My husbands cardioligst is all for atkins diet I told him that I still eat fresh fruit at dinner because it's so good this time of year, thinking that he would say that that was a good thing, instead he said anything but protien you put into your body metabolizes as sugar and it is just going to cause cravings. I have such a hard time getting away from sugars and carb's once they get ahold of me that I just don't eat them, I don't consider them, and I tell myself and everyone who offers me them that I can't have them, as if I have something wrong with me. Which I feel I do because I use sweets and carb's like drugs.. For me an occasional cheat could easily turn into a year long sugar fest so I consider everything I eat and Eat very low carb probably lower than induction. This way of thinking keeps me on the straight and narrow.

Like rondaj, I am just simply afraid to put high-carb treats into my mouth for fear I won't get back on the wagon. I'm only into this about two months but also I haven't really been tempted -- and I want to keep it that way. I have kind of forgotten what high-carb baked goods, ice cream, etc. even taste like and can now walk by them without hearing them "call my name." The moral of the story might be that the longer you can resist cheating the easier it becomes to continue.

That said, I really look forward to my low carb dessert every evening after dinner. So far, it's either been a cream soda (made with SF syrup) or some SF Jello mixed with sour cream. On the other hand, artificial sweeteners set off cravings in some people. I'm just lucky in that regard, I guess.

This doesn't sound logical. What am I missing?
 

What's his basis for saying this? I'm not sure I understand what he is saying..it sounds to me like he means eat only protein and no good veggies, and no fat because they turn to sugar and cause cravings. This doesn't sound logical, and it certainly isn't what LC is about as I understand it. What have I misunderstood??

Cheating
 

Hi ATM,
Whenever I get a craving (which lessens with time) I drink
a glass of cold greentea. Takes my cravings away before
I've even finished a glass. Haven't tried it hot yet (but winter is coming) hope it works as well :spin:
Also, knowing how the foods I gave up made me feel is a big factor in keeping as good as possible.
I was sluggish, moody, tired, had lots of headaches, and horrible
TOM's...not to mention general bloat after any meal......
All that being gone who would want to go back :confused: :exclm:
greentea :wave:

I think what he met when he said carbo's all metabolize as sugar is that even complex carbo's like breen beans cause a rise in insulin and that might be ok for some people but I spent over a month on induction and gained three pounds and craved sweets the whole time I think that some people are very carbo intolerant (me) and we all have to find the best way for us.

On wed the fourth I had the roof of my mouth broke as part of a dental procedure since then I have had 2 atkins shakes and three scrambled eggs a day with cheese and a chopped tomatoe and all my water, its been five days and I have lost eight pounds I crave sweets daily. This is the most I have ever lost at one time and I plan to go with it for as long as I can. Also the pain killers are helping with my joint pain so I can finally exercize. I think things had to get very basic for me.

My two cents
 

I find I cheat less when I structure my eating and drink all my water. Water is weird, - you're hungry drink a tall glass and half the time I realize I was just thirsty. And drinking water seems to make me more thirsty. I can guzzle a huge glass without even trying and still go back for more.

Also I'm cheap so I take my lunch to work and I usually have no money on me (bad target for pickpockets) so the only foods I can eat are good choices.

We make bad choices all the time some are just worse than others. Say you ordered the salmon and you really would have liked the chicken, :thdown: - bad choice -
you ordered the ice cream when you should have gotten the berries - bad choice but different consequences. :thdown: :thdown:
Luckily - low carbing is really becoming better known and there's a low carb alternative to just about everything.
Just my 2 cents

cc

I learn more about this WOE every day....I still feel like I'm cheating every time I eat the skin on the chicken, the fat on the steak, put butter on my veggies, or add whipping cream to my Crystal Light drink. Funny how the mind works, isn't it?

judy

Judy,

I can't agree more. My meals seem so sinful, and I think the more recipes one tries the more interesting and sinful they become. I was telling a friend of mine last night who's on weight watchers what I normally eat as she was trying to see the differences and I said, well at breakfast I have 3 eggs with cheese and at lunch I have a chicken caesar salad...and she was like "omg you have Caesar salad?" And I'm like, uh yeah, that's what I've lived on for like the last year. I love shocking those starvation minded dieters...love it! HA! :daze:

Re: How are you remaining CHEAT FREE?
 

