legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

[Han]

I'm am sure we all have a list in our minds of foods we cannot eat, although they are low carb. I know that cream cheese with splenda made me completely ravenous during induction, so now I avoid cream cheese, and I stopped buying those little yellow packets of splenda entirely. Although I have stopped using the splenda in my own kitchen, I still purchase some items with sweeteners in them, but I never make any desserts with splenda. Also, diet sodas sweetened with sucralose can lead me down a dangerous path, as does whipping cream. I also just discovered the Emerald dark chocolate cocoa roast almonds. I couldn't stop eating them.
I NO LONGER HAVE ANY OF THESE FOODS. I stick to meats, eggs, veggies, hard cheese, and water.
My point is, through trial and error, I have personally learned that by not cheating the system via "desserts", the weight comes off. However, by indulging in "treats" makes me crave and feel awful, and heck, that's how I gained weight in the first place.
So, what are some legal foods that cause undeniable cravings for you?????
Maybe we can all learn something and AVOID these all together.

[Alexa]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

I think like you, anything with artificial sweetner are just not worth the crazy that tends to happen afterwards. This would include Atkins bars - in fact they are the worst! Nearly every time I have one I can't stop at one even though they make me feel weird and then I go on to binge on sugars and the bad carbs. I have to abstain.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

I could have the Dannon low carb smoothies (alas, I can't get them anymore), but not the yogurt ... made me want to eat everything in the refrigerator.

Once I tried a blueberry Atkins breakfast bar ... then I started to wonder when the next "emergency" was so I could have another one. Moved them on to a friend right quick!

[Babs]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

I don't know what Emerald dark chocolate cocoa roast almonds are, but I can tell I need to stay away from that.


I ate too many Ak-Mak crackers during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years parties. I limited them to special occasions for this reason. Oh, and Jicama...I love it and don't stop at my allowed amount, so they are on my treat list now as well until I get a grip on it. lol And I always eat more cauliflower, but it's better for me than eating chips during these times. When we attended parties, I was able to take the crackers along with a cheese platter and no one noticed we were eating special. I keep fruits on my red light list for the time being too--I love it.

[Carbonator]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

I try to stay away from recipes for the most part (I.E. "loaded baked potato", "pork rind pancakes", "jello cheesecake") only because I am terrible about portion control and will eat it all at one sitting.

I try to eat whole foods because I am likely not to binge on veggies and meats by themselves. I also do not drink sodas anymore, but that was a challenge!!! I went from drinking about 50 oz of diet coke a day to none and 4 cups of coffee to none. I noticed I do not get hunger pains throughout the day now like I used to. I figure if I can drink 120 oz of water first, then I can drink 1 splenda diet coke, but once I drink that much water in a day, I no longer want the soda because I am so proud of myself for drinking the water

Oh, yeah... and don't get me started on cream cheese. Man, I can eat 1 ounce of cream cheese just by smelling it!!! Its a joke portioning that stuff out. Feels like a Saturday Night Live skit when I try it.

[Carbonator]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

FYI- the diet soda and coffee addiction was pre-Atkins, so please no yelling Atkinsgal08

[Shrew2u]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

Grapes, melon and certain pairings with apple are my Kryptonite. I tried enjoying 1T dirty hippie peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts and sea salt; melted until smooth) with a 2-oz bag of apple slices (I bought them pre-sliced and bagged for easier portion control) for a good, wholesome 10g net dessert. No dice - it was super tasty but caused major cravings. I can get away with a bit of apple eaten with a slice of cheese earlier in the afternoon, but no apple after dinner.

[liv]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

I have a problem with coffee. Coffee (and decaf) causes me to get hungry and crave foods. I love coffee so this is not great but I am sort of managing it.

[ajacks85]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

I made that Jello and cream cheese dessert and I couldn't put it down I ate the whole thing in one sitting and my stomach was a grumbling.

[2big4mysize]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

I have one weird one celery
anything sweetened with Splenda gives me cravings for more sweets,

and not2late's cocoa powder cream yummy dessert is so additive that cream and cocoa powder are not allowed in my house at the same time!

[Suzanne_H]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

Some things for me are about chemicals... whatever sweetener is used in gum will knock me clean out of ketosis and leaving me wanting MORE. I'm ok with Splenda, though (thank Goodness)... Any of the so-called low-carb Atkins bars and shakes are sure to leave me climbing the walls with cravings.

I don't need cravings to overeat, however. Some trigger foods are all about texture. Anything resembling a chip-type snack food (flax crackers, fried cheese, pork rinds) can have zero zero carbs and sure as the sun's going to rise I'll sit there and eat them till they're all gone. Or creamy and savory... if I make half an avocado of guac or 5 avocados of guac, that's what I'll eat. So I have to be careful how much I prepare at a time. I don't crave, but I will binge if given the opportunity.

Nuts. I have to take the ounce of nuts separately from the package, leave the bag or can in the pantry. Portion control is important.

Ok now I'm hungry. LOL :P

[IrishIrish]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

During early Atkins, I made "clouds". After eating the entire recipe within one evening, I decided that I couldn't eat them at least for a while. I made them once again with cocoa nearly a year later. I learned then that cocoa didn't make them healthier for me to eat. Carb wise, might be fine for some in moderation. Mind wise, I have a lot of healing to do before I put myself through the compulsion of eating sweet foods, fake, chemically enhanced or otherwise.

I'm on maintenance now. If I want something sweet now, I have a taste of someone else's. For me, sweet tasting stuff is still a slippery slope. After all, for me, one is never enough.

[Rayley]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

i agree, anything with splenda makes me crave, i use to make those 'chocolate truffles' and everytime i ate one i wanted to eat everything, thats why i dont make them anymore, even though they were pretty tasty

[bizzlekitty]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

Cashews. I can't stop and crave them! I try and eat almonds instead, as I'm not as crazy about them and can easily snack on only 1 oz.

I have to be very careful with faux cauliflower recipes, as I love potatoes/rice and I can overeat anything made with it very easily. I crave it even when I don't have any around. The plus side is most recipes I like take time to make ricing the cauliflower so I'm less inclined to make it.

Cheese is another one I've realized lately. I just can't have it as a snack and want more and more! So I'm cutting down on it.

Coffee can give me hunger/cravings as well if I have it without eating enough breakfast first.

[jcapulet]

Re: legal foods that cause undeniable cravings

Peanut butter. No more PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES in our house LOL. Every now and then though, I have a PB sandwich with flax bread and don't get cravings. It's just the PB desserts I can't handle.

I used to eat mock danishes, but found I had to use too much cream cheese to keep it from tasting like sweet scrambled eggs (yuck). Instead I make "real" low carb danishes. There's a recipe on Linda's website which is a life saver. I add 1 Tbs of ground flax, to improve the texture. My favorites so far are the lemon and maple centers.