Question:
Does anyone have ideas on how to beat a horrible addiction to carbs?
I am pre-op and have quite a long wait before I will be scheduled for surgery. I am trying not to gain anymore weight in the meantime but I have a horrible addiction to carbohydrates. I have tried Atkins but I guess I just don't have any willpower at all over carbs. Any advice would be great. — NancySTX (posted on July 4, 2003)
July 4, 2003
I was the same way preop. I did do Atkins for a very long time prior to
when I started seeking out surgery. I went off the diet thinking I'd not
deprive myself any longer, and BOOM, I gained 30 pounds right off the bat.
Try Atkins for a week... it will be rough, but once you do, you'll break
that addiction to carbs, at least so you won't gain anymore weight. You may
try a modified version and eat the reduced carb breads, use soy flour
instead of wheat flour to cook (it's not bad, even to bread and fry things
with) and just try laying off the potatos and bread. Another goodie is the
Atkins candy bars. They are wonderful and won't spike your insulin and
cravings. They even make an Atkins icecream. I hope this helps. My
suggestions may not help you lose, but will keep you from gaining, like I
did. God bless you and I pray for a safe and speedy journey for you.
— Happy I.
July 4, 2003
I only know one way to beat the Carb Addition.... COLD TURKEY. Give up all
foods made with surgar or flour. It is hard but the more you eat the more
you want. I do eat fresh fruit (whole, not canned or juiced) ti satisfy
the sweet tooth. If you can go for 2 -3 weeks with out processed Carbs
then you can give up natural carbs next. Hope that helps.
— Karon G.
July 4, 2003
Hi Nancy :) I absolutely agree with Karon here. The more you eat them, the
more you will want them. But the opposite is also true - if you go cold
turkey, your blood sugar will level out and you'll be less likely to grave
them. I commend you on dealing with this now because once you are post-op
it is a decision you will have to deal with all the time. Hopefully you'll
dump with high sugar foods, but breads, potatoes, etc. are no problem for
many. So we have to decide to do the protein first no matter what. I am 2
months post-op and I'd say that for the first month, it was beyond hard - I
felt like I was dieting all over again. It is only now that I am really
beginning to feel as though I am not missing the carbs (too much).
— CarolineAnnMartin
July 4, 2003
South Park Diet. You can find the basics at prevention.com.
My surgery was 12/01 and I've gained 15 lbs this year because I never made
myself learn to eat differently. Today is day 6 of the diet and I'm down 7
lbs and I've not had a perfect day yet. This is a good fat, good carbs
diet.
— lessofme170
July 5, 2003
I agree that the only way is to stop eating them. Some of us just don't do
well with carbs. I am one of those and anything over 40 grams sends me off
on a carb frenzy. I have had long discussions w/ my nutritionist about this
and there are very specific ways that you can eat carbs so that it will not
have a drastic effect but it is a very planned out thing that requires some
training and probably should be combined with some exercise. I am 5 1/2
months out and I still stay away from the carbs because even though my
weight at this point should make me way less insulin resistant I still have
the same problematic craving that I had before surgery when I eat carbs.
The bonus is that I lose very steadily with no plateaus and I never have
that cloudy headed carb thing anymore. It only takes a couple of days off
the carbs for your body to regulate itself and for the carbs to lessen.
Definitely don't worry about fats or the amount you are eating while you
are getting off the carbs. You need to feel satisfied or you will be right
back to it. I also find that the low carb sweets are a big trigger for me
but I really think that I am the extreme with this sensitivity and that may
just be in my head but either way the craving feels the same. One last
thing is do NOT beat yourself up! Carb cravings are a physiological thing
and not a weakness. They actually cause you to overeat based on what they
do to your insulin levels. Good Luck!
— Carol S.
July 5, 2003
I am also pre-op, my sugery is in 32 days. I have been diabetic since
1991, and started or tired to limit my carb intake since then, it is very
hard. Bread is my downfall. This surgery has put things in more of a
perspective for me on the importants of protien and low carbs. I do not
know if this will help you, but here is what I did. I would take one meal
at a time. put on the plate what I would normally eat, and then remove one
thing that was a carb, I started to cut down on my bread intake, went from
white bread to wheat or rye. Next, I would eat less pasta, or potatoes.
