Weekend Update May 13th

Welcome everybody to the weekend. Today the scales said 227.5lbs

Last night was interesting (if you were inside my head at least). It started off me coming home and asking Chris about dinner. He said he had a big lunch and was full, then promptly fell asleep on the couch. (smile) - So I went ahead and made myself an omelet for dinner (showing off my cooking skills!). When he woke up, we spoke with the rest of the Augustson clan (his brothers, Dad, Julie) and it was decided everybody was going out to dinner. Now as a food addict, going out to dinner is what we dream about. Here I am already had dinner, and knowing I can't order another meal or I will go over my calorie intake for the day. So Off we go to Philthy McNasty's for dinner and hockey game. They ordered an apetiser Jalopeno Poppers - I had one, only one. I ate it slowly and savoured the taste as if it was the last food on earth. Then I had diet pepsi for the rest of the night. But I craved food, was screaming inside my head to order food for me. The insanity that goes inside my head when faced with a menu is insane, really insane! I resisted. I have to say why I resisted was because of this blog. I made a promise to myself that I would be honest here - really honest - so if I went and ordered something from the menu after already having an omlete for dinner, I would have "reported" on myself - even if nobody is reading this - I'm reading this! (smile - it's all about me LOL). So knowing that I would write the truth - and knowing I'm only 2 weeks into the lifestyle change, I thought falling off the wagon would be too embarassing for me to me! (if that makes sense) - so I held out - didn't eat any more food. The reward was today I saw 227.5lbs - the scale is going down.

Today I'm off to friends for a dinner theater. Another interesting "Opportunity" ahead of me. My Friends Dan and Joan are great - we always have wonderful time together. We always have a lot of food together. Today is another day of choices. Not to have the snack food available - not to have flour, sugar, starch for dinner. To choose to eat a small portion and stick to the protien and veggies for dinner. Make today about being with good friends - not about being with "food".

I've copied and pasted some more information I found useful on carb cravings that I thought others may find useful as well:

Carb-craving information:

carbohydrate cravings and addiction as a matter of biology, not will-power. base on controlling insulin and blood sugar swings, which is generally agreed by authorities to be the leading physical trigger for carb cravings.

Definition:

A compelling hunger, craving, or desire for carbohydrate-rich foods;
an escalating, recurring need or drive for starches, snack foods, junk food, or sweets.

In addition, carbohydrate act-alike (sugar substitutes, alcoholic beverages, and monosodium glutamate) may trigger intense or recurring carbohydrate cravings and/or weight gain.

High-sugar, refined starch, convenience and comfort foods feed the addiction like a drug. They produce correspondingly high blood sugar and insulin levels, which leads to even more cravings. They also produce higher levels of the brain chemical serotonin -- rather like Prozac. In sensitive people, particularly those who may have low serotonin levels to begin with, a carbohydrate binge is the equivalent of self-medicating, just to get the sugar "high". Excessive alcohol consumption also contributes to lowered levels of the brain chemical serotonin.

Tension and stress increase brain chemicals that lead to overeating. When we are tense, the adrenal gland produces more of the hormone coritsol. Dr. Sarah Leibowitz of Rockefeller University found that cortisol stimulates production of a brain chemical called "neuropeptide Y". This brain chemical is a chief factor in turning our carbohydrate cravings on and off. Even worse, Leibowitz also reports that neuropeptide Y also makes the body hang on to the new body fat we produce (apparently this is some ancient biological throwback to the cave days). In other words, tension not only triggers carbohydrate cravings, it also makes it more difficult to lose any additional weight. Cortisol also stimulates insulin, which leads to blood sugar dips and fat storage. It's a vicious cycle that feeds on itself, over and over.

The majority of our cravings are due to the extreme fluctuations in our blood sugar levels. The more high glycemic (simple sugars) carbohydrates we consume (even when they are void of fat) like, grains, pastas, and even fruit juices, the more dramatic the rise in our storage hormone insulin. High blood sugar levels and high insulin levels create a hypoglycaemic (low blood sugar) response due to the higher half-life of insulin, which tends to remain active even after blood sugar levels are lowered. This initiates a craving response on the brain for sweet carbohydrate rich foods that are able to once again raise blood sugar levels. This rise and fall of insulin and blood sugar also creates an enhanced environment conducive to fat storage by preventing the metabolism of fats for energy, instead setting into play the usage of sugars and proteins as energy substrates. Without a steady supply of high quality protein and essential fatty acids (omega: 3 and omega: 6), our bodies cannot deal with the onslaught of these sugars as they are broken down into glucose (a simple sugar). Protein is responsible for boosting your metabolism by stimulating the release of the hormone glucagon, which helps to balance blood sugar and stimulate the necessary enzymes for fat burning.