I'm addicted to carbohydrates! [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

RndmNumGen

2011-02-20, 12:09 PM

It's worth bearing in mind that not all carbs are bad. "No-carb" diets have been shown to have health issues (just like any other "cut out a food group" diet).

Complex carbs (starches, such as bread and pasta) take longer for the body to digest, which can help avoiding a craving for simpler sugars such as chocolate.

At the same time though, you don't want to eat too many complex carbs.

Rather than just trying to stop eating carbs(Unless you have an absolutely insane amount of willpower, it won't work), cut down on them and try eating other, healthier foods. Vegetables are a good choice; Celery, lettuce, cucumbers, stuff like that. Fruit is also good, but has a good deal of sugar(at least it's natural sugar though).

Dr.Gunsforhands

2011-02-20, 12:49 PM

Depending on the circumstances, you might just want to ask a doctor. It could turn out that you have diabetes or something messing with your blood sugar, in which case webcomic forums are not going to be as much help figuring it out.

I think it depends somewhat on age, too... If you're young, your metabolism might actually be using a lot of that energy, especially if you're highly active. It might do you some good to get some milk to go with it, maybe. It's pretty filling.

Eating protein in the morning is supposed to give you some energy that your body parses out slowly throughout the day, so that might also curb your cravings a bit. That's the tactic my mom uses.

Also, veggies and exercise like everyone says.

Spiryt

2011-02-20, 12:51 PM

Substitutes are always nice help....

Coca Cola, Pepsi light, zero, sugar free etc. - are not healthy stuff indeed, and better to avoid them, but they're great at fulfilling the craving for carbs without actually providing them....

At least bodybuilders that prepare their 4% BF shape, for example who drink them when they cannot hold on without 'sugar' anymore. :smallwink:

In the long term though - like it was mentioned - healthy diet should be the goal. Without X Zero.

Eldan

2011-02-20, 01:46 PM

I'd actually advise against sweet, but carb-free stuff. Your body expects carbs when you taste sweet stuff and raises insulin levels to cope with the expected incoming sugar. As a result, your blood sugar drops and your craving for sugar becomes even stronger if no actual sugar is coming in.

Ravens_cry

2011-02-20, 02:01 PM

We all are addicted. Believe it or not, your body needs carbohydrates. Of course, with these super refined carbohydrates nowadays, you are better off getting it from less refined sources that include more then just carbohydrates and fat. Yeah, I used to be totally White (Bread) Power, but I find I stay full a lot longer with sandwiches made with whole grain bread. Try eating carrot sticks and celery when you get them munchies.
Going cold turkey is not good for your body when dealing with something as essential as carbohydrates, but try to find some better 'turkey'.

Gorgondantess

2011-02-20, 02:07 PM

Depending on the circumstances, you might just want to ask a doctor. It could turn out that you have diabetes or something messing with your blood sugar, in which case webcomic forums are not going to be as much help figuring it out.

I think it depends somewhat on age, too... If you're young, your metabolism might actually be using a lot of that energy, especially if you're highly active. It might do you some good to get some milk to go with it, maybe. It's pretty filling.

These are both perfectly rational explanations, and I'd strongly advise looking into them as the first recourse.
If neither are true, though, I'd actually advise against doing more calisthenics than you already are (unless you're overweight, as that's a more serious issue), as doing calisthenics will make you crave... carbs.
If neither prove true, I agree with Eldan- cold turkey is the best solution. It sucks- I've had to do it myself, I know- but it works.

Eldan

2011-02-20, 02:37 PM

Clarification: what I meant with Cold Turkey was of course not a zero carb diet. That's of course pretty stupid. What I meant is a drastic reduction and no exceptions. I used to make exceptions for a while, in the style of "well, one bag of chips per week..." and "Ah, what's this one thing going to do...", which ruins any diet.

However, pretty much anything you eat will have some carbs in it, anyway. Vegetables, fruit and so on... just don't eat too much "carby" foods.

Prime32

2011-02-20, 02:51 PM

It's worth bearing in mind that not all carbs are bad. "No-carb" diets have been shown to have health issuesThe whole point of a no-carb diet is to cause a health problem - specifically, make your body start eating itself. Naturally this can go wrong.

If something is zero fat, zero carbs, zero calories... it's not food. That's what food is made of.

