Maybe I should qualify that a little. I don't find scrambled eggs very satisfying. I still eat fried eggs and hard-boiled eggs occasionally, but only the yolks. My main use of eggs is to make mayonnaise. Other than that, I hardly eat them at all. They really don't have to be a big part of a low-carb way of eating. When I stopped eating breakfast and started Intermittent Fasting, I pretty much stopped eating eggs on a regular basis.

Although he put it rather bluntly, I have to agree with jcass that you sound like you're still having cravings for cereal. Eating grains and sweet things in the morning might only exacerbate those cravings.

As someone mentioned on another breakfast thread a while back, there's nothing like leftover broiled salmon for breakfast. Makes me hungry every time I think about it.

I guess it does sound contradictory that I don't have cravings but have a hard time giving up Wheaties.

I guess my definition of a craving is different maybe. When I say that I don't get cravings from eating Wheaties, I mean that eating them does not make me crave other high carb foods. I can eat them or eggs for breakfast and the rest of the day is not any different. I don't get a desire to eat a bigger bad lunch just cause I had Wheaties for breakfast.

I guess this is what I was getting at about the cravings. As far as craving Wheaties, I can't say that I would drive to the store to get a box due to a craving, I would just eat something else.

It's nothing like cigarette cravings. I recently quit, but I'll tell you when I smoked, if I ran out of cigarettes, I would drive in a blizzard with roads closed to get to a store that had some. Now THAT is a craving.

So you can give it up any time?

Yeah, there's a difference to me between having cravings for something (or having it trigger cravings) vs. just missing it because you enjoyed it.

The difference may only be one of degree instead of kind, but I think it's an important distinction to make.

There are plenty of things that I enjoy eating, that I enjoy doing, that I would miss a lot if I were forced to give them up. That doesn't mean I have a pathological addiction to all of them or their effects.

Dear cereal eating people;

You aren't really going to get much support for eating cereal here. Its sort of like going to an AA meeting and asking if you think its okay to have just one beer a day.

If you can eat fortified breakfast cereal and still lose weight and not be tempted by anything else, great. I wish I could; I love cereal. But really, there are worse things you could do to your body. Or, you could take some of the constructive suggestions from this thread and see if any of that works for you.

I tend to have a protein shake most weekday mornings; I can slap one together and drink it on the 405, no problem. I wistfully gave up eggs for the convenience factor, and I'm pretty happy with the decision. Still slowly losing, getting to work on time, etc.

You also might try posting in the moderate carb (semi-low carb) section of the board. You might find some people with similar tendencies over there.

Good luck with your journey.

Okay, I miss Total Cereal a little bit because I enjoyed it. It's a bad example because there are things I miss more, but I'll go with it.

But I would never, ever, in a million years, subject myself to the pain and suffering it would mean to eat that stuff again. Simply, flat out, not worth it. And before you make the decision that you're different from me, I challenge you to go for 5 weeks without gluten.

Well no, apparently, or we wouldn't be having this conversation.

People can eat as they like. But after many years of seeing people come and go, lose and regain (usually more) weight, one thing that is kind of a 'marker' that seems to divide the population is those who actually learn to eat whole foods low carb.

This is different from those who learn to eat select tiny amounts of high carb (small enough amounts to just barely pass as lowcarb), and those who learn to eat frankenfoods that pass as lowcarb (eg packaged LC stuff). Those are different eating plans.

The people who learn to make several basic 'foundation' recipes they make staples, and learn to eat and like whole foods, low carb foods, as opposed to faking it, squeezing it, etc. seem like the ones that this works for more often. Some people solve the breakfast issue with intermittant fasting and just skip it. Sometimes we make a lot of food in advance, like baking bacon and premaking burger patties or baking a bunch of chicken or lots of taco-flavor meat or meatballs, and then for breakfast it's easy to just nuke something.

Coffee with cream and a couple ounces bacon is great - the fat is very satiating. My kid hates eggs, but I make quiche with sauteed mushrooms, onions, peppers, black olives, and a bunch of cheese, and she nukes chunks of that for breakfast happily. You can take baked chopped chicken and mix it with some cream cheese and diced scallions and peppers and green or red enchilada sauce (I call that mexi-chicken mix) for a hot or cold creamy salad that is quick food and keeps for days in the fridge. Off to junk food (closest whole foods comes), you can grill/melt sliced meats and cheeses and slice that and dip bites in a homemade honey mustard sauce.

