anyone got a good way to curb carb cravings?

[SkydiveStMarys 0]

I wish I had some words of wisdom for ya, buddy. But I don't....I am on the opposite end of the spectrum...my diet consist of mainly carbs..has been for years...I eat low fat/not fat foods and allow myself to eat carbs which inturn give me the energy I need. Obviously I watch what carbs I eat..but when the urge hits to eat some down right unhealthy carbs....I go for it.

Bobbi

A miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude.

[Lindsey 0]

Stay away from the simple carbs and your cravings for them will go down. At least that's been my experience.

You've been observant, grasshopper.

That's it, right there, in a nutshell.

linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[wmw999 2,177]

Yeppir. Keep only whole-grain bread at home; brown rice; real veggies. Just say no to high-fructose corn syrup.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[PLFXpert 0]

Quote

Yeppir. Keep only whole-grain bread at home; brown rice; real veggies. Just say no to high-fructose corn syrup.

Perfect advice!

You don't know how many things (or maybe you do) I don't/won't eat b/c the second ingredient is "high fructose corn syrup". It's gross....and the all-natural stuff tastes just as good, if not better.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[waltappel 1]

Quote

Yeppir. Keep only whole-grain bread at home; brown rice; real veggies. Just say no to high-fructose corn syrup.

Wendy W.

I'm kind of afraid to ask exactly what you mean by "real veggies" because I soooooooooooo don't want to give up my convenient canned stuff!!!

So, if by "real veggies" you mean non-canned, please break the news to me gently.

Walt

[mnealtx 0]

*pats Walt on shoulder*

Yes, Walt... they mean *gasp* fresh veggies......

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[wmw999 2,177]

Quote

So, if by "real veggies" you mean non-canned, please break the news to me gently.

Start slow. Easy stuff, like broccoli heads (just cut and steam), carrots (don't need to peel; just cook awhile or eat raw), and corn on the cob (you can't buy that canned anyway). Get a pot with a steamer. And only buy ones that you like.

You can use frozen peas and green beans for awhile, but eventually the hard stuff will suck you in and you're ruined for life. You'll be looking for a farmer's market or a co-op.

Then you work your way up to stuff like eggplant and kohlrabi .

That said, my spaghetti sauce (served with whole-wheat pasta) always comes from a can, and I use canned tomato sauce a lot. Beans also come in a can sometimes.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[waltappel 1]

Quote

*pats Walt on shoulder*

Yes, Walt... they mean *gasp* fresh veggies......

Hi, my name is Walt, and I'm a canned food junkie.

I didn't start out this way. I was raised in a good home by loving parents and Mom always made a point of having plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables around, many grown in our own garden.

But something happened after I left home. I guess I fell in with the wrong crowd--a group of people who seemed to think that canned foods were ok, as long as you didn't overdose.

I started with what seemed fairly innocuous--pork and beans. After all, you can't exactly grow pork and beans in your garden, now can you?

After that first spoon of beany goodness from my first can of Van Camp's, I knew I was hooked. I was HIGH, man!!!! There was no turning back.

I was on the hard stuff within a week. Yep, SpaghettiOs.

That was years ago. My life has been one long pathetic attempt to re-experience that first corn-syrup-and-sodium-fueled high and I've left a path of empty cans and crushed dreams in my wake.

Canned foods are stronger than I will ever be.

I'm Walt Appel, and I'm a canned-food junkie.

Walt

[Nightingale 0]

Low carb diets are for people who don't exercise. You can make yourself pretty sick. For example, Atkins talks about "ketosis" as if it's a good thing, but when an EMT realizes you're in ketosis, they take you to the hospital!

Ketosis is one of the body's last-ditch emergency responses; deliberately inducing ketosis can lead to muscle breakdown, nausea, dehydration, headaches, light-headedness, irritability, bad breath, and kidney problems. In pregnancy, ketosis may cause fetal abnormality or death. It can also be fatal in individuals with diabetes! While supporters of the Atkins diet concentrate so much on the fat burning capability of ketosis they neglect to mention that over the long term protein, and thus muscle, is also burned!

http://inch-aweigh.com/dangeratkins.html]
http://www.sideroad.com/Weight_Loss/low-carb-diet-danger.html

If you want to lose weight, eat fewer calories than you burn. You can lose weight eating nothing but chocolate. It doesn't much matter what you eat, but HOW MUCH. Where what you eat really matters is your body getting nutrition, vitamins, minerals and fiber. A calorie is just a unit of energy.

If you can, ask your doctor to refer you to a nutritionist. They will work with you to come up with a diet plan that's appropriate for your lifestyle.

[mnealtx 0]

A strong ketonic state, I can agree with your conclusions. However, the advantages of a controlled carbohydrate diet and a mild ketogenic state are starting to show up in more and more studies.

Quote

Randomized Trial of a Low-Carbohydrate Diet for Obesity

Foster, G.D., Wyatt, H.R., Hill, J.O., et al., "A Randomized Trial of a Low-Carbohydrate Diet for Obesity," The New England Journal of Medicine, 348(21), 2003, pages 2082-2090.
Summary:

The following information is available at Pub Med and was not written by Atkins professionals.

