Geez... Tonight my son and I ate at my dad's house - it was his birthday - I had to listen to the usual lectures about how unhealthy atkins is and how I need to watch my cholesterol. Then they tried to ply me with chocolate cake, but I DIDNT EAT IT! )

Ok I can understand peoples concer. But why do most of the naysayers always counter with junk food. I know if you ask them out right they would say that it is unhealthy, yet they still try to give it to you on the premise of health?

*This wasn't directed at your parents sydnarella, it just seems that everytime someone on here meets someone who talks about how unhealthy Atkins is, there is typically some sugary junk food bribe involved *

I'm glad the wine was good! I wouldn't have passed up on that either (and hey, I'm sure that alcohol burned up fast! )

Parties are bad, particularly ones in which you really can't control what is in front of you.

Family gatherings with traditional ethnic foods. I try to eat lots of the "legal" stuff and be very choosy if I'm going to eat stuff with carbs.

Expensive resturants where both the breads and desserts are excellent. I have no problem not eating the rice/pasta/potatoes or other no-nos, but I have a real problem ignoring the bread basket and the dessert menu!

Sydnarella-- That reminds me of an old Bill Cosby routine. His kids talk him into letting them have chocolate cake for breakfast by telling him it's nutritious.."There's eggs in there, riiight? There's milk in there, riiiiight?..." and so on, until he gives in. THEN the Mom comes downstairs...

My thing is when there just is not anything I want to eat. Nothing tastes good. I want a sugary bowl of cereol or a little debbie (lol), maybe a bag of chips. But like you this craving is mostly on the weekend due to laziness and bordom not due to true cravings.

My husband would just LOVE the buying more pans. He and I are always fighting over the pans. I cook my 'stuff' and he cooks his 'stuff'. Occasionally our 'stuffs' match!! And the dishwasher seems to ALWAYS steal my favorite pans.. I am not sure what is up with that.

Ebay is a GREAT place to shop for pans and stuff like that ) I am completely addicted! Its weird, my dad and stepmother are completely against atkins, whereas my mom and stepfather are supportive of it to the extent that they are both on it now.

I got a few quiche recipes from the recipe forum here. They are great. You can have 6 to 8 prepared and in little containers for quick heating. My DH and I love these for weekends and during the week. Makes meal time a breeze.

Well, there are presently very few triggers that I can think of more cumbersome than not having the time to plan ahead, and being rushed to make a decision.

Since we listed our house, we have had to walk the dogs every time someone wants to come and view it. Now, the walking itself is not so bad, but I have to have the place clean - which sometimes means not wanting to "dirty" anything or smell up the house in favour of "company" coming over.

So, on those occasions, I am apt to want to grab whatever I can (which even makes a can of tuna a difficult option - as the smell lingers).

I have vacuum sealed salmon (individually wrapped in serving sizes - purchased at Costco) which I love to cook for my meal, or take to work. I throw it into a microwaveable container with a little lemon juice (frozen, too - from fresh), and a few green beans. Makes a great meal. Home, of course, is another matter - I just can't seem to get the imagination active at times, and then I find myself running through the cupboards (which contain a great many non-LC items), and wondering what I could cave in and eat. Even if I don't do it, I am still at a loss as to what to prepare in a rush.

Strange that I should have all the preparation (shredded lettuce, etc.) done, and still not be able to decide what to eat.

Is it the mental thing of not wanting people to see what I've been eating, or seeing/smelling soiled dishes? I can't determine that, but I hope it doesn't turn into some sort of obsession.

On another note, we're moving to perhaps the hospitality centre of the universe, where your worth seems linked to how many sweets you have on hand to use to entertain visitors. Hopefully, I'll either get a job or enrol in some schooling - because I'm not wanting to fall into that trap. I don't want to be anti-social - I just don't want to fall into a rut of visiting/tea & sweets.

This is so true. DH & I are both doing Atkins, & its just the 2 of us for meals. BUT, because we eat different amounts he has to cook his seperately! And this is all 3 meals a day! Oh well I really can't complain, at least he's not just sitting around waiting for me to cook for him Would be nice to have a dish washer <sigh>

Yes, sorry to say, that alcohol is the main reason that I find that I will stray off the plan. After a few it just doesn't seem to be a bad thing to do at the time. And then there is always the day after, saying that I didn't need to do that.

But, if somebody ordered a $100 let alone the $500 bottle of wine, I am in there.

Cheers

I have many situational triggers!

1) Watching tv with my husband in the evening. We used to sit and watch an hour long program with a big bowl of icecream or M&Ms.

2) Tuesdays. My friend comes over and she is always bringing items to make brownies, cake, cookies, and the like. We used to eat the batter while making our desserts and everytime I say no, my body goes into shut-down. I literally feel sick...as though I need that junk.

3) Eating out!

Plan:

1) Eat a snack BEFORE sitting down to watch tv!

2) ?????

3) Plan ahead of time what I will order, so I will not be tempted to order something off the no-no list!

GREAT thread!!!!!!!!!!

I think my triggers are HUNGER! If I'm hungry and there isn't anything low carb around. I'm not going to waste 10 minutes making something. I'll just grab some chips or something and the more hungry I am the more it turns into an all out binge. Sooo, I've decided to not be hungry anymore, and with atkins I actually have to remind myself to eat! But usually what I do is make sure I have at least a dozen hard boiled eggs in the fridge and I have bags of frozen peanut butter protein bars in the freezer. And if I need something super sweet, I've got LC candybars in the cupboard. So I'm not stuck without something to eat when the urge arises. Just gotta keep prepared! Being at work is hard. I work at a nursing home so they have tons of high sugar, high carb treats around, and the company is soooo nice to offer donuts to staff on Sundays. Ugh, what a bummer to sit in the breakroom with that smell and everyone eating donuts. And i'm stuck with my hard boiled egg... Makes me really wonder why I'm doing this to myself...then I put on my NEW pair of pants and go ooh yeah!! that's why !!!

Like someone else mentioned--my biggest problem comes with the "Walk in the door--grab a snack" routine. My best solution for that is mozarella cheese sticks--I always keep a lot on hand as they make a good quick snack without any preparation.

Otherwise, the only tip I have is to make a huge bowl of green salad early in the week. I keep using it throughout the week and since it's always there I never have to take time to fix a lunch or dinner salad from scratch. I just renew the big bowl every time it gets low.

My main trigger is after a long day working on the house/property, especially on weekends. We are renovating, and sometimes we will work 10 hours solid on a project and be exhausted at the end of the day. If I haven't pre-planned what we are eating (and already have lunch made), and made most of the last meal, then take-aways seem the most attractive solution.

Fortunately, we have a solution - we've just moved into the countryside, and haven't found any place that makes deliveries.

Eating at friends/neighbours homes - we don't have influence over what they will serve, so we just try to minimise the damage. DH will often eat my "bad" foods for me while no one is looking, since he is 2 kg away from his goal and can *absorb* things with less bad effect. He's very good about this.

Eating with colleagues/clients. This is not such an issue, as most places have selections that suit. Passing up on dessert is not a problem as most have a cheese platter option. Only trick is saying no to glorious Belgian fries...