Weird food obsession... do I need to stop?
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KetoGirl_ZC
Posts: 48 Member
For the past few weeks I've been eating a huge amount of endives, maybe 6 or more a day.
I know I'm eating while not hungry because I wouldn't want to eat a steak or anything more nutrient dense. But I absolutely crave the cool crunchy of the endives and can't stop snacking on them.
When we remove fiber, endives are super low carb and very low calorie too so they're unlikely to have much effect on weight. Yet the snacks mean I am eating more often and that is not good for someone with IR. I tried to stop and then all I want is chocolate and sugary stuff... so back to endives I go.
Anyone has any idea what might be happening? Could it be a deficiency? It doesn't look like endives are especially rich in anything but vitamin A and C. I've been eating mostly animal foods and very little vegetables (until this endive obsession) and now I worry that maybe I'm not getting enough nutrients from my close to ZC woe.
Any ideas?
::flowerforyou::
I know I'm eating while not hungry because I wouldn't want to eat a steak or anything more nutrient dense. But I absolutely crave the cool crunchy of the endives and can't stop snacking on them.
When we remove fiber, endives are super low carb and very low calorie too so they're unlikely to have much effect on weight. Yet the snacks mean I am eating more often and that is not good for someone with IR. I tried to stop and then all I want is chocolate and sugary stuff... so back to endives I go.
Anyone has any idea what might be happening? Could it be a deficiency? It doesn't look like endives are especially rich in anything but vitamin A and C. I've been eating mostly animal foods and very little vegetables (until this endive obsession) and now I worry that maybe I'm not getting enough nutrients from my close to ZC woe.
Any ideas?
::flowerforyou::
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Replies
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Are you using the crunchiness of the endives to battle cravings for crunchy carbs such as chips?
Better to eat the endives than the chips, in my opinion.
They seem low calorie and low carb...if they are not harming you weight wise, then I wouldn't be too concerned.
I am not too knowledgeable about insulin resistance so I can't say too much on that but if you aren't gaining weight, then it should be OK.2 -
One drawback, at least in my experience, to the LC WOE is that it's seriously lacking in crunch factor. I've never been a sweet eater but things like chips and pretzels that offer some playful resistance were always my downfall. Nuts are on my plan but I have to watch myself like a hawk.
I'd say endive is a pretty innocuous obsession and I'm guessing you'll burn out on them fairly soon. I'm not a big fan of the ZC thing anyway. Unless you come from a long line of Eskimos, I think we need some non-meat in our diet. We're omnivores, not carnivores.2 -
Personally, I wouldn't worry about eating it in the least @ .3 net grams of carbs per 100 grams unless that does effect your IR. I've no idea what 6 endives equates to in grams. I'd probably be more concerned about the actual behavior than the product if I were going to worry about something.
Based on the nutrition you posted above, perhaps you're needing potassium? The endive seems rich in that. I'm not a chocolate eater (no control) but doesn't chocolate also a good source of potassium? You're indicating if not endive, then chocolate. Not sure if you're meaning as in crave. Endive *is" an unusual thing to crave.1 -
Eating more frequently seems to trigger "mental hunger" for me. I am dealing with this currently.
I made myself do a 21 hour fast and then get back into my normal 18/6 ish IF schedule that I always used to do before allowing myself to eat more when I started lifting.
I still eat more good if I feel the need, I just don't eat more often. I just can't seem to keep the feeling of constant hunger under control otherwise. I didn't even crave anything specific. I was happy to eat whatever was on hand and compliant.
I am having to will myself into the IF right now, but it's not too bad. I think it will get better as I just keep doing it. I can't stand having to fight that constant desire to graze all day. I definitely see it as a problem for me and I'm not even IR.2 -
mandycat223 wrote: »One drawback, at least in my experience, to the LC WOE is that it's seriously lacking in crunch factor. I've never been a sweet eater but things like chips and pretzels that offer some playful resistance were always my downfall. Nuts are on my plan but I have to watch myself like a hawk.
I'd say endive is a pretty innocuous obsession and I'm guessing you'll burn out on them fairly soon. I'm not a big fan of the ZC thing anyway. Unless you come from a long line of Eskimos, I think we need some non-meat in our diet. We're omnivores, not carnivores.
Indications
Serving Size 14 G Servings Per Container 6 Amount Per Serving Calories 80 Calories from Fat 45 % Daily Value* Total Fat 5 G 8 Saturated Fat 1.5 G 8 Trans Fat 0 G Cholesterol 15 Mg 6 Sodium 260 Mg 12 Total Carbohydrate 0 G 0 Protein 7 G
Ingredients
Ingredients: Fried Pork Rinds, Salt. Seasoning: Maltodextrin, Salt, Garlic And Onion Powders, Spice, Torula Yeast*, Monosodium Glutamate, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, And Silicon Dioxide Added to Prevent Caking. *May Contain Up to 15 Ppm Sulfites.
When you just gotta munch
or 
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Endive and dark chocolate both provide iron, manganese, potassium and magnesium... could it be a dietary craving for these minerals?
Only caution that I would give is that endive is very high in Vitamin K (100g = 220% of recommended daily value), so if you take blood thinners or anything like Warfarin, you probably would want to nix the endive - it would cancel the benefits of the drugs.4 -
Does it cause blood sugar spikes, that you can tell? If not, and your weight is staying where it should, I say eat it. In other words, if isn't broke, don't fix it.2
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Thank you all for your insights.
I've had the same weight for months now, up a little, down a little, but not going down. Grazing is not only bothersome but might be contributing to IR and this irritating plateau. I want to go back to the freedom of 1 or 2 meals a day and not think about food.
