Conquering Demons - Is it realistic?

[Sims]

The one thing I'm really hoping this change in lifestyle will do for me is help me conquer 2 demons - sugar addiction and carb addiction. I notice a lot of recipes for alternative sweets and breads and the like. I know it's my choice to make these items or not but what I really want to know is ....how feesible is it to completely rid myself of these cravings and desire for these foods? Has anyone here done that? I worry about what'll happen as I move up the ladder and add more foods - will those strong cravings come back?

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Conquering Demons - Is it realistic?

>>how feesible is it to completely rid myself of these cravings and desire for these foods?>>

It certainly can be done ... you have to want it though.

It's not always easy either ... one's "dragon" can often be hanging around waiting to confuse you ... and tempt you.

>>I worry about what'll happen as I move up the ladder and add more foods - will those strong cravings come back?>>

Who knows if they'll come back ... that's in the future.

If you follow the Rules of Induction, do an orderly OWL ... and don't fall in to the trap of thinking that any and all low carb "treats" are good for you ... then you stand a good chance of success.

As with all addictions, sometimes it's a day/hour/minute at a time.

[liv]

Re: Conquering Demons - Is it realistic?

Carbs are not evil. They can be wonderful. Give us both pleasure and nutrition.
What happens with many of us (like me) is that we could not control our consumption of them. The idea of Atkins is not to cut them out but to become friends with them again to a level where we control them and they do not control us.
It is a long process. I think the key is to take it slow. Staring with only those veggies and then very, very slowly move up you will get a feeling for portion size and you will get a feeling of control.
I think of all the things I have learned on my journey that I am happy about it is that. I can have x, y,z but not at the same time and not in huge quantities. But there is plenty of carbs to get to be reacquainted with on Atkins.
Don't be afraid - just give yourself plenty of time. One little step at the time.

[Brook]

Re: Conquering Demons - Is it realistic?

Carbs are not evil. They can be wonderful. Give us both pleasure and nutrition.
What happens with many of us (like me) is that we could not control our consumption of them. The idea of Atkins is not to cut them out but to become friends with them again to a level where we control them and they do not control us.
It is a long process. I think the key is to take it slow. Staring with only those veggies and then very, very slowly move up you will get a feeling for portion size and you will get a feeling of control.
I think of all the things I have learned on my journey that I am happy about it is that. I can have x, y,z but not at the same time and not in huge quantities. But there is plenty of carbs to get to be reacquainted with on Atkins.
Don't be afraid - just give yourself plenty of time. One little step at the time.

Beautifully stated.

The truth is that it's going to vary for everyone. Me? In the 5 years since I reached goal, I've fallen on my butt and put on several pounds...well, this is the third time.

When it happens though, I recognize it and I know how to take it off and re-center myself. I do have an eating disorder - have for many years- and Atkins has been the best and most healthy way I've found to help me manage it.

One step at a time.

[not2late]

Re: Conquering Demons - Is it realistic?

The one thing I'm really hoping this change in lifestyle will do for me is help me conquer 2 demons - sugar addiction and carb addiction. I notice a lot of recipes for alternative sweets and breads and the like. I know it's my choice to make these items or not but what I really want to know is ....how feesible is it to completely rid myself of these cravings and desire for these foods? Has anyone here done that? I worry about what'll happen as I move up the ladder and add more foods - will those strong cravings come back?

Lucky for us there is no "Alternative sweets rung" or even a "Low Carb bread/dessert rung".

When I was a newbie here, a very wise moderator by the name of Brook ( ) used to tell everyone to kill their sweet tooth by starving it. Because the more you feed the sweet tooth, the more it will want.

Brook was right! Over the years here I've seen many people fall off Atkins because they fed their sweet tooth with perfectly legal sweets. I remember this one episode where a newbie kept posting how great the frozen cheesecake blob recipe was and how she loved it and ate it all the time. She would encourage newbies to make and eat them because the "treat" was so wonderful and yummy. Needless to say, the folks who did as she suggested ate the stuff, and managed to fall off Atkins. As you have already figured out, that poster was a diet saboteur.

Personally, I am a starchy carb junkie. And I worried about moving up the OWL rungs. In fact, I planned to completely skip the starchy veggie rung and the grain rung. But as I went through my OWL, I learned alot about my body. And I did try out those foods----potatoes, rice, and noodles. I learned 1. that these foods didn't taste half as good as I had remembered them and 2. it was easy to control their portions because they didn't taste as good as I had remembered them.

I don't feel compelled to eat those foods. And if I do choose to eat them, a spoonful is enough for me. I think it's because I enjoy eating other foods now more than I enjoy eating them.

[ziggy]

Re: Conquering Demons - Is it realistic?

rung 8 starchy vegetables like potatos and corn make me sick for some reason

while rung 9 oats i can have 1/4 cup and i think im ok

the rungs are a testing part if something becomes hard or is harming you then go back down the rungs

when i first started atkins i could not eat berries or the medium carb vegetables or etc with out my weight loss stalling or gaining water weight maybe my cells were a little too insulin resistant back then but now they are better i can handle medium carb vegetables and berries now with out even puting water weight on

anyways the rungs are a personal test everyone is different when it comes to insulin resistant cells and how much they exercise and if they build full body muscle and such depends on how far they want to go up the rungs

i stay'ed at induction during my first 100 pounds of fat loss cause rung 1 medium carb vegetables would slow or stall my weight loss whipping cream rung 2 would slow or stall my weight loss and higher rungs were even worse for me

my more recent 50 pounds of fat loss and 50 pounds of muscle gain i got from going to the gym and now i mostly stay at rung 4 and or maintenance phase

[JulieB]

Re: Conquering Demons - Is it realistic?

I agree with the above comments and would also like to add that over time, you create new eating habits. When I do meal planning or grocery shopping now, I don't even think of the foods that I used to eat pre-Atkins. I've gotten into the habit of shopping in the fresh produce, meat and dairy aisles, and only go down the other ones to get a very specific item. I've got a whole new collection of recipes that we really like, and that is what I plan to make.

This takes time I've been doing Atkins since April. Do I still occasionally crave foods I shouldn't have? Sure, but it happens less & less often. Do I cave? Very rarely. There is no ice-cream or piece of chocolate cake or pie or anything that could taste good enough to risk gaining back the 80lbs I've lost, or to risk not losing the next 80. I've swapped out my bad eating habits for good ones - and I LOVE the results so far!

As far as "alternative" recipes go, some are better than others. There's nothing wrong with mock potatoes or pasta-less lasagne or zucchini noodeles... I use replacement breads & sweets in moderation. I bring a legal desert to birthday parties (sometimes - when I have time to make it!) or other places where I want to participate in "cake", but I don't make & eat them at home. That is where I personally draw the line, based on my past relationship with sweets. I don't miss my addiction, and don't care to re-awaken it

Hope this helps,

[Sims]

Re: Conquering Demons - Is it realistic?

Thank you everyone. The comments really put my mind at ease. I know this is going to take time. I think I have to remember to just take it one day at a time.