I've always had a problem with nightime eating, I just could snack from 5-mindnight and never stop! I combated this pre-gluten-free with these little toosie roll things with Appetite Suppressants in them or dexatrim. Scince going gluten-free I have stopped both (The candies are not gluten-free, and still not sure about the dexatrim!) I dont' want anything that has a stimulant, so no trimspa or anything. I don't need energy, just something to curb the appittie! It's gotten so much worse scince going gluten-free, becasue i never feel full because I don't eat the breads and now the dairy.

Anyone know of a gluten-free Appetite Suppressant?

don't know, but i'd love to hear if you find anything!!

When my hubby had to go on an "OhMiGawd!" diet (chol. 385, trigly. 980) his dietician set a target he had to hit every day of healthy fat consumption. If he didn't eat that amount of healthy fats by bedtime, he would eat Benecol on crackers just to meet his target. She said that fats surpress the appetite because they take longer to digest and keep you from feeling hungry. He dropped 60 lobs. in 6 months following her advice (guys are disgustingly good at dropping weight). Walnuts were one of his favorite snacks.

I ran across this same type of info today while net-surfing at lunch. Hope it helps...
http://www.nutritiondata.com/topics/dietin...ht-loss#satisfy

QUOTE:Avoid hunger.
Hunger is one of your body’s strongest stimuli, and can be an evil challenger to your will power. Hunger is also relatively slow to subside, and can cause you to eat more than you intended. To break this unproductive hunger-overeating habit, always try to eat before you get hungry. This may seem counter intuitive to someone who’s trying to limit their Calories, but it’s a very effective concept. Two different techniques can help make this easier to accomplish:
Eat smaller, more frequent meals. Instead of three meals per day, try eating five or six smaller meals. By eating more frequently, there will be less time between your meals, and less chance of you experiencing such intense hunger. As an extra benefit, there is some evidence that suggests that eating more frequently can also help raise your metabolism.

Include more slow-to-digest foods in your meals. When it’s not possible to eat more frequently, make sure that your meals contain a mix of nutrients. In particular, fats and protein are much slower to digest than carbohydrates. While most carbohydrates leave your stomach within about two hours, protein takes approximately four hours to digest, and fat takes as long as six hours.

Note: The slower digestion of fats is one of the primary reasons that people on low-carb diets (like Atkins™ and South Beach™) experience less hunger than those on low-fat diets. It’s not necessary to completely eliminate carbohydrates from your meals, though. Most people on balanced-nutrient plans (like the Zone Diet™) also experience better hunger control
END QUOTE

See, I allready eat a great deal of fat.. take Sunday...

Breakfast (ok lunch by the time I got up): Bacon and Cheezy eggs
Midafternoon Snack: Pickles
Dinner: 4 Tacos, Mexican rice, refried beans with cheese. Tortilla Chips, Salsa.
After dinner munches: Soy Nuts, Glutino Crackers and cheese, Chocolate covered raisins, lunchmeat ham. And then as climbing in bed... I had another pickle craving! I resisited because the boyfriend dosen't like pickles in bed.

Yesterday I ate a whole bag of potatoe chips!

I just want something to tell my brain that after dinner, it needs no more food.

I really think you need to look at your whole diet. For Sunday, you have a relatively fatty breakfast w/ almost no carbs. Then, you barely eat anything until dinner. YOu are hungry at night because you don't eat much all day (if this is indicitive of your normal diet).
For breakfast, try eggs, turkey sausage, and a piece of fruit. This will start your day w/ some protein and good carbs.
Then, you really should eat something more for lunch. Try a salad w/ ham or a grilled chicken breast. Use a mixture of 1 tbs. olive oil and 1 tbs. flaxseed oil for a dressing. Both of these will help give you some healthy fats. The lettuce in the salad will again provide you with some good carbs.
For dinner, just eat something sensible that has some protein in it.

For snacking (even at night), choose nuts. Nuts are filled w/ healthy fats and are also calorie dense. This will help fill you up. Also, if you can eat dairy, throw some fruit in yogurt or cottage cheese.
Coltrane

Boy, I can relate to the nighttime munchies. I've been trying to follow a low carb diet (somewhat successful but could improve)

One thing I noticed about your dinner - it was way high in simple carbs - taco shells, rice, beans, chips, and very little good carbs like veggies and salad stuff. I'm thinking that the high simple carbs late in the day might be triggering your hunger/cravings.