I've just had blood work done and I'm very interested in A1c and insulin values, we'll see next week. In the meantime I'll start taking a multi and see if that changes anything.
::flowerforyou::1 -
Endive and dark chocolate both provide iron, manganese, potassium and magnesium... could it be a dietary craving for these minerals?
I was wondering the same -- our bodies are pretty smart and craving unusual things often means you need more minerals and vitamins in your diet.
If it isn't linked to that, I would keep eating it. It's a healthy green that is low in net carbs 2 -
I honestly don't buy into that mineral deficiency theory for cravings. I mean, why would you suddenly become deficient in something that you're suddenly eating more of than you ever had before, therefore craving that food and it's provided minerals? Just doesn't make sense. You didn't crave it til you ate it... but now you're deficient of those minerals? How does that work?
I think it feeds a certain gut microbe that sends out a signal for more.
I feel like something similar happened with me even though I was just eating the same old eggs and bacon. Somehow feeding the gut bugs earlier in the day than normal started a chain reaction that triggers hunger from that point on. But, if I wait to eat later, I don't have to wait very long for dinner, so even if I do think I'm hungry between those meals, it's in my eating window and doesn't really matter but I'm also busier at that time of day and it's not as noticeable.1 -
I do think cravings is one way our body tells us it needs something. When my iron levels goes low I crave iron rich food, I have since I was a young child.
But some cravings like sugar is obviously more of an addiction.
Currently I eat lots and lots of celery. I just love that crunch, I don't get enough crunch in my diet and celery fills that gap for me.3 -
KenSmith108 wrote: »mandycat223 wrote: »One drawback, at least in my experience, to the LC WOE is that it's seriously lacking in crunch factor. I've never been a sweet eater but things like chips and pretzels that offer some playful resistance were always my downfall. Nuts are on my plan but I have to watch myself like a hawk.
I'd say endive is a pretty innocuous obsession and I'm guessing you'll burn out on them fairly soon. I'm not a big fan of the ZC thing anyway. Unless you come from a long line of Eskimos, I think we need some non-meat in our diet. We're omnivores, not carnivores.
Indications
Serving Size 14 G Servings Per Container 6 Amount Per Serving Calories 80 Calories from Fat 45 % Daily Value* Total Fat 5 G 8 Saturated Fat 1.5 G 8 Trans Fat 0 G Cholesterol 15 Mg 6 Sodium 260 Mg 12 Total Carbohydrate 0 G 0 Protein 7 G
Ingredients
Ingredients: Fried Pork Rinds, Salt. Seasoning: Maltodextrin, Salt, Garlic And Onion Powders, Spice, Torula Yeast*, Monosodium Glutamate, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, And Silicon Dioxide Added to Prevent Caking. *May Contain Up to 15 Ppm Sulfites.
When you just gotta munch or
I love me some pork rinds, but are you able eat just one serving? The bags I buy say 10 servings (same serving size as what you show), but I rarely eat fewer than half the bag (5 servings) and can easily eat the whole bag which is 800 calories. These are one of my go to foods when I am falling short on calories because they have so many with out filling me up.1 -
Here's a link discussing microbiome and how it can influence our food seeking behavior.
You produce FIAF when fasting, or Bulletproof fasting, which starves the microbes and promotes fat burning. Introducing fiber, protein or sugars will stop FIAF production. That's why a true BPC does not contain cream or sweeteners. They feed gut microbes.
"A bacterium cannot store energy. It's got no where to put it, no storage organ. But after surviving for millenia they are hardly likley to put their furture survival down to chance. So they take any energy source that they can get, particularly those sugar moieties that mammalian digestion cannot hope to extract, those from fiber." emphasis is mine.
http://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/2007/12/fiaf-whos-fat-is-it-anyway.html?m=12 -
@Sunny_Bunny_ insightful as always. Thank you for that link, you may have nailed it.
::flowerforyou::1 -
No one has mentioned the fact that they are bitter greens. I crave bitter in a response to the richness of fat. Bitters were often used in the old days to stimulate bile after a fat filled meal for better digestion.... just a thought.
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/bitters-invaluable-aid-to-fat-digestion/2 -
I know from past experiences that when I crave something I am deficient in a mineral it has. And it is a bit out of the blue. Because it's usually things I don't eat a lot of.
I'm not a big red meat fan, and have been eating eggs chicken and fish for weeks as protein. But then one day out of the blue I just want steak. And MOAR steak. And ALL the steak! Then it turns out my iron is low.
Except sugar. That's just my old addiction rearing it's ugly head.
As for the crunch factor - cheese crisps (microwaved cheese) are my thing, and nuts. But I don't crave crunchiness often so I don't eat them often.4 -
canadjineh wrote: »No one has mentioned the fact that they are bitter greens. I crave bitter in a response to the richness of fat. Bitters were often used in the old days to stimulate bile after a fat filled meal for better digestion.... just a thought.
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/bitters-invaluable-aid-to-fat-digestion/
Yup. That's why I drink vinegar and eat fermented foods too:) I'm also randomly getting weird cravings. My obsession with pork rinds has been weaned off, but the love affair with flat parsley remains. But I eat a lot of vegs in general, so I wouldn't know how a meat and fats only diet would impact me. Maybe that's for a future experiment.
OP, maybe it's the manganese you need. I think micronutrient deficiency can build up over time. Like many live with Vit D depletion, it just doesn't have an acute effect. If acute depletion of something it would explain "sudden" cravings.1 -
Thank you all for your help. You are awesome!
::flowerforyou::0
