Bread

[Smartmam]

I need some help. I cannot stay away from bread.

I am okay whole day. At night I cannot go to sleep until I will go and have some bread.

Any help / advice will be appreciated.

[moreless]

Old habits can be hard to break, Smartmam, so make sure you're not hungry, by eating plenty of natural fat and don't have bread in the house, so that you can't get a midnight feast.

In time, you'll get used to going without and won't miss it any more

[Smartmam in reply to moreless]

Thankyou. Will try not to buy it. It sound good.

[MikePollard]

Your choices are between losing weight and eating bread.

If you go for the bread then what you REALLY want is to eat bread, not to lose weight.

Bummer, but there it is.

[Praveen55]

You can make low carb bread using almond flour.

[Smartmam in reply to Praveen55]

Thankyou

[LesleyT47]

Morrisons also sell low carb bread, that might be an option.

[Smartmam in reply to LesleyT47]

Is Ray bread low carb?

[LesleyT47 in reply to Smartmam]

I'm not sure Smartmam.

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to Smartmam]

Rye bread is low GI, but not low carb.

If you're "addicted to carbs" - which sounds like your current position - you really need to go cold turkey. The reason you're constantly craving bread is that your body has literally stopped burning fat, so it needs constant carb top-ups. This is a very dangerous position to be in : it's basically prediabetes.

You can fix this, but as Mike said, you have to decide how much you want to. If you don't have sufficient motivation to do this for yourself, then do it for your nearest and dearest ... because continuing on your present path can't end well.

Here's the article on LCHF induction:

healthunlocked.com/lchf-die...

Good luck, and keep us updated on how you get on. Several members have been through the induction phase over the past few weeks and they'll probably have some tips!

[Smartmam in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Thankyou

[Quitter71 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

I am just getting familiar with the whole LCHF thing. So, am I right in understanding that the transition can not be gradual (reduce carbs gradually while increasing fats) and it needs to be a real drastic / cold turkey approach?

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to Quitter71]

There are theoretically several ways you can do it:

1. gradually cut down your carbs and add more fat, over a period of weeks or months.

2. go straight to a "maintenance" low-carb routine (50-100g carbs/day).

3. do an induction (<25g carbs for 2 weeks) and get it over with.

I've heard of people having success with 1, but I'd have to say: what's the point? It's actually more difficult to do it this way because, if you've spent a lifetime eating carbs, your body rebels. It doesn't know how to burn fat anymore so it still keeps asking for more carbs. It works best for people who don't have a lot of weight to lose and don't experience "carb cravings". The main risk is that you'll get stuck in a high-carb high-fat midpoint, which is a very bad place to be.

3 is the most reliable method for everyone. It gets you off the carb treadmill instantly, even if you're prediabetic. Most people see a large weight loss (1-2kg) during this period, which is a nice psychological boost. For people with full-blown diabetes it results in a rapid correction of blood sugar control. The main downside is the 'keto flu', which for most people is pretty mild, but some people do have a rough time for a few days!

2 works for nearly everyone, but your weight loss progress will be fairly slow. You might get less severe 'keto flu', or you might simply get massive carb cravings. It depends a lot on the individual. However, there's no harm in trying it this way - you can always go on to do an induction phase if it's not working out.

Hope that helps!

[Quitter71 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Thanks. My weight is normal and I don’t need to lose any. I want to reduce carbs mainly for controlling BGs (which are elevated but not drastically) while not getting into hunger pangs / feeling weak kind of situation. Does approach 1 work, in your opinion if i try to carefully avoided the HCHF trap? Or does the body still go through cravings for carbs and not use the fat?? I understand it maybe very individual specific... i just need to try i guess

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to Quitter71]

I would start with 2 and see how you get on. In your case it's likely to be the most painless option. If you get carb cravings, switch to 3. If you find you just can't cope with induction, try 1 as a last resort. It's really the least-efficient way of getting where you want to be.

The underlying reason for induction is an odd feature of human metabolism. It turns out that bodies always use carbs if they're available, but if there aren't enough, it won't turn to fat: it'll just wind down your metabolic rate. Induction forces your body to start burning fat by giving it no other option. It doesn't protest, but it takes a couple of days to crank up the rusty old machinery. You can then re-introduce some carbs and it'll keep burning fat. It sounds daft, but it works.

