# Addiction



## sss3

I could have searched this thread for info. Figured search parameters, would yield too much. I'm addicted to carbs and sugar. And, to food in general. How do I get this under control? Started out ok today. Ate a small bowl of blueberries. An hour later, I'm starving for carbs and sugar. So again, I ate too much.


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## Travis in Louisiana

I have been trying to get off carbs and sugar and eat mostly protein foods. I can tell you, proteins will make you fill FULL! This way of eating is more like the PALEO diet. When I started, I craved carbs and sugars for about two or three days, but it was not a strong craving. I have found for me, that MIXED NUTS will make me fill full most all day. I log what I eat on www.fitday.com to keep up with what I am eating. My health instructing daughter, has her husband giving up carbs and he is loosing weight. He eats meats and vegetables mostly. I told my daughter that I had not lost hardly any weight and she said I was still eating too many carbs. I am getting them mostly from the apples and grapes I am eating. My daughter said to cut them down, so I am slacking off. I have a sit down job at work, so I don't get to move around much till I am at home. It has been over two weeks and I have not craved any sweets. They have cooked bread here at work, numerous times and had cake and cookies, but I have not had any. Meat and vegetables only. You can look on the ATKINS site and they have a break down of NET CARBS for a lot of foods. I used to snack at work out of boredom. Now, if I do snack, it is an boiled egg, beef or deer jerky, vegetables, any type of meat, such as chicken, fish, steak etc. It is a mind set, that you have to stick to. Will I ever eat cake again or cookies? Yes, but not everyday. If I say to myself, I will never eat them again, I will crave them. When I loose the 40 pounds or so that I am trying to loose, I will once again eat a few. Cake and cookies were my weaknesses. I don't even crave them now!


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## Taylor R.

I've found about the only way I can keep myself away from the junk food is to keep it out of the house all together. I just don't buy it anymore.


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## CraterCove

What did you eat the blueberries with? It might be good to combine them with something that will ease the blood sugar spike you might have. My personal philosophy revolves all around a steady and low blood sugar being maintained. If I get spikes I get cravings and I'm back on the Coke again.


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## sss3

I have gout; the only meat I can eat is chicken. Getting tired of that. I eat too much bread, etc. When I was a Kid, Mom and Dad raised chickens. We were poor; so that was most of the meat we ate. When I left home at 18, didn't eat chicken again for at least 10 yrs.


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## Maura

My husband has suffered from gout off and on. He recently got a physical and his doctor said there is a lot of new information about gout. Specifically, the foods to be careful of include sweet potatoes, chocolate, carrots, and other food we typically think of as healthy.

Sandra, you need protein. Blueberries are fine, but you need to add nuts and/or seeds for protein and (good) fat. Your body needs protein and fat to run on. If you keep away from processed food you will be keeping away from excess fat, transfat, and salt. You need to eat green leafy vegetables, which you can do either in a smoothie or as a salad. Just use a vinegar and oil dressing on a salad, not store bought thick dressing. The more expensive balsamic vinegar is incredibly good.

Try other protien sources besides chicken. Lamb is usually pastured and is a good choice. Pastured beef, buffalo, venison, fish, nuts, seeds. It's better to have a small potato with butter than to cave into chips, candy, bread.


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## Tinker

Protein is the way to go. Eat your blueberries with a lowfat yogurt, or a piece of cheese or some nuts. Have protein with every meal to help you feel fuller. Add some meat, cheese, or a hardboiled egg to a salad to keep you fuller.


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## CountryWannabe

My name is Mary and I am a carb addict. LOL. The only way I can lose weight and keep my blood sugar under control - yes, I am a Type 2 diabetic - is to eat meat, low carb veggies and a decent amount of fat. I rarely eat much in the way of fruit as that will set my carb desires bleeping at me. I generally follow a modified Atkins type of diet, rarely exceeding 50g carbs per day. Often less.

Mary


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## jwal10

Wean yourself off carb filled foods and sugar slowly and onto the good foods, your body will not crave the bad as hard. Do not eat fruit as a meal, a little at a time with protein food. Eggs and dairy give protein and needed fat....James


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## topofmountain

Maura said:


> My husband has suffered from gout off and on. He recently got a physical and his doctor said there is a lot of new information about gout. Specifically, the foods to be careful of include sweet potatoes, chocolate, carrots, and other food we typically think of as healthy.
> 
> Sandra, you need protein. Blueberries are fine, but you need to add nuts and/or seeds for protein and (good) fat. Your body needs protein and fat to run on. If you keep away from processed food you will be keeping away from excess fat, transfat, and salt. You need to eat green leafy vegetables, which you can do either in a smoothie or as a salad. Just use a vinegar and oil dressing on a salad, not store bought thick dressing. The more expensive balsamic vinegar is incredibly good.
> 
> Try other protien sources besides chicken. Lamb is usually pastured and is a good choice. Pastured beef, buffalo, venison, fish, nuts, seeds. It's better to have a small potato with butter than to cave into chips, candy, bread.


