How do you see high carb foods now?
 

Whenever I see a high carb food like ice cream, crackers, cakes, or even bread, I don't think of the food as well food. I see the food, can smell it, know it is there, but my brain perceives the display as a picture or painting of an object. Seeing and smelling the food doesn't make me hungry or bother me at all. It is the most amazing consequence of this diet. I just don't see those foods as foods anymore.

When I first started lc, I thought I wouldn't be able to handle being around other people satiating their carbohydrate cravings. But I can be around almost any carb containing food and not even think of it as food. The only exception was my mother's decadent chocolate birthday cake which I'll admit was quite tempting. My biggest weakness prior to this diet was chocolate in any shape or form. The cake smelled like heaven but resisting its power proved not to be too difficult. I breathed in deeply, took in the glorious aroma, and that was all I needed.

Has anyone else noticed this transformation in your perception of food?

Yes, I have noticed a definite transformation in my perception of food!

My fav's used to be bread & potatoes. I must confess I haven't tasted a potatoe since I started this WOE, but lots of bread..& noodles ( starchy foods ) smell just off to me. Kinda like something that is starting to spoil.

I have eaten bread though... :nono: But sometimes after a few bites...I'm done. My DH brought home a can of *pringles* chips the other day, and they actually smelled rancid to me. I had NO DESIRE to taste them :roll:

After all this time (since May 2002) I still have a love/hate relationship with the foods I shouldn't have. I really do find it easier now to pass them by, and I have found some lc alternatives that I enjoy.

On the rare occasion that I go off-plan, it doesn't usually taste as good as I think it will. I've given myself permission to have a non-lc treat once in a great while, and I find I am so "stingy" about using my allowance of carbs, that I often just pass it by. I don't want to chance losing ground for something that isn't REALLY special. I think it's a "forbidden fruit" thing. It's not the end of the world anymore, so I don't dwell on it, "feeding" cravings mentally!

I've been reading a lot about eating "cues" and self-talk in regards to cravings and staying on plan. It really helps to change my mindset, and stamp out that part of my carb obsession.

I think I'm well on my way to them just being "food"...

I drool over them, always will! :roll:

They don't exist anymore. Haven't touched them since January 27th.

When I reach my goal and maintain for a while I'll see if I can handle some of them (bread, rice) on rare ocassions but I don't think I'll ever eat refined sugar again. Then again - it's all about testing ones grade of addiction, right?
I suspect mine is very high...... :lol:

Alina

I look at them like a cigarette, I don't smoke ( never have) and I don't each sugar or starch.

I'm definatly noticing a change in my view of high carb foods. Like Potato I'm also stingy about my carbs, and even if I'm allowing myself a treat I will try and incorporate the carbs in to my daily total. But those higher carb foods are losing there appeal more and more for me now.

I'm not counting carbs per se, but while I'm so far from a reasonable goal weight I'm all but totally avoiding specific HC/HG foods as well as anything that's a surefire emotional trigger for uncontrollable eating (like any form or formula of ice cream, cheesecake or chocolate). I know someday I should be able to tolerate very small servings of the healthier HC stuff again, or perhaps enjoy a modest-sized HC decadent treat on a few special occasions. So maybe that's why I don't feel tempted even though there's still a lot of that stuff around me. They don't look good or bad to me - they're just another food I don't want to eat. Maybe I'm not as fiercely reactive as some folks are, but I don't stress too much over small amounts of hidden carbs as long as I'm staying mostly clean and I haven't had many problems with that. I go by what my body tells me is allowable. It's been just over 2 months now since eliminating the worst stuff and I can make a pot of mashed potatoes, noodles or rice for the kids & my mom, or move the ice cream in the freezer to get to something else, and yet not even imagine having any. The really junky HC stuff I can just toss out now and wonder why I ever felt we had to have that garbage on hand. That's progress - me throwing out food! :clap:

So it's not the sight of HC food that tantalizes me, but I'll admit that the smells still do. Pop a cinnamon bagel into the toaster or make popcorn and the scent that goes through the house really gets my appetite riled up and my mouth watering. It's not that I really want that bagel or a big bowl of Orville Redenbocker, it's just the old comforting image they stir up. Popcorn and movies - fried dough and country fairs...