Spiryt

2011-02-20, 02:55 PM

The whole point of a no-carb diet is to cause a health problem - specifically, make your body start eating itself. Naturally this can go wrong.

:smallconfused:

I'm actually pretty sure that there are people living on absolutely minimal amount of carbs, from Eskimos to developed world mofos who choose to do so from whatever reason.

People don't really need much carbohydrates, they're just easiest and and most potent (and also rather rare) source of 'instant' energy - so body craves for them to be able to act more, hunt more etc.

Crow

2011-02-20, 03:25 PM

You need to eat more than just carbs when you sit down to eat. Carbs get metabolized really fast, which is why you are constantly craving more.

Eat fewer carbs, but eat them with some protein and (good) fats. Grams-wise (carb/protein/fat), shoot for a 3/2/1 ratio.

Katana_Geldar

2011-02-20, 05:25 PM

:smallconfused:

I'm actually pretty sure that there are people living on absolutely minimal amount of carbs, from Eskimos to developed world mofos who choose to do so from whatever reason.

People don't really need much carbohydrates, they're just easiest and and most potent (and also rather rare) source of 'instant' energy - so body craves for them to be able to act more, hunt more etc.

Yes, but their bodies are well-adjusted to it, most of the times ours in the west are not, and it takes some getting used to to have less carbs.

Your brain, however, does need carbohydrates in order to function, as it runs on sugars. This is why so many people on the Atkins diet feel very tried and have headaches.

Eat smarter, not less. Try and have your food as close to the natural state as you can.

Like buy a wholemeal loaf of bread from a bakery that does not use preservatives, it only lasts a few days but it's a hundred times better than white bread from the supermarket.

Try some more slow release foods that will make you feel fuller longer, like porridge/oatmeal, it's one of the best breakfasts you can have. And not the pre-packaged stuff! This is the plain raw oats that you cook in a microwave or on a stovetop.

Chainsaw Hobbit

2011-02-20, 05:30 PM

Katana_Geldar

2011-02-20, 05:32 PM

Josha, have you ever had a glucose test? Not a bad idea to talk to your doc about this so they can set one up.

It's not fun though, and I reccomend you do the test in the morning.

AtlanteanTroll

2011-02-20, 05:33 PM

I don't as much like the taste of carbs as I do the feeling after I eat them.

Then wait 30 minutes and go exercise.

Which is what I should do, but... Yeah. Even if it's hypocritical, it's good advice.

Chainsaw Hobbit

2011-02-20, 05:37 PM

Josha, have you ever had a glucose test? Not a bad idea to talk to your doc about this so they can set one up.

It's not fun though, and I reccomend you do the test in the morning.

I really don't want to be diabetic. I often think about taking a test, but I always put it off for fear of the results.
My whole life, especially during my childhood, I've had a debilitating obsession with sugar and carbs. I can control myself a little better now, but my diets never last more than about six hours.

Katana_Geldar

2011-02-20, 05:47 PM

Look, this could be a serious problem and you need to know. What if you are diabetic and something dangerous happens?

Fortunately, the possibilty for diabetes for diabetes has another symptom: you'd be drinking more and peeing more.

KenderWizard

2011-02-20, 06:07 PM

I strongly advise getting checked out if your diet is so out of whack. You're causing problems for yourself in the long run. It's not the end of the world if you do have diabetes, although it really sucks it's manageable these days and waaaaaay better to have to get treated and change your diet (which will make you feel healthier in the long run) than to ignore a problem and end up not getting treated until it's gotten really bad and having a foot amputated or something awful.

Anyway, it could be something entirely different, like a metabolic issue. Maybe your body is craving loads of carbs because you're not digesting them correctly and your body thinks it's starving when it's not.

Avoiding finding out what the problem is doesn't mean you're going to avoid the problem, it'll just make it more difficult to deal with, if it's something bad, when you inevitably have to. And if it's not something bad, then your worries are over and the problem is solved!

Prime32

2011-02-20, 06:27 PM

I really don't want to be diabetic. I often think about taking a test, but I always put it off for fear of the results.I'd be more scared of not knowing about something like that. I already found out about a severe shellfish allergy the hard way.

Likewise, if you don't have diabetes you have nothing to be afraid of any more.

SilentNight

2011-02-20, 08:04 PM

Then wait 30 minutes and go exercise.

