Carb addiction
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
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