I CANNOT seem to figure out what my problem is. I just binged again!! And what I notice is, I ALWAYS am bingeing on carbs. Its not an egg or protein I go for, its chips, crackers, nuts, etc!! I dont understand; what am I depriving my body that makes it go nuts for carbs by the end of the day?? Im eating around 180g of carbs during the day so I am not depriving it! Could it be that I really was eating such an abundant amount of carbs before that 180 IS cutting my carbs a lot? That doesnt seem right. All I know is, I am very frustrated because I keep screwing up my calories at the end of the day when dinner comes. All I want is carbs carbs and more carbs. Its so strange. I cant explain the craving. Its so overwhelming. I am also very annoyed because I dont like vegetables and thats so important for a healthy diet!! UGH! Please does anyone have any idea whats going on? Why cant I live without a large amount of carbs without feeling SO deprived??
I'm having trouble following your Fitday, can you explain what you ate when. Like Breakfast - 2 eggs, 1 cup cantaloupe, etc.
I think eating more veggies would definitely help you. Are there any you like? Most people like baby carrots. Salads right now are great because so many yummy things are in season. Also less processed foods would help I think. Like if you up the chicken breast to 3.5 oz and add a big garden salad to lunch. Also maybe adding an afternoon snack to tide you over till dinner time. If I don't have a snack I get too ravenous and eat too much junk at night.
Maybe it's the running? I just met with a trainer the other day to discuss my running program. He went over how when you work out with your heart rate in the moderate zone, you burn mostly fat. When you push it high, your body pulls glycogen from your muscles to power your workout.
Now, a lot of us work out at that higher heart rate because we've bought into, "Calories in, calories out." And when you're at that higher heart rate, you burn more calories. The theory is, "Who cares where the burn comes from -- just burn as much as you possibly can."
What the trainer explained though, is that when you burn glycogen, your body is going to beg you to replenish it. It needs that glycogen replenished to get you through the rest of your day. And what it wants is carbs.
In my case, since I was restricting calories and not giving my body the glycogen it needed, I got tired and hungry and cranky. So now I am going to try for 4 weeks to run with my heart rate below 145 (before I was averaging 160). This means slowing from my usual 6 mph to 5 mph, and burning fewer calories per workout. But I'm fine with that if it means I won't be tired and hungry and cranky.
Please note that the heart rate numbers I'm throwing out there are specific to me. There are several formulas to use to calculate your training zones, but those are all estimates. The numbers I have a result of that peak VO2 measurement I did the other day. And that while I think everyone agrees that different zones lead to different burns (always a ratio by the way -- it's never purely fat or purely glycogen), not everyone agrees that it's preferable to work out in the lower zone to burn fat or that it will reduce crankiness and exhaustion. But I'm giving it a try.
Ainsleymom Sorry my fitday is so difficult to read. I completley messed up yesterday (prob around 3500 calories) and am not wanting to record it. But my typical day of eating is usually like this:
Breakfast: 2 whole eggs
snack: Fruit and nuts (I notice I binge on nuts too - I cant just have 15)
Lunch: this varies a lot
Snack: popcorn and fruit
dinner: this is when I binge
I eat alll day long. Probably 5-6 times a day. So it cant be that I am not eating enough..
same7 Thats very interesting about the workout. Maybe that's whats going on. I almost always crave carbs after my workouts. I workout every day around 2pm and my cravings hit really bad around 5:30-6. So what you said could be very possible!
This is such a hard journey and I just wish one day I could stick with it. I ended up drinking more than I thought I was last night and ate a few bites of my friends late night steak and shake. I HATE that I cant control myself. Its very frustrating. But I am not giving up. Today is a new day and I am starting again. When I went back to the nutritionist, my body fat percentage actually went DOWN because I had started working out. At that time I hadnt even tried fixing my eating. So if I could just fix that, I think the weight would fall off :/
My friends dont understand its not just a matter of stopping myself from eating the bad food. It is an emotional addiction that is sometimes near impossible to control. You all really help with that and I cant thank you enough!!
Awww Dianne, at least you're doing a good job of tracking what you are putting in your mouth. I have a mental block about that.
I would focus on making sure whatever snacks/meals you are eating are balanced. For example add some fruit and maybe oatmeal or 1 piece of whole grain toast to your eggs at breakfast. For your snacks instead of nuts add some low fat protein like sliced turkey or low fat string cheese. I know I can keep it in check better when my eating is balanced.
