PMoon- protein is hard for me to consume, too. I started buying Luna bars (I buy Carmel Chocolate Brownie, yum!) but I'm trying SpecialK bars this week because they have an extra gram of protein compared to Luna.
Example of an entire day:
Boiled eggs or egg whites on toast for breakfast, yogurt for a snack, some walnuts or almonds or chicken on a salad for lunch, and a nice chicken breast with steamed veggies for dinner.
You know, I do not get enough protein I think. There is a health food store near me with nutritionists on staff to talk to and they keep telling me to eat more protein. I will have to make a conscious effort.
When I get tired and don't feel like cooking, I fall into old habits and reach for carbs because they are always around, I could just eat bread all day.
And then there is candy at work everywhere. The minute I get stressed out I head for the chocolate. It's a bad habit I am having trouble shaking. There should be support groups for this addiction! Thanks for the advice!
Like Ranaesheart, if I find myself famished.....I always shove in some protein first. Never the carbs first. I find that the protein makes me feel full and satisfied for much longer without the crash that you are describing with the carbs.
Like JoyRenee, I keep my protein bars on hand that have a chocolatey flavor without the downfalls of an actual chocolate bar. I get that taste that I am looking for, yet the protein that will keep me moving along.
As of late, I have purchased a bread machine and have been making all of my own bread for the household. I absolutely love it! I know exactly what is going into my bread and I am able to adjust things and try new ideas for sweeteners, oils, etc. Best $10 that I ever spent on Ebay on that bread machine for sure! I also found some whole wheat flour that I absolutely love....so it is quite easy to switch over. I can not believe how much I was spending on good whole wheat bread before! The bread that I am making now is so much more economical and much better tasting. ; ) If I pair a piece of that bread (cut into two pieces) with a piece of protein, say some chicken breast, it just makes an awesome sandwhich and keeps me moving for quite some time. There are also many recipes in my book that came with the machine for bagels and such, although I have not attempted any of them as of yet.
Try to follow the above. Just remember that the more carbs you eat, the more you'll crave. Your body doesn't need excess carbs (or excess anything for that matter) So, remembering this helps me stay away from sugar as much as possible. Eat more protein and you'll see that eventually you'll feel no need to eat so much carbs.
When my body calls for "carbs", I eat protein (lean chicken breast, egg, cereal with milk). Like JoyRenee, I keep the sweets out of the house. I have learned to substitute a healthier option for the sweets I do like ... for example, a 35-calorie SF fudgesickle instead of a bowl of chocolate ice cream.
Since I used to be addicted to the sweets, I started by using Splenda in place of sugar so I still had the "sweet" flavor and then slowly started cutting back a little. Read labels and watch the calorie content in foods when you go to the store and try to make some wiser choices when grocery shopping.
If you have any particular foods giving you trouble, you may want to consider starting a post and asking for some help with some calorie conscious options to help you begin to make changes.
My rule .. if carbs are calling and won't stop .. eat protein to stop the cycle.
Best wishes ..
What helps me is to keep that stuff out of my house! We don't have chips, pop, cookies, candy, chocolate, or anything like that because it is my weakness (well, chocolate is anyway). Clear out your cupboard and your fridge. Instead of wasting your money on junk, spend it on some protein bars (I like to get the chocolate ones because I get a chocolate fix once in a while) or some protein shakes. Buy healthier versions of the stuff you love and try new things!
If it is not accessible, you can't have it. Indulging once in awhile, especially if you've been on the right track, is okay. But definitely in moderation.
Try a chromium supplement. Many Americans are deficient in chromium because of the processed foods and refined foods, such as white flour and sugar, that they eat deplete chromium levels. 200mcg 2-3 times a day is recommended. If you happen to be a non-insulin dependent diabetic zinc might also help, but if you're on insulin the zinc is already in insulin. Type 2 diabetics tend to be low in zinc and can have sugar craving due to this, however, I am not positive how that might affect the non diabetic population yet. Haven't had time to research it :(
Also, you might now care ot go to such an extreme, but avoiding refined foods would probably help as well as they tend to cause addictive behavior. Obviously that is easier said than done, but limiting the sweets and refined foods as much as possible helps break that cycle. Try bringing in whole grains and higher fiber foods into your diet instead.
Bagels aren't "bad" per se. Have you tried whole wheat bagels? Eat carbs WITH protein. Do not eat carbs alone, as this causes your blood sugar to spike too much and then crash. That crash is your carbs calling you the rest of the day! Protein helps to level out your blood sugar.
What have you tried to do to get off of sugar? Are you meaning you are trying to get off of simple carbs? Have you ever read Sugar Busters (wondering because of the title of your post)?