Hmm, guess I've got to make some better memories with other things besides food eh? ;)

Aversion therapy works for me. I look at those foods I know are going to be really problematic binge-triggers, and picture them as illicit drugs being peddled by nefarious food-manufacturers in pimp hats and gold chains. :skull: I am not going to let a moment of weakness re-addict me when I've worked so hard to get myself clean. And I won't continue to make those guys rich on my weaknesses. Appeal to my stubborn streak of self-righteousness, and I can resist anything. :lol:

Even though I eat high-carb foods every day as part of my reward meal, I have still noticed a major shift in my way of looking at them.

Recently I was at a funeral reception and of course, they served platters of sandwiches and squares and cookies. A lovely display. My sisters were asking me if it was hard for me to resist them. I answered that no, it wasn't hard at all, they were pretty to look at, just like a photo in a magazine would be. And that was all. That was definitely a major change for me.

Even in choosing my dessert, I have become much more picky about which carbs are "worth it".

It is wonderful not to be at the mercy of food anymore.

Tracy

Depends on what the food is, what mood I'm in and whether or not I have PMS.

i look at them like they are poison to my body. i have not had any cake, ice cream, bread, etc since i started my wol. i don't miss those food at all!

I totally ignore the middle aisles at the grocery store without a problem. I do find myself wishing the local stores carried more of the low carb alternatives for ice cream though!!!

I look at them as something I used to eat, and like many others, I am too stingy with my carb allotment to allow them past my lips. It has to be something REALLY special!!

My food preferances definetly have changed. I'll see a cake or something and think "ohh that looks sooooo good". Then I'll take time to think about it and relize that it would probably be nausiatingly sweet, and really the last time I tried some it didn't taste as good as my mind built up.

Other things such as pastas are so-so. Some times I will crave certain specific things, but will only a small amount of pasta. Most of the time though I've found alternatives that are even better. For dinner tonight we're having lamb and turkey meatballs in marinara sauce on spaghetti squash.

Most carb thing (such as plain bread) seem to tasteless and boring looking I'm not tempted. With the LaTortillas I don't need much else :)

My worst thing is curiosity. I have never had Krispy Kreme donuts. There was some on sell today at the school though and I was tempted to get one, just to see what all the fuss was about. There is also a new Taco Bell grilled burrito that I am curious on how it tastes. I can usually control my curiosity, but occasionaly if someone gets a certain item I will try to have a bite or a sample. Once my curiosity is satisfied, I don't crave or want the object.

I've already noticed a difference in my attitudes about food, but the smell of fresh baked dinner rolls still makes me want to swoon.

Luckily my honey is there to head me away from the bakery goods -- he definitely has his uses.

Tonight we went to a buffet place and he decided that the baked chicken I was eating looked too dry, so he went to the buffet and got a piece of fried chicken and sat and peeled all the skin and breading off the chicken and then put it on my plate and said "from what I've read, it should be ok now"

Since WHEN is this man reading Low carb diet web sites???????????

Sunslyte--Awwwww! After reading a lot of "unsupportive spouse" threads, it's nice to see such loving gestures. He's been reading up on the sly, now THAT should tell you how much he cares!

LadyBelle-- I had my first...and LAST Krispy Kreme this summer. They are DELICIOUS, but it set off a craving cycle it took two DAYS to come out of! I think they have crack cocaine in the icing!!!!! I will never let one past the "guard" again...

In the old days, if I saw a platter of desserts like Tracy describes I would have tasted all of them to find out whether any were truly delicious, even though the chances of that wouldn't be high! Now, I agree, they are just "pretty." So much of the food that is put out in such situations is never even eaten--we need to get away from the idea that excessive food=hospitality.

In general, though, most sweets seem toxic to me. I don't want to be near them, not because I can't resist but because they exist in some realm that I don't want anything to do with, like MTV or competitive bodybuilding!

they no longer have much power over me , I have discovered. I have been to meetings in Panera's Breads - and the first blast of bread smell is pleasant but then fades fast. I know that even at these places I can manage to survive ON PLAN because I have done so!!! That is part of the mind game I play with myself--- plus I feel soooo good I don't want to jeprodize that with that poison sugar or flour.

I haven't posted in a while but this topic has been on my mind so I thought I would respond.

