L-glutamine and PMS/CARB CRAVINGS!!!

[goin2befit]

I should be a pro by now, but I'm realizing I'm fighting my own stubbornness battle!!! I often don't eat on plan and have talked to a couple of long term members adjusted this or that... and honestly, I think I'm just neglecting a few important FACTS!!!

1. I don't take a multivitamin or any vitamin at all. I know it is part of the book. I also have a bottle in the cabinet that I did buy without iron... and my "attitude" towards it is, I don't need it I eat healthy now.. .well, even healthy maybe, just maybe I'm not getting it all in and that is why I have horrible cravings.

2. PMS... that is right. I'm on Yaz birthcontrol and often wonder if it is the cause of not loosing weight "as fast as I want" or what. Today, day 2 of my menses... I am like a bull chasing a red flag (eating off plan today) and I'm finding I just go back to the kitchen for more and more. This also happens sometimes MID-CYCLE as to when I would have been ovulating...

Now what I am thinking is IF 2 times a month my cravings are so intense and I go off plan, get all the carbs back in my system.. I need 3-5 days of cleaning eatting to get back on track, just to repeat this horrible cycle... No wonder I'm only loosing at a snails pace (by the way I'm happy with my weight loss... don't get me wrong... I just wish I could do better!)

So has anyone used the L-glutamine. How do I use it if I want to use it? Do I have to take it daily or can I use it during those "times" that I think I'm needing it? Does it work instantly???? How much can I have a day?

I'm doing this slow and steady and learning more about it every day. In the book it just says 500-1000 mg of L-glutamine before meals and/or when cravings are greatest.

THANKS SO MUCH,
Amanda
P.s.... I took my vitamin today!

[Georgiana]

just maybe I'm not getting it all in and that is why I have horrible cravings.

I'm not quite sure about the cravings... I wouldn't blame them on not taking a multivitamin. If you want to share a menu, we can take a look.

How many calories are you consuming?

How many net carbs from vegetables?

not loosing weight "as fast as I want"

Maybe "as fast as you want" is not realistic?

eating off plan today

EATEN, I hope. Not "eating". Put the junk away. Get some veggies, protein and fat. That will keep stabilize your blood sugar and help control the cravings.

This also happens sometimes MID-CYCLE as to when I would have been ovulating...

Not unusual. But it's not a reason to cheat. You need to have a plan for such days. Does eating off plan help? My bet is that it doesn't.

So has anyone used the L-glutamine. How do I use it if I want to use it? Do I have to take it daily or can I use it during those "times" that I think I'm needing it? Does it work instantly???? How much can I have a day?

Never took this, sorry.

P.s.... I took my vitamin today!

[atkinsgal08]

>>I just wish I could do better!>>

I suspect you're been "wishing" for a while now.

Why not try "planning" ... it works better than "wishing" in my experience.

[adreliluc]

Hi there!
Well first off, L- Glutamine doesn't work as a cure-all, nor is it a diet pill... So don't expect it to work some kind of special magic.

I do use L-Glutamine and have pretty much since I started this WOE.
As it says on the bottle and I think in the book as well (don't have it with me here at work) but you take it about an hour before you eat. The amount you should take is the 500-1000 mg. I don't take it every day, but the first sign of cravings (thanks to TOM grrr lol) I start taking it. 1 - 2 times a day. Mine are 1000 mg. I also get mad cravings about mid-cycle (grr lol), and I take my vitamins and I do eat a bit more during that time too - I just eat the right foods.

It also helps to take it with chromium picolinate, these do help me with cravings during TOM. I really do get it really bad too so I feel for ya lol.

However, it's important for you to realize that the more you 'cheat' and eat crap the more your body is going to crave those foods. The more you cave and eat those foods the harder it's going to be for you to stay strong, fight the cravings and see results. You're not only losing the battle of the bulge that way but also the battle of mind over matter. Most of what you're experiencing is head hunger. When the urge to pig-out comes you just stop and refocus. If you have to eat something, eat some protein with fat and drink some water... and chill out until it goes away (I promise it will go away!). lol

I also doubt that not taking your vitamin is causing cravings - I think it's very obviously due to you continually going off plan.

