Let the cravings begin...

[SarahWants2BSkinny]

OK, so my books (ANDR and the Carb Gram Counter) finally came in the mail and my goal is to read through them by the weekend (doable), go shopping Saturday morning (I have eggs so breakfast is covered) and have Saturday be my start day. I originally had this past Monday slated as my start day, but the books didn't arrive when I thought they would.

My question for anyone who might know...are we allowed sugar free gum on induction? In the past, that helped me get through hungry/craving spells when attempting other diets/quitting smoking/biting my nails/etc.

[not2late]

Re: Let the cravings begin...

If you get hungry between meals, the first thing you should do is drink a glass of water and wait 20 to 30 minutes. If you don't feel hungry anymore, then you might have just been thirsty. The part of the brain that signals thirst is next door to the part of the brain that signals hunger. So sometimes one can be mistaken for the other.

If after 20-30 minutes you are still hungry, then eat. Eat real food. Don't chew on gum or anything like that----feed your body.

Once ketosis kicks in, you will typically not feel hungry or as hungry, because a side effect of ketosis is appetite suppression.

[blueberrylady]

Re: Let the cravings begin...

Welcome Sarah. You've come to the right place for answers and support. Post often and don't be afraid to keep asking questions. Reading the stickies also helps. Then join some challenges because they are great motivators. Good luck!

[redfoxglove]

Re: Let the cravings begin...

Alright, a fellow gum chewer! I love, love, love gum! Alas, gum chewing is NAGI (not a good idea) because, it is sweetened with stuff that will stall your weight loss. Namely, aspartame! Some of them have sorbitol but they are the 30-second kind, ie lose their flavor in 30 seconds. Also sorbitol can cause diarrhea... Best to do as advised above, drink water first, thirst is often misdiagnosed as hunger, because so many of us lost our natural thirst due to being chronically dehydrated, and think we are hungry when we are actually thirsty...speaking from experience... and step 2, as megs states above, is keep some pre-made legal snacks on hand, like some of my faves, ham rolled around cream cheese, celery with cream cheese, decaf tea with heavy cream, deviled eggs...yum!

[SarahWants2BSkinny]

Re: Let the cravings begin...

Bummed as I am about the gum thing, I see the logic behind it, so I shall abstain.... Thanks for clarifying that. I can't wait to go grocery shopping and load up my cart with all the "legal" food - just seeing that will help, knowing that I don't have to starve on this "diet"...That already makes it better than most I've been on. The last one I tried was the raw food diet and OMG, I only made it 3/4 of a day! And I love veggies and fruit! By the end of the day, I kept thinking "STEAK!"

[redfoxglove]

Re: Let the cravings begin...

SarahSkinny, cutest pic BTW, I wanted to share with you what I did last night. I went to the cupboard and moved from the easy-reach shelf up to the topmost get-a-chair shelf, all the stuff that is still "good food" but not legal in this way of life. After a couple months if that food is still up there I'm putting it in a box and taking it to the food bank. Things like, (these are things my DH buys that I don't ever eat anyway): canned soup (has corn syrup), canned fruit (has sugar), and then the things I bought: dried beans and lentils (too many carbs), brown rice (a staple in the way we've eaten for years), dried fruit and nuts (for holiday baking), chocolate chips (ditto), pasta (my fave/my addiction), tomato sauce that has sugar in it, triscuits, etc.

Now there is all this room in the cupboard for the REALLY good foods that belong to this way of life. Honestly I don't know what's going to go in that space b/c so much of what is Atkins legal is fresh, fresh, fresh, but at least when I open that cupboard door I don't see things "I can't have".

So now my frig is chock full of fresh vegetables. Overflowing, really. But when I open it I see so many possibilities, b/c of the recipes I've been reading up on (this site, DANDR, also a book called Atkins for Life).

So yeah, nothing like a "visual" to help you feel confident that there are choices, so many you never even imagined. Have fun with your shopping, I've been shopping all during my Induction (Day 12), looking at recipes, making lists, it's been a blast! Next week school starts and I think I have a good running start at it...good luck, and remember to have fun...