And I agree, you migh find it helpful to eat more at lunch and even mid-afternoon snack, always with protein/fats and low in starches. (i.e., celery sticks with nut butter on them)

I make a blended veggie drink that really cuts the hunger. Cut up several raw veggis (carrots, celery, tomato, zucchini, cucumber, etc.) that would equal about one good-sized serving. Put in blender with about a half cup water and blend until mostly liquid. You can make a larger batch and keep in a glass jar in the fridge to have for later on in the day. You can add stevia to sweeten, and sometimes I like to put a little vinegar and oil in it - like a liquid salad.

Since you've stated you don't want any stimulates, I can't think of anything Rx to suggest. All prescript suppressants either have stimulant or negative bathroom side effects.

Protein would be your best bet - increase your protein and/or fiber. Eating every couple of hours will help with blood sugar and the resulting hunger that happens after a sugar spike. If you eat some protein and/or fiber with every carb, you will stay full longer in most cases. I don't even eat fruit anymomre by itself, I always eat a cheese stick or couple of almonds to keep from getting that sugar boost, even if it is natural.

Thanks for the input!

Unfortuantly, at this point, veggies are a no go. If I eat them they have to be very well cooked (ick) or small % of meal (I can have lettuce on tacos, but can't eat a salad). From what I understand that should get better as my intestine heals. Nuts have a tendancy to do the same thing, but they just don't get digested... veggies want out! I'm allergic to Cantalope and Honeydew... but I try to eat other fruit, but other than bananas, it's rare.

I'm trying really hard to figure out the Whole Dairy Issue I have also... I and 85% sure it's lactose.... Lactaid improves my problems to belly ache, no bathroom problems. I'm on day 5 testing my lactaid and still confused as hell. Bah...

Breakfast on a work day is usally banana and coffee (on the go), anything more than that and I'm later than my usual 20 minutes to work. At work I eat what ever I can... if i remember lunch I have rice noodle bowls or left overs, if not I get hard boiled eggs and lunch meat at the grocery store down the road. I usally eat "Mary's gone crackers" or chips or gluten-free cookies in the afternoon. Dinner usally meat and potaoes or rice. I occsionally have green beans or brussle sprouts with dinner.

I do take a multi-vitamin daily so I get my vitamins from veggies I aint eatin.

I'm thinking I need a dietitian and a personal chef.

The first thing I noticed here is a lack of healthy fats. My hubby's favorite was guacamole tostadas because avocados are very high in healthy fats. Although you might enjoy one of our favorite meals -- grilled salmon tacos with black bean-corn salsa and guacamole, filling and healthy. If you can eat raw mushrooms, they make a good low cal dipper.

But the biggest thing I'd do is start eating small somethings throughout the day. If all I had for lunch was pickles, I'd be starving at night.

I don't know if it'd work for you, but I took a Namaste Spice Cake mix and added 4 cups of shredded carrots, 4 cups of walnuts and 1/2 cup of ground flax seed. I wanted to make a healthy, high fiber muffin. It increased the recipe yield from 2 dozen to 3 dozen but I find 1 or at the most 2 muffins satisfies my munchies and they last for a week off refrigeration. Another old diet standby is a spoonful of peanut butter. You can't eat it fast so it forces you to slow down. Hope some of these ideas help.

Actually, someone else reccomended that Namaste Spice cake to me before, basically becasue it tastes good, not so much to add veggies. I will have to try that... I don't get much time to cook, probally a another problem I have when it comes to cooking right.

I've never eaten salmon, don't know how to buy or how to cook it. I probally should see about that. Not a big fan of guacamole, raw mushrooms sound good. They probally will be accepted by my tummy.

I'm going to buy some peanut butter tomorrow, see how that works.

The carrot cake version of the Namaste spice cake is so tasty the guys I work with ask me to make it for birthdays instead of gourmet store bought cakes. It's really good. By the time I add all the stuff to make my muffins, there's just enough batter to hold it together.

If the black bean-corn salsa sounds good, you can make the soft tacos with grilled chicken instead of salmon. I make the salsa by dumping a can of beans + a can of corn + a jar of salsa in the colander until it quits dripping. It's almost like a relish, but it really sparks up soft tacos.

I can't do corn Anything else I could sub with? I wonder if garbanzo beans would work....