Sweets have always been my downfall. Bread, potatoes, and pasta are things I like but don't really crave. I have been able to satisfy my craving for sweets with a variety of the sugar-free, low-carb candies and ice creams out there. I do watch quantities but I have been lucky that I don't have too much of a problem with sugar alcohols. The one time I did over indulge I paid for it and I haven't done that again.

As far as "real" sweets, I am able to resist them for the most part because I know I have my sugar free stuff as an option. The rare occasion that I do indulge, it is just a bite or 2 and that satisfies me. I keep in mind that I have been having good results with low carbing and it's just not worth it to take more than a taste. That's pretty much how I feel about any high carb food. Last night I felt like I would really like to have some spaghetti with butter and parmesan cheese. When I picked up the pasta box and looked at the carbs I put it right back down. Just not worth it - 42 g in 1/8 box - no thanks.

Laurie

You all are so strong, an inspiration. I am still struggling to rid myself of those cravings. And not really sure how to do it. Any hints on how to JUST DO IT?
Kat

Sounds like you have quite the guy, Sunslyte!
It's funny this thread came up today, because I baked some biscuits for someone else, and I used to looove biscuits. But this time, both before and after they came out of the oven, they didn't smell good at all. Pretty raunchy, actually.
Surprised the heck out of me, but I figured my body is changing, because I don't crave these things at all anymore.

KathyM - You haven't been doing this that long. It will happen. One day you will just realize that the whatever that set you to drooling before just doesn't look that appetizing anymore. Especially when you consider that it has a bazillion carbs and calories and it will mess up your weight loss.

You might notice in the next week or 2 that your appetite may drop down to just about nothing. I went through a period where I had to actually find something to increase my calories - was only eating about 650 per day. :eek: Somebody suggested macadamias and I have been eating them ever since. It helps a lot when you reach the point where you can add a few lc yummies to your diet.

It looks like you're doing well.

Laurie

Kathy,
The biggest help for me in resisting temptation is not to settle for substitute foods that contain sugar alcohols or other artificial sweeteners. When I craved something sweet after switching to lc, I would try to eat something healthy and very filling. After eating, I wasn't hungry and didn't have cravings. Now I try to avoid artificial foods as much as possible.

I've developed a fondness for recipes with heavy cream, natural peanut butter, cream cheese, nuts, and fruits. I find my sweet tooth doesn't exist as long as I don't indulge in artificially sweet foods.

I am finding this thread incredibly interesting. From March to Sept. first, I sounded EXACTLY like most of you. The chocolate cake and cookies had no power over me for the first time in my life. It was incredibly empowering. I am convinced it has something to do with how our brain and our chemestry is programmed.

BUT THAT'S ALL CHANGED NOW!!
I hit my goal weight and a week later my sister went into the hospital. I'm sad to say that I had some donuts, ice cream, and other stuff. We almost lost her, and I kinda went nuts. Every single day I weighed myself, and I did not go up. For 3 weeks or more it was up 2, and I was more strict, down 2.

Now I am trying to get back on the wagon for good. I worked too hard to throw it all away the first month I arrive.

THE CRAVINGS ARE TORTURE!!![I]
Each day, each moment, I crave, strongly, food, and especially sweets like ice cream or cookies. My GOD, now I remember the hell I lived with all those years of dieting with other diets!!! How did I ever live through that hell?

So, here I am on day, ummm, crap, only day 3. I'd kill for a huge ice cream cone. However, I know that if I make it to 2 weeks with no sugar, and keep my carbs low, my body will get back to being a sane vessel and I will not live through this torture each long, long day.

This is definately a learning process. People, when you get to your goal weight, tread VERY VERY carefully. It's very challenging.

The power of the carb is lost on me now. I can cook anything for others without the any temptation to taste it. In my job I have to taste things and I put it in my mouth then spit it out and rinse with water right away. Most things I make dont have to be tasted but sauces need tasting sometimes.
I did a weeding cake for 300 last week and did not even taste the icing!!!!! To me it smelled sick sweet.
This week I had to do a lasanga dinner for 50 and I thought that would kill me. But it was fine, no cravings. In the past it was one of my favorite foods.
When I lost all my weight last time on this plan I did not learn how to deal with my carb addiction. This time is what I focus on and its great.