Which is what I should do, but... Yeah. Even if it's hypocritical, it's good advice.

This, better yet, exercise first and *then* eat carbs. Aerobic exercise speeds up your metabolism, meaning anything eaten during or up to about 45 minutes after exercise goes straight to rebuilding your muscles. So just go for a run, two, three, four miles depending on your fitness level (roughly three to six kilometers for you non-Americans with your logical systems of measurement. :smalltongue:) and then eat all the carbs you want.

Katana_Geldar

2011-02-20, 08:20 PM

The best thing to have after exercising is a chocolate milkshake. Heard this from a dietician.

claricorp

2011-02-20, 08:24 PM

I have the same thing going on. Chewing gum, drinking water/tea definately help me out. But when you are really craving something plan to eat it at meal time and eat it slowly.

Same goes for a snack if you have a small bag of chips, try to drag it out for awhile, eat one at a time and savor the flavor and texture.

Also try to distract yourself with some video games, tv, music etc this can usually get you to whenever your next meal time is then go ahead and enjoy some tasty stuff.

Try not to eat stuff that's bad for you. Avoid chips, bars and non whole grains. Eat more fruit and vegetables, seriously, this is the best way to feel better. Dont eat raw carrots with dip, just mix them in with what you normally have and ESPECIALLY with whatever your craving. Have a sandwich with cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce or whatever floats your boat. Put in some onions or diced tomatoes in your next tomato sauce. Also try to avoid doing stuff like cream sauces or grilled cheese, fine for a treat but eat dem tasty veggies.

Eg instead of having 2 pieces of toast, have an open faced(or halved) piece of toast with a bit of mayo and a couple slices of tomato. You will also note that this will satisfy your craving more.

Exercise often, bike or walk to work/school/store if its a nice enough day. Take stairs more often, go for walks. If you have a roommate or a friend who is willing to do stuff like that with you then go to it. Your cravings will go down. You dont really have to go lift weights and bench press, just move around a little more.

Hope I helped you out <3

Renegade Paladin

2011-02-20, 08:25 PM

I really don't want to be diabetic.
Okay, stop. This has nothing to do with whether or not you want to be diabetic. You either are or you are not, and your desires have nothing to do with it. If there's reason to suspect you might be, then it is imperative that you find out. If you have sufficient reason to be concerned that you're afraid of the results, then that's a very good indication that you should go see your doctor and get those results.

Crow

2011-02-20, 10:45 PM

The best thing to have after exercising is a chocolate milkshake. Heard this from a dietician.

Um...no.

Try a tall glass of choclate milk mixed (shaken) with a half-package of powdered non-fat milk and a pinch of cinnamon.

Katana_Geldar

2011-02-20, 11:04 PM

Powdered milk? Not ordinary milk?

Crow

2011-02-20, 11:15 PM

Powdered milk? Not ordinary milk?

Yeah, the dehydrated stuff.

It gives it a yummy, milkshaky smoothness, but is WAY better for you than an actual milkshake.

edit: To clarify, you use 8oz of regular chocolate milk, and mix it with the packet of dehydrated milk.

You're not using powdered chocolate milk.

Katana_Geldar

2011-02-20, 11:23 PM

I'm talking about chocolate chocolate, which you grate and then whizz up in the blender when you make it.

FlyingWhale

2011-02-20, 11:36 PM

Then wait 30 minutes and go exercise.

Which is what I should do, but... Yeah. Even if it's hypocritical, it's good advice.

Hey, I went on Craigslist to find a cheap stationary bike... simple easy setup with a TV-Tray... I find that watching a movie/tv show/video/whatever you do for entertainment... Minimal cycling speed, well, you burn those calories right off quick like.

imagine watching the daily show, 1 hour with commercials, and cycling at 5mph... its not perfect, or a replacement for a real exercise routine, but every little bit helps.

If you drink a can of pepsi, thats 150 calories, that go quickly, being simple... Considering how little calories you burn when you walk... youd be walking for hours just to burn that can... Luckily our natural body functions eliminate WAY more than everyone gives credit for...

