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  #1   ^
Old Sun, Oct-23-11, 20:22
mmxchamp mmxchamp is offline
New Member
Posts: 5
 
Plan: <20 g of carbs a day
Stats: 195/193/180 Male 6'1"
BF:
Progress: 13%
Default Carb Cravings!!

Hey all...I've been attempting a low carb diet for awhile, and I keep caving a few days in to carb cravings. So, I'm here to hopefully keep myself a bit more motivated. I'm not trying to lose a huge amount of weight; I'm doing it to help my Crohn's disease symptoms. I've gotten past the mental block that fat is bad for me, but i just need to get through the craving for sugar and chocolate!

Thanks for letting me rant haha! I'll be back to trying to avoid carbs starting tomorrow.
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  #2   ^
Old Sun, Oct-23-11, 21:11
aj_cohn's Avatar
aj_cohn aj_cohn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,948
 
Plan: Protein Power
Stats: 213/167/165 Male 65 in.
BF:35%/23%/20%
Progress: 96%
Location: United States
Default

Hi mmxchamp,

Maybe you need a gradual introduction to LC. Try starting ignoring how many grams of carbs you're eating. Just eliminate wheat from your diet for two weeks while making sure you fat intake is at least 50% of calories (use Fitday or something similar to keep yourself honest). The next two weeks, increase your fat to 60%, make half of your meals from scratch, and eliminate corn. And so on (fat percentage should ultimately be 65-75%).

And so on.

Also, don't decrease carbs below 40g/day. This isn't Atkins; there's no induction period.

Last edited by aj_cohn : Sun, Oct-23-11 at 21:35.
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  #3   ^
Old Sun, Oct-23-11, 22:14
mmxchamp mmxchamp is offline
New Member
Posts: 5
 
Plan: <20 g of carbs a day
Stats: 195/193/180 Male 6'1"
BF:
Progress: 13%
Default

AJ Cohn - Thanks for the response! I'm trying not to eat lots of carbs because of my crohns...I'm of the opinion that its being caused by bacteria in my intestines, and the carbs are feeding them. I also haven't tried eating vegetables for a couple of years, because in general the fiber isn't great for me. I would expect after a few months I should be able to introduce some fiber and carbs. I definitely need to go a little slower though, which will hopefully help with my desire for carbs. I make all of my meals from scratch at the moment, and am eating about 60-70% fat on the days I'm good.
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  #4   ^
Old Mon, Oct-24-11, 10:17
aj_cohn's Avatar
aj_cohn aj_cohn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,948
 
Plan: Protein Power
Stats: 213/167/165 Male 65 in.
BF:35%/23%/20%
Progress: 96%
Location: United States
Default

Your approach so far is textbook-correct! You obviously have the determination and discipline to succeed. But the textbook approach is clearly not working as well as you'd like. Why not risk a small change to see if things go better for you?

My wife is trying to wean herself from bread by using some recipes from http://glutenfreefix.com/. She said that the recipe for the mock pita bread was tasty.

I wish you success on your LC journey.
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  #5   ^
Old Mon, Oct-24-11, 15:30
aj_cohn's Avatar
aj_cohn aj_cohn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,948
 
Plan: Protein Power
Stats: 213/167/165 Male 65 in.
BF:35%/23%/20%
Progress: 96%
Location: United States
Default

One more thing; some people on this forum recommend supplementing with L-Glutamine to reduce the initial carb cravings. I don't have personal experience with this, but if you search this forum, you should be able to get more information.
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  #6   ^
Old Fri, Oct-28-11, 19:17
mmxchamp mmxchamp is offline
New Member
Posts: 5
 
Plan: <20 g of carbs a day
Stats: 195/193/180 Male 6'1"
BF:
Progress: 13%
Default

Well, its Friday and I haven't binged on cookies or brownies yet! Thanks for the responses AJ...I've been below ~30 g of carbs a day, and the L-Glutamine has helped a bit. I'm really craving some sugar right now, so I might go get some frozen berries and make a protein shake with em. As long as I can avoid the donuts at the store I should be ok :-P
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  #7   ^
Old Wed, Nov-02-11, 17:11
aj_cohn's Avatar
aj_cohn aj_cohn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,948
 