I love grilled chicken tacos...

How much water do you take in? There really is something to the old adage about eight glasses a day--water is essential for all our bodily functions, and many people are functionally dehydrated. Water is an appetite suppressant, as well. Sometimes we are looking around for food when we are really thirsty, not hungry. Take your weight in pounds, divide by two, and that's the number of ounces of water you should be consuming a day. Some of that can be as clear herbal tea; I squeeze lemon into a couple of glasses at lunchtime. Most people who have taken weight off and kept it off have two things in common: they exercise daily, and they drink their H 20!

Basically, the corn adds a sweet cruncy note to complement the creamy taste of the black beans and the zip of the salsa. I'd try substituting minced jicama, shredded carrots, maybe even diced apple. It may not be textbook Mexican, but neither is pineapple salsa and I though that was pretty good.

I used to have the exact same problems as you! I would eat constantly. And I mean CONSTANTLY! Every chance I got... I started taking this medication about 8 months ago, for ADD problems, and it suppressed my apptiete completely. It worked wonders for that. I've lost about 50 pounds since then, and they don't have any nasty side effects I didn't think..other than I pretty much had to force myself to eat because I didn't get hungry often. Apperently they use the same meds I'm taking for weight loss as well..so it was deffinately a plus.

As I see it, constant hunger means your body NEEDS something. The total amount of food may satisfy the stomach, but the body will still be deficient in nutrients if you aren't absorbing them well enough, or if the food isn't of sufficient nutritional value. Simply suppressing this appetite is like putting masking tape over the gas gage on your car - you can't tell when you're tank is low, and run the risk of running out of gas.

Malabsorption means your body receives less nutrients from a given food than it otherwise would. So yes, you must eat more to compensate. At least until you're absorbing enough to satisfy the body's requirements. A balanced diet becomes all-the-more important.

I have found quite a noticeable improvement with a magnesium supplement (powdered form). I find I'm less hungry, have more energy, etc. I also put stuff through the blender to make a puree, to aid the gut in breaking it down. I've also found gluten-free breads help too. Not just with hunger, but thirst. I'm not totally certain as to why. I bake all my own stuff.

I'm not sure if it would help you, but coconut oil is great, and many on the board report good results for various issues.

Here's the trick to appetite supression: VERY LOW CARBS.

I was the carb queen, let me tell you. I could eat 10 Krispy Kremes in one sitting. A box of donuts, candy bars, whatever. The more sweets and carbs I'd eat, the more I'd crave.

Several years ago before knowing about celiac disease, I did the Atkins diet for about 6 weeks. It was NOT my usual way of eating, but I stuck with it and the weight dropped off effortlessly, AND more importantly, after a couple of days my hunger just evaporated, and all carb cravings disappeared. It was like magic, and that's how I did it for 6 weeks.

Now, due to celiac disease concerns, I eat no grains. I also found that starches and beans give me problems, and therefore, most of the gluten free goodies don't agree with me AND they are horrible triggers. So I rarely eat those things either.

When I stick to lots of salads and other veggies, eat chicken/turkey and tuna type meats, don't eat dairy, no starches at all, lots of water....that's what does it.

If ANY carb/sweet type things creep into my diet it can trigger a binge. Even if I haven't had anything for days and days. Whenever I've indulged, I've made an agreement with myself to not let my indulgence go beyond that day, that indulgence. The next day it's back to my usual careful eating. That way it doesn't get out of hand.

If you want to conquer this, you really do have to come to terms with eating differently for the rest of your life. Otherwise, you won't lose the weight, simple as that. You can't do diets, they don't work. You have to change your entire way of eating and looking at food.

It has taken me 6 years of grappling with this, but I've finally ALMOST got it down. I wish I'd done it earlier, but heck, I was too busy fueling my emotions with eating. You can get a handle on this, but it takes determination, commitment, consistency and hard work. You've got to want it bad enough to do the work.

I know this sounds harsh, but this is reality. There is NO magic pill that will really do anything to help you lose weight. And most things mess you up, hype you up in bad ways. Don't look to a pill to help you get there. That will never work in the long run.

What about a smoothie? Use fresh strawberries, banana, lactose free milk or a juice, ice cubes and drizzle a little flax seed or I use lemon fish oil ( I can't taste it at all), add some ground Lame Advertisement. They can be very filling and delicious.

