Advice for the Carbaholic

[Lessara]

I started this thread to share information on how to deal with Carb addictions.
Somethings I have done is the following:
1. Limited artificial sweetners to 1-2 a day and not at same time.
2. No artificial jello, pudding, candy. (I'm trying to teach my body, I don't need a dessert after dinner and that treats don't treat emotional times)
3. During Induction, I had no sweetners at all. Oh it was agony but it made my cravings a whisper.

What drives me crazy is that I still get "bursts" of cravings. I notice some of the times are a few days and during my cycle.
Also times when I'm watching tv or watching a movie. I'm trying to do a hobby while I do these things.. so far its working.

One terrible downfall I have is at my gaming group. My friends bring in chocolates, cookies, and candy. I would bring my nuts but I feel rude if I tell people I need them to leave the nuts for me. But sometimes I eat my nuts and STILL want the chocolate!
I've always ate when I gamed for 15 years now. I have to stop this habit but its so hard and when I eat carbs it blows the whole weekend. I don't want to stopping hanging out with my friends since its the only time I see most of them. :confused:

[Lessara]

So does anyone else have any experiences with Carb addiction they would like to share?

[Ruralgurl]

Yes Lessara

I agree with your ideas, as well I find the amino acid L-Glutamine very helpful if I take it just when the craving starts. They say it goes directly to your brain to control sugar cravings.
Having never used sugar alternatives before, I did find once I started drinking diet coke I became quickly addicted and I could drink it all day. Worse than sugar.
I use NHF Ultra whey more periodically it contains L-Glutamine but it also has Splenda which I notice many people are questionable about. You can also get L-Glutamine on its own of course.

[Jo-AnneH]

I have found something that is so contrary to the info we are seeing about low GI (glucose index) foods. I find that they stimulate my craving for carbs and sugar! I am a devoted follower of Atkins, but I am married to a choco and icecreamaholic. If my willpower becomes stronger than my wontpower, I find that a baked potato, or a handful of liqorice comforts or jellybeans leaves me feeling full, and even a bit ill, and my cravings are satified for at least a week, usually a month. However a cup of cooked pasta or a sweet potato keeps me coming back for more. Has anybody else experienced this? :daze:

[Lessara]

Oh you discribed my own experience! I can eat say a single chocolate kiss, but if I have 1/4cups of potatoes, watch out!!

[razzle]

jo-anne, yes! Part of my maintenance experiments will be carefully figuring out which carby foods are safe for me in which amounts/frequencies. (Since Karen's not here right now, I have to butt in in Karen's voice and say, "but that might be the addiction talking." ;) lol--and it might be, just a way to justify getting in old favorites. I respect the danger along that path, believe me!)

My worst trigger food is wheat, but even with that, if I get a few bits of fried chicken coating, I'm still okay--may slow my weight loss but cravings don't fill my mind. I can have something like a mint and not crave sugar. (Hershey's kisses sound too dangerous for me!) A Diet Rite gives me worse problems than a mint, honestly--so I limit the pop to rarely. Potatoes are a totally safe food for me--no cravings whatsoever. I can stop at a bite. I feel no emotional attachment if I leave some on my plate at a restaurant. They will stall me, of course, but they aren't "addictive" in any sense for me.

On the other hand, surprising foods--totally legal ones--can create cravings. This is yet another reason it's good to journal in detail. Have a craving? It might be from an emotional trigger...it might be a sensory association trigger (like you're in the theatre and you always had popcorn there and can smell it all around you)... but it could be a food trigger, and you realize that bacon or cream or tomatoes at lunch makes you crave madly the rest of the day.

Also I've found is that if I have a potential trigger food (like a Diet Rite) at the end of the day, I usually won't wake up craving. But if I have it at breakfast, I spend the whole day battling cravings. My theory is that there is time frame that I physically crave...and if I sleep right through it, it's over in that 10-12 hour period.

Finally, if I have that Diet Rite with a meal, it's less problematic than having it alone. YMMV on all of this, of course...but I believe it's important to keep journals (scrupulously honest--not what you wish were true but what is) to see what your own situation is.

[Jo-AnneH]

How is this for a theory. I discussed my reation to Low Gi and Hi GI foods with a friend who has a Bsc Beauty Technology degree. Her suggestion was that the simple sugars are easily and quickly broken down and burned up by the body, yet the complex sugars take longer. Having IGT and IR, this extended period creates havoc with my insulin levels, as insulin production is stimulated and prolonged. This sends a chemical message of too much insulin to the brain, who replies with the message to eat :daze: This makes a lot of sense to me, but with it not being my field of expertise, does this make sense to anybody else?

[Karen]

Completely! It is how a lot of lower carb and low glycemic plans work. The Schwarzbein Principle and Radiant Recovery for example.

If you are a die-hard addict, there is still an aspect that comes into action once you are over the physical. Carbs do make you "high".

Karen