A Low Carb Diet Cured My Hunger Pangs

I've been very hesitant the past decade about trying the low carb diet. It just sounded kinda gimmicky to me. But after a couple years of unsuccessful dieting (low calories...low fat) despite working out hard three times a week, I finally gave in and decided to give it a shot. The first week was agony - I had these intense visceral cravings for carbs and it seemed like 99% of the food out there was made from some form of refined grain or sugar. Two weeks into it and all of a sudden my cravings are gone. You could put a giant piece of chocolate cake in front of me, and I wouldn't even have a desire to eat it. This is the first time IN MY LIFE that i can remember not feeling hungry....at all, it's almost unreal. I think that maybe carbs were causing insulin highs and lows and that somehow made me really hungry all the time...but who knows. Was I carb intolerant? Do I have insulin resistance? Whatever it is, it's working...and I feel good and full of energy, and most amazingly not hungry despite eating half the calories I used to. Just wondering if there were people out there with similar experiences.

I also wanted to comment on society's perception of overweight individuals. So I have always felt this intense shame that I wasn't able to overcome my hunger pangs, I believed that it was a character flaw and that had I a stronger will and self control, that I'd be able to overcome my weight issues. In all other areas of my life I am extremely disciplined. I study and work 20 hours a day and I work out hard three times a week. I never miss a day of class, and have been working my butt off everyday for the past 10 years to get into the graduate program of my dreams. Does not being able to lose weight still make me a lazy slob?

While it's true that anyone that sticks to a strict calorie restriction regime will eventually lose weight, I don't think it necessarily leads to a higher quality of life. I know several people that have lost weight successfully through weight watchers that tell me they go to bed extremely hungry each night in order to stay thin, and they're miserable because of it. Hunger is a primal bodily drive, it's like going thirsty everyday forever or having to pee all the time for the rest of your life. I truly believe that when your mind tries to fight your body the body will always win in the long run. And yet, in our society, not eating in spite of extreme hunger is extolled as a virtue.

Moreover I believe that that the harshest critics are people that don't and never have had such intense hunger....or have never had to battle with a metabolic disorder.

Not being hungry for the first time in my life really got me thinking the past few days. Now that I'm not fighting an uphill battle with my body, it's easy for me to "choose" not to overindulge. I just do what my mind tells me to. Sure, I COULD stuff myself after a long workout...and it would be fun, but I'm able to tell me body no now much more easily. I'm down 8 pounds already...and very hopeful!

I just wanted people to keep in mind that there are much larger issues than a simple matter of self control when it comes to weight control. Telling a hungry person to "just not eat" because overeating is slobbish, disgusting and not rational does nothing but lower their sense of self worth.

Thanks for listening to my rant :)