Would dearly love to know the name of the drug you took for ADD since it helped you. I'm getting desperate for a light at the end of this fat tunnel.

You definitely need to be eating more during the day, and seriously increase protein/fat and decrease carbs. I know how crazy it can be at work, but you HAVE to take the time to do it. One of my favorite quick lunches is a packet of tuna (or salmon, you can get it in the same isle as canned tuna) with a little bit of gluten-free (and preferably low-carb) salad dressing mixed in. Then, I'll top it with some shredded cheese and microwave just until the cheese starts to melt a little (usually about 30sec). It is high in protein and good fat, with minimal carbs.

Of course, you'll need to keep your own bowls and utensils in your work area if possible (or use disposables that you have maintained gluten-free).

I actually keep several packets of tuna and salmon in my desk and a bottle of salad dressing in the shared fridge. It is well marked as MINE and so far, it looks like everybody is respecting that.

Lots of good advice from everyone so far--it may seem a bit conflicting, but everybody has a valid point!

I especially agree that you need to be eating protein, healthy fat, and 3 main meals (6 half-meals is idea). Good carbs are better than junk carbs, obviously.

For myself, I find that exercise makes a HUGE difference. Can you fit in not one but 2 thirty-minute walks? Like, park 2 miles away from where you work and walk the remaining distance? Or walk around the block a few times when you get up and again when you get home from work?

Or do you work at home? Do you have kids? If they are stroller age, plop them in and GO! Or if they are older, have them get on their bikes and go while you follow at a fast walk or a mild trot.

If you have spare cash (ha ha), a treadmill or elliptical machine could be a great investment.

I am always LESS hungry when I exercise regularly, and I find that the healthy foods are much more appealing than the junk when I exercise regularly.

Good luck!

What is ground Lame Advertisement???

I was thinking that myself, I never heard of that..

I started myself on a diet today again. I borked it up as soon as I started, forgot my banana at home this morning, had to make do with a chocolate bar. Bah..

DON'T GIVE UP!!!

And, don't think that you have to start a diet at the beginning of the week. I've actually find it to be easier to get started on a day OTHER than Monday! So, pretend that the chocolate breakfast never happened, and start over. Also, you may want to consider starting your day with some protein. A single banana is pure carbs and pretty easily digested at that. I know it always seems healthier to eat fruit, but you won't get hungry as fast if you get some protein and fat in there too.

Good luck!

I have to chime in here and add, I'm always tremendously hungry when I eat a lot of carbs.... I feel best when I'm on something like the Atkins plan. (Low carb, meat and veggies kind of stuff)... I can't always eat salads, I have definite digestive issues still. But meat and a well cooked veg that I can tolerate can go a long way to stabilizing me.

And low carb protein shakes can really help too.

Good luck and I hope to hear what you are trying.

-Miri

I previously had a binge eating issue and always at night, these are a few of my tricks to prevent the binging (its been almost 1 year since the last one!!!)
-Sugar-free Swiss Miss in 16 oz in boiling water--have to sip slowly and the extra water fills up the tummy. Plus it takes care of the chocolate fix.
-Brush teeth after dinner-I don't want to have to do it again later
-Sugar free gum--this was the biggest difference for me, I already have something in my mouth, no need to add to it
-Call someone to chat
-Get online here and talk to your friends
-Read a book
-If watching TV, instead of going to the kitchen during commercials, do a couple sets of stairs, some squats, sit-ups, etc..
-Learn to knit
-Play Guitar Hero--my new obsession
-Clean out a drawer--which leads to the whole closet
-Go to bed early

I agree with some of the above, you might want to eat more frequently and then really look at your diet to make some changes. The atkins diet can be good if truly done in the context it was meant for--not all bacon, eggs, cheese, sausage, bad fat, bad fat, bad fat. You need fiber in your diet, at least 25 grams. Get it from fruit and whatever veggies you can handle. Fiber and protein keeps you feeling full.

5 HTP is a natural searatonin replacement. I have taken it for a week now and forget to eat!!! I love it. I take 50mg in the am before breakfast and 50mg at 3:30-4Pm

Try it!!

Shannon

Sorry this thread is so old but I'm new here and started reading everything and got interested. I thought it was a good question that I believe many are struggling with these days.

