Ok, I am almost 2 weeks into Atikins and I am hungry. I have been hungry for a few days and I long to have a decrease in appetite. Maybe I am one of those "5 smaller meals" kinda gals...I don't know. Maybe I'm just not always doing the right combo of food items to make me feel full. This is frustrating because I was hoping to be past this. I was like this on carbs too. I had a couple "good days", but I have had "good days" on carbs. I want to snack and I want sweets. UGH.

So far today I had a pumpkin mock danish w/ decaf, the toppings off of left over pizza (my D/H had friends over last night and they all got pizza, but we got the new Donatos NO Dough pizza...basically toppings cooked on a plate...not impressed. I DID NOT EAT ANY OF THE VERY TEMPTING "REAL" PIZZA WITH DELICIOUS CRUST!!! WHOO-HOO! They left the rest of the pizza and I ate thetoppings). Then I had 4 little roast beef (lunch meat) w/ cheddar roll-ups. I exercised, drank water and decaf and really still wanted to eat. I wanted sweet, so thinking it would address my craving and I'd stop picking at food to try to fill up, I decided to eat a treat to address the sweet craving. I had a few bites of low-carb ice cream (2 carbs) and 3 mini cheese cakes (2 carbs). I'm still hungry. Not STARVED, but I could eat. Maybe it is more of a time of day, stress, emotional, hormonal thing...I just want "something".

I want to jump start this thing too becasue I feel like I am not getting enough veggies. After several days in Induction, we got CC ice cream. FINALLY, A TREAT!!! We measured (so that's what 1/2 cup serving of ice cream looks like!) and enjoyed. However, I found myself trying to keep my carbs low during the day so I could have my treat...use the carbs for the treat...which nixed veggies once or twice (I KNOW! SHAME!) I need some moral support. I want to keep this up, but some days I want a pan of chocolate chip brownies, milk, and spicy nacho Doritos! AHHHHHH!!!

Thanks!

You're sabotaging yourself when you eat those sweets. It just prolongs the cravings. (As you can tell, since you skipped your veggies for ice cream.) I love sweets too, but it's true. It got better for me after induction, though.

Also, if you're hungry, EAT. But eat something with fat and protein, like a few deviled eggs.

Oh, and Doritos will be making a LC version sometime soon. Keep your chin up.

Ah yes. The very end of the "de-tox" stage.

I was much the same myself.

My wife fixed me some nice treats to hold me over:

1. Brocholli (sp) and cauliflour (sp) dipped in ranch dressing.
2. Peanuts (small amounts)
3. Celery and peanut butter (limited)
4. Celery and cream chease

I gulped ice water by the glass. Maybe 8-10 glasses per day.

Then once I got beyond my cravings, I allowed myself the following:

1. 1 Russel Stover LC chocolate per day.

or

2. 1 small bowl of Atkins cereal and Carb Countdown milk per day.

But I've been on this plan (South Beach.......very similar to Atkins) for almost 3 months and I'm still under 50 grams of carbs per day.



BUT..........beware of the claims of "net carbs". My body reacts to total carbs whether they come from sugar, sugar alcohol, whatever!

i am sure you have read this here before, but please do yourself a favor and read the whole atkins book! induction is really strict for two weeks, and that is for a reason. i tell anyone who wants to try this way of eating to read the book so that you can buy into the WHOLE program. the reason induction is strict is so that you can get yourself over these carb cravings. i think the low carb treats are wonderful, but they don't help during induction...they just prolong the cravings in some people. i am no expert, and i certainly don't know everything, but i firmly believe that if you want this plan to work for you, you must understand it and follow it religiously for two weeks. don't shortchange yourself...have real foods and don't save carbs for snacks during induction. have a hard boiled egg, egg or tuna salad, sugar free jello, cheese, chicken breast, and maybe all your carbs from real veggies...you will get over those cravings much more quickly.

I always get this way right before TOM. Wanting sweets. I also get hungrier right before I am getting ready to drop a pound. Weird, huh?

If you are hungry-eat! Eat some cheese, eggs, deli meat, whatever.

Have you checked your calendar? Or maybe you will be getting ready to woosh.

I have to agree with being to the "T" on induction. If yo do this, you will see that you need to really up your fat. We're talking cooking with butter and oil. Not that oil mister either This will really help the feeling full. Also, make sure that when you are hungry you really are hungry and not agitated, lonely or anything else. I've found that I had really started to focus on my emotions more. If you are still craving sweets, L-Glutamine helps some people.

Sounds like you're not following the induction rules.. If it's not on the list, DON'T eat it.. My advice to you is to start over on induction and drink your 64 plus ounces of water a day. You should not have those cravings after almost two weeks. Trust me, it will get better if you follow the rules.

I have been right where you are, but I agree that you should just start over. I did call the Atkins hot line and you can have the Atkins bars or shakes during induction. So I have just treated myself to 1 of either one of those a day.....after a few days of getting what I wanted it was no longer a neccesity. I didnt realize I had such a sweet tooth.

