How to deal with cravings?

[Boondox]

Yesterday I went to a birthday party. At first it wasn't difficult to ignore the food and just socialize, but when the cake came out I realized there was nothing at all that didn't contain mass quantities of carbs. :eek: It was pretty awkward watching others eat cake and ice cream! Worse, one of the things I wanted to have before I started on Atkins was a big sundae...and all the fixings were on the table right in front of me.

I got around it by thinking of shish kabob...but it would have been really easy to slip "just that once." Not sure if I should bring my own munchies to things like that or just avoid them entirely until the changes are set in my brain.

Pete

[Alina]

Hi and welcome!

Well, congratulations - you did not give in. You did good!
The good news is that it's getting better and better as long as you stick to legal foods. The cravings just go away. It's like a dependency letting go.
Since you have so many lowcarb alternatives it should be OK to bring some with you, but the best thing in the beginning is to avoid fake foods as long as possible. I'm in month 4 of Atkins and have no cravings.
I sure wish you great progress!
Alina

[Karen]

Hi Pete!
or just avoid them entirely until the changes are set in my brain.
A very astute observation. I'm of the opinion that letting the changes settle in your brain to be the best route. You'll always be surrounded by temptation and having low-carb treats will not allow that to ever fully happen. When you come through the other side you'll feel great! When it's happening it's the biggest struggle. We live in a carb filled world and you'll be free when you get to the point of living comfortably in carb-land without a twinge of craving.

You'll probably even get to the point where watching others scarfing down big hunks of cake seems downright weird. YOu'll wonder, "what are they thinking?" :)

Karen

[Boondox]

Just came back from grocery shopping. What a different spin Atkins puts on the entire experience! Major shock just walking in and seeing all of the fresh fruit for the first time this season. Blueberries, peaches, pears, oh my! So I hustled straight back to the seafood and got some shrimp and tuna. Then on to the meats for steak, buffalo (hey, it's different and has no carbs!), bacon, chicken. Then around the corner and nearly fell to my knees at the smell of freshly baked bread! :(

I made it out of the store with my diet intact, though the dignity took a beating from the excessive salivation when faced with that bread! Just sign me...

Pavlov's Dog :roll: