I thought this was a great article explaining in the simplest of terms why i love carbs so much and WHY i have such a hard time quitting them. it makes SOOOO much sense too...hopefully it will make me stronger now that i "get" it.
I went low carb this time and I feel so much better. I'm not hungry. And I'm losing weight and getting more fit. I still eat 100 net grams of carbs a day, but they are from vegetables mostly. I don't eat breads, rice, sweet potatoes, pasta, refined sugars and only small amounts of potatoes and I'm slowly giving that up too. My meals are a protein and vegetables and an apple a day.
My cholesterol has dropped 30 points in 3 months DESPITE eating more meat and more fat. My blood sugar levels were uncontrolled diabetes before (a1c test) to withing normal levels now (8.7 down to 5.8).
And I can make bread, cakes, etc and not be tempted to eat them. They just make me feel bad, so I don't want to reintroduce them. I was totalllllly addicted - eating tons of carbs a day. What I did to my poor body is shameful.
I totally agree about the carb addiction- I have to be super careful with what I eat cause of carbs- they literally can spiral me out of control. Since I have done south beach and medifast I'm so much more in control now
Currently I'm not doing a "formal" type diet (which I always screw up and then give up because I screwed up) but instead am changing one bad habit - or adding one good habit- every 10 days. The very first change I made was the white flour/white sugar addiction - If either one is one of the first 5 ingredients in an item - I don't eat it. Looking back over my notes, it was torture the first 5 or 6 days, but has been easier every since. It reminded me of when I quit smoking - at first I thought about it every minute, and then only a few times a day, and then only now and then but the craving passes real quick. It's truly an addiction!!!
Thank you for sharing that article! I am a low carber like yourself (about 100 good carbs a day) but I relapsed yesterday and snorted many, MANY lines of carbs. That article gave me a new resolve. Now it’s time to detox again.
I think this is an extreme view.
Carbs in moderation are healthy, but moderation just isn't what we have learned in the modern age as a portion.
A slice of bread a day or 50gr of pasta won't make you fatter than the same calories of chicken. Protein just makes you feel fuller.
It is about self control and the golden line, which we have to follow in everything fat and protein included.
Theoretically our body does not need carbs, as far as medicine knows until now, but creating glucose out of protein can make you have deficits in certain amino-acids.
The brain needs about 100+gr of glucose a day. It is alright if some of that actually comes in the easiest package= carbohydrates.
Good article. A few years ago I read a book called "Confessions of a Carb Queen". Can't remember who it's by, but boy did that hit the nail on the head for me. I think because the author did a great job of describing her carb binges. Driving from one fast food restaurant to the next and feeling completely out of control. That's how I feel when I'm on the potato chips. Totally out of control.
I think this is an extreme view.
Carbs in moderation are healthy, but moderation just isn't what we have learned in the modern age as a portion.
A slice of bread a day or 50gr of pasta won't make you fatter than the same calories of chicken. Protein just makes you feel fuller.
It is about self control and the golden line, which we have to follow in everything fat and protein included.
Theoretically our body does not need carbs, as far as medicine knows until now, but creating glucose out of protein can make you have deficits in certain amino-acids.
The brain needs about 100+gr of glucose a day. It is alright if some of that actually comes in the easiest package= carbohydrates.
Then you missed the point. You obviously aren't a carb addict. You don't get it as you can say no easily to too many carbs. Carb addicts cannot. It's more than just saying, "Well, don't eat it." It's like that carb lures you in. It talks to you, and then you eat that one, and then another. Or maybe not that same day, but next day you need more. Before you know it, you are eating tons and tons of carbs and you are caught in this vicious cycle.
So, for me, getting rid of ALLLLLL simple carbs has made me feel so much better. I can make bread and cake and not need to eat it. I perfectly satisfied with my veggies, occasional fruit and meats and nuts. I don't ever feel the need to binge and feel great overall.
