A Weightloss and diet forum. WeightLossBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » WeightLossBanter forum » alt.support.diet newsgroups » Low Carbohydrate Diets
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Reducing sugar/carbohydrate - initial effects?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old September 24th, 2004, 04:08 PM
Alan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Reducing sugar/carbohydrate - initial effects?

Apologies in advance if this one has been done to death already -
sadly I don't have the time at the moment to look through past
postings so I'm being rather lazy...


Just starting out on a regime of reducing sugar intake in particular
and carbohydrates in general. However a couple of times I've lapsed.
Typically what happens is that I feel very well for 12-24 hours but
then my energy levels seem to fall away and I crave sugar, chocolate,
etc. - to the point where I dash to the shop to buy something to take
the craving away.

This has come as something of a shock because I don't particularly
have a sweet tooth and I didn't think my diet was particularly rich in
sugar. It IS (or has been) quite rich in refined carbohydrates
though.

Any thoughts anyone? Is this little more than withdrawal symptoms?
If it is, how long can I expect it to last before things settle down?

Thanks,
KF
  #2  
Old September 24th, 2004, 05:35 PM
Roger Zoul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Alan wrote:
:: Apologies in advance if this one has been done to death already -
:: sadly I don't have the time at the moment to look through past
:: postings so I'm being rather lazy...
::
::
:: Just starting out on a regime of reducing sugar intake in particular
:: and carbohydrates in general. However a couple of times I've lapsed.
:: Typically what happens is that I feel very well for 12-24 hours but
:: then my energy levels seem to fall away and I crave sugar, chocolate,
:: etc. - to the point where I dash to the shop to buy something to take
:: the craving away.
::
:: This has come as something of a shock because I don't particularly
:: have a sweet tooth and I didn't think my diet was particularly rich
:: in sugar. It IS (or has been) quite rich in refined carbohydrates
:: though.

refined carbs = sugar.

::
:: Any thoughts anyone? Is this little more than withdrawal symptoms?
:: If it is, how long can I expect it to last before things settle down?

I doubt if they will settle...you may learn to deal better with slipping up,
though.

::
:: Thanks,
:: KF


  #3  
Old September 24th, 2004, 05:35 PM
Roger Zoul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Alan wrote:
:: Apologies in advance if this one has been done to death already -
:: sadly I don't have the time at the moment to look through past
:: postings so I'm being rather lazy...
::
::
:: Just starting out on a regime of reducing sugar intake in particular
:: and carbohydrates in general. However a couple of times I've lapsed.
:: Typically what happens is that I feel very well for 12-24 hours but
:: then my energy levels seem to fall away and I crave sugar, chocolate,
:: etc. - to the point where I dash to the shop to buy something to take
:: the craving away.
::
:: This has come as something of a shock because I don't particularly
:: have a sweet tooth and I didn't think my diet was particularly rich
:: in sugar. It IS (or has been) quite rich in refined carbohydrates
:: though.

refined carbs = sugar.

::
:: Any thoughts anyone? Is this little more than withdrawal symptoms?
:: If it is, how long can I expect it to last before things settle down?

I doubt if they will settle...you may learn to deal better with slipping up,
though.

::
:: Thanks,
:: KF


  #4  
Old September 24th, 2004, 05:39 PM
Saffire
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article ,
says...
Apologies in advance if this one has been done to death already -
sadly I don't have the time at the moment to look through past
postings so I'm being rather lazy...


Just starting out on a regime of reducing sugar intake in particular
and carbohydrates in general. However a couple of times I've lapsed.
Typically what happens is that I feel very well for 12-24 hours but
then my energy levels seem to fall away and I crave sugar, chocolate,
etc. - to the point where I dash to the shop to buy something to take
the craving away.

This has come as something of a shock because I don't particularly
have a sweet tooth and I didn't think my diet was particularly rich in
sugar. It IS (or has been) quite rich in refined carbohydrates
though.

Any thoughts anyone? Is this little more than withdrawal symptoms?
If it is, how long can I expect it to last before things settle down?


Yes, these ARE withdrawal symptoms. Cutting back is a great idea, but reading a
book about a particular plan such as Atkins or South Beach would be better so
that you have a better idea of what happens and how you should proceed and to
make sure you do not cut out the wrong kinds of things (it's never wrong to cut
out sugar, though). Knowledge is POWER :-)

Your body is used to using glucose for fuel. As you use up your reserves, your
body goes into an alarm mode to urge you to replenish the supplies. It is a very
POWERFUL urge and it really DOES take some willpower to get past it. The
cravings usually disappear after a couple of days and you will see a DRAMATIC
reduction of appetite as the body turns to burning FAT for fuel instead.