I guess my rant is saying, enjoy what you enjoy, try to balance that out with something positive in the physical dept... every little bit helps, and reward yourself for that. take small, slow, even steps and let those become habits, just like anything else in life, thats how it works.

good luck, i have the worst soda addiction i know of, but exercise really cuts out the devil there :)

Ravens_cry

2011-02-21, 02:27 AM

Gaelbert

2011-02-21, 02:41 AM

Josha, have you ever had a glucose test? Not a bad idea to talk to your doc about this so they can set one up.

It's not fun though, and I reccomend you do the test in the morning.

As a diabetic who has undergone a large variety of tests over the last 14 years, I can safely tell you that a glucose test is not that bad. At all.

Look, this could be a serious problem and you need to know. What if you are diabetic and something dangerous happens?

Fortunately, the possibilty for diabetes for diabetes has another symptom: you'd be drinking more and peeing more.

I'm not so sure about this. If josha has a low blood sugar, then the symptoms would be the hunger, dizziness, headaches, difficulty to concentrate. Not necessarily all of those symptoms mind you, but being low doesn't make one pee or drink more. If josha is high, then thirst, urination, and a whole host of other issues could be symptoms.
There's a whole rainbow of diabetic symptoms, sometimes you get one colour, sometimes you get the entire band. Such is life.

I strongly advise getting checked out if your diet is so out of whack. You're causing problems for yourself in the long run. It's not the end of the world if you do have diabetes, although it really sucks it's manageable these days and waaaaaay better to have to get treated and change your diet (which will make you feel healthier in the long run) than to ignore a problem and end up not getting treated until it's gotten really bad and having a foot amputated or something awful.

I was on death's doorstep when I was diagnosed. By the end of the month, I was nearly fully recovered. If you do have diabetes, then you will feel much, much better once you start treatments. And treatments really aren't all that bad. Hardly fun, but certainly not the end of the world or anything that would stop you from doing whatever you want to.

Don Julio Anejo

2011-02-21, 02:44 AM

Never understood this idea/fascination that somehow some foods are bad for you and some are good. No foods are inherently bad for you unless they're actually bad for you (yes, I sound like Emiya Shirou right now, bear with me for a moment). Which means they don't actually contain something harmful.

What matters (outside of nutrition considerations) is how many calories they have. Yes, even that 800 KCal candy bar isn't actually bad for you. It's only bad if you eat it in addition to the 2000-or-so calories you eat daily. And even then, unless you eat 2000 calories and a chocolate bar EVERY DAY, it's not going to make any difference.

The only problem is that some foods simply have more calories per gram. Pure carbs (sugars) have ~4.5 KCal/gram. Saturated fats 9. Which means if, say, 1 kilogram of food per day gets you full, it better not be a kilogram of butter - you'd be eating about 4-5 times as much as you need to. On the other hand, a kilogram of bananas will only give you ~950 calories. See what I'm getting at?

It's oversimplified, but the point is there's nothing wrong with eating, say, sugary foods. Just don't eat too much of them, or if you do - you kinda have to eat less of other stuff to balance it out, which usually isn't feasible since your brain is wired to want a full stomach irregardless of how much energy you have.

Look up Glycogen, its basically starch, but for animals. Your brain RUNS on glucose, if it can't get it from more typical sources, your body will break down other things. And even the Inuit ate berries, seaweed and other vegetable sources when they were available.
Actually they ate plant matter because it's pretty much the only way of getting a lot of nutrients and avoiding many diseases like scurvy. The ones who didn't simply died out long ago, and the ones who did taught their children to eat the greens.

Ravens_cry

2011-02-21, 03:11 AM

Actually they ate plant matter because it's pretty much the only way of getting a lot of nutrients and avoiding many diseases like scurvy. The ones who didn't simply died out long ago, and the ones who did taught their children to eat the greens.

And that contradicts what I said, how? :smallconfused:
Sorry if I sound all snarly.:smallredface:

Spiryt

2011-02-21, 05:00 AM

Look up Glycogen, its basically starch, but for animals. Your brain RUNS on glucose, if it can't get it from more typical sources, your body will break down other things. And even the Inuit ate berries, seaweed and other vegetable sources when they were available.

Hmmm, so?

Whole body runs on glucose, it's the thing that's metabolized in cells.:smallconfused:

And breaking down fats and other stuff into it is indeed generally more healthy in long range than eating glucose or other sugars 'directly'.

It's oversimplified, but the point is there's nothing wrong with eating, say, sugary foods

Uhmmm no.

