Chocolate is calling my name ...

[Sherri]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

So, this is my second time and I had been doing well for 6 days when, I decided to have some sugarfree jello with a bit of whipcream. That jello/whipcream seem to set me off and I ate some of my son's candy. So, I have restarted and my goal is for a clean induction. However, I can't stop thining about chocolate and I just want to make it thought a clean 14 days so, I can have an Atkins Chocolate Shake. Last time I used the shakes and i don't beleive they stalled my weight loss. Does anyone here regularly use the shakes? Thanks,
Jenni

Hello,
I am here to personally invite you to the Operation "No Sweets" Challenge. Sign ups are now and the challenge begins March 16. If you want the day to come where you have no cravings for sweets or "chocolate" then it's time to give them up completely.
Sincerely, Sherri

[Evermind]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

I don't know..........Dr. Atkins was a big advocate of dessert. Also of not depriving yourself. Seems to me that eliminating all desire for certain tastes isn't reasonable. At least for me. I no longer crave carby sweets. But nobody ever told me I couldn't have non-carby sweets.

[Brook]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

I don't know..........Dr. Atkins was a big advocate of dessert. Also of not depriving yourself. Seems to me that eliminating all desire for certain tastes isn't reasonable. At least for me. I no longer crave carby sweets. But nobody ever told me I couldn't have non-carby sweets.

I'm not sure where you're getting this Evermind. I can't find anywhere where Dr. Atkins comes off as a "big advocate of dessert". He certainly said not to deprive yourself, but he also warns extensively about reoccurring addictions and nipping them in the bud. When Dr. Atkins spoke of dessert, 99% of the references I find to it are of him referring to cheeses or homemade gelatin with heavy cream - *not* chocolate/cookies/cakes/bars or low carb versions of them. He even spoke of dessert being an "occasional" thing- not an every day or every other day thing.

If you start out the gate - especially in induction- continuing to indulge in the things that landed you needing to induct in the first place and not learning to change your ideas/focuses/foods and looking for ways to substitute low-carb junk for high carb junk, how do you step out of the cycle? It didn't work for low-fat dieters.

The only time Dr. Atkins really addresses eating the carb controlled sweets is in the lifetime maintenance chapters and he cautions against obsessive behavior concerning these types of treats. He makes mention of avoiding trigger foods and he talks quite a bit about eating them once a week.

Trigger foods- ones to which you are addicted- are the ones you can't stop eating, and they are the very foods you should not add back in. It might be peanuts, chocolate, potato chips or something else. If you find you are always planning when you can have your next portion of that food, cut it out altogether, or be sure to have it just once a week, perhaps as a Friday ight treat. Only you will know whether the first or the second strategy will work better for you. Remember, it's about what works!

And again..this quote is found in Chapter 17- Lifetime Maintenance.

There's room for all schools of thought- for sure, but I don't think it's fair to say that Dr. Atkins was "a big advocate of dessert". Dr. Atkins was a big advocate of controlling cravings and of food in general! But he gave us very limited room in induction and the first phases of OWL for a reason. That and then add the collective experience of those on the board...well...it adds up to advice that says - Find another way or suck it up and hang in there- because it works!

No one said you can't have non-carby sweets. True enough. You're just limited to 3 servings of sweetener to make it happen and it's not supposed to be something you do often.


Just my

[FunnyActressInLA]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

Well if you are looking for something "chocolately" this is something I found that works, Canfield's Diet Chocolate Fudge soda it's very yummy.

[SeaSands]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

I really agree with the quote Brook gave about trigger foods. So, I am going to elminate my trigger. I guess everyone has to do what works for them.

[Evermind]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

In every interview I ever saw with Dr. Atkins, he talked about dessert. All sorts of puddings and flans and custards, etc. The Atkins website has a ton of sweet recipes and always has.

I agree that trigger foods should be avoided, but that doesn't mean that liking sweets means it is a trigger food. I think some people become very anal about this woe. It's one thing to be careful and measure and restrict your carbs. It's another to try to cut out everything that you think is bad instead of just practicing moderation. Caffeine is a great example. So are sweet foods.

My point is this: You can eliminate sweet things and banish that sweet tooth. BUt that won't teach you anything about discipline. It won't teach you to be moderate in your food choices. And once you taste sweets again, it all comes back, plus.

[Brook]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

In every interview I ever saw with Dr. Atkins, he talked about dessert. All sorts of puddings and flans and custards, etc. The Atkins website has a ton of sweet recipes and always has.

He did - but it's not fair to say he recommended them, because he didn't! He did discuss those things- esp when talking about maintenance and whatnot- but he talked about things that would get people to listen. LOL And what he said while he thought the masses were listening didn't contradict what he wrote, but it certainly didn't focus on the nitty-gritty either.

