Sugardude's Diet Puzzle

[SUGARDUDE]

Perfect day yesterday. I had NO cravings!! Why can't it always be this easy?

I didn't even touch the gymnema yesterday. It's all about the apple cider vinegar.

I'm back down to 212.5.

[SUGARDUDE]

Another solid day yesterday. No real cravings to speak of. I had to fight off a couple of opportunity urges but those were fleeting. Gymnema stayed in the pocket. No weight change. I'm exactly where I was a week ago when I went off the wagon.

It appears I may have found a remedy for the root cause of the sugar cravings with the apple cider vinegar.

[Todd Becker]

I lose a little bit and then I get these uncontrolable cravings that continue until I gain it all back.

Sugardude,

It's great that you've found a few tools to quell your cravings - the Gymnenma and apple cider vinegar seem to be effective for you.

I've been pondering your response to Jared's question.  The quote above indicates that there is some kind of "yo-yo" effect going on that ramps up your cravings especially at the point when you have successfully lost some weight, which re-starts the cycle of eating. There is some kind of positive/negative feedback effect going on that enforces this cycle.

One thing I've found useful in breaking cycles -- for example to break weight plateaus -- is to weigh myself daily and chart it.  It soon becomes obvious that there is a natural cycle of up and down.  So you accept the reality of that cycle, and then make a concious decision to shift the average of the cycle down.  So for example, I was oscillating between 157 and 161 for a long time, averaging around 159 lbs.  I realized that I would cut back eating when I would approach 160 or 161 and the weight would head back down, but then I'd ease up, and gradually the weight would drift back up over a few days.

The change I made was to increase my level of fasting and strictness of low carb right at the low point of the cycle. In other words, become more disciplined just at the point that it is hardest!   I was able to move the average weight of the cycle down a little each time, but still allowing fluctuation over a few weeks.  In my latest move, my range is 152 to 156, averaging 154.  So it's 5 pounds down.  I plan to hold in this range for a few more weeks, and then make another move of 3 or 4 pounds.

The new realization for me was accepting the oscillation, but focussing on the mid point of the cycle range, and being comfortable holding in a cycling pattern for a few weeks to let yourself adjust.  And then planning to "make a move" precisely at the low point of the cycle.  I think there is something to this, and I am working on a post on "breaking through plateaus" where I will elaborate more about it.   I was thinking about your situation and wondering if this kind of approach might be useful.

You might start by weighing daily and writing it down to see what the oscillation pattern looks like.  Then decide how and when to make a move.

Todd

[SUGARDUDE]

Todd,

I weigh myself daily. I'm trying to be discipined all of the time. However, it seems that once I give in to a craving all discipline is thrown out the window for a while.

Speaking of weighing myself, I haven't done so yet this morning because it's going to be up. Yesterday was veeeeeery interesting. After my afternoon snack (low fat string cheese and some peanuts) I got some fairly intense sugar cravings. I took some gymnema and then ate a few small chocolate graham cookies (yes we had some in the house for the kids). They didn't taste good at all yet I still derived pleasure from the act of eating them. After eating about 6 of them I stopped for a few minutes but found myself right back in the kitchen attacking the breakfast cereal which also didn't taste good yet was pleasurable to eat. I had two bowls.

So despite the lack of sweetness my brain was telling me to keep eating. Very strange.

Before dinner I did the apple cider vinegar and I had no sugar cravings which is a very good sign because usually one i give in to a craving, it goes all downhill from there (like last weekend).

There may be hope for me yet.

Edit:No weight gain !!

[SUGARDUDE]

Solid day yesterday with a small craving at night. I gained 1 pound while being home for 3 days so I'm not complaining.

It's a 5 day work week so I expect to do some damage (in a good way).

I'm experimenting with  the timing of taking the ACV. Some websites say take it before meals and some say after. Since I ended up with a craving after dinner last night, I'm going to take the ACV immediately after I finish my meal and see if that makes a difference.

[SUGARDUDE]

Eye opening day yesterday.

In the afternoon right before lunch I was getting the sugar cravings so I took some ACV which killed the craving. However just after lunch I wa getting an even worse craving.....the mental/emotional kind. I had almost made up my mind to head over to 7-11 and get a bag of crap but instead I took some more ACV and the craving was killed again.

As I stated yesterday, I experimented with dinner by taking the ACV afterwards. Unfortunately the effect was short lived and I eneded up binging somewhat later on in the evening even though I took two doses of the stuff.