Then the big step was to only have my carbs at one meal, ususally the
evening meal with my family. I started to find out that when I ate a carbs
meal I was hungry again sooner. I started to never have any carbs in the
morning, or I was hungry all day. I interdouced a protein shake into my
diet in the morning and a piece of meat, lunch, if I had a sandwich, I
would take off one or both buns, and would have a piece of fruit instead of
those french fries, then for dinner I would have my carbs, first i took
away the bread, but kept the pototoes or pasta, now I do not even eat
pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, I eat veggies and chicken, fish or beef, but
you have to have some carbs, so once in a while I will have some mashed
potatoes or a few french fries. My normal day now consist of
morning-protein shake, and a piece of ham, lunch-tuna, chicken, roast beef,
shrimp and maybe a side salad, snack-I love a apple or a banana with peanut
butter of it. Dinner-meat, and veggies, and sometimes mashed potatoes, the
other day we went to a steak house were they have those big steak fries,
and I had some fries. Hope this helps
— cindy
July 5, 2003
Hi Nancy,
I, too, am a carb addict! Before surgery, pretty much my entire diet
consisted of carbs (pizza, pasta, potatoes, bread, etc.). Gee, wonder why I
needed this surgery so badly!! At any rate, I will be 9 weeks post op on
Tuesday, and I'm only eating the amount of carbs I am allowed and it
doesn't bother me at all. Although I tried to reduce the number of carbs I
was eating before my surgery, I never quite gave them up.... actually, not
even close! Just try a little each day to reduce the amount of carbs you
are taking in. If you try to do it a little at a time, it might not feel so
drastic. Good luck to you! It will all be worth it!!!
— Ceil G.
July 5, 2003
I'd have to agree with what others have said about going cold turkey. I
will be three months out on the 7th. The first few weeks were pure HELL,
especially when I would see my kids eating those carbs! After a while
though, I didn't really want them any more. Now I have no desire whatsoever
for carbs. One time about a month ago I was at a family party and there
were carbs everywhere. i made the mistake of eating a few too many and I
sure paid the price. For the next three days I felt like I was starving and
all I wanted was carbs. Of course I realized what was going on and stuck
strickly to protein. After a few days the cravings stopped and I was back
to not wanting carbs. It is my belief that once we break the initial carb
craving that we can keep it at bay by limiting the number of carbs we get
in. I don't actually count carbs, but consciously choose proteins and other
lower carb foods.
— Barbara C.
July 5, 2003
I remember reading, I think in The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet, that if you
give up carbs for three days the cravings diminish greatly. I did it and
it is true. Tell yourself you only need to get through 3 days - you might
be very surprised at the end of those 3 days, how much better you feel, and
how the cravings have gone away!!
— koogy
July 7, 2003
Well, join the club! I truly believe that we are carb addicts and the only
solution is to get off them! I used to be able to eat a whole batch of
cookies that I had baked, or a whole loaf of garlic bread, or bowls of
pasta salad, etc. I am still pre-op, but the Atkins diet is what cured me
of the carb addiction. I just can't lose enough on it to get to goal, but
I have definitely lost the carb addiction. I would go on the diet and
start the day with a great mushroom and cheese omelet with salsa and sour
cream, and when I had the urge to eat, have some bacon or deli meat with
horseradish. My mom even got hooked on eating cottage cheese with whipped
cream! I said, "you are nuts", but when I tried it, it was so
rich and sweet, I liked it. When I craved sweets, I would eat sugar free
jello with real whipping cream on it and lose the carb craving. I truly
believe that if you're addicted to carbs, that by eliminating them will
help you kick the habit. YOu just have to find proteins and sweet
substitutes that satisfy you. I was the worst, and now I don't crave the
carbs, sugar and flour I used to! Good luck, it really works! darci
— darci T.
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