One thing that helped me get through the first couple of weeks was a desert made
from cream cheese, Splenda, vanilla and cocoa powder (Google this group for
ideas). I was able to scoop out a taste or two here and there when I had the
urge for something sweet and found it surprisingly satisfying.

--
Saffire
205/148/125 - 5'1.5"
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo:
http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333
  #5  
Old September 24th, 2004, 05:39 PM
Saffire
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article ,
says...
Apologies in advance if this one has been done to death already -
sadly I don't have the time at the moment to look through past
postings so I'm being rather lazy...


Just starting out on a regime of reducing sugar intake in particular
and carbohydrates in general. However a couple of times I've lapsed.
Typically what happens is that I feel very well for 12-24 hours but
then my energy levels seem to fall away and I crave sugar, chocolate,
etc. - to the point where I dash to the shop to buy something to take
the craving away.

This has come as something of a shock because I don't particularly
have a sweet tooth and I didn't think my diet was particularly rich in
sugar. It IS (or has been) quite rich in refined carbohydrates
though.

Any thoughts anyone? Is this little more than withdrawal symptoms?
If it is, how long can I expect it to last before things settle down?


Yes, these ARE withdrawal symptoms. Cutting back is a great idea, but reading a
book about a particular plan such as Atkins or South Beach would be better so
that you have a better idea of what happens and how you should proceed and to
make sure you do not cut out the wrong kinds of things (it's never wrong to cut
out sugar, though). Knowledge is POWER :-)

Your body is used to using glucose for fuel. As you use up your reserves, your
body goes into an alarm mode to urge you to replenish the supplies. It is a very
POWERFUL urge and it really DOES take some willpower to get past it. The
cravings usually disappear after a couple of days and you will see a DRAMATIC
reduction of appetite as the body turns to burning FAT for fuel instead.

One thing that helped me get through the first couple of weeks was a desert made
from cream cheese, Splenda, vanilla and cocoa powder (Google this group for
ideas). I was able to scoop out a taste or two here and there when I had the
urge for something sweet and found it surprisingly satisfying.

--
Saffire
205/148/125 - 5'1.5"
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo:
http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333
  #6  
Old September 24th, 2004, 08:27 PM
Alan Wright
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


For me all "induction" symptoms were quite temporary, and
lasted less than two weeks. I've felt normal and ulra-healthy
in the year since I got past that. Hopefully the promise of
permanent weight loss and cessation of blood sugar and
other disorders (if applicable) will be adequate motivation
to get through it.

Occasional single cheat meals do not cause these symptoms
to return for me. They might cause a little gas or bloating, but
this lasts a short while and no other ill effects are felt. Often
there is no effect I can notice.

Others I know who have cheated consistently throughout their
diet have never gotten past the ill effects and all have failed to
continue the diet or keep any weight off. They blame "the diet"
rather than their own poor effort at same.

Alan

"Alan" wrote in message
om...
Apologies in advance if this one has been done to death already -
sadly I don't have the time at the moment to look through past
postings so I'm being rather lazy...


Just starting out on a regime of reducing sugar intake in particular
and carbohydrates in general. However a couple of times I've lapsed.
Typically what happens is that I feel very well for 12-24 hours but
then my energy levels seem to fall away and I crave sugar, chocolate,
etc. - to the point where I dash to the shop to buy something to take
the craving away.

This has come as something of a shock because I don't particularly
have a sweet tooth and I didn't think my diet was particularly rich in
sugar. It IS (or has been) quite rich in refined carbohydrates
though.

Any thoughts anyone? Is this little more than withdrawal symptoms?
If it is, how long can I expect it to last before things settle down?

Thanks,
KF



  #7  
Old September 25th, 2004, 09:57 AM
Skinny
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 09:39:35 -0700, Saffire wrote:

In article ,
says...
Apologies in advance if this one has been done to death already -
sadly I don't have the time at the moment to look through past
postings so I'm being rather lazy...


Just starting out on a regime of reducing sugar intake in particular
and carbohydrates in general. However a couple of times I've lapsed.
Typically what happens is that I feel very well for 12-24 hours but
then my energy levels seem to fall away and I crave sugar, chocolate,
etc. - to the point where I dash to the shop to buy something to take
the craving away.

This has come as something of a shock because I don't particularly
have a sweet tooth and I didn't think my diet was particularly rich in
sugar. It IS (or has been) quite rich in refined carbohydrates
though.

Any thoughts anyone? Is this little more than withdrawal symptoms?
If it is, how long can I expect it to last before things settle down?


