again. Its been 8 days with almost no carbs and sugar. I feel great! But its not reality, sustainable, they are EVERYWHERE. Need the strength to make them disappear forever!
@mcquistions others here and I know what you what you are talking about. Clearly there are others who have not experience was is a fact of life and science for us or they are just in denial.
It sounds like you are off to a good start. I thought I was going to die the first two weeks I left sugar and all forms of all grains cold turkey Oct 2014 trying to manage my joint and muscle pain vs starting Enbrel injections. Then the craves just started to fade fast. For the last 18 months I have lived in a house floating in carbs (son and daughter are 18) and the carbs do not call my name.
It was eating enough saturated fats on the start that almost caused me to fail but I loaded into cold press coconut oil that is label Vegan at Krogers. Then I added cheeses and Heavy Whipping cream and tons of nuts and coconut flakes. Once a day I typically eat at McDonald's since they have a LCHF option I love. Their 'round eggs' (you have to order them by that name if you are getting them as a single side item with no bread) and sausage with black coffee (nine creams on the side) is my typical order. Their bacon is so so and I sometime go that route. Most all places have LCHF option today.
Trying to do Low Carb Low Fat is sure to fail as well as Low Carb and Low Calorie it seems from what I can see/hear.
Another myth that you will hear is that Carbs are required to have good energy and great health but medically that is 100% false but sounds good to 'secret' carb addicts so they will repeat it over and over. There is a window when you are becoming 'fat' adapted that you can feel like crap but it does not have to happen in most cases. After we become 'fat' adapted it makes it easier for us to get calories by burning our excess fat.
#1 requirement to lose weight is to eat in a way that lowers our hormone Insulin. Cutting out carbs is the easiest and fastest way to lose weight as far as I have read. Cutting calories I tried for 40 years and wrecked my health.
There is things like sodium, magnesium, etc that you need to learn about especially if you are cutting out processed carbs.
My first 90 days was a steep learning curve even with healthcare training. I read a lot of research knowing not to get any medical advice off of social media. I hold an OD degree (SCO 1986) and my wife is a practicing Pharmacist and this Keto thing was still a challenge to grasp but I was overthinking it out of fear at first. It is really simple after one 'understands' it.
Remember Nutritional Ketosis (Keto for short) is NOT A REQUIREMENT to lose weight. It does have some health pluses but it cut out my cravings and in my case gives me some pain management. Eating <50 grams of carbs daily leads to weight loss and I never go around with carb craving and for some reason I can not force myself to over eat calories after breaking free from carbs. When I was living on carbs they seemed to drive my eating of them even against my better judgement.
Remember not to act on dieting advice found on social media sites like this one, FB, etc. Uses post like mine and others as a place to start your Google search for the science behind this way of eating. My son put me onto Google Chrome so I can just highlight a word or group of words and click to see the results as I am reading on the subject.
Best of success to all no matter what macro you decide works best.0 -
Something to help this is to go on a 2-3 day fast.....either with water only or natural fruit juices. I did this and it reset my palate to crave what I put in front of me after the fast (the rainbow of foods). Also, you could try the 10 day green smoothie challenge that everyone is craving about.
That sounds dangerous and unnecessary...0 -
In yoga fasting is a way of recognising emotional vs physical hunger. It's not for everyone0
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PaulaS1220 wrote: »CrabNebula wrote: »Carbs aren't the devil. Everything in moderation.
Yes, this.
Guys this maybe half factual.
There are some things we can eat in moderation and die as we know from watching the news.
It is true carbs are not the devil whatever that word means to one. Carbs are neither good or bad but just organic matter that can produce calories of energy when burned.
Now man made carbs can be killers. Processed foods can chemically not even be kin to what the they were when harvested from nature.
As we know one can not successful lose weight if our Insulin hormone is elevated. Processed carbs (fiber removed, sugar added, and other man developed chemicals added can over time become very toxic to humans in some cases. One might want to call them the 'evil' carbs.
Since carbs are not required for great human health it was just a no brainer for me to eliminate them from my Way Of Eating for the most part. My pain dropped from a subjective 7-8 level to 2-3 in 30 days. My carb craving left. Six months in my 40 years of serious IBS resolved and has not returned these last 12 months. My weight dropped to 200 (250 at start) for the first time in 22 years and has maintained at 200 eating 2500+ calories on average daily.
Carbs especially processed carbs are toxic to me as you can understand if what I just typed is true.0 -
Ps on third day without sugar and have a pounding headache all the time.0
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Just eat it all..... just teasing. Thats my main issue with carbs. I cant say no to them. Dont be too strict reward yourself here and there and carefully avoid it and in short time that crave will disappear. Some more than others of course but determination will win. Sometimes you dont have to crave it, its more of just eating/drinking it without the knowing that your really doing it if that makes any sense.0
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I love carbs. I know low carb diet is all the rage these days, but it made me feel terrible, and to be honest low fat high carb works just fine. Plus it's impossible to avoid carbs forever, so it'll be much more useful to learn to control binges than try to avoid them altogether.0
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helenlovesruby wrote: »Ps on third day without sugar and have a pounding headache all the time.
@helenlovesruby You are probably low in electrolytes due to the water loss of lowering carbs. If you up your sodium to 3000-5000mg per day, the headache will be gone within a few hours. Drink salty broth or add a teaspoon of salt to a glass of water, salt your food well, and consider salt tablets.
I know it sounds like a lot, but going low carb increases your sodium requirements. It really does help.0 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »PaulaS1220 wrote: »CrabNebula wrote: »Carbs aren't the devil. Everything in moderation.
Yes, this.
Guys this maybe half factual.
There are some things we can eat in moderation and die as we know from watching the news.
