Things I've learned...

[Lemming]

I've been doing JUDDD for about 6 weeks. I'm doing DD's of 1000 cal and UD's of, well, I don't usually count! Supposed to be about 2300, though. I had a nice initial loss of 6-7 pounds, then went to visit my parents for a few days and got quite carried away with the UD's. The "carried away" has continued, and I"m currently stuck at about 6 pounds down. I'm only trying to lose 10-15 total, though, so that's OK.

What's been interesting is what I've learned from JUDDD. I've always known that I have binge-eating tendencies, I react poorly to processed carbs, etc. In the course of my last couple weeks of 1000 cal DD's and "almost crossing the line into binge territory" UD's, though, I've learned more about myself.

I've learned that I actually feel better, physically, hunger and all, on the DD's than I do on the binge UD's.

That it's easier to not eat when you're hungry than when you're craving.

That large amounts of processed carbs and sugar make me sleepy and cranky.

That I actually like having a DD after a "bad" UD, and that I've managed to stick to the DD part of JUDDD without a problem for 6 weeks--which I never thought I'd be able to do.

That I want the weightloss to start up again, and I don't want to feel tired and cranky..so yesterday was a nice, controlled 2300 cal UD, and I think I'm back on track!

[NoWeigh]

Originally Posted by Lemming

That it's easier to not eat when you're hungry than when you're craving.

I used to have serious cravings. Those cravings would fuel overeating. I honestly didn't think I could live without chocolate -- and everyday! Worse than that though was wanting...needing Diet Coke. It got to the point where I was eating just so that I could drink it. In January I decided enough with the pop. I actually got sick "withdrawing" from that stuff. Actually it was scary enough to keep me off of it, I haven't had a sip of any type of soda pop since then.

Something happened though that I didn't expect from eliminating it. My cravings for sugar, chocolate, and carb-y foods simply disappeared!

Could something you are currently eating, or drinking, be causing your cravings?

[Lemming]

No Weigh, good thought. I'm quite certain it's the processed carbs and sugar, although I did enough bingeing in the 10 years I was sugarfree that I know that the sweet taste of SF stuff can also cause it. I do drink a lot of Diet Dew (previously Diet Coke, so I know where you're coming from!), but I have gone off of it for varying amounts of time and the cravings persisted. I really don't feel them on DD's, though (even if I have something sweetish, like a protein bar), and it seem that, if I avoid the super-sugar stuff (like the piece of cake I had the other day!), the cravings remain manageable on UD's. I did forget to mention, though, how much of the craving is "mental" rather than physical...I feel the need to indulge in "something good," even though it may not taste that good when I eat it, and even though it triggers more cravings and leads to me feeling tired and cranky...the "I deserve something "good"--in other words, sugary and bad for me!" feeling is really mostly mental, at least initially, but then once I have the sugar stuff the need for more becomes physical...

[Beeb]

I CAN NOT eat processed sweetener in foods/drinks anymore because it causes me to just eat, eat, and eat, on and on, all day long. The SF stuff just makes me crave more SF stuff so I have just about stopped using it. No more in my coffee or tea, no more diet soda, no more SF candies.

If I want something sweet, I just wait for an UD and eat something with honey or unprocessed sugar in it. These don't cause cravings at all!

It's good to see you are understanding your body and how JUDDD can be worked for optimum "magic" for you!