You know that lovely feeling of satisfaction you get from eating carbs...

[twofornow]

Is that just a habit/psychological thing?
I eat way too much carb and not enough protein in my diet. I love homemade soups, nice salads etc but I never quite feel satisfied without plenty of carbs. My meals are mainly veg and carb with a small amount of meat.

I don't eat eggs or fish. I can just about tolerate a quiche or a small bit of egg in a salad sandwich but not boiled, scrambled or fried.

I have really tried to develop a taste of fish. I've tried salmon, trout, cod, fresh tuna etc but just hate the taste and texture.

I need to lose quite a lot of weight but to do it I know I need to cut back majorly on carbs (don't want to go totally cab free though) and increase proteins but I am at a loss on what to eat.

I just ate a lovely bowl of homemade soup - carrot, peppers, squash, leeks and onion. It was yummy but now I REALLY want toast.

Any advice or experiences to share?

Thanks

I love carbs too, and dont know the answer to your question
Have you looked at Green Days on Slimming World, where you can have as many carbs as you like?

The carb craving goes after a few days of cutting it out. I've cut out all sugar as well. If you go back onto it, the cravings return and you feel horrible when you stop, so I think it's a physical thing and not merely psychological.

Other proteins that I eat are: eggs, tinned mackerel in spicy sauce, lean meat and low fat cheese. I love fish, so I don't struggle there. Are you able to eat tinned fish as they have some in nice sauces these days.

Other sources of protein are nuts and seeds. I also take a flaxseed oil supplement each day.

If you can bear cutting out the carbs, the cravings do go. Try some oatbran made into porridge with sweenener and a sprinkle of cinnamon - it fills you up and tastes quite nice.

drink more water to fill you up

Quorn / tofu?

Also you can never have too much griddled chicken!

I love all fish, all the ones you mentined also sea bass / red snapper . I think would be v limiting to do go carbs without fish or eggs.

It's not entirely psychological: Carbohydrate surges into the bloodstream (as you would get after a big carby meal/dessert) triggers the release of serotonin which is a hormone that creates a feeling of happiness. The increase in blood sugar also supresses the appetite somewhat.

Which is all great until your insulin lowers your blood glucose again and leaves you hungry and in need of more carbohydrate.

I don't believe that strict low carb diets are necessary for weight loss - especially if you know you won't be able to sustain it!

Instead I think the best thing for you would be to moderate your starch intake and if possible, cut out anything sugary/sweet (which isn't essential for survival and does cause bigger swings in blood glucose and more cravings).

The best way to do this would be to stick to small but frequent 'doses' of starchy foods i.e. at 3 meals a day. And combine these foods with your small portion of protein and fat and veg.

This will leave you satisfied but limit the degree of blood glucose variation so that you don't have highs and lows, but rather a steady level of energy.

Look up the Glycemic Index diet - it's incredibly safe, healthy and sustainable for most people.

There is another reason - carbs are the most efficient source of energy for the body especially highly refined ones.The body has to work much less hard to process them and less of the energy is wasted, so it gets the brain to convince you to keep replenishing the supply. That's why the thought of no more bread cakes etc is a killer when you are on a diet. You can break the craving in a matter of days by cutting out starch and sugar and going low carb. Once your system switches to burning fat it will not bother you with these cravings at all.

Thanks for all the replies.

I've just looked up the GI diet and it looks good. There are some substitutions I could work with. Sweet potatoes for example - I like those as wedges.

Thanks

Hello Twofornow, you could try cutting carbs out in the evenings only. I did that for several months last year and it helped me to lose a stone and a half. Along with very gradually cutting down portion sizes and knocking on the head my habit of chomping family size bars of chocolate all in one .

Lunch would often involve salad with some potatoes, pasta or rice (from the canteen at work, not stuff I had to prepare specially) and for evening "mash" substitutes I used carrots and swedes etc.

Can you exercise? I found regular bike rides and swims really helped too, so did getting off the tube a stop early to walk to work.

It's time for me to resume those habits now, as someone said earlier it doesn't take long to stop missing the carbs (particularly if you're only giving them up at night) and thanks to Xmas and post-Xmas torpor I've regained a few lbs...