Just need to get this off my chest... With all the talk about sugar alcohols, preservatives, etc, etc, it just seems that NOTHING is safe except for what I cook for myself. I love to cook, and I am loving what I am eating, but at the same time to think that I can't have chocolate anymore at all because I can't trust what's in it just makes me upset. I am scared to eat the bars because I fear they will stall me, and I just want some ice cream! Is that too much to ask?

There is a lot of discussion about products that stall the weight loss process... anybody had great success with ones that don't? I know it's different from person to person, I'd just like to have some other people's persepective before I give in and have something that might derail me.

and let me clarify- i don't just mean sweets. I'm talking about the pizza and the bread and the dressings... it seems that all of these things have hidden carbs! If the bread says it has 6 carbs, should you trust it?

Don't feel bad I know what you mean. I see so many people having all these low carb foods and losing weight. If it's more than Le Carb ice cream once a week I lose NO weight. Some people are fine with it, some people stall only way to know is to try. It looks like some people are ok with certain sugar alcohols and some stall them. Trial and Error.

About hidden carbs I never worried about them, I went by what the packaging says and it's always been fine for me. It would be so much of a hassle to examine everything I buy to see if there are really hidden carbs.

It's also so much a changing of mind set on how we eat, what we eat, etc.

Today was a birthday at the office, big old cake. I'm in day three of (re)induction. Carb cravings are not quite out of my system. It was difficult to watch everyone eat, but not unbearably so.

I simply try to stay away from sweets. The one and only thing I will allow myself (after induction) is Sweet N Low hard candies. I just cannot do chocolate with self restraint.

But oh the benefits so much outweight the sacrifice for me.

Sbear, honestly give it the two weeks 0 it is only 14 days - your cravings will be very minimal adn you will feel so good about yourself - it is hard to do, but just take it a day at a time and it will be ok...and you know, after the two weeks, wehn you can introduce some berries, nuts etc, you probably wont' even want the candy

I haven't had any lc stuff, so I can't really offer advice, but I did make the mistake of having diet coke, adn it stalled me for a couple weeks. I think a lot depends on metabolism..

Diet soda also stalled me. I haven't tried eating anything that includes aspertame as an ingrediant. I probably wouldn't stall, but I don't want to take the chance. Plus, I don't need to have any more cravings than I already do.

I agree. It definitely depends on one's metabolism. I personally can't even have the LC icecream, even though I love it so. Just one bite of the stuff sends me straight into the LAND O" CRAVINGS! I used to try the LC marketed stuff, and it just really teased me into believing everything was ok. NOT!! At least not for me. They are okay for some, unfortunately, not for me. It's all about trial and error. My opinion is try it for a while. If it doesn't work for you, don't do it. If it does, great! All the better. I myself, can only eat whole foods. Sucks sometimes, but when I look at the big picture, I'm better off.

Good luck to you, and welcome to LOSER LAND!!

~Dream~

I find that if I have a few small treats then that leads to bigger one...and more frequently. It sux that SA has such a horrible effect on me, but I'm glad I figured it out. There's SO much you CAN have on LC that to me it;s worth it. Try some cream cheese and splenda...this is verygood and filling and so much you can do with cream cheese.
I personally do have diet drinks (diet rite, diet coke, diet a&w root beer) and that doesn't affect me at all. The sugar free candy is what has stuck it to me. I have tried the other stuff, like tortillias, subway wrap, breads etc, but that just feel TOO much like my old eating habits and the subway wrap nearly gutted me. My tummy was so out of control after I ate it that I've sworn off them.
Finally, you know your body better than anyone else. And it's not like you have tons to lose, matter of fact you seem to be at goal already...I'd love to be at 129! So don't obsess, just have fun and live life! The fear of messing up will keep you from really getting the most out of life!