If one has continual cravings it could be a sign of deficient protein digestion. If the body is not getting what it needs it will continually crave something to try and get what it needs. Someone mentioned protein earlier in the thread and I thought it was a good idea.
I suggest getting some digestive enzymes specific for protein digestion taken with meals. If you don't want to take supplements try some fresh pineapple at each protein meal and see if that doesn't help suppress the appetite later on in the day.

moldlady

I too just became interested in this thread....just by snooping in here.

I am experiencing very similiar cravings and want to control them...However, my biggest question is what exactly do you eat for breakfast? and every other little snack and meal inbetween?

I personally feel hungry after about 2-3 hours. I am consistant with my mini meals but i DO always start my day off with fruit...and it seems as though this is my biggest problem (simple carb?) anyways..like most others I am a women on the go and I need a quick fix! My usual routine is wake up eat a piece of fruit drink some water and go to the gym for about an hr. where I do cardio and some light weights. When I get home I am usually in a huge rush to get to work so I will shower and make it there just in time...on the way I always try to grab something so I am not dying during my shift....another piece of fruit or dried fruit. I am guessing this is the reason later at night I like to binge eat....but what in the world can I grab instead?? I cant have gluten, dairy, premaid gluten-free breads or snacks and I think eggs too! Once at work I will grab some raw veggies and coffe or something to supress my appetite then "lunch break" I will always eat protein of some sort and ussually with another piece of fruit and possibly a little rice if I need it. (Dont get me wrong I always eat when I feel like I am getting ready...always 100-300 calories per snack/mini meal.) Then later at night I have been trying to eat the ORville 100cal snack packs of popcorn but I feel like that isnt enough...tonight I had chocolates laying around and I jsut devoured 3 and almost 2 bags of popcorn. My boyfriend is a personal trainer and he always has suggestions but quite frankly I need a womans advice because wheat-eating men just dont know what we go through! hehe

Anyways, I guess if I am not grabbing fruit in the morning what can I eat? I mean really, a can of tuna is just not realistic!! haha...

-Staci

Hi Staci and everyone,
I have a friend that has 2 small eggs for breakfast every morning. I guess if you are in a big hurry they could be hard boiled and peeled and ready in the a.m. for those rush rush times. My preference for you would be maybe one hb egg and a granny smith apple. I hope you are not allergic to eggs or the sulfer is too much of a heavy metal detox for you.

Normally, I don't eat eggs but I have noticed that if I have one hb egg just before bedtime I sleep really good. I'm clueless as to why this is and I don't want to eat too many eggs but a good night's sleep is very tempting sometimes.

Some people make a whole grain in the crock pot on low during the night so it is ready in the a.m. I'm able to tolerate whole oats but I know that some celiacs cannot. Oats are low in gluten. Maybe a brown rice breakfast cooked over night in a slow cooker would work? Slices of gr. smith apple, rice milk, and cinnamon as a spice? Maybe there is a recipe somewhere.

PS. The eggs are cage free no anything bad and 100% organic flax seed fed. The eggs almost float in the water when you boil them because of the omega 3 oils in there. They taste pretty much the same.

moldlady

Thanks for the reply...

My stomach is sensitive to eggs...like you I can not eat many. Sometimes they are the easiest thing though...cook up so fast and always ready to eat. I am always worries about the grains fed to the chickens so I am going to look into the flaxseed fed eggs. Thanks!

The brown rice slow cooker idea is a good one...I am going to look around for recipes along those lines. I am getting a scratch test done on the 28th of this month so I can pin point the bad stuff...but almost everything I try for breakfast, fruit aside, has made my belly grumble all day.

Today I woke up with a similiar routine....orange, vitamin water, workout then I tried a high )50 grams) protein smoothie/shake for lunch its from a place called bo buzz. Now at work I had some green peppers and cucumbers w. a little salt. Feeling fine but I think the shake might have had too much whey in it...now my stomach is a little gassy....I hope that increase of protein in the mid afternoon will give me the boost and craving control I need.

Thanks for the tips...let me know if you think of anything else.

-Staci

A recent study supports protein as an appetite suppressant. (Keep in mind they only looked at one chemical marker of hunger, so this isn't the end-all as it's presented in the poorly written article...)

I bought a roasted chicken from costcos today and have had an ounce here and there whenever I feel a slight hunger start...I really think it is helping. If not supressing my appetite...its definately slow digesting and I love how quick it fills me and stays!