I have been on Atkins for awhile now, and I still crave something sweet sometimes, so I love sugar free jello. I also find out that when I am hungry all of the time, I just eat, meat, eggs, or cheese cubes. If I need something sweet, it's lo-carb treat time, but if it's crunchy then it's pork rind time, or popcorn with real butter (very limited amount), but just like the book says, if you are hungry ...eat. This WOL isn't about starving yourself, it's about living healthy eating lo-carb, high fat. If you are way too hungry, then up your fat intake, or your water intake, and don't forget the vitamins!!

ME2BETHIN!

A little tough love here but... YOU ARE DOING IT ALL WRONG! The first two weeks does not allow for the imitation sweets and you are torturing yourself. My suggestion is to START OVER on induction, go two weeks eating only the foods allowed as described in Atkins, which is basically meat, eggs, cheese and a small salad each day. After two weeks, your appetite will be reduced and the cravings for sweets will be minimized.
Even after six months I am EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS of eating the low carb ice-cream, atkins candy bars, etc. There is great debate as to whether NET CARBS really mean anything, and I for one can kick myself out of ketosis very quickly by eating a low "net" carb snack like ice cream or the candy bar.
After induction, you can find something you truly enjoy and use those as a snack and it will be very rewarding. I keep a jar of peanuts in the cupboard and grab a small handful when I just want something to munch on. When I get a craving for something "sweet" I will eat a sugar-free jello with whipped cream. Ice Cream and Candy Bars are not in my vocabulary anymore. Its as if they don't exist and I don't miss them.
GOOD LUCK ON YOUR ADVENTURE! Its worth it! MAD

You can expect those pangs of hunger to creep up on you every now and again. Hunger is a sign of a whoosh. Your body will fight a loss by stimulating the hunger banks. It is mother nature's way of helping you to survive. There is an actual name for this that I cannot recall. When hungry, it is advisable to eat but take care. I would make sure that the snack is very low carb and very high in protein because protein will eleviate the hunger pains for a longer period of time.

Hunger is a sign of things to come ( off )

Black57

Oh please don't make me start all over...I'm so close to being allowed to eat nuts! LOL! This is BY FAR the most strict I have been since I was in HS and drank a diet pop for lunch and ate next to nothing.

Well, I think that part of my "problem" is that I am nursing 2 kids. They are not "full time" anymore...one is 11 months and the other is 5 months old. That is draining (pun intended!). They really only nurse in the AM and late PM...maybe once in the afternoon as the older one is eating finger foods and baby food along w/ her bottle and the littlest one enjoys her bottle and rice cereal. I saw nothing harmful in the Atkins plan to nursing my daughters. Plus, having 3 kids (one who we are in the process of adopting...just to explain the math and put you who were trying to figure it out of your misery) can add a touch of stress...actually, it is the adoption stuff that is the most stressful. And when you stress...you want snacks.

Well, tonight, I ate NO SNACKS after dinner! GO ME! I also did some exercise in front of the TV while watching a PBS special on weight loss programs. The people who had gastric by-pass and the woman who did the Zone (low carb) lost the most by far...the Atkins guy went on a bender of pasta, pizza, and bread then dropped out! I am drinking my water and being so careful. It is confusing to me becasue I wrote Atkins an email asking about cocoa etc during induction and they basically replied with a sales pitch for their brand products...not really answering my question or addressing induction at all, but by replying the way they did it inferred that eating that stuff (cocoa, SF choco syrup, etc) was OK. I found it confusing at best. So, I am DESPERATELY trying to avoid the ice cream till I'm officially out of induction. Also, about the SF jello...they are made w/ the dreaded aspertame. Why can we eat aspertame in jello, but not in pop or other foods? I cannot find jello made with anything other than aspertame...unless I make it from unflavored gelatin...but how do you flavor it? The recipe says with JUICE...which we can't have. Is there some SF jello making secret???

Thanks again for your advice and suggestions! I WANT NUTS! Are Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts ok? How many are a serving (not weight...#). I have almonds and pecans too that I am saving....bought on sale! Again, how many are a serving? What is the carb count on them? THANKS! LOVE THIS SITE!!!

By the fourth day of induction amount carbs (and no sugar) I was down to eating very small portions and being absolutely stuffed. Had no cravings at all. I think the key to beating any cravings is a large bottle of water in your hands at all times during first few weeks of induction.

Im eating when im hungry now rather then when I had some sugar induced craving for food.

A usual day of meals for me begins with bacon and eggs for breakfast, sugarfree jello for lunch, and 2 pieces of homemade soy pizza for supper ( or 2 hamburger patties with cheese/chicken/fish and a salad). Total carb intake is usually under 20g without trying. I take a megadose supp to make up for the very low carb intake (just not hungry enough to eat more).

Seems to be working for me as in down 45lbs in two months.

One odd thing ive noticed is every so often I will stall and bounce for a few days. I began to wonder what was happening during those times until i noticed my belt would require new holes drilled in it during those stalls (belt is about 10-12 inches shorter now). It also is fun to watch the big weight drop (5lbs ish) over the next couple days once the stall ends.

Induction isnt bad if you follow the rules and dont cheat. Just hang in there its worth it.

If you are hungry go make your self a bowl of sugar free jello, thats what I did on induction, it helped with my sweet tooth & satisfied me

I followed induction to a T and by day four all of my cravings were GONE, and I was not hungry, sometimes lunch time would pass & I would remember that I had to eat. Hopefully this will happen for you soon, hang in there