Yes, these ARE withdrawal symptoms. Cutting back is a great idea, but reading a
book about a particular plan such as Atkins or South Beach would be better so
that you have a better idea of what happens and how you should proceed and to
make sure you do not cut out the wrong kinds of things (it's never wrong to cut
out sugar, though). Knowledge is POWER :-)

Your body is used to using glucose for fuel. As you use up your reserves, your
body goes into an alarm mode to urge you to replenish the supplies. It is a very
POWERFUL urge and it really DOES take some willpower to get past it. The
cravings usually disappear after a couple of days and you will see a DRAMATIC
reduction of appetite as the body turns to burning FAT for fuel instead.



I don't know how it would relate to a switch to fat-burning (ketosis?), but
when people are low-carbing for hypoglycemia or diabetes, glutamine and/or
glycerine/glycerol are often used to help with 'withdrawal symptoms'. See
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/artic...t_is_hypo.html re glycerine and
search for "Ron Rosedale" + glutamine.


One thing that helped me get through the first couple of weeks was a desert made
from cream cheese, Splenda, vanilla and cocoa powder (Google this group for
ideas). I was able to scoop out a taste or two here and there when I had the
urge for something sweet and found it surprisingly satisfying.



I'm findign cocoa powder awfully useful; cream cheese too. Sometimes I mix
them, but more often have 'hot chocolate' which is cocoa powder with whey
in water, sometimes with a little cream. Also sometimes lime juice in
water helps.


Skinny
  #8  
Old September 26th, 2004, 04:25 AM
wilson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

(Alan) wrote in message . com...
Just starting out on a regime of reducing sugar intake in particular
and carbohydrates in general. However a couple of times I've lapsed.
Typically what happens is that I feel very well for 12-24 hours but
then my energy levels seem to fall away and I crave sugar, chocolate,
etc. - to the point where I dash to the shop to buy something to take
the craving away.


Here are some thoughts of mine - what has worked for me.

1) "Meat, not sweets". Try to only snack on things that have actual
nutritional value.

2) When you start feeling that empty feeling, eat something low carb
that has both protein and fat, instead of sweets. For me, a good,
satisfying snack is a cup of vanilla almond black tea (Republic of Tea
makes a good one) with a little heavy cream and Splenda, or perhaps
some homemade hot cocoa (Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder, hot
water, little bit of heavy cream, Splenda) along with a spoonful of
peanut butter. This really hits the spot. You'll need to ration the
peanut butter though, and it's a no-no on induction.

3) Don't ever let yourself get hungry enough to start getting a sweet
tooth. Eat very filling, high protein meals. I discovered that I was
getting a lot of cravings because I simply wasn't eating enough
protein. This is why low-fat diets often just don't work.

4) Some plans have you do the full-bore low-low-low carb "induction"
or "phase one" thing. There's some value to this: it really kicks
those cravings' a$$. During the first phase of these type of plans
(such as Atkins), you eat as much as you need to of the allowed foods;
the good news is that as your body adjusts to eating lower-carb, your
appetite also starts declining a bit. Once your body is adjusted,
you'll be able to deal with those cravings with a piece of meat or
cheese cubes, instead of with sugar, and you'll do just fine.

5) I have been allowing myself occasional treats - but I ration them.
Moderation is the key. It's just that once you get through the first
withdrawal stages, and get established on your low-carb lifestyle,
it's much *easier* to control how much you eat. Frankly, pig-outs are
just not possible anymore; a whole candy bar would make me gag. Some
LCers report that even cucumbers taste sweet after being LC for a
while.

6) There are some great ideas for low-carb treats on this board, but
my *own* best experience has been to limit the number of these I eat.
You want to get in the habit of eating actual nutritious food that
will give you energy and fill you up. Occasionally you do find food
that meets both requirements (the "chocolate omelette" comes to mind)
but I have had much better experience cutting out even anything
sweet-tasting at first, then adding these things back in slowly once
my cravings were licked.

7) Once your cravings are licked, really, even sweet things will give
you more mileage than they ever did; raspberries with
Splenda-sweetened whipped heavy cream are my favorite heavenly treat
now. I crave *those*!

8) Some of us find that the craving for chocolate is a separate matter
from the craving for sweets. That's why many of the lc treat recipes
seem to revolve around chocolate. If you must have chocolate,
typically you just... must have chocolate. So if you do eat chocolate
- eat only the best, highest grade stuff. The higher level of cacao in
it (such as Scharffen Berger's 71%), the less sugar there is. Also,
eating "only the best" can make it somewhat self-limiting;
occasionally I treat myself to a cup of coffee and a single chocolate
from a local place that sells very fancy gourmet chocolates - at $40 a
pound, I'm not going to be doing any pig-outs. After eating The Good
Stuff, too, I don't find any storebought chocolate at all appealing.