But you're young so your metabolism is probably pretty high so maybe you do need more protein in your diet? Just a thought.
Awww Dianne, at least you're doing a good job of tracking what you are putting in your mouth. I have a mental block about that.
I would focus on making sure whatever snacks/meals you are eating are balanced. For example add some fruit and maybe oatmeal or 1 piece of whole grain toast to your eggs at breakfast. For your snacks instead of nuts add some low fat protein like sliced turkey or low fat string cheese. I know I can keep it in check better when my eating is balanced.
But you're young so your metabolism is probably pretty high so maybe you do need more protein in your diet? Just a thought.
I do think I am fortunate enough to have a pretty good metabolism. Which is why I dont want to take advantage of it, and mess it up. I really want to learn a healthy lifestyle before I get older and things change more drastically. Why do you say I need more protein because of a faster metabolism? Does your metabolism need a lot more protein to work efficiently or something??
I guess I meant that since protein has more calories in general (a piece of meat the same size of a piece of bread or vegetables/fruit will generally have more calories) and that your metabolism is high that you could afford it. But I'm not expert by any means. I think protein will help you feel more satisfied though, which is half the battle. High fiber things (including veggies!) is good too. One low cal dinner I like is a big plate of steamed veggies with spaghetti sauce. Yummy!
Your serotonin levels may be low. Are you getting plenty of sunshine?
OMG! Ive always thought they were low. I went through a deep depression when I was 17-20 and I got on antidepressants. I am off now and feel fine but I always feel irritable and sometimes get depressed for no reason; so I feel like maybe the levels are still a bit low. What does serotonin have to do with dieting though?
What the trainer explained though, is that when you burn glycogen, your body is going to beg you to replenish it. It needs that glycogen replenished to get you through the rest of your day. And what it wants is carbs.
This is really good to know! I'm just starting to train and my runs will be increasing in distance soon and I've been wondering how that's going to affect me.
OMG! Ive always thought they were low. I went through a deep depression when I was 17-20 and I got on antidepressants. I am off now and feel fine but I always feel irritable and sometimes get depressed for no reason; so I feel like maybe the levels are still a bit low. What does serotonin have to do with dieting though?
As I understand it, meals high in carbohydrates raise the serotonin levels in the brain. So when your serotonin levels are low, your body craves carbohydrates. If, as a result, you binge on carbs, giving your body more energy than it can burn or convert to glycogen stores, the excess is converted to fat.
The same thing can happen when you eat no/really low carb, though, which you have mentioned you were doing for a while. Are you still? Because your body needs carbs, it will eventually force you to consume them, often by making you binge. The end result is the same: the excess carbs are converted to fat.
Of course, fats are more easily converted to fat in the body than are carbs; but when you eat too many carbs, the same thing happens to them, despite the fact that it is more difficult for the body to make this conversion.
Because complex carbs (good carbs) are digested more slowly than simple carbohydrates, they are less likely to be converted to fat.
Last edited by Petite Powerhouse; 07-30-2010 at 12:16 PM.
As I understand it, meals high in carbohydrates raise the serotonin levels in the brain. So when your serotonin levels are low, your body craves carbohydrates. If, as a result, you binge on carbs, giving you body more energy than it can burn, the added energy is converted to fat.
The same thing can happen when you eat no/really low carb, though, which you have mentioned you were doing for a while. Are you still? Because your body needs carbs, it will eventually force you to consume them, often by making you binge. The end result is the same: the excess carbs are converted to fat.
This is exactly what happens! Whenever I get stressed, sad, or feel constrained with what I can and cannot eat, I binge on carbs.
I did do the low carb thing for 5 weeks. It was HARD. It worked for weightloss but the second I got off it, I binged and binged and binged. And all the weight gained was pure fat. Eww. So I will NEVEr again do a diet that I cant maintain. I have never had fat on my stomach and now I have a pretty good amount because of getting off the diet. I have learned my lesson and I wish I could help others who might go through it!
Getting sunlight, tryptophan, and/or 5htp (either tryp or 5htp, not both) are alternative methods of increasing serotonin. Other things, such as vanilla scents, have been shown to increase serotonin production as well.
Help!!
