I am doing the atkins diet and just started. My biggest problem will be I am a sugar addict. My two biggest flaws are pop aka Mountain Dew and hard candies. Any suggestions on how to battle these?

Well, I am (was?) a total chocolate addict. Sam drank a lot of coke/other sugar drinks. Two things helped me not have a bit of chocolate for two weeks... first of all, whenever you think about the stuff you're not allowed to have, think of all the stuff you are allowed to have.. looking at LC recipes helps.. make yourself something really really good that's totally allowed. That always makes me think 'diet? WHAT diet? look at the great food i'm eating!'. The other thing.. when everyone says that after a week or so you'll stop wanting the sugary foods so much.. it's true. You might still want it, but it's more 'I wish I had some extra money to buy myself nice things' than 'NEED money NOW to pay rent or will be evicted and thrown out into the street'.. hope that analogy makes sense. Will power is the most important thing.. remind yourself why you decided to go on the diet and give up sugar in the first place.
Good luck.

try eating a piece of cheese... I know that some say it stalls them but I guess I have been lucky cuz it doesn't effect me.

Bite the bullet and get through it. It will take about 3-4 days and then the cravings will lessen dramatically. When you want soda, reach for water. When you want candy, put something lc in your mouth. And stay away for SF treats for induction. That just keeps the addiction alive.

What does SF mean?

Sugar Free

I agree with Zuleikaa, once you get used to it you won't even miss the sugar. Give your body a chance to correct itself.

I also love mountain dew...the diet stuff isn't too bad, especially after you've been off the sugar for a few days.

For my sweet tooth it was diet jello with whip cream (which is legal)....or whip cream in a glass with a little root beer (like a root beer float).

I too was addicted to sugar/ caffiene in the form of Coke, 6 cans a day was normal for me. After the first 3-4 days of headaches from not having the stuff, I realized I actually felt so much better!! So I never went back to the caffiene, and I no longer miss it!

Get yourself some L-glutamine. Take 1-2 grams with soem heavy crem and just a touch of splenda.
And start to increase your water consumption.

I think what needs to be said here is that this endeavor won't be easy. The most important attribute to reaching your goal is your determination. Stay strong in mind and say "no" to your cravings. Focus.

The only way I've ever found that will consistently eliminate cravings is an accupressure technique you can do on yourself called EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique. It helped me survive a late-night trip to the grocery store last night. Ben & Jerry's was calling my name....Instead I bought collard greens, cream cheese, swiss cheese, steak and a few other lc foods. I used EFT in the car before I went into the store, and the cravings were reduced enough that I could ignore them. If I had taken the time, I could have eliminated them completely for that night. With addictions, it takes months of consistent use of EFT to get rid of them completely and forever.

I'm only just starting the induction phase myself, so I am also excited that after I get through this, I won't have to rely on EFT so much, and instead the physical reason for the cravings will be gone. yahoo! I should also mentioned that I'd never heard about l-glutamine until last night in the Atkins book. I bought some of that today, too. Some of the folks here swear by it for killing those cravings completely!

You can learn about it and download a free how-to manual at http://www.emofree.com. Works great on phobias, too, according to the Journal of Clinical Psychology. A study was done on it and published last Fall (2003). It's saving me from serious binges, it's free, and I can do it myself whenever I need it.

FWIW
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