Withdrawal: was- addiction

[Guest guest]

Hi Donna,

My old family Dr, 40+ years ago told me that " sugar " was addictive. I

totally blew off his advice about avoiding it, after all, at 20+ years old I

already knew everything! It wasn't until after I'd read Dr Bernstein's book &

started his LC WOE that I realized that Dr. was right, but didn't even go far

enough---He should have said " carbohydrates are addictive " .

I " craved carbs " (potatoes, pasta, rice, desserts, bread) for about a week

after going LC before I realized that I didn't miss them anymore. Some people

take a little longer, but it definitely takes at least a few days.

But, if, while starting to go LC, you " cheat " , and lets say have a normal

helping of some high GI carbs like potatoes or pasta (or a " Big Mac " ), that will

set you back in ridding yourself of the cravings.

I know from my own experimentation that, even after 7 years of pretty

serious low-carbing, if I ate a large amount of high GI carbs, the cravings

would

be back, with a vengance!

OTOH, remember that Lays potato chip ad " Bet you can't eat just one? " . Well,

I've found out that now I " can eat just one " , & be perfectly satisfied, & it

doesn't trigger any " craving feelings " . Satisfies the taste without

triggering cravings. But that's just me!

I feel that " gradually " going toward a LC WOE is a recipe for failure (for

many, not all) & results in many of the negative comments about it. If you

" gradually " taper off the carbs, you're doing nothing to stifle the cravings, &

if there are cravings, there will be eating (usually of the wrong thing!).

Of course, this is just my " non-medical " opinion.

To truly do low-carb, I suggest going " cold-turkey " , all the way to

Bernstein (or dare I say Atkins Induction) levels, suffer the withdrawal

symptoms for

a relatively short period of time & come out feeling better on the other

side. Anyway, that's what worked for me but others will disagree. After I came

thru the withdrawal in about a week, I felt better than I had in the previous

25 years of " Low Fat/Complex Carb 'Healthy' Eating " & my bg's were great too.

Most of my discussion has, when saying " carbs " referred to high GI carbs,

but it's possible to OD on broccoli too. It just takes " a lot " !!!.

It's hard to alleviate the withdrawal, the best I can suggest is to never

allow yourself to be hungry as that makes the temptation to " cheat " with carbs

greater. If hungry eat something of Low GI vegies, cheese (not too much), meat

(any kind without a carb-filler, read labels) & include some fat in the mix.

Fat satiates hunger & keeps you going between meals longer, providing the

energy that you would have gotten from carbs.

, T2, dx'ed 4/98, controlling with LC & Supplements

Average FBG 100mg/dl, Last HbA1c 5.6%

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Has anybody experienced carb withdrawal symptoms, how long it lasted, what

were symptoms, how to elevate them?

Thank you.