BACKGROUND: Despite the popularity of the low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat (Atkins) diet, no randomized, controlled trials have evaluated its efficacy.

METHODS: We conducted a one-year, multicenter, controlled trial involving 63 obese men and women who were randomly assigned to either a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diet or a low-calorie, high-carbohydrate, low-fat (conventional) diet. Professional contact was minimal to replicate the approach used by most dieters.

RESULTS:- Subjects on the low-carbohydrate diet had lost more weight than subjects on the conventional diet at 3 months (mean [±SD], -6.8±5.0 vs. -2.7±3.7 percent of body weight; P=0.001) and 6 months (-7.0±6.5 vs. -3.2±5.6 percent of body weight, P=0.02), but the difference at 12 months was not significant (-4.4±6.7 vs. -2.5±6.3 percent of bodyweight, P=0.26). After three months, no significant differences were found between the groups in total or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. The increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and the decrease in triglyceride concentrations were greater among subjects on the low carbohydrate diet than among those on the conventional diet throughout most of the study. Both diets significantly decreased diastolic blood pressure and the insulin response to an oral glucose load.

CONCLUSIONS: The low-carbohydrate diet produced a greater weight loss (absolute difference, approximately 4 percent) than did the conventional diet for the first six months, but the differences were not significant at one year. The low-carbohydrate diet was associated with a greater improvement in some risk factors for coronary heart disease. Adherence was poor and attrition was high in both groups. Longer and larger studies are required to determine the long-term safety and efficacy of low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diets.***

And:

***
A Randomized Study Comparing the Effects of a Low-Carbohydrate Diet and a Conventional Diet on Lipoprotein Subfractions and C-Reactive Protein Levels in Patients with Severe Obesity

Seshadri, P., Iqbal, N., Stern, L., Williams, M., Chicano, K.L., Daily, D.A., McGrory, J., Gracely, E.J., Rader, D.J., Samaha, F.F. “A Randomized Study Comparing the Effects of a Low-Carbohydrate Diet and a Conventional Diet on Lipoprotein Subfractions and C-Reactive Protein Levels in Patients with Severe Obesity”, American Journal of Medicine, 117(5), 2004, pages 398-405.
Summary:

The following information is available at Pub Med and was not written by Atkins professionals.

PURPOSE: To compare the effects of a low-carbohydrate diet and a conventional (fat- and calorie-restricted) diet on lipoprotein subfractions and inflammation in severely obese subjects.

METHODS: We compared changes in lipoprotein subfractions and C-reactive protein levels in 78 severely obese subjects, including 86% with either diabetes or metabolic syndrome, who were randomly assigned to either a low-carbohydrate or conventional diet for 6 months.

RESULTS: Subjects on a low-carbohydrate diet experienced a greater decrease in large very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) levels (difference = -0.26 mg/dL, P = 0.03) but more frequently developed detectable chylomicrons (44% vs. 22%, P = 0.04). Both diet groups experienced similar decreases in the number of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles (difference = -30 nmol/L, P = 0.74) and increases in large high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations (difference = 0.70 mg/dL, P = 0.63). Overall, C-reactive protein levels decreased modestly in both diet groups. However, patients with a high-risk baseline level (>3 mg/dL, n = 48) experienced a greater decrease in C-reactive protein levels on a low-carbohydrate diet (adjusted difference = -2.0 mg/dL, P = 0.005), independent of weight loss.

CONCLUSION: In this 6-month study involving severely obese subjects, we found an overall favorable effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on lipoprotein subfractions, and on inflammation in high-risk subjects. Both diets had similar effects on LDL and HDL subfractions.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[SkydiveStMarys 0]

"corn on the cob"

If you buy it at the "height" of the season...super sweet corn tastes grrrreat on the grill and you don't have to cook it, per say, just warm it up. Delicious!

Bobbi

A miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude.

[PLFXpert 0]

OK, ya'll. Corn is NOT a veggie by nutritional value. It is a starch, a CARB

I don't like corn much anyways.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[SkydiveStMarys 0]

It helps in the aid of digestion...the way it goes in is the way it comes out!!

So there,rain on my corn parade will you??!!




Bobbi

A miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude.

[wmw999 2,177]

It's a nice complex carb, with plenty of bulk. And, well, the idea is to get Walt to like fresh veggies -- that's a good way to start. You have to suck them in with candy, then get them hooked before you introduce the okra

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[hookitt 0]

Example of carbs:
Baked Potato
Sweet Potato
Yam
Squash
Pumpkin
Brown Rice
White Rice
Pasta
Oatmeal
Barley
Beans
Corn
Strawberries
Melon
Apple
Orange
F.F. Yogurt
W.W. Bread
Wild Rice

Stop thinking carbs are bad.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[PLFXpert 0]

I don't think carbs are bad, persay. I was just responding to the original question of wanting to avoid them and the suggestion that corn might be a good alternative.

Anywho...it's all in good fun.