Fortunately I had no weight gain. Still holding at 213.5.

Today I'm taking the ACV before every meal (including my two between meal snacks).

[SUGARDUDE]

Solid day. Taking the ACV before each meal and snack, I had no cravings until 9:00 P.M. So I gave in a little at night but nothing major. Progress not perfection.

I dropped two pounds so I'm back down to 211.5.

I going to do the same today however, this time if I have a bedtime craving like last night, I'm going to do another ACV dose.

[SUGARDUDE]

Still rockin and rollin with the ACV. No cravings yesterday.

I dropped another pound to 210.5.

My goal is to get down to 185. The lowest I've been in recent memory is 197.5 while on SLD.

[SUGARDUDE]

The beat goes on !!

209.5.

[SUGARDUDE]

I tried cheating yesterday with some artificial sweetener.....actually a lot of artificial sweetener. It didn't end well but I didn't go overboard.

Only gained 1/2 pound. Currently at 210.

Back on the horse today. Holiday weekends are always tough.

[SUGARDUDE]

Way off the wagon.

I'm not sure where I'm headed next.

[SUGARDUDE]

Not exactly hormetic but I'm on day 4 of phase 1 of the South Beach Diet and I've dropped 8 pounds in the first 3 days.

This time I'm exercising in the morning/afternoon and taking 5-HTP with dinner. No sugar cravings to be found. I had taken 5-HTP before but only in the morning. 

[jared33]

Hey Sugardude,

What's your goal here?  Is it to lose weight or lose the cravings?  Seems like you can have temporary success losing weight while you hold the Sugarmonster at bay, but then one slip and its back.  Sugarmonster is always waiting around the corner to grab Sugardude.  Why will it be any different this time with South Beach?

I think there are tools out there to extinguish the cravings, but you have to be brave.

jared

[SUGARDUDE]

Hey Sugardude,

What's your goal here?  Is it to lose weight or lose the cravings?  Seems like you can have temporary success losing weight while you hold the Sugarmonster at bay, but then one slip and its back.  Sugarmonster is always waiting around the corner to grab Sugardude.  Why will it be any different this time with South Beach?

I think there are tools out there to extinguish the cravings, but you have to be brave.

jared

Actually it's both. If I didn't need to lose weight then why would I want to lose the cravings?

The tools I'm using are working great. Exercise, 5HTP, South Beach. I've lost 9 pounds since sunday and haven't experienced anything even resembling a craving.

[Todd Becker]

The tools I'm using are working great. Exercise, 5HTP, South Beach. I've lost 9 pounds since sunday and haven't experienced anything even resembling a craving.

Sugardude,

Glad to hear you are continuing to make progress.  I'm particularly interested in your results with 5-HTP.  The science behind this is very interesting, and provides a good explanation for how 5-HTP can alleviate sugar cravings:
1. A deficiency of serotonin in the brain can cause endogenous depression and increased appetite, which is particularly directed towards sugar and other refined carbohydrates.
2. Sugar consumption stimulates the body to produce insulin, which transports glucose, fatty acids and amino acids (except tryptophan) into body cells. Thus insulin speeds up the absorption of amino acids other than tryptophan.
3. Normally, tryptophan must compete with other amino acids for entry into the brain, but once insulin eliminates the competition the level of tryptophan rises in the brain, where it is converted to 5-HTP and then serotonin. The result is an elevated mood and reduction in cravings.

By supplementing with 5-HTP you are boosting your serotonin levels by a more direct route, eliminating the need for sugar-->insulin-->tryptophan as a source of serotonin.

So there is at least indirect evidence that low endogenous serotonin levels may explain your vulnerability to sugar cravings. If that is true, it suggests also that anything you can do to boost serotonin levels naturally will help. One way is to eat tryptophan-rich foods such as lean pork, legumes, peanuts, soy, cottage cheese, milk, chicken and yogurt--probably all acceptable within your improved diet (South Beach).  But in addition, regular exercise, over time should naturally restore your serotonin levels.  Some of the evidence for this is referenced in this review article on non-drug approaches to raising serotonin (towards the end of the article): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077351/

In short, sugar and carbohydrates will quickly boost serotonin, but this route leads to a vicious circle.  Tryptophan-rich protein foods will short circuit that vicious circle.  And exercise will re-tune the circuitry to eliminate the viscious circle.

Todd