First, let me tell you I really can relate but I think you missed what Rustpot was trying to tell you: "liking" carbs to the point that you are unhappy without them is an ADDICTION.

But you're in good company. Most of us, before we ever decided to try LC felt that way too. I have to admit I still do, you can't erase over 40 years of habit that easily. There are days I go shopping and I want to cry right there at the supermarket when I see ALL the foods I need to stay away from. But that feeling really only comes over me when: a) I go shopping before eating, b) I'm having a bad day and more than likely I feel emotionally deprived for other reasons. After all, what are most of our "comfort foods" made of? CARBS!!!.

Yes, you've read "the books" but the science and truth of them has not sank in. If you want to succeed at this you need to ACCEPT the fact that like tens of thousands before you, you are presently dependent on those carbs but just like "them", IF you really want, you can change. However, the question here is whether you are ready to make the commitment to stick with it long enough to let your body adjust or not. It really looks like you're not READY.

Attempting once and again and dropping out is also going to make your results later on very disappointing. Keeping the carbs at home is definitely asking for trouble. I have often found myself in a quandary b/c I have teens who love their junk food and if I don't buy it they bring it home themselves. One time so I could go on L/C, I waited until after my kids went away on a 6-week trip, then gave away all junk food to friends and acquaintances. At least you should put it all in bags and ask a close friend or relative to "hold' them for you, agreeing first that when you feel you're caving in the're allowed to try to talk you out of it first. And while you research the different L/C plans (there are still more to explore than those mentioned) and make up your mind, why not start cutting back on your indulgences (ie. half a bagel/potato instead of one, etc.)?

Wishing you the best luck, I'll be here if you need any support.

razzle, thanks for the titles, I'll definitely check those out.
Raquel, I realize at this point I'm addicted to carbs. I'm sure I could LC for the time being, maybe even a few months, but as you say, you still really want those carbs when you see them. That's a far cry from breaking an addiction. My concern is with the fact that I wonder if I can do this for life. If I'm forever going to be wanting carbs, what's the point of even starting?
Its more of a struggle within, really. The whole world lives off of carbs primarily..how am I supposed to deal with basically never eating them again?

Thanks for all your help and support, with the exception of one

One day, one minute, one second, one thought, one mouthful at a time. You make up your mind to say good-bye to what brought you to this point.



No, it's actually the first step in breaking an addiction. Abstinence from the drug of choice is always the first step. Then you have to learn how to live without the drug.

Yes, it seems to be an incredible struggle at times, and incredibly freeing at others. Sometimes it requires "hitting bottom" so to speak, where you are so low, in so much pain, and so disgusted that death would be welcome. Or sometimes a miracle of self preservation kicks in, and there is a wake-up call before hitting the bottom.

As my eloquent fellow LC'ers have pointed out, overcoming an addiction is a combination of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual - dare I use the word - healing. It's easiest to tackle the physical first, and then move with and through the others.

It's hard work for sure, but entirely worth it to be free of the demon on your back.

Karen

Karen, what you wrote there was one of the most powerful truths I have read/heard in a long while, and it has given me renewed faith in my ability to do this... I have been battling this addiction and losing that battle, almost every day... the biggest downfall being me DENYING the addiction. Well No more. I feel like the boy who cried wolf in that I have asked for help here so many times, and then just gone on in my cycle of self abuse and denial.. I realise now that ultimately, no one can do this for me but ME. ANd I am going to do it.
Again, thanks, and sorry for rambling.
Doods.

Hi Sephy,

Just another thought on Razzle's point - I eased myself into low-carbing. At first, I tried to avoid sugar. Then pasta. Then bread. Then I ditched my instant oatmeal. Then I started experimenting with vegetables - I used to hate them! Now I love 'em.

I am being 100% honest when I tell you that I <b>love</b> the food I eat now, and I rarely miss carbs! Honestly, once you're "off" them, you don't crave them physically. My only cravings are emotional, like the others said. And this website has some fantastic recipes for making "fake" versions of comfort foods, for times like that.

Having said that, it doesn't mean that you can never, ever have carby foods again. I have them on occaision, but I always have a "backup" plan to deal with it. For example, if I treat myself to junk food at the mall, I walk home. That helps me burn it off and get my blood sugar back where it should be. We're all different and there aren't any solid rules; you have to figure out what you can "get away with" and what you can't. It's about making good choices most of the time, not being perfect.

Good luck to you. This *is* doable. I can't tell you how good it feels.

I stand by my comments despite your attitude.

Just like an alcoholic, you need to hit bottom and realize you have a problem. Everything being said here is going in one ear and out the other. Yes, and trying this for 4-5 days IS a half-assed attempt. Do it for a month.......after a couple of weeks the craving for carbs will diminish then you can judge how you feel and how much energy you have.

