I let myself have 2 cheat meals a week. If I don't I fall off the wagon completely. Anyway....

I had a big 'ole muffin this morning. I have not been hungry all week until now! I blame the muffin.

It was delicious but not worth it if I'm going to be starving all day!!!

Same for me, if I eat refined carbs I feel ravenous all day long. I guess some of us maybe more sensitive to them than other people.

Tell me about it. I have a bagel with cream cheese as a cheat meal every once in a while and it usually sets me up to overeat all day.

I really have to ban refined carbs from my diet, and even limit the high starch/sugar "good" carbs. I know this, but I keep lapsing.

Not only do the refined carbs trigger insane hunger, and binges for me, they seem to play a role in my fibromyalgia pain flares. Sugar, literally makes me sick, and yet I still find myself teaching myself the same lesson over and over.

I had a piece of cake at my MIL's wedding on Thursday. It wasn't a huge piece of cake, and I felt horrible immediately afterward, and was flaring bad the next day (the food probably wasn't the only reason, but it didn't help). But regardless, the effects were not worth that dry, mediocre cake. Heck, if it had been the best cake on the planet, the effects wouldn't have been worth it.

I have Lupus and I am exactly the same way! I've been laying on the couch all day because I feel like crap . I'm craving Cheese right now! You can't get much more calorie dense than that... all I want is a HUGE Plate of Nachos. Heaven help me.

On a related note, have you seen the commercials from the "corn refiners association" that talk about how high-fructose corn syrup is actually natural and made from corn, so it's fine to eat. LOL...I laugh every time I see it. They have one heck of a marketing team!!

Actually, I think the commercials are some of the most honest on television (which isn't saying much at all). It is made from corn, has much in common nutritionally with sugar, and is fine in moderation.... a lot more honest than chewing gum ads..... The "facts" are there, but deceptive nonetheless.

But, "duh" advertisers want our money, and if they had to tell the absolute truth about their products, most companies couldn't say anything but "buy our stuff, we wan't you to."

"Fine in moderation," doesn't really say much though, since, the one thing Americans don't do very well is moderation.

I know I may be in the minority here, but I believe if HFCS were replaced with old-fashioned sugar, there would be nearly the same issues. We eat far too many refined sugars and starches, and if corn weren't available, we'd find a way to get the concentrated carbs in some other form, that would be just as detrimental (and just as fine in moderation), as any other.

For me, even fruit can be a trouble spot. So even with perfectly "wholesome" foods, I still have the same problems with carbohydrates in general. It does seem, though that my response to carbs, if not unusual, certainly isn't universal. I have a skinny sister who seems to have absolutely no problem with moderation, no matter what foods she is eating. Even as a kid, every year at Halloween, my parents made her throw away the candy she had accumulated since the year before (Halloween, Christmas and Easter) before going Trick or Treating. She always had 2/3 left of whatever she'd received. While all the rest of us kids, had eaten all of our holiday candy within 2 or 3 weeks of receiving (and mine usually barely lasted a week).

"Fine in moderation," probably works for many people, but I apparently can't do moderation when it comes to carbohydrate rich foods, sometimes even the healthiest ones.

I have a question. I had california rolls for lunch on Saturday. Would the white rice etc. be a 'refined' carb? There was not enough food in the world yesterday to make me feel full and I couldn't figure out why. It was maddening!

White (or polished) rice isn't overly processed, though I consider it refined in the sense that the outer bran is removed (the fiber). Rice that still has the bran is called brown rice (even if it's technically a different color, for example I have some dark purple "brown rice").

For me, it isn't just refined carbs, but any starchy carb can trigger portion control and hunger issues. White potatoes are a whole food, but they sometimes are a problem food for me. Sweet corn, and grains can be too.

Ya, none of that triggers me at all. Sunday must have been 'one of those days' where I was just hungry with no real explanation. Annoying, but I can learn to live with it.

Chinese food makes me ravenously hungry, too! Did your rolls have MSG by any chance? MSG is notorious for that.

I don't have the same problem with white rice and potatoes. Pasta is a trigger, though. I notice if I keep my protein percentage high I have a much easier day.

I assume they had MSG, who knows what kicked it off. I suspect I am just going to have days where I am starving no matter what.