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February 3, 2010
April and the Breakfast of Doom
"Are you sure you want to do that?" asked MR at 5:30 this morning as I scooped Nancy's Organic cottage cheese (the best on the planet) into a 1 cup measuring cup. I had said, two days before, that eating cottage cheese for breakfast causes me to be very hungry very shortly thereafter, and is probably therefore not a good CR strategy. In general, in fact, I don't eat breakfast at all, as I find that I am not much more hungry immediately preceeding lunch if I don't eat breakfast at all, and so it's a great way to save calories. But this morning I knew I was going to be doing nurse meetings in a room with a dozen Dunkin Donuts bagels: my arch nemesis. So I figured I'd better fortify myself, and I was trying to consume as little methionine as possible (see previous post for why/how this all came about) so the eggwhite and flax oil breakfast of CR glory days was out, and I wanted to eat something.
I ate the cottage cheese with flax oil. It was delicious.
I was still hungry. Even right at that moment.
I went to the meeting. I had volunteered to pick up food for the morning meeting (we are legally required to provide bagels if it's before 11 am, at which point we become legally required to provide pizza) so I went to Dunkin Donuts and ordered them.
In the old days, pre-CR, I would have eaten a sesame bagel with light veggie cream cheese (lowfat don't ya know???) and a Dunkin Donuts coffee with cream and sugar on my way to the meeting, and then probably another at the meeting, but those days are long gone... right?
I got to the meeting. My co-workers were there. The nurses didn't show, but that's not all that unusual. My co-workers ate bagels. We had a productive meeting amongst ourselves.
"Oh come on..." the evil inner voice said in my head..."You can have just a bite. You know you love sesame bagels. Just a little bit. You can go online and figure out the calorie count later and just adjust for it. Just a little bite... yum yum yum... you've been soooooo good lately..."
And I was really hungry in that wiggy, blood sugar out of whack way that you forget about once you're on a low carb diet for awhile. Apparently cottage cheese causes a weird insulin release because the protein in cottage cheese is the highest insulin spiking of all known proteins, and it only has a little bit of carb, so when you have a big spike of insulin as though you'd just had a big bowl of sugar, and then you have cottage cheese, the insulin surge sweeps all the glucose out of your bloodstream all at once and then you go, "AAAAARGH!" Causing a fairly quick explosion of hunger. This is made much worse by being in a many hour fasting state first thing in the morning.
So I was wigging out.
Then I ate a little bit of bagel. Then I ate a little more. Then the just one bite thing went swimmingly out the window, and I ate AN ENTIRE BAGEL.. With reduced fat veggie cream cheese, which really is quite good.
Here is the thing about me and bagels: I can not have just one bite. No, I can not. Bagels are the kind of thing for me that if I am going to have even the smallest sample, I must be prepared to commit to eating the entire thing. It's very important in CR to know if you have these triggers. There are plenty of foods of which I can have just a small sample and be satisfied, or at least stop myself from going forward. But there are a very few things, of which the bagel with cream cheese is the main one, that I can not even nibble at unless I am prepared to go all the way.
Bagel: gone. For the record, it really was just as delicious as I had remembered it, as I had perhaps fantasized about it being in the early moments of the meeting when I hadn't really been paying attention to Edward and was instead staring at the naked and defenseless sesame bagel just a few feet away from me. How can a girl with normal, healthy appetites possibly be expected to resist such temptation? (This is where changing the food environment comes in!) I am no anorexic: i have the compulsion to eat the bagel just like everyone else, but over time I've learned strategies to stop myself. *Most* of the time. And most of the time, I don't put myself in the same room with something I desperately want unless I'm planning to have it.
Then after the meeting, I looked for it's nutrition information online.
Okay, bad news. But not surprising... I vaguely knew it even before the evil voice in my head urged the oft-failed "just one bite" strategy.
It was 8:45 am and between the cottage cheese and flax breakfast and the bagel with cream cheese, I had already eaten 760 calories.
I wrote my CR girlfriend Paige in a panic, and she reminded me to eat normally for the rest of the day and jump right back on the CRCR wagon. Of course, she was right. (She was also, for the record, feeding my own advice right back to me. :)
Still, I berated myself. I'd been doing so well! Low carb is working for me! I feel great almost all the time! My yoga practice is soaring! I can wear my favorite skirt again! I would just not eat until dinner, I resolved.
Yeah right.
I went to a yoga class and practiced hard for an hour and a half. Excellent class, even though a class that isn't with Jonathan never measures up to what the Mozart of Iyengar can do.
Did yoga. Craved a Diet Coke bigntime, which I always do after yoga, but had no access to one so went back to the office.
All the things I was supposed to do there ended up either canceled or just as well done at home (I work from home a lot, which is great except that it means I never stop working) so I decided to run a few errands then get on home and work.
Went to the wine store... MR was almost out of Pinot Noir.
