Hey folks,

a question about motivation. how do you keep from 'cheating'? recently, i fell off Atkins completely due to a lot of responsibilities and stress, and the whole thing not being enough of a 'habit' to withstand that.

but now at work, the holidays and colder weather are insipiring coworkers to bring in all kinds of treats. donuts, bars, holiday mixes, etc., are all around me. recently, since restarting, i've 'cheated' a few times, all at work, and then i felt genuinely ill afterwords -- my body really doesn't like the sugar load.

i've realized since that it always happens when i'm having pms, so that's a clue -- i might bring a treat, like low-carb ice cream or homemade high-protein peanut butter cups -- to compete.

but how do you get past that impulse?

You're not alone with this problem. I just fell off for a whole week. I am trying to restart and get in ketosis this weekend, while I'm away from the work goodies. Also taking a supplement thats supposed to help stabilize blood sugar.

I'm looking forward to the answers, I'm lost too.

what I do when I have pms is I try not to eat bad things . but just eat the good things like nuts , and other stuff. I feel like I am a bottomless pitt and never are full so I just eat all the good stuff and then know that in 3-4 days I will not be hungry all the time .Then during this time of year I would bring some treat with you to work so that instead of having everything that other people brought in you can have what you brought. good luck with not eating the bad stuff.

About cravings due to stress, I wish I had an answer. I have just been through a few weeks of life-altering decisions that have put me in carb craving hell but now thank goodness I'm back. I think I read somewhere that phisiologically, when you are stressed your body craves the sugar because of the seratonin it releases when you eat it which calms you down. Not that that's an excuse...

However, I have found that taking Evening Primrose Oil once a day on a regular basis (i take a mega gel cap of about 1300 mg), meaning not just when you're pmsing but all year round helps with the cravings triggered by pms. Once upon a time when I didn't have the mega stress I've been having, I found that taking that particular suppliment helped during pms.

anyway, couldn't hurt to try...

Tam

I re-read the Dr Phil book, the chapters on "right thinking" are most helpful, take glutamine, drink LOADS of water...

I have to really avoid the lc chocolates, although some people can get by using them as a substitute..I find myself eating WAY too many. I know it's better than real chocolate, but too much of anything is not helpful.

I think you have the answer. I think its a good idea for you to keep treats around for emergency purposes. Its very easy to fall off the wagon when your around friends that eat junk.

I drink a big mug of hot chocolate in the evenings. I amke it so sweet with splenda and whipping cream that It almost makes me ill. This fixes the whole problem for about 15 carbs. 2 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder,2 heaping tablespoons splenda, add boiling water until cup is 2/3 full then add heavy cream.

when used to combat pms it works good.

neen

I've found that if I buy the individually wrapped chocolates it's much easier to eat just one. When I bought a whole candy bar it was way too easy to eat the whole thing. I also only eat them as a reward, or during PMS or high stress times. Just like I did when I ate the sugary ones, I tell myself that another one will taste just the same, so why bother? It's not a fool-proof plan, but it helps.
I brought a couple with me to my office party last night. It sure helped when I saw the dessert table. OMG-they really went overboard with that one, I'm sure I would have had a bite if I didn't have my little sweets in my purse!

I always stock up on Lindt 85% cocoa bars for PMS. On a really bad day I can go overboard with them, but for the most part, I only eat 2-4 squares per day. And they don't start my cravings.

I also allow myself to eat more nuts or whatever is legal, knowing that it will go away soon.

One strategy that I think is important for the diet overall is to save things like diet sodas, sf candy, or whatever, for those times when you need/want to splurge. If we have them all the time, the only thing to do to "cheat" is to really cheat.

I have terrible cravings, and have to stuff myself in order to not cheat. In order to minimize the stuffing damage I try to make it mostly lower calorie liquids, like hot sweet tea etc.

A delicious drink that really fills me is a large portion of espresso (like 4 shots) mixed with frothed low carb milk, half chocolate half white. That, or just the white milk mixed with cocoa.

Another filling drink is low carb eggnog.. I get sick of it after a reasonable portion too! Just mix a cup of lc milk in a blender with a couple of yolks, some splenda, (vanilla optional) and nutmeg.

I keep diet sodas around too.. they're sweet and bubbly! Aspartame is worth not putting on a few pounds of fat for me.
The treats can't be around though or they're in my mouth.

It seems that the biggest craving is to be "filled" and to have significant amounts of food/drink in my stomach. Don't know what that's all about but I don't like it!! It feels similar to when I'm upset, stressed, really bummed etc.

I used to have the worst cravings, they would last for over a week. About a month ago I started taking vitex (herb) and this tom is the FIRST time I haven't had cravings. It's a miracle. I even sat across dh while he ate chocolate pudding and buttermilk pie and wasn't even tempted. This herb is a godsend on many levels. It did take a while to kick in (a few weeks) but it is a pretty potent estrogen regulator as well as being good over all for womenly parts.