Hello everyone,

I am very new here, I have started doing the Atkins diet this Monday and so far everything is going ok although I haven't weighed myself yet, I am waiting until Sunday.

I wanted to ask about chewing gum and what kind are we allowed to have during our induction. I quit smoking recently and chewing gum helps me get over my cravings. At the moment I am having cheing gum that contains Acesuflame K and Aspartame.
Is that ok? Will that stall my weight loss?

Any ideas of any other gum??

Thanks

Ooops I forgot to mark it as a question

I cant say for sure if it will stall your weight or not HOWEVER I think U are better off not smoking [take it from someone who wants to quit..lol] If u feel U need the gum I would chew it for now and then make changes later.

I just recently found out that anything sweet that touches your tongue causes an insulin release, especially gum because it takes you so long to "eat" it. Haven't you ever noticed that your stomach will growl if you chew gum? Your body thinks you're eating and will give you physical and mental cravings. Your body wants to know why you're not getting nourishment from all this "eating" you're doing, and it begs for more food to make up for it.
It may not effect you. But some people turn into a fat storing machine when they have too much insulin in their system. It also increases insulin resistance (I can't explain why that's bad yet, don't understand it yet).
I have given up all sweets except at dinner, and I think I've started losing again. I used to chew gum and pop sugar free mints all the time and was not losing.

As they all say.... YMMV.

However, if chewing gum is the only way you can keep from smoking, then I would suggest chewing. Some things are more important than "quick" weight loss. And if you stick to your low carb diet, you will not gain weight, and you will be ready to start losing again once you give up the gum.


Whenever I feel my oral fixation coming on, I take a sip of water. I keep a gallon on my desk. I still smoke however, so I cannot compare the severity of the craving.

Just a suggestion -- when I quit smoking June 1st I began to carry a water bottle with me everywhere (still do), and every time I had the urge to smoke, I took a sip of water. After a couple of days, I began to associate the urge to smoke with being thirsty instead. This replaced a bad habit with a healthy one, and the water is great now that I'm low carbing!

This may sound wierd, okay, but bear with me I used to have a big chewing gum habit, and it did stall my weight loss. If you feel the need to have something in your mouth, and want to ditch the gum, try just having a very clean marble to suck on. It keeps your salivary glands working, but there are certainly no calories there and no insulin response. And nobody has to know about it. Just don't suck it down your throat

Thanks for all your replies

I will try and follow your advice and be careful with the marble

I haven't weighed myself yet so I don't know if it stalled my weight or not, I also don't know how much weight I am expecting to lose in the induction period???

Hi Moraki....everyone has a different stall factor...mine seems to be the Low Carb Bars....throws me right out of ketosis.....On the first week of induction, I lost 8 pounds, mostly water weight, but it does stay off.....I also skip breakfast on occasion.....I try to keep a dozen hard boiled and peeled eggs in the fridge, for the way out the door......during the first 2 weeks your body has to get used to your new way of eating.....I think that the more you eat, the less likely you are to be hungry.....thus...less likely to fall off....and as for the sweet-n-low.....I think that is OK.....just cut out the coffee good luck and keep pluggin

Everyone reacts different to induction. Men will generally lose far more than women. I have even seen some people after induction maybe only lose a pound BUT they feel better which makes them continue on with this WOL. I would say tho that most women will lose between 3-8 pounds and men 5-10. Hope that helps.

Take a look at the www.atkinscenter.com site, the article is I guess, something with metabolic resistance, and there is a table. Maybe here you can find what you are 'supposed' to loos e in the first 2 weeks!

Bye!