Hello all,

This is my first week low carbing - I started Saturday at lunch. Saturday and Sunday were terrific, but on Monday I had to fast from my weekday wakeup time of 5:30am until noon, for a medical test. Then they made me drink 2 cups of barium ugh which had a sweet taste so it might have had sugar. I was beset with cravings the rest of the day, and today is only a little better.

What do you do when you have carb cravings?

Thanks for your help,

Susan

You can be strong and ride them out or you can try taking 500-1000mg of L-glutamine when a craving strikes. For some people (like me) it works like a charm, for others it makes little difference. It's a supplement that is also excellent for muscle recovery, so if you're working out it's good to have on hand anyway.

You can help combat cravings by not letting yourself get hungry. Try eating more frequent, smaller meals and make sure they all contain some protein. Protein can be converted to glucose to deal with the demand for it and to help squelsh those cravings.

Hang in there and keep drinking your water
Nat

Thanks guys - I will get some L-glutamine, and I will work on drinking a lot more water. I was drinking mostly diet soda with caffeine, and regular coffee with cream and artificial sweetener, not a good idea I know. I've heard that caffeine causes carb cravings - PP says it is okay in moderation, but I'm afraid there is nothing moderate about my caffeine use, I am majorly addicted to it and have a much harder time letting go of it than I do with the carbs.

Take care,

Susan

Caffeine MOST DEFINITELY makes me hungry when I shouldn't be. It's been a struggle for me to give it up, too.... but I try like heck now to keep it under 250mg/day....that's 2 6-oz cups of coffee and one glass of iced tea. It really will be worth your while to make an effort to cut back. Besides, it's hard on your liver and bad for your digestive system....two pretty important organs when it comes to weight loss and health maintenance!!