It is true carbs are not the devil whatever that word means to one. Carbs are neither good or bad but just organic matter that can produce calories of energy when burned.
Now man made carbs can be killers. Processed foods can chemically not even be kin to what the they were when harvested from nature.
As we know one can not successful lose weight if our Insulin hormone is elevated. Processed carbs (fiber removed, sugar added, and other man developed chemicals added can over time become very toxic to humans in some cases. One might want to call them the 'evil' carbs.
Since carbs are not required for great human health it was just a no brainer for me to eliminate them from my Way Of Eating for the most part. My pain dropped from a subjective 7-8 level to 2-3 in 30 days. My carb craving left. Six months in my 40 years of serious IBS resolved and has not returned these last 12 months. My weight dropped to 200 (250 at start) for the first time in 22 years and has maintained at 200 eating 2500+ calories on average daily.
Carbs especially processed carbs are toxic to me as you can understand if what I just typed is true.
That is inspiring!! But how do you manage 50 grams if carbs or under while eating 2500 cals? Im asking because i felt it hard to be under 20 grams of carbs a day and around 1300 cals..I was hangryyy.0 -
Keep under 100 grams/day. Craving will slowly melt away.....0
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GaleHawkins wrote: »PaulaS1220 wrote: »CrabNebula wrote: »Carbs aren't the devil. Everything in moderation.
Yes, this.
Guys this maybe half factual.
There are some things we can eat in moderation and die as we know from watching the news.
It is true carbs are not the devil whatever that word means to one. Carbs are neither good or bad but just organic matter that can produce calories of energy when burned.
Now man made carbs can be killers. Processed foods can chemically not even be kin to what the they were when harvested from nature.
As we know one can not successful lose weight if our Insulin hormone is elevated. Processed carbs (fiber removed, sugar added, and other man developed chemicals added can over time become very toxic to humans in some cases. One might want to call them the 'evil' carbs.
Since carbs are not required for great human health it was just a no brainer for me to eliminate them from my Way Of Eating for the most part. My pain dropped from a subjective 7-8 level to 2-3 in 30 days. My carb craving left. Six months in my 40 years of serious IBS resolved and has not returned these last 12 months. My weight dropped to 200 (250 at start) for the first time in 22 years and has maintained at 200 eating 2500+ calories on average daily.
Carbs especially processed carbs are toxic to me as you can understand if what I just typed is true.
Please list these killer carbs (obvious allergies are obvious).
You have medical issues, therefore doing what you did helped you and but just because cutting carbs as an anecdotal affect on your medical issues does not make it THE way to do things. What went on with you after cutting carbs may not have any affect at all on anyone else. Insinuating that your "Way Of Eating" is the way for everyone is absolutely wrong for everyone except you. I could come on here and repeat ad nauseum that a very high carb diet was the God send for me and saved my life. It wouldn't make it true at all for you or anyone else.
I do not have medical issues. Carbs, processed or natural, are not evil and will not kill me, otherwise I'd be long dead.
And, on a side note for the second time I've seen it mentioned this morning, I'm really getting aggravated that people use alcoholism as a comparison to food "addiction." Not even in the same universe, folks.0 -
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It is not an addiction. You just probably arent trying very hard. If you were addicted to carbs, you would be eating raw sugar...0
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Wow some negativity, or folks dont understand how strong it is... It does control me....Well maybe addiction is too strong of a word. But I can tell you I crave it to the point where I would have to make special stops to buy carbs and bindge .....hide food in my car and at home... I'd eat bread and butter then chocolate then needed salty again.... Get up in the middle of the night to eat....
And carbs are everwhere! My work cafeteria... every store on the way home from work... restaurants, parties.... at home my hubs junk food.... I feel if I give in once, once will lead to twice..etc.....
Im completely jealous of my hubby and others like him who do not have my insaine controlling cravings.... you can not relate.. Then no need to be insensitive0 -
mcquistions wrote: »Wow some negativity, or folks dont understand how strong it is... It does control me....Well maybe addiction is too strong of a word. But I can tell you I crave it to the point where I would have to make special stops to buy carbs and bindge .....hide food in my car and at home... I'd eat bread and butter then chocolate then needed salty again.... Get up in the middle of the night to eat....
And carbs are everwhere! My work cafeteria... every store on the way home from work... restaurants, parties.... at home my hubs junk food.... I feel if I give in once, once will lead to twice..etc.....
Im completely jealous of my hubby and others like him who do not have my insaine controlling cravings.... you can not relate.. Then no need to be insensitive
Hi @mcquistions. I'm not sure which posts you felt were overly negative or didn't understand your issues, but if you meant mine then I stand by it. If you truly find that carbs control your life then you may need external help with that. We should never be afraid to ask for help.0 -
No @diannethegeek not you... sorry I came across that way to you. I tried hypnosis years ago, but no go. Definitely need to retrain myself and my routine. Find different outlets so I dont constantly think about needing them... What kind of cognitive help you suggest for me? I want to be successful once and for all.0
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I would marry bread if I could. It is SO hard for me to stick to my goals when I include foods high in carbs, even oatmeal. It just makes it easier for me to mess up, so I abstain. I eat lots of fat instead. Huzzah for Keto. 0
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mcquistions wrote: »No @diannethegeek not you... sorry I came across that way to you. I tried hypnosis years ago, but no go. Definitely need to retrain myself and my routine. Find different outlets so I dont constantly think about needing them... What kind of cognitive help you suggest for me? I want to be successful once and for all.
I'm not a therapist and I've never been through CBT for carb issues (my food issues run in a different direction). I just know it's helped some people and mostly I'm tired of seeing people on these boards ignore good advice in favor of shouting at the controversial suggestions.0 -
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