I would give this shot if binging is a problem.

-Staci

Hi Staci,
I"m glad that it seems to be working for you. I also have a protein drink that I use when I need something quick and easy. Because I don't do dairy, it is a rice protein drink. It doesn't taste that great but it gets the job done.

Some may think this is odd but it works for me. I can go for long hours after my last meal like from 4 p.m. until about midnight. Then, if I'm still up, I get hungry. This is what I've been doing and it seems to help. It does take some getting used to though.... I eat a raw sprig of parsley (leaves only) and a swallow of water. It does something to me in that I'm not hungry any more and my breath is fresh! Like I said however, the taste is something of an acquired thing.

The point here is that I've already had my two meals that fuel fun and pleasure. NOw, late at night I'm just trying to curb the appetite and not eat. I so hope that this will train my system not to be hungry. I'm told it takes about 3 weeks to train your body.
moldlady

Wow cool trick! I am going to try it for sure....

So you really only eat 2 meals a day?? How many calories are you taking in? I eat almost every 3-4 hours and its because I feeellll hungry. I am 21yrs old and work as a sales associate so I am contantly on the move (for the most part) I really dont need to lose a lot of weight but I would be very happy 135 and now im almost reaching 150. I used to eat a lot of sweets like candy and junk like that so what i am doing now is trying to train myself to not need refined sugar the way I used to...I was really really bad.

They always say 21 days to make a habit and it takes 21 days to break it. I have sort of found a solution for my binging after work...what I do now is a workout video. I have this 20 minute yoga workout that helps me get moving instead of just sitting and actually feeling cravings....its my first night of it and it actually helped a lot!

I truthfully just want to lose weight the right way and remain my normal weight...going gluten-free really screwed up my body so I just want to get back to me. As it is now my BMI is still in the normal range but its pushing toward the higher end of it...

Moldylady....are you trying to lose weight too? Besides your parsely trick what else do you eat and do?

-staci

Hi Staci,
Believe it or not, I'm just like you in the weight area. 150 and would like to be 135 or 140. During these winter months it is hard for me to work out. I like walking and outside where I can see the trees and animals. Spoiled I guess! It is so much more refreshing that way! I always like to take my water and lemon and then go for the walk. I thought that maybe that would burn the fat if I hadn't eaten yet??? When the weather is nice I walk 3 miles a day tacked on to my other activities of the day. When winter comes I always gain and then take it off in the spring and summer. To keep things under control, I've decided to drop my 3rd meal and not eat anything past my second meal. I eat a breakfast and about 5 hours later another meal. If I start to go crazy I will eat a grapefruit in the evening. Really late? I may have my protein mixed with water or chew on that parsley.
I will have an egg occasionally but I would like to not have them... that's why the switch to rice protein. I make a dish of well cooked/rinsed beans with some brown rice, fresh green pepper, fresh onion, fresh garlic, a touch of fresh ginger, chopped tomato, and make a dressing that marinates the whole thing into something palatable. That is my best combo.
Sometimes I have whole grain oatmeal well cooked with walnuts or blueberries.... sea salt and coriander in the water and then slow long cooking.
I eat lots of salads in the summer but in the winter I have a veggie steamer. I love rosemary and I grew a ton of it this summer. I put a sprig of it in just about anything I cook for flavor: the rice, the beans, the steamed veggies, etc.
Once and a while there is no time to cook so I have these frozen back up "chickenish" boca burgers. I steam them in water so the breading falls off and then eat them with no sugar salsa on top. It is very good and filling. Not the best but sometimes we are "in a pinch" if you know what I mean.
I'm with you in that I do want to do all of this natually and train my body to not have those late cravings. 21 days sounds good to me! Lets do it!!!
Right now, my goal is 140 and I'd be happy with that. EVerything in the closet would be comfortable.
Let me know if you find out anything else that works. I like the idea of the workout when starting to get cravings.

moldlady

YAY!! We can absolutely do it...I really want to commit myself to living and eating healthier. As of right now I am unsure of all that I am allergic or intolerant to. I am getting a scratch test done next week monday so once the results come back from that I might know a little better what I need to stay away from. As of now I try to avoid dairy red meats and also eggs for the most part.

I don't think I eat as many grains as I should and the reason being is that I am a really awful cook..but I love your slow cooker recipes with the beans and rice! Beans are one of my favorite foods so I would certainly try to make that one.

