i always complain about the people in my class that bring in donuts for breakfast, pop diet pills before lunch and then go get pizza or taco bell, but i am afraid i am going to be no better off than they are. i have sunk into a bad habit of eating LC all day and then at night having bad carb cravings and giving in. i have done it three nights in a row. i ate large servings of dreamfields pasta the first two nights and last night i gave in completely and ate cookies and went to wendy's. tonight, i wanted to cheat again. BUT i didn't do it. instead i went to target and bought 2 pairs of flip flops not that i need more flip flops. they were just so cute. and i decided that it was better to spend the money on something other than food.

Good for you!!! You didn't give in! Everyone needs more shoes! Since I've been overweight, I've become obsessed with shoes. It's the only clothing-type item I like to buy.


I'm sorry that you are having such a rough time right now. I can relate. I went through the same thing two weeks ago. You made a step in the right direction tonight though! You deserve a big pat on the back!

Good choice, everytime you are tempted by those evil carbs, go shopping. You don't have to buy anything, but it will remove the temptation of the carbs. Just avoid the mall food courts.

If you are actually hungry, then eat something with fat and protein.

maybe it's that TOM is near? i am eating a whole cup of carb solutions ice cream- screw my carb count for the day. i wanted to stay under 20g, but whatever. it's only 6g per cup. and i am drinking orange diet rite. my fave.

i really will do fine for a while and then fall off, get back up, and fall again. and once i fall again, it is hard to get up again.

Maybe you're not eating enough during the day, and that's why you get hungry at night?

Maybe having more fat with your dinner would keep you full longer.

I eat normally. Breakfast..snack...lunch....snack...dinner. Maybe I am not getting enough fat. Tonight I will post what I've eaten.

I have also read in a low carb mag., which I think is a good idea, that you could also pick up some teeth whitening strips. When you get the urge to cheat, whiten you teeth instead. This take a half hour with the strips on. Give both time for the craving to deplete some and making your smile brighter too!

Good idea ... sometimes ... going to a store and trying on clothes is enough to drive me to stay on plan (even if I don't buy).

It's the little things, like flip flops, that keep us on track. Good for you!

Oooh I like the teeth whitening idea! I may have to try that.

I have big problems with evening snacking myself, although I think for me it's just a (very strong) habit, with maybe some emotional baggage thrown in too. Work is very stressful for me, and when I get home after a 12 hour day I just love to sit and read and snack on (LC, but still not healthy) junk food. Not only does it blow my carb and calorie counts for the day, but I end up feeling big and gross all night.

Hang in there, lemon! I know you can conquer this problem. Shopping sounds like a great distraction. You might also want to try some supplements such as L-glutamine for those carb cravings.

I love shoes. I have restricted myself from buying ANYTHING at all while dieting ( I have tons of clothes from smaller days) but today at lunch I am going to buy new sneakers. I too have been cheating at night. Not big nasty cheats, but I ate chinese last night and the day before I had a snack size milky way bar. Monday was worse, I had left over pizza and cake from my sons birthday parth. NO excuse. So, I am getting the sneaks to help motivate me to go for an hour long walk when I get home instead of searching for something "bad" to eat.

If you are having cravings it might be a good idea to keep track of your menus. Is there something triggering cravings? Aspartame, for example, does this for some people. There is also TOM as already mentioned, stress, etc.

Check out the recipe section - keep some lc snacks on hand.

I like the teeth whitening idea, too!

I also had a hard time in the evenings not snacking when I watched TV or read. I used to always have a bag of some kind of junk food nearby when I relaxed. Since I started lcing 5 weeks ago, I got antsy and wanted to eat something just because it was such a habit (even though I was not hungry). I do some crafting (beading) to distract myself beacuse it's hard to string beads with food on your fingers. Then I got out some light hand weights and did arm exercises which I can do while sitting on the couch. It keeps my hands busy, and I figure if I'm going to sit in front of the TV, I might as well improve myself at the same time. And I push myself to drink a lot more water during the evening, even if it means I have to get up during the night.

When you get the urge to snack (my weak point is when I walk in the house after work -- I'm hungry and supper is about 30 minutes away) eat something that is good for you but not overly "tasty".

I eat a hard-boiled egg or two, or I ignore the hunger and get supper going if the egg looks really unappetizing (honestly, I like hard boiled eggs, but at that point what I really want is some [okay, a LOT] of salted nuts, or a big chunk of brie, or some lc candy...).

The idea is to satisfy real hunger, and recognize habit and not indulge -- that is, if you are actually hungry, the egg will do; if you're not hungry and just want some comfort food, then the egg doesn't appeal and you know to ignore the urge....