Hello. I started Atkins the day after "What if Its All Been a Big Fat Lie". I made it down to 211 but have not lost for 7 weeks (I added nuts and a small pear 3 times a week) and then over Christmas went up to 217 even though I had an "Atkins" compliant holiday (except for highly salted foods, overeating nuts as well as a cream cheese, heavy cream and Splenda dessert). This was my first experience with Splenda. I've now sworn off Splenda and only use Stevia once a week in some tea. I am also returning to induction and ditching the nuts until I get closer to my goal.

Here's my question. I crave and love HEAVY CREAM. Atkins says to limit heavy cream intake to 2 tablespoons per day which I cannot do. I love to pour a cup and sip it. My concern is to find out why there is a limit on Heavy Cream intake. I understand its highly caloric but I thought calories did not matter on Atkins during Induction? On the other hand he vaguely suggests that calories do matter. I checked a USDA website that says that heavy cream has about 6 carbs per cup so I'm not carbohydrate overdosing. Anyone have a similar experience? Any ideas why I have this craving? Should I stop?

I can SOOOO relate to loving the heavy cream. It is the one "legal" food that is restricted that I can NOT keep from over indulging in. BUT... I work hard at it because it IS very caloric dense - one cup is almost 900 calories!

Atkins indicates that during induction you do not worry about calories, and that for MOST people you do not have to worry about calories on his eating plan for two reasons:

1) The process of converting energy from fat (ingested or body fat) is not as efficient as the glucosis process. Your body waste's alot of the converted energy (ketones) by spilling it into your urine and or breath etc... and so you can literally consume more calories than you could on a high carbohydrate diet ... and still lose weight. I know from my own experience that this IS true.

2) Ketosis generally suppresses your appetite and for many this "naturally" restricts the amount of calories you consume.

However, having said all that... he does concede that many of us can still get carried away and eat even when our body is not signaling us for "hunger" ... i.e. we eat because we enjoy the sensation (hmmm... think about that heavy cream!). So, he does address in later sections of the book that calories DO naturally matter... because if you consume consistently more than what your body needs or wastes... then you will gain weight. It is very possible to gain weight while eating low carb. Sadly, some of us must pay attention to our caloric intake in order to lose... but... generally if you follow his plan... INCLUDING THE RESTRICTIONS on the amount of nuts, cheese, and cream you may not need to worry about counting calories. However, those restrictions were put there because they are calorie dense and are hard to stop at a reasonable amount of.

The amount you are allowed is not just 2 TBS though... it is no more than 2 to 3 fluid ounces... which is approximately 1/4 cup. Just double checked it in the book to be sure.

So enjoy it in moderation. When I really slow down in weight loss... I find cutting the cream and nuts for a while really does the trick.

My name is shar and I'm a creamaholic...
LOL. But I get where you are coming from. The cream is highly caloric, so just be creative. I use 1/3 cup cream to 1 cup or mor of water to dilute it for my LC puddings. I am careful to use a real measuring tablspoon when using it in my one coffee a day. I think that we just crave the soothing part of cream. Indeed, how close to nature can we get than cream?

Heavy cream is definitely a trigger food for you. I'm realizing that any food I can't eat in a normal quantity without binging is a trigger. Yea, I have to watch the cream too, don't we all...it just tastes so good.

Don't have any suggestions for you, but it's sounding like a NO NO for you, at least until you can eat it in a reasonable quantity, like a bit in coffee.

Best of luck.

Thanks for all of your replies. Great to know its not just me alone with "cream" issues. I thought once I had stepped away from sugar and bread I was home free. I will work on reining it in.

One dilemma I have with this approach to weight loss is that what works for me in Induction is eliminating types of foods but not having to really think about quantity of the remaining things that I think tastes good. I have been concerned that once I move to ongoing weight loss and even maintenance I will have to restrict my intake of foods that I really enjoy. Balancing has never been my strong suit. I need to start preparing for this. Assuming your carb intake goes up, what kind of caloric intake are we talking about in the later stages of Atkins?

Hi...just my two cents... I would definitely try to find something other than heavy cream to sip if this is a problem for you, especially because your SO CLOSE to your goal...

Once in a great while, after a good long time of letting my body stay on track, I will treat myself to a latte made with half and half...this is my treat, but like you, I LOVE them and when I was having one every day, I wondered why I wasn't dropping.

I thought half and half was "legal"...well, yeah, a few ounces not 3 cups!! LOL...I sabotaged myself in so many "legal" ways, so I can truly relate!

Now, if I really get the DESIRE for one, and if I feel that my foods have been really under control, I'll say "okay, sounds like a deal...have a small one" but it's something I can just as easily say, "nope...not good for you right now..." and leave it at that.

Good luck...