Low-carb diets support thread

elantan

thanks everyone for your thoughts and advice ... i know it is going to be hard and i know that i have to get off of night shift but until i do i still need to get healthy ... i have been night shift for a long long time now and it is hard i have never got used to it ... i have also been actively looking for a job since last july but there is nothing in my field that isnt shift work sadly

Edwardia my husband doesn't leave things lying around ... he keeps the chocolate in the fridge so that it is nice and cold for him to enjoy ... i can sit and stare at it till the cows come home and not want it whilst i am not craving ... but when i am ... i want it

it's one of those annoying things

thanks for the idea about the glasses padstow i do wear dark sunglasses in summer ... but it might be a good idea to wear them when i am on my way home from night shift

i will get there but it is just going to take time and alot of tweeking i think

but it does need to be dealt with ... i cant go on the way i have been

Padstow

elantan wrote: »

thanks everyone for your thoughts and advice ... i know it is going to be hard and i know that i have to get off of night shift but until i do i still need to get healthy ... i have been night shift for a long long time now and it is hard i have never got used to it ... i have also been actively looking for a job since last july but there is nothing in my field that isnt shift work sadly

Edwardia my husband doesn't leave things lying around ... he keeps the chocolate in the fridge so that it is nice and cold for him to enjoy ... i can sit and stare at it till the cows come home and not want it whilst i am not craving ... but when i am ... i want it

it's one of those annoying things

thanks for the idea about the glasses padstow i do wear dark sunglasses in summer ... but it might be a good idea to wear them when i am on my way home from night shift

i will get there but it is just going to take time and alot of tweeking i think

but it does need to be dealt with ... i cant go on the way i have been

I hate to be nagging like a mum elantan, but shouldn't you be in bed by now? You're here at nearly 11 am and on a computer stimulating your brain instead of relaxing.
Bad girl, go to bed!!

avstar

Elantin, def night shifts play havoc with your weight and carb cravings. The body craves carbs when it's tired to try and get a quick boost of energy.

Def get some earplugs if you haven't already, I can't sleep without them now as Mr Avstar's snoring is so bad. Also I've found that they subconsciously tell me to go to sleep, when I put the ear plugs in, my body knows it's sleep time.

Are you getting enough protein & fat, that makes you feel full for longer so might help with cravings.

And can you distract yourself when the cravings begin? Brush you r teeth. Paint your nails? The smell of the polish and the fact you can't pick anything up for half an hour might mean you can get past the craving.

Good luck in the job hunting too!

Yesterday went Ok.

Brekkie - homemade toasted oat & nut muesli
lunch - a very orange salad of half sweet potato, pepper, raw carrot & Mex cheese (spicy!)...bit of lonely lettuce looking all green & awkward like a gratecrasher :rotfl:
Dinner - Roast chicken legs & thighs, salad & corn on the cob

PS - my other half is carb king! I'm used to the fact there's !!!! in the cupboards, as long as the packet is unopen it doesn't tempt me. Luckily he doesn't tend to leave things half eaten. The biggest struggle is he always has cheese on toast when I make a fry up... must resist!

daska

elantan - could you perhaps find ways that make it less easy for you to give in but still let him have stuff he wants to hand? Perhaps replace his treats with things which are less easy to grab and stuff e.g. I still make bread but I slice and freeze it so that it isn't a. in view or b. needs toasting before eating. Could he replace his mars bar with a spoon of sugar in his coffee? Could you get him to watch The Skinny on Obesity episode on sugar? It might help him to understand that sugar works on the same part of the brain as other addictive substances.

SHEILA54

elantan - I have done night shifts and they definitely play havoc with eating, sleeping and general wellbeing. You just get used to a sleep pattern and then you have to shift back to night sleeping and then back again to day. Hated every minute of it so understand.

Personally I am not like some others as I have certain snacks that I really enjoy and space them through the day so that I have something to look forward to. My snacks happen to be an almond pancake with 2oz raspberries and a little cream, 10g 70 - 85% chocolate, handful of nuts or seeds some days and a lactofree milk cocoa at bedtime. I allow for them in my 40 - 50g carb allowance. However I am fortunate in that I don't have to worry about diabetes or sugar spikes.
I did find that when I made low carb chocolate cakes I scoffed the lot in one day so haven't made them again but the whole was only 18 carbs so I suppose it wasn't too bad. It must be your decision but this just helps me as I have been at it for a year now. This combination also helps with fibre which helps keep you going

Mojisola

elantan wrote: »

thanks for the idea about the glasses padstow i do wear dark sunglasses in summer ... but it might be a good idea to wear them when i am on my way home from night shift

Some dark glasses will actually make things worse. You need to cut out the blue light to get your brain ready for sleep.