Went to Lee's Produce to pick up bok choi, shiitake mushrooms, and some other stuff. Was already very hungry... it was nearly 1:30 by this time. I'd had no protein or fat since the cottage and flax this morning at 5:30 am other than the small amount in the light cream cheese.
I ate a pint of grape tomatoes. That's not too bad.
Then I was overwhelmed with the worst sugar craving I've had literally in years. The little produce store (with great prices on fresh veggies) carries a whole host of sugary candies in small plastic tubs, including gummy peaches, pineapples, worms, bears, eggs, snakes, papayas, and little gummy figures of Obama as well as tons of dried fruits, which pre-CR I adored.
There was something so wacky going on with my blood sugar that I just about freaked out. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't look at sugary candies because sugar gives me anxiety attacks. But I was losing it.
I implemented a harm-reduction strategy: I purchased and ate one gummy fruit slice. Red. I love red candies. All my favorite candies are red.
Immediately I started to calm down. But I was still hungry.
"F*&k this low protein, low methionine s*^t." I thought.
I walked in the door of the house and went straight to the fridge. That no antibiotics no hormones lean turkey breast I'd told MR I'd give away after Sunday night's conversation when we decided I'd try to go vegetarian and low protein: I was glad it was still in the fridge. Straight onto the stove it went, in a saucepan with organic free range chicken broth, vinegar, garlic and capers. Bubble bubble, toil and trouble!
Upstairs I went, and burst in on MR's office where he was actually trying to get work done.
As usual, he drops everything for me. "I'm having a horrible day!" I exclaimed.
As it turns out, he had meant to tell me, after our conversation on Sunday night, that he actually didn't think I should decrease protein while I was still in active weight loss phase because those who do that often see too much lose of lean body mass. But he didn't want to micromanage my diet, so he hadn't mentioned it.
And if, in the end, I need high protein and meat to maintain CR calorie levels, then that way trumps methionine restriction or other concerns.
Yum yum yum. I ate my turkey. I started to feel like the sane, rational person I've come to fancy myself to be again.
I will probably go back to skipping breakfast entirely. On days when I have early yoga class, it's essential because you can't eat before practice (if you want proof, eat a big breakfast and then try to do a headstand.) Sure, I'm hungry from 10 - 12, but it seems I'm hungry during that time even if I eat breakfast, so may as well save the 200 - 300 calories.
In any event, my cottage cheese consumption, like most people's alcohol consumption, will be confined to after 5 pm with meals.
Posted by april at February 3, 2010 12:28 PM
Comments
This is what I always tell people:
o Carbs create hunger.
o Fats are neutral.
o Protein alleviates hunger.
Studies show this conclusively. I'm sure MR is aware of these studies.
Posted by: Scott Miller at February 3, 2010 1:32 PM
Well, now you know right? At least the bagel was good! (because if it wasn't, and you still ate it, that'd be pretty sad. I'm a real stickler for eating food that tastes good, well, before I decided I didn't want to get fat anymore)
Posted by: Rad-Tastic at February 3, 2010 3:09 PM
I had a rather high food day myself. After eating on the low side the past couple of days, starting a little weight routine, and working on the chicken coop today, I was an eating machine this evening. Oh, and I have hormones working against me today as well. Sigh.
Since I work the next 4 days, my food will be easy to get back in line.
Arg, I hate it when this happens. I can sympathize with the bagel. The chocolate got me this time - as usual. ;-p
Posted by: Sie at February 3, 2010 8:07 PM
Interesting the bit about cottage cheese and insulin spikes.
Do you know if the same applies to greek yogurt (nonfat or lowfat)? It has a nearly identical macro breakdown compared to cottage chesse.
Hmm.
Posted by: Andrea at February 4, 2010 11:12 AM
You crack me up. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who sometimes can't resist the temptation(ok, more than sometimes on my part). Clearly, like you, I need to do a better job of pre-planning so the temptation isn't so overwhelming. No more MUST HAVE GAK now demands from the bod if I've already taken the edge off the hunger the right way :-).
Thanks!
Amy
Posted by: Amy at February 4, 2010 1:47 PM
April,
So sorry to hear you are having trouble with cravings. I feel your pain.
Over the years I have been on every fad diet out there and would be ashamed for you to know what kind and how much junk I have eaten after days of dieting incorrectly.
Would you please consider this. Maybe you need to develop your CR diet in consideration of your age and gender. I don't believe a young woman of child bearing age has the same dietary needs as a male or an older woman who is post-menopausal.
I don't have a citation but I believe that pre-menopausal woman have less heart disease than men of similar age because they bleed each month during their cycle. This bleeding rids their body of excess iron which may help prevent vascular disease. Seems that I heard that after menopause, women have the same risk for heart disease as men.
It would seem to me that a woman of child bearing age who is doing CR should be eating different foods and in different PCF ratios from men in order to compensate for the hormonal differences/changes.
Considering the mood swings that women experience each month it seems like common sense to believe that women need a diet tailored to women.