Thanks for the perspective I know it seems like I am over-critical of myself, but I was recently diagnosed with a thyroid condition that makes me EXTREMELY tired, which is why I have gone back into induction. While I can't really work out, I am trying to really watch what I eat. But you're right, obsessing will only lead to an unhealthy state of mind.

so what is considered a stall? Drink a diet coke one day,
the next day you weigh and say you are stalled?
I'm sure a lot of people dont consume bars everyday so
how would they know thats why they weren't losing?
I know some people take the time to experiment, but I dont think some people do. Of course if you over enduldge you probably will gain.

I agree with you though. I stay away from them because I have been frightened by the forum. But maybe it's for the better.

Here's an idea- scare yourself out of wanting sweets- think Pavlov's dog in reverse. Try a Ketogenics crunch bar. I guarantee, you will NEVER want sweets again! That is the only low-carb sweet that has made me truly ill. And frankly, I think that most of that frankenfood doesn't taste so hot anyway, I think some fresh blueberries or something is so much more satisfying than assembly line stuff!

Stall? Drinking Diet Barq/other snacks for about 2 weeks and go from losing weight to a dead stop or gain. Quitting the drinks resume losingFor me at least.

I know it can be a chore but if you want to be safe and avoid the SAs just make your own. I eat the la tortilla factory tortillas and have no problems with them. For sweets I seriously try to restrict the sugar alcohols, but when I have them I also count calories and count half the amount of SAs as carbs.

The bad side is that I am substituting real fruits and veggies with fake sugar alcohols and other junk, which is fine for me once in a while as long as I can limit and control it and be very disciplined with it.

If you want ice cream without the sugar alcohols, there is a recipe in the sweet treats area for ziplock baggie ice cream. You can make it with cream, vanilla extract and splenda or davincis syrup. No sugar alcohols, no ice cream maker and frankly, I think it tastes better than the SA laden stuff.

You can also use an ice cream maker if you have one, and that way use fresh ingredients like cream and egg yolks.

For chocolate you can mix unsweetened baking chocolate with butter, cream and splenda. This isnt as easy as going to the store and buying a bar loaded with maltitol, but you know whats in it, and that its better for you. Also I find that when I require myself to make the treats instead of buying them, I make them less often because I dont feel like going through all the work and so I tend to eat less junk food overall, which is a good thing for me.

Almond flour, flax seed, wheat bran are all delicious things to add to homemade bread or muffins, and there are plenty of recipes. And there is always pizza quiche and zucchini lasagna when you crave pizza.

I have never tried any of the breads, since I am not at a point where I feel I can introduce them into my diet and I have no desire to at all. I feel I can easily live the rest of my life and never eat bread or atkins bread and be perfectly fine and not feel I am missing out, but I can imagine that the thought of that to most people is overwhelming, at least in the begining. Just take it slow, there are options out there and I also think that eating the LC bread/tortilla products are better than the SA stuff. At least fiber goes right through your system.
HTH

Boy, do I understand where you're coming from. I'm finding that I can't have any of those products either or I gain. Sad, but true. And they cause me to have even more cravings. I'm learning to stick to the straight and narrow, because when I do, my cravings diminish and I do fine. It's just hard for me that food is no longer my best friend, my comforter, my entertainment, and all of the other roles it played. EAting to live is truly a different mindset than living to eat. One thing that helps me is visualizing myself in control and happy about it. I can't look at it as deprivation. I have to look at it as success. I hope some of this helps you.

Seems like "natural" is the way to go and I agree as well. I had my hardest times were when I started getting into the SF ice cream, nuts and making LC cheesecakes (no SA's but I became OBSESSED with them --craving city!). I was always afraid of the bars and tried to limit myself to only one per week (a half at each sitting). Again, obsession and craving city. I have LC toast with SF jelly and butter on occasion (maybe once every 2 weeks). But it's hard not to eat more. I've been trying to stay away from this stuff because not only do they induce my cravings but I went through LONG periods of not losing when I was eating these things on a semi-regular basis (6 week stall, lose a pound. Another 6 week stall, then lose a pound). For me it's just not worth it. I do have some comfort in knowing I can use some of these things in moderation when I'm at goal though.