What does a carb addict eat? With Dr Robert Cywes

Zoë chats with Dr Robert Cywes about carbohydrate addiction and obesity.
This is Part 2 – What does a carb addict eat?
You can listen to Part 1 of this series here

Robert is a medical doctor and a PhD doctor and a former “fat guy.” He topped out at 300lb, but is now approximately 200lb (and six foot tall). Robert thus knows what his patients are going through and how to help them. Robert is also a bariatric surgeon and fully aware that surgery cannot change one’s relationship with food – his insights and advice can help with that.

Robert opens this podcast explaining the key problem with those who use food as a drug, as opposed to cigarettes or alcohol: we can give up cigarettes or alcohol, we can’t give up food. However, there are some foods that we need to give up and Robert tells us what these are and how to do it.

Carbs form approximately 80% of the intake of the people who end up in Robert’s clinic. His patients are obese, metabolically sick and often diabetic (type 2). Removing the carbs leaves a huge void – in two ways:

1) What do people eat when they avoid the carbs to which they are addicted?

2) How do people manage their emotions, when carb addiction was being used as a way of blocking out feelings – a coping mechanism?

Robert takes us through what and how we were designed to eat and he gives one of the best explanations of how to get type 2 diabetes that I’ve ever heard. He is wonderfully encouraging “remove the carbs, cells get better very quickly and recover their insulin sensitivity and type 2 diabetes goes away…”

Robert also explains the role that carbs play in appetite and why trying to eat then in moderation is going to be more difficult than replacing them with genuinely nutritious foods (meat/fish/eggs etc). He talks about what the liver will do with excess protein and why low carb/high protein is not good.

Robert’s closing tip in this dynamite half hour is to be patient. Health improves rapidly, weight takes a little longer – which is why this needs to be a lifestyle change, not a diet.

You can find more about Robert at http://obesityunderstood.com/ He also blogs daily on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/robert.cywes
Robert’s practice is in Florida and you can contact him there on 001 561 627 4107 if you would like to be a patient in person.