Please Help Me Quit My Carb Addiction

[Anonymous]

I do not know what is wrong with me lately but all I am eating is carbs, carbs, carbs. Bagels, crackers, cereal, you name it, I'm eating it. And I'd like to not have this stuff in the house, but my kids like bagels, and my husband and kids eat pretzels, crackers, cereal, etc. I know I am making terrible choices but I can't help myself. I know I should have eggs for breakfast but instead I choose to eat that bagel. I'm fine eating these things in moderation, but lately it feels out of control and all day every day. I feel awful from it because I work out daily, but the all day carb intake is not helping at all. I think I'm tired of teleworking from home, and the monotonous of everything lately and I'll probably feel better once the weather warms. Any tips on how to break this? I just want to curb it and get back to healthier eating.

[Anonymous]

Cold turkey. Oy sucks, but carbs are highly addictive to many people and in that case it’s easier to abstain altogether than to try to moderate.

[Anonymous]

Yes, just stop. Take it one minute at a time if you need to. I’ve noticed that when I eat processed carbs — so, things made out of flour, potato chips, stuff made with corn syrup, etc. — I crave more. Carbs like oatmeal or kasha, so, plain whole grains, don’t seem to do that. A breakfast of, say, waffles or a sandwich sets me up for a whole day of carb craving. When I wake up in the morning, I’ll be fine, unless I eat something like biscuits. If I eat oatmeal with peanut butter or an omelette, no carb cravings.

So you could try starting the day off with low or slow carbs and see if this diminishes your cravings. Or you could try doing a food diary and notice what foods, moods, types of foods, environments and so on, seem associated with your cravings and take it from there.

If you cut back on carbs, you might want to have one meal or even one day a week when you have major carbs, perhaps sharing favorites foods with your family. Then notice how you feel. Doing this has helped me with “moderation” since eating too much or some kinds of carbs quickly make me feel lethargic.
Your patterns and responses might be very different from mine, but trying these suggestions could give you some useful information.

[Anonymous]

Save your carbs for one meal a day. One normal meal. Don't deprive yourself at that meal, but don't binge either.

[Anonymous]

Good, German dark chocolate is your savior. It is lower in sugar/carbs but really cute that carb craving. A small amount is very satisfying. Plus it is a good source of iron and fiber. One serving of a Swiss dark chocolate from TJ’s (which is a big serving and probably more than what you want) has 15gm carbs, 9gm sugar, 4 gm fiber and 25% of daily iron

I’ve heard good things about Lily’s chocolate too, which is stevia sweetened instead of sugar but haven’t personally tried it.

[Anonymous]

It is all about portion control. You can eat a serving of whatever, but just one serving as it’s listed on the package (weight it or measure it). Don’t deprive yourself or go cold turkey. That never worked for me.

[Anonymous]

Do not deprive yourself of any food. Have carbs at one meal and that’s it. I did that, and rarely crave carbs.

[Anonymous]

Cut everything with sugar out of you breakfast - no bagels, no cereal, no juice or berries. Dont eat anything even remotely sweet when you're hungry.
Get a slice of bread (with no added sugar!) with eggs for breakfast. Eat enough veggies and protein.
Also, read the labels, make sure you don't have added sugars in your regular food.

[Anonymous]

Try IF. You can still eat carbs and lose weight.

[Anonymous]

Stop eating after 4:30pm
You need your stomach to be empty
for much longer periods than you are now, to do a reset

Post-covid. Shop more often. Don't keep stuff in the house you shouldn't eat. Instead every few day make yourself have to go out, specifically, to buy your more-rare carb treat.

[Anonymous]

As long as you see it as a forbidden fruit, well "forbidden carb" in your case, you will crave it, eat it, and maybe even binge.
The key is not to deprive yourself or to view it as a naughty delight.
I also wanted to mention that once I was over 40, my carb crave went up and up. Never before did I crave carbs, heck I dislike even bread! So, I don't know how old you are, but that might be the case with you too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good, German dark chocolate is your savior. It is lower in sugar/carbs but really cute that carb craving. A small amount is very satisfying. Plus it is a good source of iron and fiber. One serving of a Swiss dark chocolate from TJ’s (which is a big serving and probably more than what you want) has 15gm carbs, 9gm sugar, 4 gm fiber and 25% of daily iron

I’ve heard good things about Lily’s chocolate too, which is stevia sweetened instead of sugar but haven’t personally tried it.

I like dates though. Nothing beats a good Medjool date, imo. And the GI is pretty good for a sweet treat.

[Anonymous]

OP here thanks for the feedback. I am in my early 40s, so this is probably age-related. I can usually keep my carbs intake in check and save it for one treat during the week or one meal where I want to indulge. I don't restrict them entirely, but this has felt out of control lately and all day feast. I am going to make a conscious effort to cut back and keep them out of my daily diet. Go back to making those healthier choices. I agree it's a slippery slope--once I allow that bagel, etc., then it's all downhill and I feel like I have been on a major decline for weeks and the cravings out of control. I know I feel much better when they're not part of my daily diet.

[Anonymous]

The thing that finally helped me was not eating breakfast anymore. Even if I started my day with a low carb breakfast, it seemed to prime me to be hungrier. I still have my coffee (with cream and monkfruit sweetener), but I don't eat until 11-11:30 and it has made a huge difference. I really don't feel hungry. It is a revelation to me, a dyed in the wool breakfast eater. I still have it if we make something special, but I don't miss it.

[Anonymous]

OP here--I have tried IF and it just does not work for me. I am famished by 11:30 or noon and then find myself making worse choices than I would have had I not fasted. What I find works best for me is eating a sensible breakfast (not bagels like I have been on my carb binge) and eating normally throughout the day and stopping eating and drinking (except water or flavored carbonated water) by 7pm. The no eating after 7 seems more beneficial to me than waiting another 16 hrs to eat. I think I need breakfast beyond just coffee to function in the morning. Especially on the weekends, or otherwise I'm a hangry grouch to my kids.