You're not the only one, Hillary. I was thinking the same thing. Funny thing I've found with my cravings. If I don't feed them, eventually they shut up and go away instead of popping up unpredictably demanding to be fed.

Yeah, once I give in to them I give in to them EVERY DAY FOR A FREAKIN' WEEK!
1/2 pound milk chocolate bunny...

I couldn't agree more with Hilary. Although everyone slips now and then. The mentality of "feeding your cravings" seems very dangerous. Personally, I find rewarding myself with non-food items makes me crave sugar less.

LOL......It's true that for some people feeding a craving can be dangerous....I'm one of those people....but there are those who can stop at one piece of what they are craving and be done with it.....I wish someone could teach me how!!!


Oh and maybe we should change the name of this thread to true confessions??.....LOL

We all do thing a little differently, for me I have been doing this for going on 2 years. It's a way of life for me. I no longer eat these things on a regular basis. So if I decide that I want them, it's a treat. I know that I'm gonna eat low carb the rest of the day and the rest of the week and the rest of the month. I no longer count my carbs, I know what I can eat. I don't eat the "low carb" chemical crap. I eat natural foods every day.

Every couple of months I have a craving for ice cream. And I get a gallon, and I eat as much as I can stand. It's not a little here and a little there. It's a once in a while feast. I feel that I have gained control over my eating. So I feel comfortable doing this. Not everyone can do it, but I know I am never going off this "diet".

Hilary, you are NOT alone in this. "Feed your cravings" That's just crazy talk.
When I first started atkins and low carbing I wasn't aware of the low carb alternatives and even worse was drinking tons of coffee (not decaf) and drinking tons of diet soda with evil aspartame and I crashed bad, ate everything in the house, and it wasn't a low carb binge. It started a 10 day slump of cheat and denial. After this period, I discovered a local low carb store, bought all the alternatives and stocked my home with them. I re-started Atkin's a good clean induction, no coffee, no aspartame, I switched to Splenda and the weight came off. And just knowing all those low carb sweets and treats were there was enough, to keep me on track, on program. I didnt even touch them for a month. Now I have a little treat now and then, but all low carb and its enough to keep me happy. I am very careful with full strength coffee and really any beverage with caffeine. I also have sworn off aspartame almost 100% and I dont get those funky cravings anymore. Now a "cheat" for me might be a low carb brownie with some low carb ice cream and some Atkins chocolate syrup, its a very good alternative and it doesnt set me off on a binge without end. I know that this is a new woe/wol and that you need to be flexible, but the idea of "controlled cheats" with carb laden products is just crazy to me because not only must you return to a full two week clean induction, you are fooling yourself into a yo-yo diet scene that we all got off of when we stated this new woe. My advice is to find low carb alternatives and shape them into what you crave. Atkins ice cream (one serving) with crushed peanuts and atkins chocolate "syrup" is very tasty and sure to fill any sweet desire you may have and it wont put you off track, wont trigger a binge, wont shoot your blood sugar through the roof. I dont want to tell anyone "what's what" but my system has worked and worked well, I have lost 90 pounds since Sept 1st 2003 and have kept it off with few stalls and very few setbacks. Perhaps sugar doesnt set you people off but for me any of those junk carbs send me off and running. I just dont want newbies to think that they can eat dbl bacon cheeseburgers all week with bluecheese laden salads and then take a "vacation" from this woe/wol on the weekends and eat a bag of M&Ms and other carb laden products, it's NOT true and you will find yourself failing quickly. For the rest of you, good luck with your "controlled carb binge" but I think you are playing with fire!!! Find some low carb alternatives, sorry to rain on your parade!!!

Stephen....I agree....heavily carbed foods and sugary stuff sends me off the deep end too!....and I too use low carb thngs as treats or even rewards!.....low carb pound cake with a scoop of carb solution's french vanilla ice cream and some strawberrys is the best!!!! But I repeat an occasional binge may work for some....In my opinion the person who can do that has tremendous will power.....I just haven't got that much will power! More power to those of you who do!!

I can't give in to my cravings. For me, it just increases the intensity of the next craving, and then I'm off on a binge. I treat my sugar addiction by abstinence. In a sense, eating something I know will set me back is like offering a beer to an alcoholic. It'll never be "just the one" and then go back to my WOL. Instead, I kill the craving with a low carb substitute, and if I can't do that I occupy myself with something like cleaning the bathroom. It usually goes away in a matter of minutes. I just need the willpower to get through the 15 minutes. I learned the hard way a couple of weeks ago. I came home from work and I saw a box of cereal on the counter and, like a possessed person, I filled a bowl to the brim and poured tons of milk on it and ate the whole thing like it was my last meal on earth. The next day I had a headache from hell. I've just gotten to the point where my cravings get less and less every day. It's a struggle, but I think I'm winning.

May I thank each and every one of you for making me feel like I am not the only one in the world that had a bad WEEK! I have been going non-stop as far as eating carbs since Sunday night, and the bad thing is it has only gotten worse. Keep telling myself I am going to start out new and once the day progresses so does my appetite and before I know it I have eatten enough carbs to throw me into next year!

I have worked too hard to gain all I have lost,and whether I like it or not, Monday is D day...no ands, buts or maybes!

Have a great weekend!

I really hope you can kick the cravings. Just remind yourself what you're sacrificing to have that instant gratification. I can't tell you how many times I've re-started the Induction phase of the Atkins. This time it's different because I understand what I was doing wrong all the other times. By the end of September of this year I plan to be at my goal of 145lbs. Tonight, I am going to check out the Curves by my house and who knows, maybe I'll sign up. Anyways, I wish you luck - and don't listen to that Carb Demon on your shoulder!

LOL ive been wanting one of those so bad ever since i saw them at my work... ive been strong and havent given in.. yet. How were they?