oh my god!!!!!!!....i am dieing!!!!!!!....i am dieing for something sweet in the worst way....what can i have right NOW?!?!?!?....and are ALL of the atrificial sweeteners off limits??????

Hi Sherrybee,

That's what induction is for - to break you out of the cycle of carb addiction.

Have you ever tried sipping flax seed or Essential Balance oil. It works for cravings.

You can do it! You know it will pass! You've done it before!

Keep busy, go for a walk, clean the house...anything!

Karen

not even a teaspoon of splenda?????????........i'm going to cry now..........WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh surely a drink of diet pop won't hurt too much except it might make you crave more. How about sugar free jello? I drank Splenda in my coffee all along and lost 50 pounds in 6 months. Go easy . I have found when I was desperate I would often say to hell with it so maybe just a wee bit of jello. but also I would eat a pork chop and the cravings would leave. So I guess I am not much help but eat some protein.
And good luck. Hang inthere, Sheery

Lots of water would help. I take a supplement called Chromium. I find it works for me for my sweet cravings.

I suppose this response is coming after the fact; hope you're doing Ok today ..

For most people, an occasional artificially sweetened food or drink isn't a problem, but for someone who's addicted, the sweet sensation on the tongue can and WILL trigger the same cascade of metabolic events as if you'd consumed sugar..

I posted some information about the link between artificial sweeteners, insulin and cravings some weeks ago; click here to read it

Karen is right, doing Induction cold turkey, using REAL food - quality proteins, fats, vegetables and salads, and avoiding all fake foods, sweet treats (even fruits, for now) and chemical additives ... will help to get things under control.

Take care, hope this helps

Doreen

okay..sorry to take so long to respond to everyone's advice (which by the way---thanks to one and all!!!)......

doreen.....one thing that i HAVE restricted myself to is one teaspoon of splenda..which goes in the morning coffee..i honestly CAN'T start the day with coffee, but i DID cut down from 2 mugs a day to just one....need my liquid cardioversion....i AM forcing myself to eat more than i have in the past..actually stopping at work for 5 minutes and eating a nice little concoction that i am LOVING!! ground beef, bacon (sliced small), green pepper, and mushrooms....throwing the veggies in there because my last bout had hardly any and i understand the importance of them....even bought the ketostix...doind the reading nightly (that is when dr. a says it is most accurate in the book) and the reading has been "small" to "moderate"...is this okay???...lost some the first 4 days (see my other thread)

wenders .......water intake still is not where i would like it to be, but yet another thing i'm forcing myself to do when possible...as far as the chromium is corncerned..been doing it..for the past 11 years......guess i need "the patch" if they got one to cure those craving for the chocolate monster

NNN.....good advice.....sugar craving hit----stuff my face with the concoction mentioned in my response above to doreen

THANKS EVERYONE AND IF ANYONE ELSE CAN LEND ADVICE....LEMME KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

no one going to respond?

Hi Sherry,

Any change on the stix is good!

I think some posts occasionally get buried for obscure technical reasons.

Karen

sherry, i know that with me, abstinence is the only thing that stops the cravings! maybe you should cut the bacon to once or twice a week. i think that a lot of bacon has sugar in it as a curing agent and that sugar is a real monster! good luck to you sherry! nice to hear from you again!

i did find a market that sells sugar free bacon.........i'm stocking up on it from there!!!!!!!!!!........lol

How are you doing with the sugar cravings, Sherry - are you finding it easier as time goes by?

I don't have much advice to add to what's already been suggested; all I know is, it does get easier. I was a chocoholic; but now, after eight months on Atkins, I can make myself a low-carb chocolate dessert, eat a spoonful or two, and not want any more. I stayed right away from low-carb desserts and sweeteners the first few months; maybe that's what did it. I now indulge occasionally, but no more cravings.

So it does work - give it time and patience!

Rachel

I have tried Atkins Advantage bars... my favorite is Chocolate Mocha Crunch... and Dr. Atkins says they are appropriate to any stage of the diet. I take it that would include induction.

According to the book several artificial sweeteners are allowed on induction, though aspartame has several caveats associated with it.

I think you should be aware of your own limitations. If you feel that having a permitted sweet such as the Advantage bar would trigger you into a carbohydrate binge, then you are probably better off not having any. But if you are capable of integrating one into your daily carb count, then go for it. You have Dr. Atkins' endorsement.

I can get them at my regular grocery store here... the big draw back is that they are expensive. I paid $2.59 for one bar the other day.
I know you can buy them by the box online for about $1.62 each.

...Dr. Atkins also said that cheese is a "free" food.

If I was Dr. Atkins, I would want to sell lots of the bars too. $$$

This is one thing I've never understood. He breaks people of the carb habit, then sells them sweets. Go figure!

Sanctified sweets to carb junkies. Arrrgh!

Karen

Well I guess if you are following the Atkins Diet, you have to accept that Dr. Atkins is the reigning expert.
He does say in the book that all cheese has some carbohydrates so you should be aware of that.
I imagine he does enjoy making money from his products, but the same can be said of anyone anywhere who has any product to sell. I don't think that his motives should be suspect just because he makes a profit.

As for selling sweets to carb junkies... the reason people are addicted to them is because of the chemical reaction in their bodies to the sugars. If that reaction is removed by removing the sugar and nearly eliminating the carbohydrate, then any physical addictive reaction would be eliminated as well.
That means that if a person reacts to eating a low carb no sugar treat by binging on sugared treats, the impetus was psychological.

I don't mean to minimize the impact of psychological cravings, but I feel a blanket prohibition of all sweet things assumes that all carbohydrate addicts are psychologically addicted and I have trouble believing that.

I know that in my own case, and I suspect for many here, if the physical aspects are controled they can be judicious about servings of sweets, even in induction. That's part of knowing your own limitations.
I think that if someone knows they have a tendency toward psychological addiction to sweets they should avoid them. However I suspect that a lot of people who think they can't control their urge to eat sweets once they start have been struggling with physical issues, not psychological ones.
It's the chemistry that has made me restrict my carb intake. If the chemistry were different, I'd eat anything I wanted.

In truth, who would not eat sugar if sugar did not have adverse affects on insulin balance?
I enjoy the taste of chocolate, I enjoy the taste of sweetness. Should I be denied that because I have a problem with my insulin? I think not.
Fortunately for me, I enjoy the taste of chicken and meat and lots of low carb food also.
I think it's wonderful that there are alternatives for people who want to experience all tastes.
I like that there are sources for treats as well as sources for "cereal" and "bread" etc.

So I still say... if a person on a carbohydrate restricted diet wants a sweet treat and can have one without impairing their metabolic chemistry, then go for it.