No like hell. There's much wrong, from teeth problems trough 'simple' obesity to serious metabolic diseases.

Body wants it, because it's potent energy source, but it's not meant to be eaten in large quantities at all.

Seriously, even on dumbest sites on the Net you can find plenty of articles about harm caused by refined carbohydrates.

Don Julio Anejo

2011-02-21, 05:43 AM

Seriously, even on dumbest sites on the Net you can find plenty of articles about harm caused by refined carbohydrates.
"Dumbest sites on net" =/= peer reviewed journal articles.

No like hell. There's much wrong, from teeth problems trough 'simple' obesity to serious metabolic diseases.

Body wants it, because it's potent energy source, but it's not meant to be eaten in large quantities at all.
Source? Kinda contradicts... you know... a lot of things in molecular biology like how pretty much everything is broken down to glucose anyway, which you mentioned yourself.

What you're talking about is not eating food per se. It's not getting required nutrition. As in, for example, only 10 of the 20 amino acids can be synthesized in your body from base components like carbohydrates and amines. The rest have to come from broken down protein, which can seriously screw you over if you're vegan and don't eat very much soy. Teeth problems - yes, I even wanted to mention them in my post, but it's not related to metabolism. Drinking sulphuric acid is also bad for your teeth.

The articles, at least the ones I've seen, say exactly what I'm saying: refined carbohydrates are simply very high-calorie and as such are too easy to abuse.

The problem is, most people don't give a crap about specific mechanisms (I could, for example, write out the entire process, with structures and enzymes, of how fat gets converted into glucose and glucose into ATP, and if you let me use a reference, with all the delta G's. It would, however, take up a lot of space, be mostly irrelevant to the discussion and would require a lot of explaining, such as what the heck is a delta G and maybe even what's an enzyme). It's simply easier to say "don't eat too much high sugar foods, it's unhealthy" rather than explain that if you eat chocolate daily, don't eat more than 1-3 squares. People who don't eat chocolate daily won't care, and for people who do it flat out won't work.

Crow

2011-02-21, 08:24 AM

What matters (outside of nutrition considerations) is how many calories they have. Yes, even that 800 KCal candy bar isn't actually bad for you. It's only bad if you eat it in addition to the 2000-or-so calories you eat daily. And even then, unless you eat 2000 calories and a chocolate bar EVERY DAY, it's not going to make any difference.

The only problem is that some foods simply have more calories per gram. Pure carbs (sugars) have ~4.5 KCal/gram. Saturated fats 9. Which means if, say, 1 kilogram of food per day gets you full, it better not be a kilogram of butter - you'd be eating about 4-5 times as much as you need to. On the other hand, a kilogram of bananas will only give you ~950 calories. See what I'm getting at?

It's oversimplified, but the point is there's nothing wrong with eating, say, sugary foods. Just don't eat too much of them, or if you do - you kinda have to eat less of other stuff to balance it out, which usually isn't feasible since your brain is wired to want a full stomach irregardless of how much energy you have.

This is an oversimplification.

The problem with processed carbs is that your body is so efficient at processing them that you need to burn the calories almost immediately, or else anything you don't burn will be very quickly converted by your body into fat. Simplifying the issue down to a simple calorie count doesn't work. What foods you get your calories from is just as important as the calories themselves.

You *can* lose or gain weight by eating garbage and just maintaining lower or higher calorie count respectively, but are you losing or gaining *good* weight? 20 lbs of weight lost is a terrible thing if 50% of it was muscle loss because you eat red vines all day and aren't getting protein.

Your body is going to run much better off of a meal of 2 apples, a 4 oz chicken breast, and a small handful of almonds than it will off of red vines with a similar number of calories. In addition, because you're eating foods with longer rates of breakdown, you're going to burn more of the calories, gradually, and stay fuller longer than if you dump an excess amount of simple carbs on your body all at once.

Crow

2011-02-21, 04:14 PM

I'm talking about chocolate chocolate, which you grate and then whizz up in the blender when you make it.

So your basically having a glass of something, and mixing it with a candybar? Maybe your definition of milkshake is different than mine... Here, a milkshake is usually made with icecream...so I am getting this image of you scooping a couple scoops of chocolate ice cream into a blender and throwing in a chunk of ghirardelli for good measure.

This is of course, so absurd that we must be thinking of different things.