One of the things that actually did help me a lot was forcing myself to expand my concept of breakfast foods. We are indoctrinated that breakfast means cereal/porridge, or toast/bagels/muffins, or pancakes/waffles/frenchtoast, or bacon/sausage/eggs. (...or leftover pizza.) So folks not into the egg routine (like my daughter) feel bereft. Sometimes I make her LC pancakes but the reality is, that has almost no protein, and LC syrup is utter crapfood.

But after awhile if you make yourself learn a new habit, you may find that meatballs in blue-cheese sauce, or steak with marsala mushroom wine sauce, or curried chicken salad, or pork loin medallions with mustard sauce, or bite size chicken chunks baked in alfredo sauce and peppercorns, or grilled chicken with cordon bleu ham & cheese & mustard sauce, or chili with shredded cheese, or -- well you get the idea -- are FANTASTIC for breakfast. They taste awesome, they fill you up, they keep you from being hungry, and they make your nutrition numbers great right from the get-go.

I cannot claim expertise given I still have 150# I hope to lose. But the weight I've lost so far, and what I've seen in years of observing others on this eating plan, suggests that it is vastly more important to learn to eat and like what you should, than to try and force-fit crappy food into the 'allowed numbers' of some lowcarb plan (with all the grace of Cinderella's sisters and the shoe).

Best,
PJ

Magic,

At least I can understand what you are saying. I don't think you meant giving it up was pretty tough like you have to sit there and eat box after box if you don't abstain completely. You are pretty close to your goal and you want to add in some carbs and you enjoy Wheaties (okay I think they are gross ). I understand that you enjoy the occasional bowl of cereal and I think you are able to eat Wheaties or these other weird mixes of cereal others here seem to invent and I think you won't damage your body beyond repair or gain 500 lbs. I think you will be fine.

There are a lot of foods that I am able eat that I might have not been able to eat a year ago. It's all about learning about your own body and what you want.

Also, way to go on quitting smoking. If you want Wheaties, eat them. You are doing healthy things everyday by not smoking and if you like cereal, just find a way to keep it in your diet and still reach your goals.

Way to go!!!

Lisa

Eons ago, I gained my first 200# very rapidly while eating only once a day - Del Taco - at 1am because I was spending 4.5 hours every day commuting, mostly on the 405. Which I called "The four o' five miles an hour" (urban accent for that). You have my sympathies!! I think maybe a nice tranquilizer would make that commute less stressful too, surely you could get that into a protein shake.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I agree with LMMS, I couldn't have said it better myself.

I didn't touch Wheaties for probably six weeks and didn't have ANY problem whatsoever. I just happen to like Wheaties. Used to really love them with bananas mixed in, but I am not eating bananas, even though I like them.

If I relate giving up foods to giving up smoking, there is no comparison. I can't say that there was ANY food that was even the tiniest bit as difficult to give up as cigarettes. When I smoked, if someone told me to choose between my favorite food and a cigarette, the cigarette won hands down.

So, I figure if I have made it this long without a cigarette, there is NO FOOD that I couldn't give up. I just CHOOSE to eat a few things that I like in small portions.

<hijack!>



Yeah, I know exactly what you mean; you get home super late and super tired, and all you can do is eat fast food and pass out, then get up and do it again. BTDT. Today was particularly heinous. Thursday always is. No idea why.
I like the tranq idea.

<end of hijack>

<hijack continued> Years ago I had a friend in LA who had to drive the 405 daily - she said she found that travelling on the exit & on ramps kept her moving much better. That was in the 1970's - I don't suppose it would still work?
</end hijack>

<hijack 3>

Nope. Works on the 10 though. Sometimes. Throwing one's head back and screaming at the Heavens through the sunroof, shaking one's fist at the guy that just cut you off, and swearing a blue streak (all behind tightly closed and well tinted windows) are really the only rational options.

<end hijack>

But back to the original question; I forgot to mention something probably completely obvious, but should be said: If you're going to eat grains, and you suddnely, inexplicably start having trouble staying on plan, lose your willpower, barking at trees, whatever--guess what the first thing you cut should be?

I'm just saying. I'll go back to not sleeping now.

I agree but if you can eat normally and not bark at trees, a bowl of cereal, if that's what you enjoy, will not kill you. This thread might but the cereal won't. Commuting to work might but the cereal won't unless you choke on it.

HAVE CEREAL EVERYONE THAT WANTS IT. I AM SURE THAT NO ONE CARES THAT MUCH AFTER 3 PAGES OF THIS!!!!!!