I don't understand the mindset at all of going off plan for even a day. Some people try to follow Atkins 5 or 6 days a week having a free day or weekend... honestly, that's just dumb! I don't want to come off rude at all but you're just hurting yourself when you do that. And making this WOE that much harder for you to stick to. It's people like that who don't see results or even gain weight, can't understand why it's not working and then give Atkins a bad name. That is NOT Atkins and if you read the book and fully understood the fundamentals of this WOE you wouldn't want to 'cheat' at all. And you'd understand those cravings a little better. I know it's hard but it gets easier. But it'll never get easier if you don't get on track..

Anyway, you could do a lot better if you stuck to the diet 100% and you'd make it a LOT easier on yourself if you did!!

Good luck!

[meow]

I take Chromium and Biotin. Those reduce the carb cravings for me.
That midpoint craving, when you would have been ovulating, has no physical reason, unless you just started the Yaz this very month. You ovulation is suppressed completely, and you do not have the hormone shift that might cause cravings. I took Yaz for years, and had no trouble losing weight because of it. My reasons were other things...like eating Just One Cookie. More diet soda than water. The truth hurts! But the truth will set you free

[adreliluc]

As everyone is different, I'd say it could be possible she's having mid-month symptoms. Nobody knows there.
But no matter what, the crap will lead to cravings no matter what.

The truth does hurt. lol
It'd be great if we could eat what ever we want and be shinning happy skinny people holdng hands (or not holding hands hehe)... but alas, our bodies are not made for the Americanized standard diet. poo. lol

[goin2befit]

Thanks SO MUCH... especially Adreliluc... I believe in what you said 100%. I have read the book and even re-reading it again right now. It seems each time I read it, I find something I missed the first time, second, or even third time... (some sections I have read numerous times). Put aside the weight loss and believe you me, I never want to eat another way. I feel alive when eating this way. I feel strong, my asthma symptoms resides, my lungs feel big, my fatigue is mostly gone, I look vibrant.... so yes, no need to tell you all the benefits. I'm sure you all know by now.

I guess that is where I'm getting stuck and Pi**ed off at myself and I am thinking maybe it is just not me. I did take a picture of me today of how "sluggish" I looked and I am going to print it and remark how I felt today.

I also read in the book...pg 136... introduction supplements for everyone and it clearly states, "If you have sugar cravings, you should also take 500 mg of L-glutamine (one or two tablets) prior to each meal, ..."

Obviously, I would believe Dr. Atkins had met someone like me

I know I have some self-esteem issues and still have emotional eating issues. Nothing will take those things away except for the mind over matter, time, and nurturing myself... but at the same time, if there is something I can do to help the cravings, then why not!!!

Thanks again.

[adreliluc]

Sounds like you're in the right state of mind girl!
You can do it!!
And sad to say, emotional eating, stress eating, social eating (I have all of these problems too!! lol) - they don't go away! I was stupid when I first lost my weight, it happend so fast I never stopped to 'work on things'. I thought "I lost it, great! - I'm done, just eat right and work out and I'm good"... oooh no... the issues are still there, so it comes down to just workin' it everyday!
Sucks but we gotta do what we gotta do, right?
In the end it's SOOOOO worth it! (I promise!)

And I hear ya about reading new things in the book. My book has been my nightly reading most nights (since I started! lol) and sometimes I'll turn to my hubby and say "omg I don't know how i missed this but....*fill in blank*'.
It's all a work in progress.

I like the idea of taking a picture of the 'bad' days. I write in my journal when I feel/did bad but the pic can really bring it home and remind yourself of where you're at and where you want to go.
I might do that too!!

Sorry, I know I write a lot... I'm a major chit-chatter! hehe.

[Sherri]

So has anyone used the L-glutamine. How do I use it if I want to use it? Do I have to take it daily or can I use it during those "times" that I think I'm needing it? Does it work instantly???? How much can I have a day?