Plan: Protein Power
Stats: 213/167/165 Male 65 in.
BF:35%/23%/20%
Progress: 96%
Location: United States
Default

Hi mmxchamp,

I don't have any magic wand to wave in your direction to stop the carb cravings. At this point, you might want to head over to the official Protein Power Forum. The PP gurus hang out there.
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  #8   ^
Old Wed, Jan-04-12, 12:08
Brinethery's Avatar
Brinethery Brinethery is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,387
 
Plan: 160g animal protein/day
Stats: 185/167/165 Female 5'10
BF:35
Progress: 90%
Location: Algona, WA, US
Default

Are you eating enough fat? I would aim for at LEAST 60% of your calories as fat. I myself prefer 70% or more of my calories.

You're just starting out, so that might seem like you're eating almost nothing but fat. But consider this. A USDA Choice ribeye steak is about 70% if measured by calories (not by weight).

If you're eating a 2,000 calorie diet eating 70% fat, 25% protein, and you should be eating 1400 calories of fat, 500 calories of protein, and 100 calories of carbs.

There are 9cals/fat gram, 4cals/protein gram, and 4cals/carb gram.

That means on a 2,000 calorie diet, you should eat 155 grams fat, 125 grams protein, and 25 grams carbs.

Most of the time when people start any version of low carb, they're not eating enough fat and this is a recipe for disaster.

Hope this helps!
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  #9   ^
Old Mon, Jan-09-12, 19:30
RitaS RitaS is offline
New Member
Posts: 20
 
Plan: My own version of lo carb
Stats: 266/174.6/170 Female 5'5"
BF:
Progress: 95%
Location: Wisconsin
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by mmxchamp
Hey all...I've been attempting a low carb diet for awhile, and I keep caving a few days in to carb cravings. So, I'm here to hopefully keep myself a bit more motivated. I'm not trying to lose a huge amount of weight; I'm doing it to help my Crohn's disease symptoms. I've gotten past the mental block that fat is bad for me, but i just need to get through the craving for sugar and chocolate!

Thanks for letting me rant haha! I'll be back to trying to avoid carbs starting tomorrow.

You are on the right track - go gluten free for Crohns as gluten is highly inflammatory and builds up over time in the GI, which is usually why people end up with Celiac's as well. A good GF whole grain cracker is Mary's Gone Crackers, which has flax and chia seed. Both have more Omega 3 than many fish. Omega 3 helps reduce Crohns symptoms. I just found a site you might like www.crohns.net
We use EVOO (with touch of turmeric for cooking - prevents oxidization) and coconut oil in our house exclusively and avoid Omega 6 hyrdrogenated oils for many reasons. We need the Omega 3s to keep his cholesterol numbers down, plus it is good for joint, heart and brain health.
Dr. Brenda Watson, a well known GI doctor recommends a quality probiotic/prebiotic/enzyme supplement for Crohns and other GI issues. She has a great book on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Road-Perfect-..._hu-rd_add_1_dp
My husband and I detox a couple times a year going gluten/dairy/soy/sugar/caffeine/vinegar free for 30 days at a time. We eat a low carb lifestyle in general every day in general, but GF takes more effort. We started on 1/4 and already have more energy, focus and the weight loss is the bonus. My husband had headaches for the first 3 days - mostly from coffee withdrawal. Before I did my first detox I had reduced my carbs by a greater percentage as time went on -not counting them, but limiting simple carbs to a couple times a week to one day a week in general. At first I craved, but after 2 weeks your brain will start to stop triggering those cravings - which is why we detox as it can take 2-3 wks for the sugar and carb cravings to cease. Once you get past it though you will feel SO MUCH better and it will be worth it! When I crave...I brew a decaf green tea. My brain says I don't want tea, but once I do it resolves my cravings because of the natural hunger curbing properties. it is definitely a mental battle - good luck!
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  #10   ^
Old Thu, Jan-26-12, 14:27
mmxchamp mmxchamp is offline
New Member
Posts: 5
 
Plan: <20 g of carbs a day
Stats: 195/193/180 Male 6'1"
BF:
Progress: 13%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brinethery
Are you eating enough fat? I would aim for at LEAST 60% of your calories as fat. I myself prefer 70% or more of my calories.