WHen I lost weight 13 years ago by just reducing calories and exercising, I still had sneaky binges and eventually want out on an all out carb fest nonending carb binge - gaining 90 lbs in a bit over a year!
I just have to realize that a. I have blood sugar issues and b. I have a problem with handling carbs and need to stay away for the most part.
i admit i have a huge carb addiction and this definitely hinders my weight loss, but to compare it to cocaine is ridiculous. Despite eating a large amount of sugar every day, i am not overweight (just want to lose a few pounds for personal reasons) and all my other markers of health are extremely good. So no...i don't think it's like cocaine.
i admit i have a huge carb addiction and this definitely hinders my weight loss, but to compare it to cocaine is ridiculous. Despite eating a large amount of sugar every day, i am not overweight (just want to lose a few pounds for personal reasons) and all my other markers of health are extremely good. So no...i don't think it's like cocaine.
The article said that the rats choice the fake sugar over the cocaine. Which means what? That the sugar high they felt was better/more enjoyable than the cocaine high they would feel if they went to the cocaine.
I asked my friend who is a recovering alcoholic, "why can't you have just one drink"? Her answer, "because I won't stop at just one, I will drink and drink until I am drunk, or pass out."
Well, that is me with sugar, in a nutshell. Call it whatever you want. If addiction is too strong a word for some, compulsion then, or whatever. But, truly, for as long as I can remember, when I eat sugar, I want more and more and more, until I feel sick or actually vomit. Also, just like an alcoholic, or drug addict, vomiting from eating too much sugar/carbs doesn't stop me from doing it again almost right away.
There is much research that needs to be done on this subject, but someone is definitely onto something here.
Last edited by milmin2043; 04-25-2011 at 10:52 PM.
There is much research that needs to be done on this subject, but someone is definitely onto something here.
I bought in to the low fat craze in the 90s and lost about 70 lbs eating almost no fat each day. Looking back on that, my diet consisted mostly of carbs and a few veggies. As I said, I was able to lose significant weight doing that, but in my eyes that is a testament to my sheer will. I was STARVING constantly. I would lay on the couch in the evening and just dream about food with my eyes closed. How on Earth I made it as far as I did, I'll never know. But one vaca to New Orleans and the whole thing was over. I basically continued to gain till last year when I got this started again.
This time, I am not doing a low carb diet per se, but I am always very careful to pair any carbs I do eat with a substantial protein to try to mitigate the blood sugar spikes. I keep most of my carbs in the form of whole grains with only the very occasional bite of something sweet. It is absolutely amazing to me how relatively easy losing weight has been this time for me. I'm not sitting around dreaming of food, sometimes I almost forget about it altogether until it's time for my next meal. It has been extremely liberating to realize that I do not have to literally suffer to lose weight!
Call it what you will, but like milmin said, someone is definitely on to something here!
The article said that the rats choice the fake sugar over the cocaine. Which means what? That the sugar high they felt was better/more enjoyable than the cocaine high they would feel if they went to the cocaine.
Or you could just say the rats chose the food over the drug. I don't see a concrete parallel to carbs in this study the way the author quotes b/c they used a "sugar substitute". Where are these carbs they're eating? I think the rats were probably going for the sweetness b/c it promised food. And it was an IV on the drug too so the rats got to choose eating something sweet or an injection? It's not hard to see why that study went the way it did.
It's a shame the article veers off the road so badly and comes off all overweight people are victimized by carbs. It also terribly stereotypes overweight people eating in restaurants. Not all overweight people are food addicts looking for their next fix.
Insulin Response and the hunger rollercoaster it triggers is a huge hurdle for people and carb control is a great tool for controlling insulin response. I wish more people understood that concept from a blood sugar standpoint b/c you can help your body use the fuel more efficiently. It makes it easier to lose weight and helps prevent cravings.
A few good points but wow just way out there too.
"But a carbohydrate addiction is potentially more destructive than an 8-ball-a-day habit, because it hijacks your metabolism."
My name is Karen and i'm a Carboholic!