As many have already said: I think carbs are an important staple to the diet---but the "right" kind, such as fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[waltappel 1]

Quote

Example of carbs:
Baked Potato
Sweet Potato
Yam
Squash
Pumpkin
Brown Rice
White Rice
Pasta
Oatmeal
Barley
Beans
Corn
Strawberries
Melon
Apple
Orange
F.F. Yogurt
W.W. Bread
Wild Rice

Stop thinking carbs are bad.

I love a nice pair of melons!

Walt

[RedassSkychic 0]

If you keep alot of whole grains around, they will satisfy your craving for carbs, have more fiber and generally less calories than "enriched white flour" types.

Triscuts are good and crunchy, and have no sweetners added.. only salt.

Also the mini bags of low butter popcorn are good, only 100 calories and you can feel like you're eating a whole bag of popcorn (b/c you are)

[LisaM 0]

Quote

Stay away from the simple carbs and your cravings for them will go down. At least that's been my experience.

Ditto!

~ Lisa
~ Do you Rigminder?

[waltappel 1]

Quote

If you keep alot of whole grains around, they will satisfy your craving for carbs, have more fiber and generally less calories than "enriched white flour" types.

Triscuts are good and crunchy, and have no sweetners added.. only salt.

Also the mini bags of low butter popcorn are good, only 100 calories and you can feel like you're eating a whole bag of popcorn (b/c you are)

I like Triscuits a lot, but I can easily eat a whole box of them, so I generally don't buy them.

It's not clear to me what you mean by keeping alot of whole grains around. Can you please explain?

Walt

[wmw999 2,177]

Keeping whole grains around.
When you buy bread, buy whole-grain bread. I like the 12-grain, but it does have more sweeteners. Such is life. It tastes really good.

When you make dinner, make some brown rice to go with it. Make lots of brown rice, so that you can freeze the rest of it in single-serving ziploc bags. You can then nuke those. But sushi with brown rice is going too far -- the rice overpowers the sushi.

Discover the joys of quinoa. Tastes good, and cooks in about 20 minutes. It's less flavorful, so a little added chicken broth is good. Pasta (including couscous) can also be whole-grain. Also tastes good, and no harder to cook.

That's about 80 percent of it. When you make potatoes, get the red ones and boil them whole without peeling (or eat the skin when you bake one). Not a grain, but still.

If I just have to have a carb-laden snack, I favor Shredded wheat-n-bran (I really like the stuff). Incredibly filling. If I don't do that, I usually end up with something like a candy bar; not a good trade .

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[simplyputsi 0]

mmmmm carbs. I just had me a big helping of spaghetti and that was also what I had last night. Then the bowl of yogurt covered cheerios this morning along with my english muffin. MMMm carbs!!!
Tonight I'll probably add some more carbs to this list.
Follow your dreams. You can reach your goals. I'm living proof.
BEEFCAKE!!! BEEFCAKE!!!!

Skymama's #2 stalker -

[lawrocket 3]

There's a great way to curb the craving. Allow yourself to have some.

There's NO way that 90 percentof us can maintain a diet that does not allow us to partake in some of the things that we enjoy.

I compare it to a notional guy I knew in college. He dieted heavily, ate only healthy things with a balanced diet, exercised regularly, gave up drinking, sex and basically any unhealthy activity. He was the healthiest guy I knew, right up to the day he killed himself.

You feel like you could eat a whole loaf of bread? I LOVE bread. So much that I actually savor the flavor. So, grab a couple of slices, and eat them both over a period of five minutes. You've got what you like, it'll fill you up (trust me - wait five or ten inutes after eating them and you'll be fine). Wash them down with a quart of water, or some water with a 12 ounce Pepsi. It'll do you well.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[waltappel 1]

I like bread--I have fantasies about bread. Bread turns me on.

Having only a couple of slices of bread is like having three minutes of sex. Yeah, I know that's what everyone else does, but it just doesn't satisfy me.

(What the hell am I talking about?!!!! Shit, I'd be happy with 20 seconds of really bad pity sex!!! Anyway, you get the idea.)

I eat plenty of carbs, but there are a few foods that are my downfall. Bread is one. Cheese is another. I can quite easily eat a pound of cheese in one sitting and still want more.

Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Colby, Mozzarella, Provolone--it's all good. Hell, I can easily eat a block of cream cheese all by itself.

Tortilla chips with loads of salsa make the world a far better place.

The problem is that I eat them in unhealthy quantities. I lost 30 pounds over the course of a few months by simply cutting out those foods--not entirely, but for the most part. I wasn't even working out.

I think for me, it's best just to avoid those foods.

Walt

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

I think for me, it's best just to avoid those foods.

So are you saying you have an easier time avoiding them all together than just havng them in smaller quantities? If so, damn, more power to you.

Quote

I can quite easily eat a pound of cheese in one sitting and still want more.

Anyone else think of that Simpson's episode when Walt wrote that?

[About 2:00 a.m., Homer walks in, opens the fridge and says]
"Mmm... 64 slices of American cheese."
"64... " [eats a slice]
"63... " [eats another]
[Next morning]
"Two... " [slowly]
"One... " [finished]
[Marge walks in]
Marge: "Have you been up all night eating cheese?"
Homer: [slurred] "I think I'm blind... "

My wife is hotter than your wife.