You're just starting out, so that might seem like you're eating almost nothing but fat. But consider this. A USDA Choice ribeye steak is about 70% if measured by calories (not by weight).

If you're eating a 2,000 calorie diet eating 70% fat, 25% protein, and you should be eating 1400 calories of fat, 500 calories of protein, and 100 calories of carbs.

There are 9cals/fat gram, 4cals/protein gram, and 4cals/carb gram.

That means on a 2,000 calorie diet, you should eat 155 grams fat, 125 grams protein, and 25 grams carbs.

Most of the time when people start any version of low carb, they're not eating enough fat and this is a recipe for disaster.

Hope this helps!


Sorry for the really late response haha, I was moving back home after graduating from college (yay freedom? :-P)

I'm shooting for 70% of calories from fat; I havent tracked my calorie intake but Ive been doing a lot better with my days when I crave carbs. My parents are having a hard time dealing with my diet and my mom keeps making comments about how much fat I'm eating haha. By focusing on how good the bacon, eggs, and steaks taste I've been doing pretty good :-D
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  #11   ^
Old Thu, Jan-26-12, 14:30
mmxchamp mmxchamp is offline
New Member
Posts: 5
 
Plan: <20 g of carbs a day
Stats: 195/193/180 Male 6'1"
BF:
Progress: 13%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by RitaS
You are on the right track - go gluten free for Crohns as gluten is highly inflammatory and builds up over time in the GI, which is usually why people end up with Celiac's as well. A good GF whole grain cracker is Mary's Gone Crackers, which has flax and chia seed. Both have more Omega 3 than many fish. Omega 3 helps reduce Crohns symptoms. I just found a site you might like www.crohns.net
We use EVOO (with touch of turmeric for cooking - prevents oxidization) and coconut oil in our house exclusively and avoid Omega 6 hyrdrogenated oils for many reasons. We need the Omega 3s to keep his cholesterol numbers down, plus it is good for joint, heart and brain health.
Dr. Brenda Watson, a well known GI doctor recommends a quality probiotic/prebiotic/enzyme supplement for Crohns and other GI issues. She has a great book on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Road-Perfect-..._hu-rd_add_1_dp
My husband and I detox a couple times a year going gluten/dairy/soy/sugar/caffeine/vinegar free for 30 days at a time. We eat a low carb lifestyle in general every day in general, but GF takes more effort. We started on 1/4 and already have more energy, focus and the weight loss is the bonus. My husband had headaches for the first 3 days - mostly from coffee withdrawal. Before I did my first detox I had reduced my carbs by a greater percentage as time went on -not counting them, but limiting simple carbs to a couple times a week to one day a week in general. At first I craved, but after 2 weeks your brain will start to stop triggering those cravings - which is why we detox as it can take 2-3 wks for the sugar and carb cravings to cease. Once you get past it though you will feel SO MUCH better and it will be worth it! When I crave...I brew a decaf green tea. My brain says I don't want tea, but once I do it resolves my cravings because of the natural hunger curbing properties. it is definitely a mental battle - good luck!


Thanks for the response Rita! I've been avoiding any carbs except for the small amount in cooked veggies for the past few months, and I feel a lot better. I still have days where I'm not amazing, but I think part of that is because I dont get enough sleep >.<

It was definitely a process; I tried to do it all at once but ended up taking a month to completely cut out carbs. I do feel so much better though; I totally notice how my friends act before and after a big meal of carbs and its weird haha.
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  #12   ^
Old Thu, Jan-26-12, 14:42
marcsfl's Avatar
marcsfl marcsfl is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 110
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 315/251/235 Male 75 inches
BF:
Progress: 80%
Default

Glad you are feeling better, and having an easier time. It would be good to try the PLAN tool on this forum to get a handle on the Protein, Fat and Carb intake of your foods.
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