Why can't I...?
 

Why can't I stop cheating? I really do want the weight off, I stick with my diet religiously. I am eating much smaller portions and I am still losing weight, but around 1:30 every other day for the last 8 days, I have eaten 4 chocolate chip cookies. Yesterday was the worst. I went to the grocery store for more eggs and ended up walking out with eggs and 2 Reese's Peanut Butter Cup that I gobbled up in the parking lot. I felt ashamed for eating and then felt the need to hide the evidence in the trash can. I do not normally crave Chocolate, but lately that is all I want. I am so depressed and feel so ashamed and defeated. I did the first 5 days of my diet with no problem at all, but now, I can't seem to get past this huge desire. I am amazingly enough still in Ketosis despite my frequent sugar attacks. Is it possible that I am not getting enough carbs and my body is craving more hence the sudden sweet tooth? I have never had much of a sweet tooth before. Are there any products out there that can have that will fill the craving for sweets but still be OK? I need help! I know that I am severly anemic and the chocolate craving can be from that, but since starting the diet, I have started taking additional iron pills. So that can't be it either. Any suggestions, words of advice, comforting words? I could use it all.

Lucy

Not a Dr. so I don't want to give advice but have you tried the reeses Low carb candies? They are good and might take care of the chocolate cravings without the guilt.

You might want to post what you are eating, including quantities, that will help others see things that might be setting off cravings.

You may also want to join fitday.com. It is a free service where you can enter in everything you eat and get total calories, carbs, etc.

If you are eating your vegetables remember to subtract the fiber from them to get a better idea of what your carb intake is.

You also need to make sure you are eating enough. If I'm hungry and go to the store I'm more apt to slip than if I'm satisfied.

This is a real learning experience in what you feel, why you feel and when you feel about food. Before, during and after think about those things and you may see something there. Some sabotage themselves without really realizing it.

Another thing is try to be prepared and have low carb foods around you and maybe carry a snack with you to help.

Make sure too that you are drinking lots of water, sometimes hunger is really us just being thirsty. Maybe carry a water bottle with you, that may help.

Let us know how you are doing. You'll get lots of encouragement here.

Debi

Gothicmom - I too have some of the craving problems you do but have found that if I log my food it really helps! I use fitday.com as suggested by Debi.

Maybe reread the induction chapter of Dr. A's book? AND DRINK YOUR WATER!!

It might just be winter. I just posted a thread on the CAD forum that explains it. While you're over there, why don't you take the test.

i too have had problems not cheating. especially since christmas

i seem to do well all day and then the night munchies hit me and they hit hard. the other problem is the junk still around my house. but i have a skinny husband and kids and they like their occasional sweets.

i have started using fitday again and it really does help i found i was eating more carbs than i thought. those hidden carbs creep up on you.

so i am trying to keep up a food log and revert to lc start days - keep track keep track keep track.

i guess i got complacent and thought i could really keep a running carb tally in my head but i need a refresher couse.

Sometimes a craving for chocolate means you're not getting enough magnesium in your diet. If you're not taking a good calcium/zinc/magnesium suppliment, that could be a possible reason. Otherwise, what I do is keep some Atkins bars handy for the times that I really want something sweet.(S'mores flavor is my favorite) The Russell Stover low carb candy is SO good it doesn't seem like low carb at all. But I personally seem lose weight faster with the Atkins bars. I think they have less of the sugar alcohols in them, but I'm not sure. Any way, I hope you figure it out and Good luck!

I am with Zuleikaa... Have you ever looked in to CAD?

It may be worth looking in to for you.

Sarah

Another option is to get some of the ZCarb chocolate bars. They have these at the Fast Food Mart (QuickTrip) near my house. They taste just like a Candy Bar - Chocolate with Peanut Butter - and have Zero Carbs and are Malitol free. These aren't the Protien type bars either, but a real honest to goodness candy bar. This is a great way to get past the craving and not go off the diet :)

okay the secret is in the book. . .the reason Dr A says . . .eat to be satisfied in the frist two weeks. . .is cause you are trying to resist the cravings. . .so I will step up. . .I had somedays during induction I ate one whole package of bacon by myself .. .BUT I did not eat sugar or white flour. . .the point at the begining is NOT to do small portions. . .(hopefully this will come about naturally as your body chemistry kicks back into normal). . .and if you find your self having the munchies.. . munch . . .macedemias. . .bacon. . .cheese. ..pork rinds with homemade french onion dip. . .if you are dying for something sweet. . .have a cup of tea with a bit of splenda. . .this is the toughest part. BUT you can't have your cake and Atkins too. . .it is dangerous to eat high fat AND high sugar. . .lollipop or cheese? sugar soda or steak? a salad with blue cheese dressing or salad with a squeese of lemon? Do you want to do a low fat or a low carb WOL. . .doing neither. . .leads too more of you (and me). Read the BOOK. . .it is very clear. redawn:)~not yelling. . .just lecturing a bit.

First, congrats on being able to get through day 1!

My wife had this same problem. Some people have to build up a tolerance to dieting. So we devised a schedule:

Day 1: On
Day 2: Off
Day 3: On
Day 4: On
Day 5: Off

And built up a tolerance. When she felt like she could, she added another On day. Now I can't get her to take a day off :lol:

Plain eggs will make me crave, as well as give me a blood sugar crash a few hours later. If I want a scrambled egg, I need to mix in an equal amount of cheese to prevent low blood sugar symptoms later.

I try to steer clear of them because they mess up my balance so easily.

Lynda

If you get those cravings in the store - head over to the ice cream section and grab a Carb Smart fudgesicle - it's been my saving grace with 3 net carbs - made by Klondike.

(I've found it at Costco, King Soopers and Archer Farms)

Eat legal foods - as much as you want. Your body is already fighting the physical addiction. It's hard to fix the mental addiction until the physical part is cared for. So snack on anything and everything legal until you get past the withdrawals. Then work on the mental or as I like to say it, the hand to mouth problems. :lol:

That is interesting about the Anemia and the chocolate craving. I take Iron pills for anemia too and I have a big Chocolate craving at times. I have a bag of Low Carb or Sugar free chocolate candies hidden away and when I can't stand the craving anymore I go and get a few. I like the really dark chocolate the best. The Russell stovers Low carb candies have about 0.3 carbs each and the chocolate gets my craving taken care of without adding the real sugar carbs to my diet.

WHen I started low carbing I got into it slowly because of lack of knowledge. I got the diet by word of mouth and I didn't have the book. I didn't even know what the diet was until I had been doing it for 3 months. Then I got the book. I lost weight at that time and I think I was doing the maintenance part of the diet. That was all I knew abuot at the time. After the book I started looking for low carb recipes on the internet and got to learning how to cook all over again.

Have a great day!!