So mainly proteins from fish, chicken, pork and turkey. Veggies of any and every sort and some fruits to cater a little to my sweet tooth. Another thing I do is get popcorn 100 cal snack size bags...whenever I feel like I need a salty crunch I will eat one of those. I live a very busy lifestyle so between working fulltime, going to college and now the gym (I also have a boyfriend) I am always on the move but most times during the day I can get to a microwave so making something in a large quantity and package it for many different mini meals since thats what I am aiming for. I eat almost 6x a day but try to keep it to about 200-300cals like I said because I need it to keep me going but I never over eat!

I am excited...so today I had 2 mini gluten-free pancakes w/jelly and a small banana for breakfast. Lunch will be my rotisserie chicken I am still trying to finish and I have some dried fruit and tuna for a snack so we will see how that goes. Feel free to let me know what your eating...it really gives me a lot of ideas Thanks moldlady (sorry for mispelling it before.) Good luck today.

-staci

Staci, This lasts for all week for me once I make it.

4 BEAN SALAD
4 cans beans (mix types) drain well put in crock on low fill up with water and cook over night on low drain water and refill again cook 6 hrs. on low drain water off and now the beans are gas free and ready for the salad. Blend dressing/marinade in blender except for the raw stuff. (Sometimes I use the pinto beans mixed with hot peppers.)
Blender:
2/3 c. grape seed oil (or olive oil)
1/3 c. lemon juice or ACV
¼ t. oregano
1 t. sage ¼ t. rosemary
¼ t. thyme ¼ t. tumeric
2 T. braggs aminos (1 t. sea salt) 2 t. chili powder (no salt)

Add to beans:
1 raw green pepper chopped 4 chopped garlic cloves (or 2 t. granules)
1 can diced tomatoes drained or fresh 1 med. Raw onion
1 can or fresh chilis

pour dressing over beans mix carefully with big spoon and set in frig. overnite
Now I cook up 1/4 brown rice in 1 cup of water for 45 min. with sprig of rosemary and then drain when done to get all the moisture out.

This lasts for all week for me in the frig.

I know its been a few days but thanks for the recipe...I have noticed I have to eat more frequently and almost continuously throughout the day. I have stayed far far away from my typical candies for the last week and a half and I have felt really good about it but what do you think about joining weight watchers? I am thinking this might help structure my food and calorie intake...what do u think?

-staci

Hi Staci,
Well, I gave up my midnight hard boiled eggs and after 3 nights I'm finally sleeping good. So, I guess we can train our bodies after all.
I posted some more recipes on the candida thread if you want to check those out. I made some of them up myself and one my Dad made up. Help yourself and hopefully we can eat well and be satisfied. It does take some effort to cook from scratch but the payoff of being healthy is worth it don't you think?
My brother does weightwatchers and it works for him but then he eats everything. :-)

moldlady

I sympathize with you so much, because I struggle with that all the time. Don't feel hungry in the morning, but in the evening I can't stop eating and then go to bed overly full and have trouble with sleep...I'm newly diagnosed with celiac, and I do think that going off gluten will really help.

Something that's helped me lately is information I read in Fuhrman's Eat to Live: seriously eat fruits and vegetables, for fiber, fiber, fiber. Now, instead of eating nothing for breakfast, I eat fruit. An apple does it for me, but in reality, I can eat as much of it as I want.

Then for other meals, he says to eat LARGE amounts of fresh (1 LB/head of lettuce) and cooked green vegetables (1 LB) before eating anything else. In your case, cooked would still be OK. Fruits and vegetables take up so much more room in the stomach and this will fill it up and also suppress appetite. And they are so much lower in calories than the other stuff I would rather eat!

I'm definitely not a vegetable lover, so I just put the salad on my plate and eat it like medicine, but it gets in there, and within a couple of days the cravings really start to diminish.

The comfort is that after I eat my medicine, I can have whatever I want. But after a few days, I don't desire as much of the other stuff.

Something to think about, anyway!

Here's my experience and observations with myself.

1. I am very very VERY carb sensitive. Eating much in the way of carbs really sets off bad eating across an entire day, and especially at night.

2. My appetite, my desire for bad stuff, my night eating, it's all nicely controlled by a fairly careful Atkins type diet. I don't eat a ton of fat, but I eat enough fat and protein to apparently quelch my appetite, no pills needed.

