The never disappearing carbo craving
23 Mar
I broke up with my boyfriend last december and moved into my parents house.
My eating habits have suffered a bit. Was it the break up and having to “deal” that got me craving carbs? Was it the fact that the food was simply around? Or could it be the weather and the change of seasons?
When I moved in, I started drinking more coffee and alcohol. I started buying more sweeteners and low carb products. Since the move, I’ve been eating like a horse.
I talk about low carb all the time…it is MY PASSION. I’m usually hyperaware and strict about what I eat. I mean, don’t get me wrong…I still am compared to 99,9% of people I know. But these last 3 months , I’ve given in to some things such as chips and beer, coke zero, sugar free ice cream, dried fruit, bananas, peanut butter, chocolate….
I stopped losing weight. My pants were getting very tight. I constantly had the munchies.
Then, I had an idea. I said to myself: If I’m craving carbs, then maybe I should have a few real ones and see what happens. Maybe the real ones will satiate me better then the fake ones and I won’t have to eat as much. So no more artificial sweeteners, only a few starchy vegetables and some fruit here and there, nothing crazy like bread.
So I tried this a week ago. I cut out the coke zero completely and 3 days later my pants aren’t as tight as they were. Coincidence?
I don’t know. All I’m saying is, if you’re low carbing and your weight has stalled, try ditching the non-caloric sweeteners and see what happens.
Have any of you experienced something similar?
I have a problem using artificial sweeteners. If I drink a couple of glasses of zero-calorie coke my stomach get upset and I’m in the toilet every 15 minutes or so after that. In the weekend I sometimes drink some coke, and just go for the HCFS sugary one. Ok, it’s not paleo or primal, and it’s a lot of sugar, but hey, it’s weekend and I’m no Saint…
On non-caloric sweeteners and stalling, see http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/31/health/he-sweet-brain31 . “The brain may not be fooled by sugar substitutes” Might be linked to your experience.
I have gone to mostly just using stevia. Right now I am experimenting with taking out dairy to see if that helps move my stall.
Drinking more coffee? You make it sound like that is a bad thing!
Obviously excessive coffee drinking is not a wise choice, just like any other substance, but coffee is a 100% natural drink. No artificial sweeteners and no crap that we can’t pronounce (unless you add artificial sweeteners), just coffee beans and water (if you drink it black).
You mentioned coffee drinking and alcohol consumption in the same sentence, which implied that they are similar…. very far from it. Alcohol is pure poison. Coffee has lots of antioxidants and actually tastes delicious! Although a case can be made for the negative side affects of caffeine, even though no true scientific evidence has linked poor health and caffeine.
Just some food for thought! Good work
Ryan
PS You used to be a vegan? And switched to low carb?!! Your food journey is identical to mine! LOL. I just posted an article about my life as vegan, check it out and let us know about your vegan experiences!