WITH LOTS OF PAIN AND SUFFERING!!!

lol :D :roll:

more ideas to keep motivated
 

I've only been LCing for 3 weeks so far, and have had some slips along the way. Here are some things that I find helpful:

- Write it all down! even that pint of ice cream... keep yourself accountable, and that way you'll at least have an objective picture of what's going on.

- Plan meals in advance. I'm just starting to do this, since I found that although I hadn't technically been "cheating" (no sugar or flour), but my carb count would get too high on "allowed" or generally low-carb foods

- If you know it's a trigger for you - don't keep it in the house! I know that if there was some ice cream in the freezer, it would very quickly end up in my tummy. That's just how it is. I was also having a hard time moderating the nuts - even though technically it would be ok to have 1/4 or 1/2 cup. So I decided to lay off altogeter for a while.

- I discovered LC desserts!! I just made some cheesecake cupcakes (adapted from a recipe in the kitchen forum) - and they're great! I made six, ate one after dinner, and was totally satisfied. No deprivation here I think is key.

- Do what you're doing - ask for help! I've found this site to be a tremendous help! Keep a journal; read what other folks have to say. Know that you're not alone, and that hundreds of people are doing this - and doing it successfully!

- And, one more thing that's really key for me - a while back I really took a hard look at what it is that I'm committed to in my life. And what I came up with is that I'm committed to "having a life I love". For me, that did not include being intensely overweight and always tired. (Though I'm still struggling with the tired part, but I'm hoping that gets better as I continue LCing). I need to keep my commitment fresh in my mind, to remember WHY I'm doing this - because this IS hard sometimes, it's hard to pre-plan everyhing, to eat differently from most other folks, to pass on some of the foods you love... but if I remember that the reason I'm doing this is because I'm committed to really living a life I love, it becomes easier. Sure, I'll pass on the bread basket (as I'd had to twice in the last 2 days) - in order to feel great about myself!

- Oh, and one more thing. Like someone already said - it will happen; and ALL IS WELL! Just jump right back - AT THE NEXT MEAL. And go for a long walk - the exercise will clear your head a little.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Inna

Amen, Innani ! Everything you said hits home, especially the
pre-recording, it's amazing how those carbs can creep up. Are you using Fitday to do that?

Muse..... I laughed out loud when I read the conversation with your WW friend. Every once in a while, I think of posting one of my daily menus on the WW newsgroup, just for fun, with maybe a link back to this site. BTW since you've been doing LC for over a year, have you got any tips for us newbies? Are you following the 10x calorie guideline? Have you noticed any foods that caused you to stall?

judy

fitday
 

Hi Jude,

I looked at using fitday, but found it to be soooo cumbersome! I don't know what it is about how they list thier foods, but I had to scroll through many screens just to pick out the simple foods I eat. I usually just use a paper notebook to write things down (also useful when I'm away from the computer...)

I made myself a little spreadsheet of carb counts, extracted from the PP gram counter, mostly (though they seem to be a bit off - for eg. they don't count any carbs in eggs...) - so I printed out the foods I eat most often - it fit on one page (two-sided), and I use that as a quick reference.

Inna

Hi Inna,

I agree that Fitday is annoying at first. It helps that once you've recorded for a few days, those foods show up on the "recent" list, so you don't have to do nearly as much searching, plus you can enter your own "custom" foods to reduce the searching even more.

And I like that it provides so much more info than just carbs; the ratios between fat/protein/carbs, if my calories are high enough, how much fiber I can deduct, etc.

I like your idea of keeping your own "quick list" at hand, though. Sure would have been handy in the beginning when I was eating "away from home".

judy

Beatin' Cheatin'!
 

