so... when I'm having a screaming "I WANT CARBS" moment...
What do I do?
do something/anything to take my mind off it
drink water
work out
eat sugar free jello (not pudding) ok, sometimes pudding lol
sleep
eat pickles
eat jalapeno peppers (but not the really hot ones,
thosemake me cry make my tear ducts become over-active lol)
have just a tiny bit of carbs (a few chips, or just a little bit of what I was craving)
chew gum
forget it, I'm having it!!!
I've pretty much done all of these, especially during a period a few years ago when I was reducing my carb intake closer to what it currently is. And of course, wouldn't you know it, right now as I write this post.
But I'm curious, when you're having one of those carb-craving moments, what do you do?
When I have a serious craving, I let myself have what I want in a sensible portion, or I incorporate it in a meal, in a sensible way. (For example: I may make home made stir fry, but instead of it being in a bed of rice, I add 1/4 cup of rice to the ENTIRE recipe, so I am only eating it as a small, mixed-in ingredient when I am eating 1 serving.) Why? Because it prevents binge eating, and tossing the towel and completely giving up on this long, long battle… If I need to, I go for a walk, or whatever, to help burn more glucose off. But honestly, we only live once. So once in a while, it is OKAY, as long as you don’t make the carbs your daily diet like so many people do… choosing quality of life as what they can eat, instead of good health, and spending yet another day/week/month/year/decade with their loved ones.
I agree with s6954118. Some of us have serious carb addictions, and like most addictions they go away IF you don’t feed them. I think 3 days might be the more extreme cravings but they take more like 30 days to totally get out of your system. If you are really serious about moving away from carb overload I suggest not feeding it, but going 30 days with low carb, getting through the cravings and coming out the other side. I think the “eat moderately” approach works for many people but not those of us with a serious addiction. Great pic and description btw.
I finished up some frozen pizza a few days ago and had it two days in a row and after that I was thinking about pasta and my greens salad wasn’t flavorful. So thats how I can tell.
Yep, they go fast and return just as quickly, lol. My own experience is when I stopped eating sugar 16 years ago due to an eating disorder (serious addiction!) The physical cravings dissipated in 30 days but the psychological ones can last much longer if you don’t confront them. For some people the carb cravings can have little to do with hunger or physical needs (once the physical addiction is gone), but more to do with emotional needs that we are used to feeding. I used to have a sign on my fridge: “There is no love in here”.
I find it interesting btw that 50s style “comfort food” is now experiencing a resurgence with 2010 young foodies. I wonder what that says about our culture - maybe that is taking things too far but I’m of the “Like Water for Chocolate” school that sees food as having far-ranging cultural significance.
Haha! TIm, if it makes you feel any better, the pizza was kind of sucky. But the box was taking up room in the freezer so I wanted to get rid of it. I won’t be buying that kind again.
I am a saltaholic too. It is your taste buds recovering from eating too much junky processed foods. We often put too much condiments on our food and the more you put, the more you need next time. It kind of dulls the taste buds so you need even more next time. So needing less is a good thing. You will really taste your food.
This will be my first winter as a diabetic and I am a soup and pasta person when it is cold. This is gonna be hard. My favorite soups is creamy potatoe which I used to make myself - but now I have to figure something else out. grrr… Good thing I am creative! I am doing “soup research” this week (geez, that sounds geeky doesn’t it)
Fries are a hard one too. I like the English chips types of fries and those are definately a no-no.
I’ve come to believe that one of the things that drives my carb cravings is insulin. Right now, I’ve had some medication changes and I’m having some serious cravings after dinner. I think it is because I have higher levels of circulating insulin and a normal blood sugar (80-100 mg/dl 1 hr postprandial). I get some serious cravings and I feel just a bit hypo. I have a jittery feeling, but not serious hypo feelings like clammy, sweaty and narrow vision.
I know I could just chomp down on some chips and my blood sugar would be fine, but it would just start me on a cycle.
Sometimes I’ll eat “free” foods, like pickles. But if I want to tamp down those feelings, I know that protein will do it.
Well. Ive only been at it a few months now. The low carbing it. If you look around the net there is a ton of things to take the place of anything you might crave. Like 85% cocoa for sweets - 1" square is 2 carbs or ultra low carbs bread. Cauliflower can be made into practically anything. You might try low carb bread crumbs and breadding zucchini sticks.
I never cared for pasta, so I dont miss much there. Japanese white rice though… Oh how I miss sushi and sashimi some how isnt the same. That gives me an idea. I bet you I can make sticky cauliflower rice. Hmm.
When I do get a craving I think about how this is going to #$^ up my BG and would rather take the low carb alternative. Thats just me.
I am opposite. I could never make rice to save my life so I lost my taste for it after eating bowl after bowl of sticky rice after my many failed rice perfecting cooking attempts.
Pasta on the other hand…drool. Fettucine Alfredo. grrr…
Actually yes you can make cauliflower rice. I believe Gerri has a recipe.
I have always been a proponent of the “food pill”. I used to wonder why they haven’t made something like that years ago. Esp. if I was super busy and didn’t have time to eat I would be thinking “Why have they not invented that food pill yet?” If they could make it, I bet they could make it low carb too. I could eat a meal of bread again! Whee!
Having one piece of chocolate or one slice of bread or serving of chips or one damn brownie from the plate that ALWAYS seems to be at work isn’t gonna fly with me.
The logical part of me says “I can do this…I can only have one and be happy.” but the devil on my shoulder laughs and says "Hey, have another…you DESERVE it…you’ve EARNED it…you can HANDLE it."
I don’t, I haven’t and I can’t.
Instead, I drink water…go for a walk…read a book…take a cat-nap…chew some gum…have a cup of coffee…you get the picture.
Honestly…I LOOK at a slice of bread and my bg goes above 200 and takes hours to go below 100!
On the plus side…I’ve read some amazing books and know every cool/hip coffee shop within a 20 mile radius
Gerri is amazing when it comes to cooking low carb. I would have binged ages ago if she hadnt been sending over recipes the whole way through.
I love cooking and jump in tossing stuff around all the time. Last rice I made was grated cauliflower with bullion, cream, ginger, ponzu, and furikaki. It went with Japanese curry and was no different than the sticky rice I used to eat. =^) Yum.
