Hi all, I have been trying the Atkins plan since January. I really have not lost any weight, but I have given up chocolate (two weeks today)...to help with the sugar cravings, I have been eating the Low Carb Cheese Cake (substituting Splenda for the sugar), I was eating LOTS of the Cheese cake (I now do not have the intense sugar cravings), but could the excess in Creme Cheese be the factor to keep me from losing any weight?

Why would eating something that looks and tastes (and pours) like sugar, help you stop craving the real thing?

If you are doing induction, avoid any sweetners for two weeks to allow you to become accustomed to your new tastes in food. Any taste of any sweetness will act just as if you had eated sugar to your insulin. AS do create a rise in insulin, sometimes just a little, and creating even blood sugar levels is the idea for the first two weeks of Atkins.

After your two weeks, you may try to experiment with Artificial Sweetners, and see how they effect you. If they cause you to crave more, then they are probably not for you except on a limited basis.

Elihnig

Also, no more than 4 oz. of cheese in a day. Dairy can stall also.

Elihnig

Hi..I've been on this diet for about 4 days now but I use some artificial sweeteners in my cooking, light jell-o and an occasional diet pop...would that affect my weight loss? I found it extremely hard to elminate all sugars from my diet at once...

hoping for some good advice and reassurance.

That's why on induction, they're not allowed.

I was religious about avoiding AS when I was on induction. I followed the plan to the very letter. After I decided to go on to OWL, though, I got a little nuts. If you check my journal you'll find the portion where I was grousing about bouncing around with the same 5lbs for a long time. The strongest suggestion (and the most frequent) was to cut the AS. I did, and it helped. Since then I've added it back in slowly, and I'm doing fine now. YMMV, of course--and as I said, on induction it's a no-no, regardless.

I've been on induction a week and a half, and have used Splenda in my coffee every day. It hasn't made me crave anything, it just makes the coffee taste decent. And I've still lost seven pounds so far.

I hear ya, I don't care for black coffee at all. But just think about this for a little bit: What if you *had* cut out the AS completely? That 7lbs could have been more. No one will know for *sure*, but it could have been....

Just a little decaf for thought.

Could be true, but I also know that I would be a VERY grumpy, cranky, headachy woman to be around right now without my coffee, so I'll go slowly with the weight loss and stay halfway human!!! LOL

Oh, dear. I am reminded of the immortal words of Spock:

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few--or the one.

Better to be halfway human, I agree!

I have had splenda every day 2 packet`s in 2 cup`s of coffee everyday, I crave sweet`s at nite. Late Nite.

Just another question about sugar substitute...is splenda better than TwinSugar?? I hear that TwinSugar has less carbs but it seems like most people hear use splenda...

Yes splenda is better than sugar twin if you look on page 128 of dr atkins diet revolution book it will explain... Splenda is made from real sugar... I am on day 15 of my induction... I decided to stay on it a while longer. I have added 2 cups of decaf coffee to my weekly schedule... I will promise this if you cut back on the sweetners and eat right in a couple of weeks add the subsitutes back to your meals you will never use a whole pack in a cup of coffee again... I only use about 1/4 -1/2 pk in a cup of cofee now.. And when I eat brochlie the other night it was sweet tasting... never knew how sweet food actualy was until i went without sugar for over a week.
hope it helps some

i bought splenda and wasnt at all thrilled with it, after i use it up, im going to buy sweet and low. It takes too much slenda to make things sweet, plain and simple. I only use it to sweeten tea and coffee, not for cooking