Confession of a carboholic!

[lulubelle]

I am 40 and I need to stop allowing myself to eat white foods! For about 8 weeks this past Spring I was very successful at limiting them, but it just didn't last. It seems so extreme to say I just can't have any ice cream or M&M's! But, I really just can't. It gets me on a really crazy path of wanting more and more. So this is my public declaration and my goal is to have it last a lifetime.

[*********]

I am 40 and I need to stop allowing myself to eat white foods! For about 8 weeks this past Spring I was very successful at limiting them, but it just didn't last. It seems so extreme to say I just can't have any ice cream or M&M's! But, I really just can't. It gets me on a really crazy path of wanting more and more. So this is my public declaration and my goal is to have it last a lifetime.

 

Lauren, can I just say, I'm right there with you.

 

I've been able to lose 57 pounds so far this year by radically changing my diet. And by 'radically', I don't mean I'm eating a radical diet. I mean, I stopped eating just junk and started eating real, healthy food.

 

But, I just realized this week that I'm still addicted to sugar. It's crazy. CRAZY!

 

I don't know if it's the habits I learned in childhood or what. But I just thought that after 9 months of change, I'd have broken the addiction. But I haven't. Sigh. I guess it's a lifelong battle, hunh?

 

Hang in there. Get back on that horse, as they say. It's worth it, for your health.

 

:001_smile:

[Matryoshka]

You can be addicted to carbs/sugar. What worked best for me is South Beach - it has a 2-week sugar detox phase. After that the cravings are gone. Phase 2 (everything after the first 2 weeks is lower-carb and also lower-fat but basically just a healthy diet (veggies, some fruit, whole grains, low-fat meat and dairy - no sugar or white carbs, also no fatty meats or whole-fat dairy). The recipes are delicious; I still use the cookbooks and I haven't been officially on the diet in years. I can't diet without doing Phase 1 - my sugar addiction undermines me every time.

[Dawn in OH]

Hello, my name is Dawn and I am a carboholic.

 

I feel your pain. I quit white potatoes, flour, and rice back in April. I lost weight and got much more energy. It was great. I felt like a new person.

 

Unfortunately, it's really hard to work around at times and I miss some foods. I caved the other day and made a batch of garlic mashed potatoes with dinner. I'm pregnant, and I HAD to have them. Sadly with the nausea I'm having carbs really seem to be the thing that helps.

 

I'm hoping that after the nausea goes away I can get back to eating better.

[Diane in CO]

I am here at this place in my life as well. I have gained about 10 pounds that I need to lose and I know that if I really got serious in the way that I eat I could do it.

 

Yesterday, in between all of the healthy stuff I ate (Wheaties, baked chicken, green beans, whole wheat sandwich) I ate 8 Keebler fudge sticks, a root beer, 6 Nilla wafers and cheese crackers and some vinegar and salt chips ( my mouth is watering just writing that :tongue_smilie:)

 

I just need to quit cold turkey, but do not seem to have the motivation to do it at all!

 

Maybe we can start a support thread :grouphug:

[MIch elle]

What worked best for me is South Beach - it has a 2-week sugar detox phase. After that the cravings are gone. Phase 2 (everything after the first 2 weeks is lower-carb and also lower-fat but basically just a healthy diet (veggies, some fruit, whole grains, low-fat meat and dairy - no sugar or white carbs, also no fatty meats or whole-fat dairy). The recipes are delicious; I still use the cookbooks and I haven't been officially on the diet in years. I can't diet without doing Phase 1 - my sugar addiction undermines me every time.

 

I went from size 16/18 to 12/14 last year but still have 20 lbs I WANT to lose! It's 2:00pm and so far I've stuck to phase 1 today, :D .

[Mrs.MacGyver]

I am too...its really annoying. My mother (who still drinks Coke nonstop all day), raised me on soda, and its just killing me now. I am just really have to try to go cold turkey and treat it like an alcohol addiction or something. I can't have any junk food in the house at all! (Plus DH comes home from deployment in one month, it would be nice to lose a few, if ya know what I mean?) :grouphug: Good luck to us all!

[KrissiK]

I hear ya sister! I'm still in phase 1 of South Beach and it has been working for me. I just feel better in general. I don't feel as discouraged (maybe because my blood sugar isn't as up and down as it used to be), I'm not quite as tired. I don't snack nearly as much and when I do - it's almonds or a cheese stick. But, all I can say is... don't give up. If you blow it, just keep working on it. I have had some carb cravings this week, but... I eat almonds. Or a glass of skim milk.

[Greta]

One thing I have found that helps reduce my sugar cravings is if I am getting adequate amounts of *healthy* fats. The right kinds of fats are an excellent source of fuel, and I think it's really that energy that my body is craving, not the sugar itself.

 

Coconut oil is one of my favorites: it's delicious; it's made up of mostly short- and medium-chain fatty acids so it's easy for your body to digest and metabolize; in it's natural state (non-hydrogenated, virgin) it is very healthy and even has natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. And did I mention it's really yummy? :001_smile:

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

If you like noodles try Barilla Plus. I love carbs too but simple carbs are making dh tired and depressed and have lowered my milk supply and I just don't feel my best when I'm eating them too much. We eat a lot of pasta and weren't real fond of whole wheat pasta. But once we discovered Barilla Plus we can have pasta meals again. It contains a few kinds of complex carbs plus flax seed.

[sunflowerlady]

I am also a carb addict. Atkins has been a real Godsend to me. I have followed it since June of last year and have lost 34 pounds and am keeping it off by following the maintenance phase.

 

Now sugars and starches don't tempt me at all. After the first couple of weeks, I was detoxed and the addiction was broken.

[Spinning]

I love sweet stuff! I was a baker/cake decorator for years and never tired of it!

 

I've done Atkins on and off over the years, and lost quite a bit of weight before getting preg and afterwards following it; I think around 40# both times. I've just recently started back up (DH too!!), and it's coming off slowly again...I feel SO much better when I'm off carbs. After a couple of days, my energy really picks up and I don't feel 'bloated' after I eat.

[creekmom]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who loves carbs!! I was nicknamed the carb queen in high school. My friends would crack up when I'd order a baked potato AND french fries at Wendy's for lunch- with a frosty!! Luckily, I was blessed with a very high metabolism. But, when I turned 37, I went through some health changes and found I was prediabetic! Keep in mind, my weight is slightly under normal - it was the 37 years of overloading on carbs that made my body say ENOUGH ALREADY!

I cut back to only eating complex carbs with a low GI and really beefed up the protein in my diet. I had to cut out chips, french fries, homemade bread, desserts, etc. It was hard, but I felt soooo much better! My health has evened out now, and I have added some more carbs back to my diet, but I'll never go back to my 90% carb 10 % protein diet! Good luck to you! If you can get through the first couple of weeks, it really does get easier to say no to carbs!

[Jennifer in NH]

This may not be popular and it certainly isn't the in thing right now, but I find that I have to go to almost zero carbs to get rid of cravings. I cannot do lc tortillas or the like, I just need to eat plenty of proteins and healthy fats like coconut oil and butter. Fortuneatley I love meats and fish, so I do fine when I stick to just about an all meat diet.