Newbie diet questions

[itsallaboutme]

Can you all explain the diet thing a little better? What am I to avoid and why? I have always craved carbs (bread and potatoes especially). I personally am a beer drinker and no other alcoholic drink satisfies my craving. Always thought it was because of the hops in beer/ carbohydrates. One beer always leads to many. If I load up on bread potatoes pasta etc, my craving for alcohol temporarily passes! I need educated!

[sammys]

Newbie diet questions

I say eat whatever you want in moderation. If you feel like thats what works for you eat it. You will loose weight just by cutting out the beer. I think of it this way if one or two baked potatoes or a bag of chips works thats still better for you than messing up your system with beer.


Sammys

[AAthlete]

Newbie diet questions

I would agree with Sammys. Although there are a lot of 'diet' suggestions out there, the old adage of 'everything in moderation' still holds true (if only we could practice that with alcohol, right)?

That being said, there are things that you can do to help improve your diet and still eat the carbs that you like. One of the biggest would be simply switching to whole wheat products instead of the refined carbs (i.e. bread, pasta, etc.). Also, although potatoes sometimes get a bad rap, eating anything grown by Mother Earth can't be that bad for you!

Good luck.

[nancy]

Newbie diet questions

nutrition

You can check the books section of this website for recommendations and reviews.

I personally think it is best to get off substances that wreak havoc with your blood sugar.

These include bad carbs (white pasta, white bread). Bad carbs turn straight into sugar and overload your blood with sugar. Fruit juice also gets shot right into your bloodstream. Refined sugar has that effect. I am not a doctor. but my basic understanding is that when you load up with these things, you get a big infusion of insulin to deal with the sugar. Then you get low blood sugar and you crave things that give you the sugar high. Of course alcohol is loaded with sugar.

I used to have a diet just like yours. The author of Seven Steps to Sobriety says these types of diets are common for alcoholics. i have also read that a lot of alcholics are hypoglycemic. Getting stuck on sugar highs is bad for sobriety and weight loss and all kinds of other health conditions.

The South Beach diet book, widely available at low cost, can explain the effects of sugar and bad carbs. The idea is to have whole grain carbs only (100% whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice versus white rice). These are much better for you.

There are also a lot of aspects of diet that improve mood. Like I read a book about depression recently and it was emphasizing the value of essential fatty acids, omega 3.
When you drink a lot, you get depleted of a lot of nutrients, including those that make you feel good. This book I read, depression free naturally (author of seven steps to sobriety), also suggests that one factor behind carbohydrate craving is that carbs help speed tryptophan to the brain .Tryptophan turns into serotonin, feel good chemical.

The trouble is that bad carbs and sugars that help the tryptophan get to the brain also have this bad effect on blood sugar.

In terms of diet, here are the basics:

Whole grains, lowfat dairy, lean protein, vegetables, fruits, fatty fish (like salmon, albacore tuna) two times a week. if you have fruit juice get it with pulp or use it as a splash in mineral water, avoid processed foods and refined sugar. Pastries and desserts should be taken in moderation. Have a handful of almonds as a snack. Have good fats like olive oil and avocado. Avoid fat free foods that are loaded in sugar, or high fructose corn syrup.

I think the All One supplement advised by MWO is good. I tried it for a while and switched to vitamins because i didn't like the all one powder style. but i am going to switch back because taking one package is easier after all.
B vitamins are supposed to be good for stress.

Happy reading to you!