If you've eaten a high-carb diet your whole life, you might be surprised how much excess fat you're carrying. Sometimes it's not even visible because it's packed inside and around your internal organs (which is incredibly dangerous). So don't be afraid of losing weight that you "don't need to lose". It will stabilize out quickly - your body won't discard fat that's genuinely needed.

[Quitter71 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Thanks 🙏🏼.. I get it now. Being a vegetarian mostly (with some eggs and fish in recent years) most of my life was with carbs as the largest share of plate... I understand burning fat is probably something the body hasn’t done in a long time... I will try and go to option 2. Are there any resources for vegetarian (eggs and fish ok) for going LCHF? Most plans that i have come across too much red meat ☹️

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to Quitter71]

Funnily enough, several of the members here are vegetarian. Maybe give them a shout-out in a separate post?

If you eat eggs and fish, you'll be fine. How about dairy? Most of the fat in a typical LCHF meal comes from things like eggs, olive oil, coconut oil, lard, butter, cream, yoghurt, and cheese. Avocado has a lot of fat. Animal fat adds variety, but fish oil is fine (mackerel and salmon are good choices). It's just a case of finding a combination of fats that works for you.

It's a myth that LCHF necessarily involves a lot of meat - although there is a "carnivore" variant, most adherents eat the same amount of meat as anybody else. Possibly a bit less, because the most effective way to get enough fat onto your plate is to have lots of veg - without them, your meal would be unpleasantly greasy.

[Quitter71 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Thanks. Love dairy 👍🏼

Thanks I will do a different post for vegetarian LCHF. Thanks Toad 🙏🏼

[Smartmam in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Yes. Thankyou so much.

It does make sense.

[becky3344 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

I'm trying to do stage 1 and 2. I'm a long time vegan as well. Carbs were a big part of my diet until recently. But have cut down by 50/60% so far. I'm sensible, and want to try it in slow stages; like you mentioned.

[Hidden]

I used to do the same, either cereal or bread. I now have a handful of nuts and don't miss the bread. It didn't happen overnight though! The fat in them helps stave off the hunger pangs and somehow they feel satisfying in a similar way to bread. Know what you mean though, I still LOVE the stuff!

[Hidden]

Hi, umm know what you mean, the munchies strike! Would a glass of ilk and a few nuts cut it? Or milk and a couple of crackers, rice cakes? Depends how exact you want to be. Good luck with your choices. 🍀

[moreless in reply to Hidden]

I'm afraid crackers and rice cakes wold be a worse choice than bread, 55unfitandfedup.

[Hidden]

uh oh!

[Hidden]

Unfortunately, according to Dr. Wm Davis, it's an addiction- wheatbellyblog.com/2012/08/... Like moreless said, the best move is to get it out of your house so you can't cave in. And you might try shopping after you've eaten so you're not hungry and buying stuff you don't need. Good luck!

[becky3344 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the link.

[happyseal]

I love bread as well and find it hard. I have tried keto recepies, but it is not the same and they keep me hooked in the idea of eating bread. This time what I am doing is 1) Adding fibers to make me feel full. I have been taking chia seeds in unsweetened coconut milk before my meals, and after dinner I have Psyllium Husk in water. 2) Adding fats to reduce my cravings, I find that the fats help a lot. 3) I am trying a hypnosis video to stop addiction. Now some people believe in this things, others don't. But if I can trick my subconscious mind to connect bread to bad things instead of the idea of love and happines within my family. That will definetely help. Well, so far it is going well.

[Vale57]

When I tried this low carb thing before, I had same problem ... and no doubt will when I get started again ... but found that it helped me if I had something 'to butter' lol. Have you tried cloud bread? made from eggs and cream cheese. look it up on you tube. NOT same as bread! but you can make a buttie. which helped me a bit.

[Hidden in reply to Vale57]

Yes, cloud bread, and there are mug muffins. Something to butter!

[JT489]

Hi ! I can only say I loved bread. It was my go to food, and this constant eating of it was the reason I really wanted to change. Couldn’t have eaten soup/ omelette etc without it for example, I felt so out of control. Now I feel so much calmer. Make sure you’re getting enough satisfaction from the current food you eat. Enough flavour/fat/ amount etc. I know we’re all different, but it really has worked for me. 🌈