Can carbs from greens cause food cravings?

(Thomi M) #1

I have noticed that on days when I have a green salad or a side with dinner I have difficult cravings. If I stick to animal sources for food I don’t have this. I don’t crave carbs, I just can’t stop wanting more food. I am always quite satieted with animal only foods. I have only noticed this in passing, but am thinking of setting up an n=1 experiment. Wondering if anyone else has experienced this? Is it a reason some folks go ZC?

#2

IDK, do you have a nice serving of fat with your greens?

(Jacquie) #3

Are you dressing the salads with anything? Homemade/store bought dressings? Another variable will be the meat/protein you have with the greens, so that may be a factor, too. A ZC n=1 sounds good to me. :slight_smile:

(Beth) #4

I sometimes experience this and I make my own dressing, so it’s not like I’m having sneaky sugar.

(Thomi M) #5

I make my own dressings and am not stingy with them. I try to use a lot of butter with side veggies and have less trouble when I have plenty of ptotein. So I should set that up in my experiment. I will start, I think, by going ZC for the first two weeks of March. I will play with variables after that.

(Jacquie) #6

@Thomi I was curious as to what kind of cravings you get from the greens.

(Alex Dipego) #7

I personally get cravings from greens even when with mayo, butter, what have you. I think it’s a individual thing on what greens cause cravings and what greens don’t. This is why I’m ZC, I get cravings easily.

(Thomi M) #8

I have non-specific cravings, but mostly for things like cheese, salami, pork rinds. Things that can be “munchies.” So maybe carb cravings in disguise. I never really had cravings for sweets, always went for cheese and nuts

(Cathy Schroder) #9

I hadn’t noticed specifically but I will be looking for it now. I get cravings from artificial sweeteners so I will pay attention and see what I notice. Thanks for raising this.

#10

If you’ve already been contemplating going ZC, it could be psychosomatic. You’re looking for reasons to try it out. Might as well, eh?

(Genevieve Biggs) #11

Yup. Definitely. I have a harder time controlling the amount of food I eat when it’s greens.

(Mary Ann) #12

I’ve been binge reading the ZC posts and the www.zerocarbzen.com blog and interviews. I’m now very intrigued. I’m wondering how much of my veggies are necessary. My research continues.

(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #13

@MaryAnn Please keep us updated, I am leaning toward ZC as well.

(Arlene) #14

I am not a strict “meat only” zero carber, but it has been totally freeing to understand that I don’t need veggies to have good health. With this knowledge I am free to eat bacon and eggs all week if I want, or make a large meal of roast chicken with steamed asparagus and sauteed mushrooms. If I’m in the mood, I cook. If not I just barbecue up a steak or burger and be done with it. My weight continues to drop, almost effortlessly while I eat what I want to eat, when I want to eat, or maybe I don’t eat at all that day. :slight_smile:

(Mary Ann) #15

You make a good point about realizing that you might not need the veggies. I don’t have a negative reaction to them like many but I do fret about making sure I get them in. It does take the pressure off.

I’ve cut back on my veggies in the past few days. And now negatives yet. Like you, I don’t necessarily want to never have a vegetable but planning meals is a lot easier without having to worry about making vegetables. (I’m not a cook!) I stick to very simple keto meals (and I like them).

(Mary Ann) #16

I will. Let me know what you decide or start doing. I’ve cut back on my veggies the last few days. I don’t notice anything different. It’s dawning on me that I may have been acculturated into believing I need them.

(I am a Dog (Dog's eat until they burst!)) #17

For me, especially in the last month or so, I’ve found that I am drawn to more fat in most things. Vegetables are a second or third on my list and I don’t plan a meal with them when I cook at home.

One of the major draws about ZC that I’ve seen is to defeat the cravings I have for things like peanuts and macadamia nuts. I do have good control over the peanuts but if I buy them I WILL eat all of them so I make a concerted effort to not buy them.

Macadamias, on the other hand, are very high in fat but still contain 4 g carbs per 1 oz serving. I have a sneaky feeling that as I tend to have 4-6 servings a day that that is way too many carbs for me and that is bolstering the craving I feel. Going ZC may be the answer I need to avoid all carbs and try to overcome my cravings once and for all.

My wife always complains that I do things to the extreme, either with it or against it, and she is out of town visiting family for the next 2 weeks so this is a perfect opportunity for me to see how my body reacts to ZC.

I am all in, see comment above, and have stocked the fridge with various meats, sausages, bacon, and eggs in preparation for my ZC experiment. I am including HWC, butter, and cheese in what I allow to begin with but if they don’t satisfy me, like the veggies fell from my desires, then I may drop them as well. HWC will probably be the last to go as I use it in my coffee a few times a day.

(Sascha Heid) #18

I stopped eating veggies a while ago, but what really got rid of most of my cravings is more fat.

(Arlene) #19

I love nuts, especially macadamias. I rarely buy them, and only then in a small “snack” size because I WILL eat them all. As for cravings, we do have to experiment to find out what messes with us. Cream and cheeses don’t seem to cause me any cravings. Fruit of any kind is problematic, even berries, but I will occasionally have some this summer, knowing I will have to deal with cravings the next day. Good luck experimenting to find out what works best for you.

(Mary Ann) #20

I’m excited to hear about this experiment. I like HWC in my coffee and definitely butter in everything. I noticed that I just cut cheese out a few weeks ago. Just naturally didn’t want any cheese. I’m definitely a nut fanatic. I’m careful with eating them because of the carbs. I don’t eat them everyday for this reason.