Originally posted by Dr. Davis on 2015-07-27
on the Wheat Belly Blog, sourced from and currently found at: Infinite Health Blog.
PCM forum Index of WB Blog articles.

Why are there no cravings when following the Wheat Belly lifestyle?

Paula shared her 7-month Wheat Belly experience:

“After 30 lbs lost since January. No cravings. Went from size 16 to 10-12. New me!”

Read the Wheat Belly books, cookbooks, posts on the Wheat Belly Blog, or anything else Wheat Belly-associated, and you will never hear me say “watch your calories” or “reduce your portion size.” Cutting calories is not only a miserable experience, it can also work against you by reducing basal metabolic rate, not to mention the binges that overpower you because you’re so hungry.

If you did count calories (which I do not advocate), however, and compared your current wheat/grain-free calorie intake to that before undertaking this lifestyle, you would likely find that your intake is far less. 400-800 fewer calories per day is typical, though I’ve witnessed as much as 1500 reduced daily calorie intake. Wheat Belly critics say that the drop in calories and weight develop because people are so deprived living this lifestyle. Those of you following these discussions recognize how laughable that is, enjoying fatty meats, cheesecake, plenty of vegetables, etc. The reduction in food intake, as Paula experienced, occurs without cravings, provided you take in sufficient fat and oils, because you have eliminated the gliadin-derived opiates that stimulate appetite. If all you do is cut calories while still consuming wheat and grains, you are still being exposed to the appetite-stimulating effects of the gliadin-derived opiates that make you hungry, often even obsessive about food. Lose the wheat, lose the grains, lose the appetite-stimulant effect and, lo and behold, you eat for sustenance, no calorie counting required.

And look at the changes in Paula’s face. While the glasses cover some of her eyes, you can still make out the usual reduced puffiness and edema that develops in wheat/grain-free folk. I believe she has turned the clock back, another example of the age-reversing effects of this lifestyle.