I'm doing this slow and steady and learning more about it every day. In the book it just says 500-1000 mg of L-glutamine before meals and/or when cravings are greatest.

THANKS SO MUCH,
Amanda
P.s.... I took my vitamin today!

Hi Amanda, waves
I have used L-Glutamine and have found it to be very effective in helping with sweet cravings. The thing is about sweet cravings is it's best to stomp it out completely by not feeding your cravings sweets, even the legal ones.
I, being a sugar addict, know only to well how easy it is to feed into the beast that raises it's ugly head. Best to cut the head off intirely and go without. L-Glutamine will help one do just that. Be consistant with taking it along with being consistant with your woe, exercise and water and you'll be able to tell a big difference after a few days. Just keep taking the L-Glutamine.
Remember, slow and steady wins the race. When you fall off, just get back up and brush yourself off and keep pushing forward.
Wishing you the best of health and lite
Sherri AKA Motherearth xoxox


Here is some information regarding L-glutamine for you. It will help you understand how L-glutamine works and what dose to take each day. My experience with swwet cravings is to not feed them, but rather starve it out by not feeding it with sweetness.
Sherri
permalink (night time sugar cravings) (night time sugar cravings)

L-Glutamine!
It's best to starve out the taste for sweetness by not feeding it. After not eating any sweetness, the cravings go away in about a week. As long as you continue to eat sweetness, you'll crave it. Moderation is key to eating any kind of sweetness. First you must get your addiction under control.
I'm a sugar addict and am a believer of L-Glutamine and it's effects on stopping sugar cravings. I wanted to share this info I have regarding this wonderful amino acid. I take it in capsule form and find it very effective.
Sherri


Take L-Glutamine (not glutamic acid). to help control "irresistable" cravings for sweets. Begin with 1 200mg capsul or tablet(I take gel capsule form) three times a day for one week. Then INCREASE the dose to 2 capsuls or tablets three times a day for one week.
After two weeks, if you feel more alert, more energetic, and have lost your craving for sweets, you can then experiment with the amount of L-Glutamine you take until you find the best level for you.

This is how L-Glutamine works-
Through nutritional magic and by the use of L-glutamine, a form of glumatic acid which the brain consumes for energy, we can feed the brain and quiet its craving for sweets.
Because L-glutamine can cross the brain barrier easily, and the brain can take it and quickly convert it into glumatic acid, if you take L-glutamine in supplemental form the brain will be able to satisfy its hunger more easily.
Glumatic acid serves primarily as a fuel for the brain's operation and as a buffer against excess amonia.
The relationship of glumatic acid to glucose (blood sugar) goes beyond the brain-fuel interrelationship. Since the brain can store only a small amount of glucose, it is very dependent on the second-to-second supply of blood sugar which may explain dizziness and other nervous symptoms that accompany hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
The grey matter in the brain converts glumatic acid to a special compound that helps regulate brain cell activity. Thus, a shortage of L-glutamine in the diet, and of glumatic acid in the brain, can result in brain damage due to excess ammonia or a brain that cannot get into "high gear."
The stress of the dieting can lead some people who are not nessesarily fond of alcohol to drink a lot more than usual in an effort to control the stress level they feel.
Also, since alcohol is metabolized very quickly, it is converted to brain fuel, and during your diet your brain can feel hungry and ask for a drink. If you answer it's request and continue to do so you can do more than just wreck your diet program.
Dr. Roger Williams, along with his colleagues at Clayton Foundation for Research at the University of Texas, made the vital discovery that not only did L-glutamine protect against poisonous effects of alcohol, it also controlled or stopped completely the craving for it.
L-glutamine is a versitile amino acid that can contribute to your diet program if, on your way to your best weight level, you suffer from any of these problems described.
L-glutamine is an excellent supplement to curb the cravings for sweetness and alcohol

[Barbde]

I have L-glutamine in a powder form that I just mix with a glass of water. For me it has always worked great. I used to take the pill form regularly but my son brought me the powder and I prefer it. Works much faster.