I've eaten grains throughout my weight loss and throughout the last year of maintenance. I know what my body can handle. I eat oatmeal, brown rice, and even some cereal when I want it. It does not throw me into a binge of eating grain, it does not add weight to my body, and it does not derail the way I eat. Yes, there are some people that can enjoy some whole grain without being addicted or going on a wild rampage. I know that goes against the "grain" of this forum but it's the simple truth. You have to find what you can handle. The idea that if we have a little cereal means we are addicted to carbs/grains is just ridiculous.

EXACTLY. I am not in maintenance but I just tried some brown rice and found no binging, then some oatmeal and i even add a little liquid splenda, no problem, same with cereal. Just had some Cheerios today with skim milk and a banana (That's what I like) and I ate one bowl and the box has been in my kitchen for a couple weeks. (though I carb cycle so adding the banana is very new for me) It's a big box so it will be here a long time. I also have a bunch of bananas but they will also sit in my kitchen alone.

I also have sweet potatoes from time to time. they are nice with butter. I have never gained weight and I watch and record what I eat and how many calories I have and make sure to eat a couple hundred extra when I work out and burn off my normal 650 calories at the gym per my Polar heart monitor based on a test I had with running on treadmill with a tube over my mouth and nose and hooked to a computer so I know what I burn and at what zones. I also know my resting metabolic rate so I know what I burn doing absolutely nothing all day. These figures made it easy to transition into eating some carbs because I have the figures to know what my body burns without the generic way you can find out by age and weight and height. i have the actual numbers for me. My weight has been pretty consistent but a lot of my fat% has turned to muscle mass because of my trainer helping me out to do the right exercises.

I think the more you investigate, the more you find out that you are probably more likely to die driving to work today than eating a bowl of cereal. That was mean to be funny and I hope all people who can read this understand that was to make a point only.

Have a good day.

Lisa

I also enjoy sweet potatoes, but I usually eat them plain with maybe just some cinnamon. It's like dessert!

I think this way of eating follows more with a SB style than a true Atkins. My carbs are about 100 per day as I do have some grains and I eat fruit daily. What I generally avoid is refined white flour and sugars. I do have very very small amounts of sugar sometimes but it's barely enough to count. There are some people who can't handle the things I eat and there are some people who can eat more and maintain.

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Many also enjoy drinking and smoking, but these habits still harm a body. I used to have LC pancakes every Sunday till I gradually lost my taste for them and began to eat eggs instead, then I eventually stopped eating a regular breakfast entirely

That's awesome. Maybe you will lose your appetite for lunch and dinner too.

I agree with mike_d. Just because something tastes good doesn't mean it's good for us. If you make it to maintenance and find you can add it in, hey, good for you. I just did a month long experiment on myself eating potatoes and winter squash. Hey, no cravings, no binges, good? Well, no weight loss, returning joint pain, acne, etc.

I've tried doing it my way, with carby crap, over and over. I always end up failing. Finding a plan that works and sticking with it just seems to work better for me. If I honestly knew what was best for my body and could trust my taste on things, I wouldn't have gotten up to 235 3 times.

Is there? Ask any smoker why they smoke and 9 times out of 10 they will tell you they smoke because they enjoy it. They don't like the smell, the cost, having to stand outside like they are the underbelly of society, but they enjoy it. Of course they enjoy it ... if they don't smoke they are in withdrawal. IMO it's the same for sugar/grains ... when you are craving it, you have a physical reaction going on in your body that is asking for that substance as a fix.

I LOVE coffee and every 6 months or so eliminate all caffeine from my diet just to reasure myself that I just like coffee, it's not an addiction. I never CRAVE coffee. I just like it, and I have no issues eliminating it form my diet - that's the test.

I tell that to every smoker that says they enjoy it. I tell them they only enjoy getting out of their withdrawal state by smoking and they will always tell me no, I enjoy it. I guess that's why I quit. I don't smoke, drink, snort, inject, or eat anything that I am addicted to. I wonder what happens if you are addicted to eating fat. It's bad to be addicted to something but you need to eat more fat to keep you satiated. People all over this forum will tell you how to eat more and more fat. Food for thought.

Funny. When I find myself realizing I've been drinking a lot of caffeine in any form (coffee, tea, soda) consistently for a few weeks, I make myself taper down to nothing and stop entirely for at least a week -- just to make SURE I am not addicted.

It's so ironic that for years while behaving like this in my concern, I was completely unaware of my level of addiction to carbohydrates particularly grains (and still, dairy).

PJ

Eating fat does evoke endorphins and often when people go off sugar they will go to the fat. But interestingly enough - trans fats and oxidized fats have a bigger "hit" (for those who experience the exaggerated reward response).

Another difference I have experienced myself, having been addicted to carbs. The carb addiction spiral gets worse and worse - the more you have, the worse your body is. But with fats, the more I have, the better my body and brain feels.

There is a 50-year review somewhere that the decrease of good fat in the 20th century is associated with the increase in mental disorders including addiction. Makes sense to me. Our brain and nervous system need good fat.

I agree our brains need good fats like with Omega 3 but I think we have more mental disorders because we have more psychiatrists medicating people for all kinds of "disorders". If you feel bad, it must be depression or now you are bi polar. Funny, 50 years ago a large portion of the country wasn't on antidepressants. Now we have new pills that have been invented in the last 50 years to make a lot of people rich.

Maybe the large portion of our country is on anti-depressants because of the low fat diet we're all told to eat . . . Depression is a physical thing, and it's increased in prevalence. Be grateful if you don't suffer from depression, but many MANY people here will tell you once they increased animal fats, their symptoms of depression disappeared.

I agree that there has been the diagnosis and medication issue. However, 50 years ago we were eating mo betta fats too.

By some of the logic I"m reading here, I guess if you crave a steak, you are addicted and must nip that in the bud immediately. In fact, if you even feel hunger, you may be addicted to food. I mean, come on, someone who likes cold crunch cereal is not the worst thing in the world. My suggestion would be to stay away from the sugar laden cereals, go for whole grains and don't eat huge portions. That's what I do and it works out wonderfully.

Doesn't matter that you can lose weight and maintain eating grains, or starchy foods that turn to sugar in your body. They destroy the immune system and millions of other things, like destroying collegen, aging your skin and organs, destroying your joints, the list goes on. It's not about weight loss per se.