My family doctor is a man while my wife started going to a female doctor many years ago. My wife's mother had heart disease and my wife has always believed that male doctors did not medically treat females the same as males and often mistreated them because they could not relate to a woman's health problems and issues.
Same with diet. Why would a woman base her diet on what a guy came up with? Makes no sense.
Let me know yours thoughts.
Robert
Posted by: Robert Johnson at February 4, 2010 1:54 PM
Thank you for such an honest portrayal of how food can make us crazy, or how we can make ourselves crazy with food! I laughed and grimaced along with you.
Cottage cheese is so enticing just based on the numbers: so high in protein and not much carb there. I experimented with it quite a bit this summer when I was doing super-low-carb until I realized that I really really should not be eating any kind of store-bought dairy. (I didn't notice it stimulating my hunger, but it messes with my already challenged guts and makes me psychotic!)
I'm not entirely sure about Scott Miller's comment, though: I agree that carbs are generally hungrifying but protein can sometimes cause an insulin rise comparable to that of carb (as you discussed in your post, April) (I'd love to know more about which proteins specifically do this, or whether there are other contextual triggers). And I would definitely tend to say that fat is satiating rather than merely neutral.
Thanks again!
Ela
Posted by: Ela at February 6, 2010 11:37 AM
What is the number one enemy of a sucessful CRON program? CRAVINGS.
Call it dumb luck or fate, just as we are discussing CRCR my wife brings home the most recent issue of First For Women magazine, March 1, 2010, with a photo of Demi Moore on the cover.
The featured article on the cover is "New Research Out of UCLA-The carbs that melt fat-Drop 24 lbs. in 21 days-Discover the revolutionary food-pairing system that will make you slim for good".
I highly recommend the reading of this article which is in the Health section and starts on page 28.
I will share a few snippets from the article:
"For the 73 percent of us who feel gloomy and stressed when we try to give us bread and pasta, the latest nutritional science is very welcome new: Women looking to drop pounds should eat more of them!"
"The body needs them, so attempting to eliminate them from the diet triggers intense cravings and feelings of deprivation that can lead to overeating."
"Carbs-including the classic comfort foods that have been vilified in diets like Atkins-are actually a key part of the food synergy that helps the body burn more fat and feel satisfied on less".
The article goes on to explain the relationship between "fast" carbs (like bread, grain and most fruit) and "slow" carbs (such as vegetables and beans).
The article goes on to explain how the pairing of these two types of carbs causes blood sugar to stay balanced and insulin release to be regulated. I think this is extremely important as cravings are probably the result of low blood sugar and +- insulin.
The article further recommends one serving of protein, one of fast carbs and one of slow carbs in a 1:1:1 proportion that won't trigger a blood sugar spike that shifts the body into a fat-storing mode.
The sample menu they show looks to be easily intergrated to a CRON diet although I would need to run it through my CRON-O-METER.
My opinion is that CRON does not work if you cannot stay on the program and you cannot stay on the program if you continually have cravings and feel guilty and depressed. Life is hard enough without letting a tiny little bagel ruin ones day.
Robert
Posted by: Robert Johnson at February 6, 2010 12:43 PM
Robert,
Thank you for your comments, but I think you missed the point: I didn't have cravings when I was on a low carb diet: I had cravings when the insulin spike caused by cottage cheese led me to eat a bagel, which then caused further, and worse cravings.
High carb foods really don't agree with me. I prefer to get my carbs from veggies. And in a low calorie CR diet, there's not much room for high calorie foods that don't add much in the way of nutrition. So I'll continue to stay away from pasta and bread, since they only make me hungrier and don't contribute nutrition to my diet.
I eat tons of veggies and a little bit of fruit,which is easy to do on a moderate carb diet of about 100 carbs a day, 30 below what the ADA considers "low carb."
In my experience, excess carbs *cause* cravings, they do not prevent them.
a
Posted by: april at February 6, 2010 1:31 PM
Also, any plan that offers to help one lose 24 pounds in 21 days is pretty crazy. It's not safe to lose more than 2 pounds a week, much less more than a pound a day!
a
Posted by: april at February 6, 2010 1:34 PM
What I want to know is why it's the law that you have to serve food at your meetings. And is it really that specific, or could it be any food?
Posted by: Nancy at February 7, 2010 8:15 PM
I have a question about this "carbs make you hungry" meme. Is there an oatmeal exception, or is that just me? 'cause nothing keeps me satisfied longer than a small bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.
Come to think of it, brown rice is the same deal. So are we talking all carbs, or just simple/processed ones?
Posted by: Sam at February 9, 2010 9:07 AM
I feel the same about oatmeal. It is the only breakfast that I can eat that will keep me full until lunch, or even long after.
Posted by: Christy at February 10, 2010 10:49 AM
A high protein, low carbohydrate diet has been shown to cause brain shrinkage in rats. The brain uses glucose as its primary fuel, so it seems prudent to give it enough through adequate (though not excessive!) dietary intake of complex carbohydrate.
Posted by: mg at March 12, 2010 4:51 PM