Isn't gout a form of arthritis? I was reading on this forum about nightshade fruits & veggies & how they may make it worse in some people. My interest is because I have arthritis & potatoes seem to make mine worse.

How about Tofu as a protein?

Anyway just a thought.


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## Terri

I am a type diabetic and I stick my finger to test my blood sugar. If you eat fruit on an empty stomach your blood sugar goes up and so you feel fed, but then it drops again REALLY quickly! And a rapidly dropping blood sugar makes a person hungry enough to eat their knuckles. (Sigh).

The best breakfast for me is an egg. It is gone in a few bites and if I want one slice of toast with it then I eat that, and then get out of the kitchen because the kitchen is full of food and it will be less tempting after I digest my breakfast! LOL!

The egg is only 70 calories, and I will not have a fast drop of blood sugar one hour after I have eaten.


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## myheaven

I found the fast fix. I'm now pregnant and sugar makes me violently ill. I'm talking vomiting shakes massive stomach pains! Oh I love sugar. Just can't eat it. I'm almost 20 weeks and have only gained 4 lbs. matter of fact I am now wearing my wedding band I haven't worn in 10 years. 
On bulk herb store shoshana has said to put a teaspoon of sea Salt in 24oz of water chug it and it will stop the sugar cravings.


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## OzarkFarming

Well I understand what you Are going through at times my stomach is like bottomless pit that can't be filled but what I found is when I am that hungry snacking too much is bad for you unless you're snacking on nothing but things that are good for you. Fruit bowls for instance. And it might be out of boredom so try to get out and be active. Good luck.


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## mnn2501

I find that if I eat a sweet (which also includes if I drink a diet soda) then I continually crave them, but if I avoid having one then I don't crave them.
Snacks I turn to: nuts, cheese, peanut butter (eaten right out of the jar), carrots, celery.


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## Whisperwindkat

sometimes a very strong constant craving for carbs and sugar means that you have a systemic candida overload. Two weeks on a candida diet along with taking natural antifungals (garlic and grapefruit seed extract are the safest) 3 times a day will kill the candida. The die off can be unpleasant, I had terrible headaches for the first several days and then they got better. Google candida and you will get loads of information about what you should eat, how to cleanse, and antifungals. Candida can't survive without carbs, the more candida you have the more carbs you need, thus the cravings. Kill the excess candida and you kill the cravings. Before my two week cleanse, I couldn't get enough sugar and oh my gosh I craved cokes so bad it was insane. I knew something was up because I used to be able to take or leave a coke. Halloween candy, disappeared really quick because I couldn't stop eating it. Now, those cravings are gone. Haven't had a coke in a month, it has gone back to being a once in a while treat. I got dark chocolate from my hubby for Christmas, ate a couple of pieces and then the rest is in the freezer because I don't really have a taste for it. So really you might have a candida problem and if you do a two week candida cleanse it won't really hurt you. By the way our whole family ate the diet and took garlic and GSE. I think it helped the children as well, little one is not nearly as hyper and out of control as she was getting. She is what made me look into candida because I couldn't figure out why she was getting worse and worse in her behavior when nothing else had changed. I admit it was probably my fault because I had been baking bread for a neighbor for awhile and so we were eating a whole lot more bread for quite some time than we used to, then we all got sick and had to have antibiotics, and to top it off the goats are dry so no raw milk meaning no kefir or yogurt. I can tell you I feel a lot better, my husband says that he doesn't feel as bloated as he was feeling and the little one has returned to normal behavior. Our oldest didn't see much change, but she is gone a lot and I am sure didn't really follow the diet when she wasn't around Mom. Hope that helps, Kat


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## plowjockey

I get up at 330 am and if I have a bowl of instant oatmeal (apple cinnomon) I'll be getting drowsy by 6am.

If I add 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese, I'm good, until mid morning snack (930am) of a banana.

Calories from the fat and protein, help balance out the mostly carbs, in the oatmeal, for me.


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## HTG_zoo

I battle candida too, and it gives me the strongest cravings for sugary things, even just straight sugar! The candida elimination diets are also good for weight loss and diabetes so it's worth trying.


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## ChristieAcres

I posted a thread on Paleo and also should comment there are plenty of modified Paleo Diets out there to meet health issues of many kinds. One of my friends is a Naturapathic Nutritionist and she is also an Author. I'd recommend you contact someone in this field to advise you as you have specific dietary needs/restrictions. You'd be surprised how much protein are in some veggies... I like to make scrambled eggs and add higher protein veggies. I wish you the best!