The website is a marketing/sales tool. It had no where near the crap on it 6 years ago than it does now. The 'crap' factor of the website exploded when the good Dr. died. Atkins Nutritionals is interested in selling you a product. The website is a disgrace IMHO. It also had no where near the sweet recipes on it then either. That's just not true, but them being there over the last few years has certainly increased traffic and told people what they want to hear - even if it was different than what Dr. Atkins said. I'm not saying he didn't say there was a place for it or that he didn't market that angle. I'm saying he was specific about *when* and how often.

I agree that trigger foods should be avoided, but that doesn't mean that liking sweets means it is a trigger food. I think some people become very anal about this woe. It's one thing to be careful and measure and restrict your carbs. It's another to try to cut out everything that you think is bad instead of just practicing moderation. Caffeine is a great example. So are sweet foods.

Liking sweets or anything else doesn't make them trigger foods - but let's be real here. What are people whining about not being able to have, focusing on, obsessing about? Those behaviors are the marks of a trigger.

If the majority of overweight carb addicts were truly capable of moderation - they wouldn't be addicts or overweight to begin with!!!

Those of us that you refer to as "anal" are typically the ones that are successful for the long haul in my observations. Me being "anal" has kept me at or near goal for 4 years and running. Me not being dilligent and thinking that I had control of the things that sent me into a tail spin is what landed me in a position of needing to be anal in the first place.

My point is this: You can eliminate sweet things and banish that sweet tooth. BUt that won't teach you anything about discipline. It won't teach you to be moderate in your food choices. And once you taste sweets again, it all comes back, plus.

There's a time and a place for bringing some of these things back in, but induction/re-induction/beginning OWL aren't- IMHO- the place or time for it. Most people simply aren't ready regardless of what their cravings tell them (the fact that the cravings are ruling their decisions at all proves that).

If it were simply about moderation and discipline, the chemistry wouldn't be an issue but it's *not* simply about moderation and discipline. It's about addictive behavior and trigger foods. If chocolate isn't one of those things for you, I think that's great. - But take a look at the boards and take a look at the people who fall off the wagon and spend forever trying to get back on or just simply disappear and are never heard from again. They're the ones that started out either trying to replace the things that got them in trouble, toe-dipping into the things that got them in trouble- and they're all scrambling to find their way back. Why? Because moderation and discipline have squat to do with the chemistry and addictive tendencies.

Knowing our own individual limitations is the real name of the game. That doesn't make me anal..it makes me smart, adaptive, and more than that..it makes me successful.

[Sherri]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

I really agree with the quote Brook gave about trigger foods. So, I am going to elminate my trigger. I guess everyone has to do what works for them.

Seasands,
I wanted to come by personally to welcome you to the Operation "No Sweets" Challenge. I'm glad you joined. See you at the Challenge.
Sherri

[Sherri]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

Yes, Brook, I agree with you!
By me being "anal" I've conquered my sugar addiction , reversed my Type 2 diabetes, lost over 130 pounds and keept it off.
By me quiting all sweetners, it is disciplining myself moreso than allowing the sweet poisons in my life. I'm not saying that I'll never eat them again, but I can tell you that I will have better control over them, than they do me. It truly is an individual choice! A smart one at that!
Sherri

[Evermind]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

Well, I won't argue about this anymore. I just want people to stop preaching complete elimination of desserts. Dr. Atkins, in a talk he gave in 1999, described a typical induction menu that included dessert. And the recipes that were handed out on that day (for a week's worth of induction) all had dessert.

It's not anal to eliminate sweets if you find they trigger other things. But it IS anal to systematically cut out anything you like because you think that moderating sweets and moderating caffeine means elliminating it entirely.

[Sherri]

Re: Chocolate is calling my name ...

So, this is my second time and I had been doing well for 6 days when, I decided to have some sugarfree jello with a bit of whipcream. That jello/whipcream seem to set me off and I ate some of my son's candy. So, I have restarted and my goal is for a clean induction. However, I can't stop thining about chocolate and I just want to make it thought a clean 14 days so, I can have an Atkins Chocolate Shake. Last time I used the shakes and i don't beleive they stalled my weight loss. Does anyone here regularly use the shakes? Thanks,
Jenni

Hello Jenni,
Thank you for posting this. It has obviously stirred up alot of emotion here. That's a good thing, because it shows that we are all passionate about our Atkins Lifestyle. I believe you found the answer your were looking for by ALL of our helpful posters here. Lets not lose focus on why we are all here and let's not lose the repect we have for each other.We're here to support one another. We are all unique, searching for our "Healthier Me" .
Sincerely, Sherri