Carb Cravings and Paleo

Up until a few years ago, I was eating the Standard American Diet, but probably a bit more red meat and much less soy. Lots of bread, pasta, and soda. I used to get cravings for pizza, or for a Chipotle burrito stuffed with rice, or for a coke, or pasta. I felt like I was really in tune with my body for noticing this stuff.

A few years ago (2005) I started eating low carb and dropped 80 pounds, but I always felt hungry. I felt like I was missing something, but it wasn't carb cravings like I felt when I was yoyoing on the S.A.D., and it was fairly easy to ignore. I had a lot more energy, my mood was better, and losing weight was great.

I then fell off the wagon, for whatever reason. Doesn't really matter now. I thought I was eating decent, but really I was cheating a lot. That's something that I mentioned in my previous blog postings. I started this blog in December when I decided to do LC. When I hurt my ankle in January, I kinda just ... drifted ... back into my old eating habits.

I got serious about not cheating a couple weeks ago. I also stopped eating wheat and fructose. I consider what I eat now to be paleo, not LC.

I haven't had carb cravings in the past two weeks.

I didn't go into carb withdrawal because I think I was gradually reducing carbs. I used to get carb cravings, and then I'd go satisfy them, usually with a HFCS beverage. In my old, pre-paleo, Low Carb lifestyle, I'd often eat bacon and drink a coke for breakfast. I'd justify the coke cuz I knew my glycogen stores were low it the morning; it was a crutch for holding on to my old habits.

Except for Monday. I was just getting back from the gym when I really really felt like running over to the coke machine and buying a bottle. I've never bought a coke from that machine before, and I don't keep sugary beverages in the house, so that's things that keep me from cheating when I'm at home. It was interesting to me because I noticed that I was craving carbs. But I just reminded myself that, although I'm an animal, and my physiology is telling me to eat, that I also have a rational brain, and that in this case I'd have to ignore what my body was saying!

I was thinking of eating Low Carb (hence the blog name), but now I'm going paleo. I expect that I will be eating low carb, but that alone doesn't capture my diet choices. Reading about the Kitavans suggests that carbs aren't evil -- but at least, right now, I should stay away from them. My clearest path to health is low-carb, but I'm going to have to make a lot of other changes, too. No gluten, no lectins, cook my veggies, eat grass-fed meat, avoid pasteurized dairy, etc.

My recent weight peak was 259.4 pounds. I've got a few photos, at some point I'll post them to mark my progress. I'm down 8 pounds since that peak. Here's to health!