Hope all this helps.

Dreia
LC since March: 32 down and 10-15 to go!
  #9  
Old September 26th, 2004, 04:25 AM
wilson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

(Alan) wrote in message . com...
Just starting out on a regime of reducing sugar intake in particular
and carbohydrates in general. However a couple of times I've lapsed.
Typically what happens is that I feel very well for 12-24 hours but
then my energy levels seem to fall away and I crave sugar, chocolate,
etc. - to the point where I dash to the shop to buy something to take
the craving away.


Here are some thoughts of mine - what has worked for me.

1) "Meat, not sweets". Try to only snack on things that have actual
nutritional value.

2) When you start feeling that empty feeling, eat something low carb
that has both protein and fat, instead of sweets. For me, a good,
satisfying snack is a cup of vanilla almond black tea (Republic of Tea
makes a good one) with a little heavy cream and Splenda, or perhaps
some homemade hot cocoa (Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder, hot
water, little bit of heavy cream, Splenda) along with a spoonful of
peanut butter. This really hits the spot. You'll need to ration the
peanut butter though, and it's a no-no on induction.

3) Don't ever let yourself get hungry enough to start getting a sweet
tooth. Eat very filling, high protein meals. I discovered that I was
getting a lot of cravings because I simply wasn't eating enough
protein. This is why low-fat diets often just don't work.

4) Some plans have you do the full-bore low-low-low carb "induction"
or "phase one" thing. There's some value to this: it really kicks
those cravings' a$$. During the first phase of these type of plans
(such as Atkins), you eat as much as you need to of the allowed foods;
the good news is that as your body adjusts to eating lower-carb, your
appetite also starts declining a bit. Once your body is adjusted,
you'll be able to deal with those cravings with a piece of meat or
cheese cubes, instead of with sugar, and you'll do just fine.

5) I have been allowing myself occasional treats - but I ration them.
Moderation is the key. It's just that once you get through the first
withdrawal stages, and get established on your low-carb lifestyle,
it's much *easier* to control how much you eat. Frankly, pig-outs are
just not possible anymore; a whole candy bar would make me gag. Some
LCers report that even cucumbers taste sweet after being LC for a
while.

6) There are some great ideas for low-carb treats on this board, but
my *own* best experience has been to limit the number of these I eat.
You want to get in the habit of eating actual nutritious food that
will give you energy and fill you up. Occasionally you do find food
that meets both requirements (the "chocolate omelette" comes to mind)
but I have had much better experience cutting out even anything
sweet-tasting at first, then adding these things back in slowly once
my cravings were licked.

7) Once your cravings are licked, really, even sweet things will give
you more mileage than they ever did; raspberries with
Splenda-sweetened whipped heavy cream are my favorite heavenly treat
now. I crave *those*!

8) Some of us find that the craving for chocolate is a separate matter
from the craving for sweets. That's why many of the lc treat recipes
seem to revolve around chocolate. If you must have chocolate,
typically you just... must have chocolate. So if you do eat chocolate
- eat only the best, highest grade stuff. The higher level of cacao in
it (such as Scharffen Berger's 71%), the less sugar there is. Also,
eating "only the best" can make it somewhat self-limiting;
occasionally I treat myself to a cup of coffee and a single chocolate
from a local place that sells very fancy gourmet chocolates - at $40 a
pound, I'm not going to be doing any pig-outs. After eating The Good
Stuff, too, I don't find any storebought chocolate at all appealing.

Hope all this helps.

Dreia
LC since March: 32 down and 10-15 to go!
  #10  
Old September 27th, 2004, 11:39 AM
Alan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks everyone for your advice - very helpful & informative. Wish me luck!

KF.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Effects of weight cycling caused by intermittent dieting on metabolic rate and body composition in obese women. NR Weightwatchers 0 June 17th, 2004 02:19 AM
Effects of weight cycling caused by intermittent dieting on metabolic rate and body composition in obese women. NR General Discussion 0 May 22nd, 2004 04:55 PM
Questions about the side effects of low carbing LIZ 731 Low Carbohydrate Diets 17 April 29th, 2004 08:28 PM
Splenda tablets - Why can't Johnson & Johnson sell them in the US? hba1c General Discussion 79 March 24th, 2004 07:38 PM
Splenda tablets - Why can't Johnson & Johnson sell them in the US? hba1c Low Carbohydrate Diets 80 March 24th, 2004 07:38 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 04:48 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 WeightLossBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.