I just can’t quit eating. I’m supposed to be on this diet (you eat a lot of cabbage with every meal, and it’s supposed to keep you full…), but I’m craving more sweets than I was before I was on the diet. Please help!!!! (Male, 43)

Curbing the urge to eat is a universal problem and there is no one clear cut answer.  In general, low sugar levels increase the urge to eat. When you eat a lot of sugary foods it increases secretion of insulin, which then drops the levels of sugar which again stimulates food cravings. One of the ways to stop food cravings is to keep yourself from getting very hungry all the time. Skipping meals is not an ideal solution, because it ends up increasing your food cravings because of the drop in blood sugar.

One approach to increasing satiety during meals is to ensure that you eat an abundance of high-volume low-calorie foods that fill up your stomach. These foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and a variety of low calorie brothy soups.

Another approach is to eat slowly, being aware of what you are eating and enjoying the foods. Some individuals find that slow eating helps curb the urge to eat more food later.

One may also want to eat several small meals a day rather than three big meals. This ensures that the sugar levels are constant and the cravings are diminished. If one feels hungry in between the meals, snack on a piece of fruit or vegetable. Make sure you drink plenty of water all day.   

Often a person can find healthier alternative snack foods. For example, if a person is craving sweets, he or she could try eating sugar-free chocolate products (like the ones made by Weight Watchers), which contain less than 50-75 calories per snack. In addition, people can avoid sugary snacks by keeping them out of their homes. Fruit often makes a great substitute for snacks full of processed sugar.

Finally, there are times when none of these approaches work. In such cases one may want to seek help from a dietician or a weight management professional. The urge to eat is difficult to stop but if you do overeat, combine it with regular exercise. Finally, there are some medications that may suppress your appetite if you really have weight problems.

Low carb diet- not that great for cholesterol!

While a low carbohydrate diet may help you lose weight, it may not be good for your blood cholesterol. A recent study showed that individuals who ate a diet low in carbs but relatively high in fat had the same amount of weight loss over 6 weeks as individuals who consumed a high carb diet.


What was shocking was that the level of bad cholesterol (LDL) also significantly increased in individuals who ate the low carb diet. The bad cholesterol is a risk factor for heart attacks, stroke and can clog up blood vessels in many other parts of the body.

Low carb diets are quite popular because there are reports that it may help lower blood sugars and help reduce weight.

However, this is the first study to show that low carb diets may not be as good as the high carb diets. Other finding of the study was that in the low carb diet group there was a greater release of free fatty acids into the blood stream. It is well known that high levels of free fatty acids make it very difficult for the liver to process and store glucose, which then raises blood sugar.

These data show that low carb diets with high fat may not be ideal for people who want to lose weight and those who are diabetic.

With so many diets being proposed on a weekly basis, the consumer is best advised to use a common sense approach- walk every day, do not smoke and eat healthy.

Shangri la diet- Diet plan which makes no sense: Part 1

One of the exotic diets created by a Dr Roberts (not an MD) is the Shangri la diet. The diet is claimed to diminish the urge to eat by resetting the appetite center in the brain. Dr Roberts claims that this can very simply be done by drinking a little bit of sugar water or a tiny bit of extra olive oil during mealtime. Once you do this, the appetite center in the brain will immediately sense that you are full and your appetite will decrease.

Dr Roberts does acknowledge that losing weight is tough and no method really works but now he has the magic formula -just some olive oil or sugar water. Dr Roberts says that over time, the appetite center is reset and you become thin.

Well, there are a few unanswered questions for Dr Roberts. Do you have any evidence for this? Nope. Is there anything published anywhere that supports your theory? Nope. Does it work? Nope. Do you know where the appetite center is? Nope. Do you know what triggers the appetite center? Nope. Do you know where the brain is? Nope. Do you know what the brain is? Nope. Therefore, all we have so far is some theory without any proof and Dr Roberts own testimony that he lost weight with this approach.