These are an example - https://www.optimalowvision.co.uk/product.cfm?ds=optima_content&prod=2151&dept=2134 You might feel you're an extra in an episode of Star Trek but I know someone who has sleep problems who has found them very beneficial. Google for other versions.

I don't know whether they would be alright for driving but you could use them as soon as you arrived home. Keep them on until you get into bed or else have a red bulb in the bedroom - yes, I can hear all the jokes, too! - but it could just be in the bedside lamp.

A light box used when you get up would complete the process. This is a useful blog - http://insearchofmornings.wordpress.com/tag/darkness-therapy/

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/melatonin-and-sleep
A key factor in how human sleep is regulated is exposure to light or to darkness. Exposure to light stimulates a nerve pathway from the retina in the eye to an area in the brain called the hypothalamus. There, a special center called the supra-chiasmatic nucleus (SCN) initiates signals to other parts of the brain that control hormones, body temperature and other functions that play a role in making us feel sleepy or wide awake.

The SCN works like a clock that sets off a regulated pattern of activities that affect the entire body. Once exposed to the first light each day, the clock in the SCN begins performing functions like raising body temperature and releasing stimulating hormones like cortisol. The SCN also delays the release of other hormones like melatonin, which is associated with sleep onset, until many hours later when darkness arrives.

elantan

Padstow wrote: »

I hate to be nagging like a mum elantan, but shouldn't you be in bed by now? You're here at nearly 11 am and on a computer stimulating your brain instead of relaxing.
Bad girl, go to bed!!

I would normally agree with u but i am off nights just now ... I not only do nights i also do different days each week ... Just to confuse things even more lol

Minihauk

elantan wrote: »

daska thank you for your kind words ... it is alcohol he is getting to grips with ... i dont drink alcohol so he knows that wouldnt happen ... i think the thing with an alcohol addiction as well is that alot of people that have it are also addicted to sugar, he has managed to cut the alcohol right down to an acceptable level for us but the sugar addiction has went up

Elantan - I am half way through reading Potatoes not Prozac. It is aimed at people who are sugar sensitive, but the author was the child of alcoholic parents who had many problems. She devoted herself to help recovering alcoholics, but was saddened by the poor recovery rate. She did lots of research and study and the book is the result of it. The alcohol and sugar are related according to her.
It makes interesting reading - even when lc-ing if I eat just a little sugar I can't stop for about a month!

Well, I have stuck to the plan with the exception of drinking tea with milk, and have lost no more weight. I'm sure the tea must be stalling me (lost 2.5 lbs the first week, but none since). I'm off on hols in 10 days, and will aim to stick with it even when away. I know I'm doing the right thing for my body, but it is desheartening when the weight won't shift.:think:

elantan

Mojisola wrote: »

Some dark glasses will actually make things worse. You need to cut out the blue light to get your brain ready for sleep.

These are an example - https://www.optimalowvision.co.uk/product.cfm?ds=optima_content&prod=2151&dept=2134 You might feel you're an extra in an episode of Star Trek but I know someone who has sleep problems who has found them very beneficial. Google for other versions.

I don't know whether they would be alright for driving but you could use them as soon as you arrived home. Keep them on until you get into bed or else have a red bulb in the bedroom - yes, I can hear all the jokes, too! - but it could just be in the bedside lamp.

A light box used when you get up would complete the process. This is a useful blog - http://insearchofmornings.wordpress.com/tag/darkness-therapy/

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/melatonin-and-sleep
A key factor in how human sleep is regulated is exposure to light or to darkness. Exposure to light stimulates a nerve pathway from the retina in the eye to an area in the brain called the hypothalamus. There, a special center called the supra-chiasmatic nucleus (SCN) initiates signals to other parts of the brain that control hormones, body temperature and other functions that play a role in making us feel sleepy or wide awake.

The SCN works like a clock that sets off a regulated pattern of activities that affect the entire body. Once exposed to the first light each day, the clock in the SCN begins performing functions like raising body temperature and releasing stimulating hormones like cortisol. The SCN also delays the release of other hormones like melatonin, which is associated with sleep onset, until many hours later when darkness arrives.

Thanks very much for the info .. I'm on my phone just now ( out for lunch with a friend ) i will look into that info when i get home

I do have a sad light as i noticed years ago that being night shift and seeing no sun for months was not good for my $ental health ... It is the blue one as well so that might do

Thanks again

Padstow

elantan wrote: »

I would normally agree with u but i am off nights just now ... I not only do nights i also do different days each week ... Just to confuse things even more lol

Don't worry elantan, I won't be policing you, I was just concerned.:)