I 've been trying hard to find something to help. I am not attracted to many sweets and do not cheat much. The one thing I have thought is that if you have to cheat - cheat with a low carb food instead of high carb. You may have to work at this to develop a menu - take suggestions in the other posts for low carb treats. I hate to recommend this to you but I did use cheese to satisfy hunger pangs between meals. Just remember cheese can cause stalls. Now I also use Keto Crisp regular raw. No milk! It is bland and dry but contains enough protein to satisfy. Try olives. This takes work to develop a menu of LC cheat foods. There is also non-nitrate beef jerkey. Another thing I have used is lunchmeat like roast beef, chiken breast, turkey breast.

The results that I got keep me from cheating much. I think if you really bear down - make sacrifices for a solid month - hopefully get good results - that may help you.

If you just can't find the will power then you may have to convert all your choices to low carb. I am trying out the low carb pizza, pasta, pasta sauce, hot cereals, Endulge chocalate bars, pure delite chocolate bars. I got a bread machine to make raisn bread. :wave:

Jude...OMG!

I'm thinkin' we should do an all out invasion the WW site ....WHAT A HOOT!....OR, BETTER YET....A CHALLENGE! OMG that would be amazing!

The Low Carbers vs. the Low Fat Starvers!

...talk about an experiment....perhaps an all out war!!! OMG the tears are streaming here, I'm laughing hysterically at the thought! Can you all imagine?

Okay, ....pause, recompose here....you had asked if I had any advice having done this journey for about a year. Hmmmm... well I have to say, I used the slow approach. I lost 38 lbs but in stages about 3 months at a time, they I'd stray a little or raise my carbs a little .... just to get my second wind so to speak then I'd plunge away again. It really doesn't need to take as long as I've done it I'm sure. This summer was basically maintenance for me as I enjoyed a few too many Amber Rum and Grapefruits, and the occasional dessert. But it helped me to gear up for my next 30 lbs which I'm so ready to tackle now and am hoping I'll be able to do steadily with few "second winds".

One thing I really got good at was not beating myself up. I feel now I know how food affects me....what works and what doesn't for me. And, too I learned on those few days this summer I had non-recommended carbs, ...well I honestly didn't enjoy it as much as I'd "remembered". Nothing sweet tastes as "good" to me as I remember it tasting....oh some things sure, but not so many, that oftentimes, I'd go....gee is this worth it? Sometimes the answer was yes, and oftentimes it was no.

I needed the break this summer and I learned alot about how far I will be able to go....and was pleasantly surprised by that. I no longer fear maintenance.

I also find now that I don't require the same foods to begin again which I needed when I first started. I used to rely heavily on cream and frozen strawberries (mashed, it makes the most amazing ice cream w/splenda) I needed that more last year. I also needed the occasional dark chocolate more then (Lindt 85%)...I don't think I was good at this as many of you all seem to be. I didn't worry so much about cheese...I ate alot of pepperoni. Probably stallers for many people...but for me, in the beginning, they helped me a lot. They had taste and I felt little deprivation. I had much more bacon then also. But you know, it was slow but it came off.

The best thing I did tho' was Body for life and altho I lost little scale weight, I lost 2 sizes during my challenge one and that was when I started getting excited about my body. So, I heartily recommend exercise, once you feel ready to ignore the scales.

Sorry for the long-windedness but this is my take on the whole thing. I'm slow at it, pluggin away, and yet I feel so empowered among my sabotaging "friends" who "are concerned" for me and "worrried" about my "health" cause, you know, it's "ATKINS" AND ALL! HAHAHAHAHAH! I'm just thinkin, ya know....here you are sitting here, on beer number whatever (I lost count) putting away the chips and counting the minutes until the cake....and I'm like, whatever....I've finally figured it all out, if I want a taste of it I'll have it, will I beat myself up about it?....not on your life!

I am finally, at peace with food for the first time in my life. Why did I wait to learn this until age 41?