How to Beat that Carb Addiction

We love to hate carbohydrates. They are delicious comfort foods, and many people find them addicting.

Are you a Carbohydrate Addict?

Answer these questions to find out:

1. After eating a full breakfast, do you get hungrier before it is lunch time than you would if you had skipped breakfast altogether?

2. Do you get tiered after eating a large meal, or find that you are sluggish and/or hungry in the afternoon?

3. Have you been on diet after diet, only to regain the weight you lost?

4. Does stress, boredom, and tiredness make you want to eat?

5. Do you sometimes feel you aren't satisfied, even though you just finished a meal?

6. Do you find it harder to take off weight- and keep it off- than when you were younger?

If you answered "YES" to 2 of these questions, you are probably mildly carbo-addicted.

If you answered "YES" to 3-4 of these questions, you are likely to be moderately carbo-addicted.

If you answered "YES" to 5-6 of these questions, you probably have a severe carbohydrate addiction that may be greatly affecting your life.

You can manage your carbohydrate addiction so that you can lose weight and be healthy for the rest of your life- without feeling deprived or struggling to manage your eating patterns and your weight.

The following plan is from "The World's Greatest Treasury of Health Secrets" (2005), and worked for 80% of the 1,000 carbohydrate-addicted patients they consulted at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

You can have your CARBS and eat them too, once a day, to prevent the release of excessive amounts of insulin.

Carbo-rich foods include: breads, grains, cereals, ice cream, milk, yogurt, fruit and fruit juices, lunch meats, pasta, noodles, rice, snack foods, sweets, and starchy vegetables(beets, carrots,zucchini, corn, tomatoes, peas and potatoes).

Craving-reducing foods: red meat, poultry, fish, cheese, oils, tofu, fats, dressings, non starchy vegetables (brusselsprouts, green beans, peppers, lettuce, asparagus, broccoli and mushrooms).

The Basic Plan

Eat one balanced "Reward Meal" everyday for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The meal should consist of

• two cups of fresh salad
• one-third craving reducing protein (meat,fish,cheese,eggs,tofu)
• one-third starchy vegetables
• one-third carbohydrate rich foods

*Use good sense, and listen to your body when sizing the portions.

Complete your "Reward Meal" within one hour. Otherwise your body will be hungry all over again.

Eat only craving-reducing foods at all other meals and snacks.

Consult with a doctor before starting any diet or exercise plan. Follow the program for two weeks, you should notice a lessening of your cravings. If you don't, try to adjust the program- for example, you may need to eat between-meal snacks...adjust the servings sizes of your meals, or add nutritional supplements and other dietary supplements to your plan.

Source: "The World's Greatest Treasury of Health Secrets" 2005 Bottom Line Publications (Pg. 343) Print.