Figured I'd add a bit more... I drink Kefir Smoothies, typically made with my homegrown fruits, but also bananas. There is a lot of info online on Kefir and Arthritis, here is just one link:

http://www.lifeway.net/Portals/1/autoimmunarticle.pdf

One cup of Kefir contains 11-14 grams of complete protein! 

Here is an example of a fun snack, also high in protein: Qi'a - Chia, Buckwheat & Hemp Cereal. Just 2 T w/4-5 T of milk (can use goats milk, coconut milk, almond milk...to substitute for cows milk) gives you 6 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and 1.9 ala Omega-3s. This, along with eggs, makes for a good breakfast. Add a Kefir Smoothie, and you are really good to go.


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## Elffriend

You're going to get a lot of advice. You're going to get a lot of conflicting advice. You should probably do a little research to decide for yourself which approach is best for you. I can only tell you what has worked for me in eliminating carb cravings - the induction phase of the Atkins diet. It is one of the stricter low carb diets out there, but the strict induction phase only last for 2 weeks. Usually by the 3rd or 4th day you don't even want carbs any more. During the first couple of days you might not feel well. Atkins folks call this "induction flu." It is basically carb withdrawal. You might feel tired, weak or have a headache. It doesn't last long. By day 4-5 you should be feeling GREAT.

If you want to give it a try, here is a link to what you can eat for induction:
http://www.atkins.com/program/phase-1/what-you-can-eat-in-this-phase.aspx

A few other thoughts:
Fat is your friend. It is filling and doesn't raise your blood sugar. It will not bring on cravings for sweets.
If you eat LOTS of protein and very few carbs your body can and will turn some of the protein into glucose. Low carb diets are not meant to be high protein diets.


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## Tyler520

I have actually found that you can use your addictive personality to an advantage. 

I also love food, and admittedly have an addictive personality, but when my health and appearance began to trouble me, I turned it against itself. 

Studies suggest that it takes about 2 months to fully "re-wire" a behavior: for me, it was going to the gym on a regular basis, and learning about new foods that were both healthy and enjoyable. Now, I am eager to go to the gym, and not doing so is what invokes anxiety, rather than having a craving for something to eat, then feeling anxious because I ate crappy food.

Also going to the gym, and working hard at improving your health will allow to you indulge from time to time because you'll need that fuel t keep you going (and having a cheat day once a week keeps you on the path)

Also, believe it or not, you can also use your addictive personality traits and a bit of tough self-psychology to convince yourself that the bad foods you are eating are actually unappetizing. The thought of eating at McDonalds now actually makes me nauseous, thinking about the grease, fat, calories and carbs in their food


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## farmgal

Just ditch all carbs for 2 weeks to a month and you will kick the cravings. It's that blood spike then the drop that makes you crave again. When I say carbs I mean the high glycemic ones. Bread, pasta and white potatoes. In fact don't eat anything that's on the high end of that list. Some foods sound healthy but are deceiving. 

I know it sounds impossible but once you hang in there you will be on your way to a healthier you. It will be your first step to gaining control of your eating habits. Just have good alternatives to them ready for the snacking. They won't kick up your insulin and the cycle will stop. Good luck you can do this!


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## morgaineotm

am new to this forum - but know about being addicted. First off - like all addictions, its within you to stop. So how badly do you want to stop?!?! without that, the rest is nothing. As has been posted elsewhere, cut out the carbs and sugar (which is just a simple carb) and in time the urges will pass. and don't keep it in the house! hard here cause my DH loves his carbs and wants all kinds of salty snacks in the house for himself. when you have meals, make sure they are balanced. Blueberries do not make a meal - a protein should be the base for your meal. that will be filling and takes awhile to digest. Blueberries are a carb that digests quickly leaving you hungry sooner. If you had combined those blueberries with some cottage cheese or yogurt (yuk!! I like Ricotta), added a couple of tbs of Flax meal, it would likely have lasted two to three hours minimum. Be prepared with low carb snacks, like veggies with a little lean protein like sliced turkey for the snack that will take you through to the next meal. Since FATS are my downfall, I suggest that turkey, but if you can do it, just an ounce of sliced cheese will also work with that snack. Keep yourself busy. personally, I took up knitting. requires both hands so nothing left to snack with! Can't tell you how many socks I've knitted (some were not so good in the beginning) and there will be many more, but slowly the weight is coming down. there is also much to be said about the journal that notes what you ate, how much, when, and why (stressed, hungry, bored). On line support groups like Spark People (free) are also great. Good luck!


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