Here's a sample of a day's eating:

BREAKFAST...virtually always the same thing. A half grapefruit. A couple of eggs, alternating between scrambled and fried, sometimes poached, plus either 2 pieces of bacon or 2 pieces of Canadian bacon. I use butter or coconut oil to cook the stuff in. Not a lot, but I use it. Sometimes I'll include a couple of cherry tomatoes, some avocado slices. Green tea. Water. My daily treat: A cappuccino (I got a machine) made with half and half. The coffee REALLY helps keep the appetite down. Amazingly so. But I only have this one cappuccino a day....and never late in the day or I'd be unable to get to sleep! I don't feel hyped up at all from this one coffee, but it definitely blunts my appetite because I notice a difference when I don't have the coffee.

This breakfast keeps me full for ages....I could easily go until mid afternoon on this, and I often end up missing lunch because I'm not hungry and forget about lunch. Between breakfast and the next meal, I'm drinking water, sometimes I have another green tea.

LUNCH: (if I have it). Usually a small salad which includes things like lettuce, a couple of cherry tomatoes, cucumber, a few slices of carrot, sunflower seeds, 1T of a homemade extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar. I'll put a sliced boiled egg on it for protein if I've remembered to boil eggs. ALSO....to get more protein I'll have 2 or 3 oz. of deli type turkey or ham. Sometimes 1 or 2 oz. cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese. WATER, perhaps green tea.

DINNER: Some sort of meat several times a week: Chicken, fish, occasionally a steak. 4 oz or so. Either another small salad, or more likely, some sort of veggie or veggie mix with things like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus, sqauash. Butter on the veggies. Yum! Sometimes a tablespoon of sour cream with the veggies. Yum!

What I don't eat: Drinks other than green tea and water. I guzzle Perrier water because I love the fizz (it has great flavor and fizz)...especially the lime Perrier. It's wonderful and has completely replaced any desire for cokes etc. A couple of times a week I may have 4 to 6 oz. of red wine with dinner. That's my big splurge.

I don't eat any sugar. Period. No bread or grains. No rice. No starches such as potatoes or corn, etc. The gluten free goodies did me in. They are full of sugar and they are generally very very fattening. Best to ditch them entirely if you want to lose weight.

This sounds boring I'm sure, but honestly, for me it's a pleasant way to control hunger, control binging and carb cravings, keep calories fairly low naturally, feel great, avoid gluten, and so on. I've found that I lose weight easier when my food choices are fairly limited. The more adventurous I get with recipes and food, the more I eat, the more my appetite is stimulated, the more likely I am to eating something I shouldn't. Sad but true.

The MINUTE I have a carb hit all bets are off. This morning I had pancakes made from that Pamela's mix and sugar free syrup .....that breakfast was a major carb hit and I had one junky thing after another today as a result. Maybe not everyone is as carb sensitive as I am, but I suspect many people ARE, and hence the cravings and out of control eating. The best thing I do for myself is start my day with the above described egg/meat breakfast without carbs other than perhaps a half grapefruit.

I've noticed that when I indulge, it's NEVER NEVER NEVER about hunger. It's about liking the taste of whatever I indulge in. This is why it's so darn hard to control this type of eating. For me, the above outlined way of eating keeps me in control. After a day of rotten eating like today, I'll be back to my Atkins style tomorrow. And I'll feel better for it.

I'm about 155 or so now, I'd like to be 135 (I'm 5'7"). It's a real challenge to lose anything. My calories are usually around 1000 to 1200--not by design, it just ends up that way. I have really suppressed hunger on Atkins and I can't eat a lot volume wise. I exercise, I ski a lot, but the weight loss is still a challenge. I'm always looking for tricks too, but from everything I've read there are NO diet pills that do anything at all of note except make your wallet lighter and jack up your nervous system. I did Atkins once for 6 weeks and I was very strict with it, and the weight just dropped off magically and easily....I wasn't even exercising at that time because I'd sprained my shoulder & broken a rib in a ski fall. So I lost the weight purely from the diet. No hunger, I felt superb (one reason was because I was having no grains and no dairy, both of which I later learned I shouldn't eat).

Great tips!
I don't eat meat but eggs occasionally and I've found that they do help out.

ML