I thought that was considered bad (I heard on these forums as well as the Atkins book that this was a bad idea....a form of yo-yoing to your body)

Also, with me (as I heard from the person who started this thread) this person is really addicted to carbs. I am really addicted to carbs and the last two times I ruined my atkins diet it was because I had 1 slice of pizza...yes, just one.

So I would recommend really really really against LCing in the week and carbing up on the weekend. First, because I cannot see how this would help (unless you are already fit and just want to tone up). and two, if this person could live off of beans alone, than this LC duing the week and Carb up during the weekend is the paverbial (sp) bullet in a carb addicts head!

Shark, not everyone considers carb addiction to be comparable to drug addiction. No need to pick on people.

A great many enlightened people do consider it comparable to alcohol addiction. I'm not picking on anyone, someone in a public forum asked for opinions on this diet and doesn't like what was offered, simple as that

Here's my story with ditching the carbs:

I did a good six months of going in induction and lasting anywhere from 6 hours to 4 days. Then I'd be off for anywhere for from 2-3 days to a few weeks. It was emotional eating more than physical-addiction based. I gained during this time. (LOL, ya think??) Then I progressed to CAD by default. I ate LC breakfast and dinner, and told myself that if all I did wrong was eat the school lunch because I didn't bring my own, that it was at least better than what I'd been doing before. I didn't lose any weight doing this, but at least I wasn't gaining. I'd still fall off the wagon periodically, usually a Friday night ice-cream and pizza attack and then a muddled weekend.

Finally, after a year of haphazard trying, I was ready to go hardcore. From Jan to April, I went Atkins induction. I still had some pizza and ice-cream encounters, but they became fewer and fewer, and the amounts in question started dropping. I also lost 20 lbs. By the end of April, my desire for the carby stuff was basically gone, and if I did have some, it didn't give me the 'hit' that it used to, which further killed my desire to indulge. In Feb, I started going to the gym on a spotty basis, mostly doing cardio dance classes. By April/May I was going 3x a week and I started lifting and ditched the stupid cardio. I lost 10 more lbs on the scale, but put on more tha 15 in muscle, for a net loss of about 45 lbs of fat.

I do a CKD myself, so I get 24 hrs of sugar and carbs, and there's a reason for it that has to do with purposeful manipulation of the insulin level to force enough glycogen into the muscles (not the liver, tho a bit will go there too) to carry me through another week of intense lifting. I no longer even *want* the carb foods. My carb-up days are boring to me food-wise. I come off of a carb day craving steak. The 'drug' reaction is just plain gone, but it took more than a year to get here. Each person's journey is individual of course, and YMMV, but I thought my story might help.

Rkhin: A carb day is not *necessarily* bad. It can be good or bad depending on the individual and the conditions. The science of the CKD is well documented and it's working for me. Some ppl can't handle the carbs, though. They'll either re-addict or never break the cycle. Yo-yo ing is also a double-edged sword. If you did a month on, month off thing complete with fat gain and loss, I'd say that's a bad yo-yo, but the quick hit of the CKD is more of a 'keeps your body from adjusting' thing, IMHO. Once again, works for me, but may not work for everyone. The carb day isn't just a eat-what-you-want day, either, tho some ppl do that and still get decent results. It's (supposed to be) a precisely calculated amount of carbs, protein and a little bit of fat. It's also intended for ppl who are lifting regularly and heavy, or doing some other regular and intense exercise. Not trying to bash at all, just giving info and personal experience.
Cheers,

Friday

Lots of good information here. I am on a plan where I mix in a week of CAD every 3 weeks or so to get rid of any cravings and keep my body guessing. Today I ordered a death by chocolate dessert at bennegins and I am actually physically ill afterward, despite having eaten like this the rest of my life. I can't wait for Monday to get here so I can go back to low carb

I agree with sharky about the carb addiction being compared to drug or alcholol (sp) addiction.

I believe this whole-heartedly because I am very addicted to carbs. I've smoked cigarettes for 5 years (the big middleton kinds....one box a day which is comparable to 3 boxes of cigerettes). I quite smoking cold turkey. Hard? Yes, very hard. However; I find breaking the carb addiction very much harder than smoking. Quitting cold turkey smoking was a walk in the park compared to quitting carbs.

Also, I know a girl who needs a serious life-saving operation but she cannot have it because she is 350 pounds. The doctors wont operate until she is 230. They are telling her that with her condition, she would surely die on the operating table. She received 5 opinions from 5 different doctors and they all said the same thing.

Normally, one would think "hey, I need to loose 120 pounds to get the operation and survive." However, she isn't doing this and she has accepted her death (which is 100% going to happen within the next 2 years unless the operation is going to happen).

The same story is true with my uncle. He is 490 pounds and has 1/3 of a lung left. All he had to do was go on a diet. If carbs weren't as addicting as drugs, Im pretty sure my Uncle would change...he's going to be dead in 10 years and will leave behind him 2 daughters and a wife. My mom is still upset about this.

So if you don't think Carb addiction is as sever as drugs, I have to disagree. The only difference is one is legal the other is not. My opinion