Discussion Board

hello All!!

Today is my third day following this. I am not sure if I am 100% MWL but I would like to think I am close. Here are some of my observations on how I feel. I am not sure if this is typical in the beginning or not? I would like to know your exsperiences and any advice you have to offer -

1) Cravings -

I am craving sweets, salt and random things like bread. I think I was recently eating a lot of sweet stuff and maybe I am just missing it?

I generally eat very little salt, and find most things too salty for my taste. I am adding salt to anything I cook, but feel like adding more at the table. This is surprising since I am not really a salt eater.

2) Bathroom trips -

I seem to be going to the b'room more frequently. My water intake is as it was - no change!

3) Sleep -

I seem to be sleeping better. I had long naps in the afternoon twice, and even slept through the night. I generally am a light sleeper due to stress issues..I almost always wake up after 3-4 hours, and lay awake for some time, and fall asleep in the wee hours.

4) Heartburn -

I have GERD/ acid reflux type history, and I did not have any heartburn these 3 days, which is gr8

I have eaten oats and fruit for breakfast all 3 days. I am eating 2-3 fruits. I ate potatoes and veggies for lunch once, corn chowder once, ate rice and veggies once ( white rice), and ate potato salad and corn as snacks. Today I am planning to eat a tofu and veggie stir fry with rice for dinner.

Any idea what is causing the cravings??

thanks!!

Many people, when cutting out sugar/fat/salt tend to crave them for awhile as it's natural for the body to seek those flavors out. The problem, of course, is in our modern world those flavors are everywhere and we get very used to being overloaded on them. When we remove much of those things we crave them. It takes a while for the taste buds to return to normal levels and as time goes on you will get much better and picking up those subtle tastes in whole foods without the massive dollup of sugar/salt/fat on everything.
In fact, there are clinics, like the True North facility, that specialize in getting those cravings to subside by using water fasting, along with a good diet, to speed the process up.
Hang in there, try not to cheat, and the cravings will subside.
f1jim

What you are experiencing is pretty typical. If you want to understand about the cravings, you could view this lecture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxf4kj8Rb6Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VWi6dXCT7I

Here's another one from Dr. Neal Barnard called chocolate, meat, cheese and sugar-physically addictive.

Eat plenty of fiber and don't let yourself get too hungry and listen to Jim, he knows what he's talking about.

Kris

Thanks Jim and Kris

Ditto Jim re: cravings.

Re: bathroom trips--is that urine or bowel movements? If the former, it's b/c the food you're eating is FULL of water! Veggies, taters, oatmeal, fruit--all mostly water! So you're taking in more water even though you're not DRINKING more water.

If bowel movements, it may just be your body adjusting to the added fibre. Many people on the SAD diet are constipated w/out realizing it--you may just be normal now.

Welcome, and good luck!

Hi kingbruce,

This is my third day on the program too. I've been reading about it and thinking about it and talking about it and making half-hearted attempts to do it for ages. Turns out none of those things works. So now I've finally decided to be strict about it and I assume it will work much better.

I've been lucky so far and haven't had any cravings yet. In fact I've felt quite good. I've also lost 5 pounds so far which I suspect is mostly water weight from cutting down on salt, but hey, I'll take it. Here are a few things that I'm thinking are probably helping me, in case any of them might be useful to you:

1) I got off caffeine. Actually I had to get off caffeine temporarily for a few days due to an unrelated health issue and, having already gotten the headaches over with, decided to stay off it once I got on plan. I think being off caffeine may help keep the blood sugar and stomach acid levels more consistent and avoids mistaking dips in blood caffeine level for hunger/cravings.

2) I'm making an effort to get enough sleep. And this isn't easy, because my alarm clock rings at 4:30 am for my long commute. Going to bed at 8:30-9:30 pm is ridiculous and sometimes simply impossible, but when I do it, I feel better. And then I don't find myself eating just in an effort to remain conscious.

3) I'm trying not to torture myself. If I find myself thinking something like "No more cheese? Really?" I make a concerted effort to think about and/or do something more positive and constructive.

4) I've been including "warming" things like cinnamon, curry, and herbal tea, which seem to help me stay satisfied.

Menu:
Monday (on the road): from a supermarket: honeydew chunks, carrots, bananas, rice cakes. At a rest stop: baked potato with ketchup (Wendy's and Roy Rogers both have baked potatoes) and an orange.
Tuesday: Breakfast: oatmeal with banana and cinnamon (I keep the oatmeal and cinnamon in the office), orange. Lunch: Right Foods split pea soup from the box (I keep these in the office too), carrots, kiwifruit. Dinner: black beans, corn and salsa over brown rice, salad with a little seasoned rice vinegar.
Today: Breakfast: oatmeal with banana and cinnamon, canteloupe. Lunch (packed): Leftover beans and rice, leftover salad, apple. Dinner: Going to make my basic vegetable soup when I get home (2 cartons veg broth, 2 cartons Pomi chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, celery, carrots, frozen corn, cabbage, a tablespoon of curry powder), and more salad.

I hope some of this helps! It's good to have a couple of us on the board starting at the same time. I'm sure you'll have some tips for me too as we go along!

Hey Brown eyed girl!

you have made great progress..

i agree on your points..i have not gien up caffeine entirely..i am used to about 2 cups on tea in the day with some milk added..now i am drinking maybe a cup of green tea w/o whitener and 1 cup of black coffee..generally i do not drink coffee, but somehow its kept me energetic in the evening and still allowed me to sleep..

i slept a lot the first 3-4 days, which is a novelty since i generally don't sleep much at a time..

i think I have lost some but my scale is so old that I am not sure

Strength to us!!!