A month into PP for the second time, my body no longer craves carbage, but my mind is sure fixated on them. I nearly attacked a pizza slice my gf left out tonight, even though I'd finished a healthy dinner.

What do you all do to cope with the mental cravings?

that is a hard one. i also have them. and lately i have been giving in (shame on me)

in the past i have had "cheat days" to try to cope with them. by looking forward to a day at some point in the future when i would allow myslef a day to eat one of those craving foods i could say no today. but lately that has been backfiring so i am not sure i would take that advice. although it did work in my past.

stay strong!! and good luck!

I just keep reminding myself why I went on Atkins in the first place. Also, another thing I tell myself, and i don't know if really true or not, but I just think that if I eat that thing I crave, all that I've done so far goes down the drain cause your blood sugar gets out of whack again.

Unfortunatly the cravings, mentally or real, are always going to be there. Mentally, we are all going to go through the cravings until we can convince our minds we don't need the foods! I have yet to find a way to do that!
When the cravings are for real, its because we have had something that had too much sugar, and our bodies are wanting the things we have not given it for awhile. Or, hormone imbalance or something maybe even out of our control.
I read all the time about different people craving, and wondering if it ends. We have spent a life time eating the wrong way, I believe that it will take years to adjust our bodies and minds to this new way of eating, and to eliminate unwanted cravings. Or at least in some people.
The only solution I have found it to fight the urges, and drink water when the cravings become overwhelming!

Giving up, or giving in only makes you miserable. So, mentally if you remember what you are doing this for, or what caving in to the cravings is going to do to you mentally, you can probably get past this.
I always try to remember I have lost because I want to feel better, and look better, so is it worth hating myself for giving in to cravings?
Good Luck to You!
Brenda

I close my eyes and visualize how I want to look. Or I try on clothes that fit me before and are now too tight. I try to avoid drinking because it makes me not care. I got a little tipsy Sat. night and ate a few candy bars, and I don't even know why because I wasn't even craving candy all week! At least I didn't turn it into a binge! In the past, I probably would have eaten a bunch of crap the next day too, which I was contemplating. Now I'm so glad that I got back on track on Sunday!

I just try to keep my goal of being fit and healthy in mind and when tempted, I think to myself, "If not now, when?" Meaning, if I don't commit myself to this WOL now, when in gawd's name will I? If I don't commit, I'm wasting my time.

When it comes to health goals, positive reinforcement has never worked for me in the long term. In '03, I had a great body, great lab stats, and the women in my life said I was "hot." Yet, I was miserable from all the discipline required from food prep, food deprivation, and 5-day-a-week intense exercise regimen (2 hrs a day with stretching (v. stiff lower body)). I feel things intensely, so a month of those feelings did me in.

I do better with avoidance of negative consequences as motivators, such as not joining my dad, grandfathers, paternal uncle, and paternal first cousin in the afterworld due to lifestyle-induced type II diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes. I just hope it's not too late. Dad got healthier around 60, and he still died six years later. Both grandfathers died of stroke in their sixties, my uncle had an octuple bypass at 72 and died of a brain tumor two years later, and my cousin died of his second massive coronary at 43 (my age).

The only bright spot is my maternal uncle, who's healthy at 65.

Still, as FabByFifty notes, giving up, or giving in, only makes you miserable.

This is going to be a tough nut to crack. Thanks for all your suggestions.

I think that the cravings, especially the mental ones, will always be there. Lowcarb just makes them much more manageable Unfortunately, I think many of us medicate with food (i.e. we are stressed out and feel like we deserve a treat). We have to get away from that mentality and start rewarding ourselves with other things, like a new outfit or something else that we want.

When cravings hit, I drink water, and oftentimes that's all I need. If that doesn't work, I will chew a piece of SF gum, b/c I often crave the chewing sensation. I also try to distract myself by going for a walk or calling a friend. If I am still hungry, I will have a cheese stick or something legal. Occasionally I will endulge a sweet tooth with some Davinci syrup mixed with yogurt or cream cheese and peanut butter or make some LC hot chocolate. I am trying to get away from giving in to my sweet cravings, though. Remember, if you are physically hungry, the Eades say that it is always okay to eat lean protein to your heart's content.

I am curious to hear other people's tricks. What a great question!

I am concerned about the frequent references to "...the Eades say that it is always okay to eat lean protein to your heart's content." Eating more than 1g protein/lb of lean body weight (unless you're a competitive athlete), just adds an ammonia and urea processing burden on your body.

There is also little to be gained from searching out lean meats. The natural fats found in animal foods not only help provide satiety but contain fat-soluble vitamins and carotenoids, CLA, and essential fatty acids. Yes, they also contain saturates--but this is hardly a liability given that saturates increase omega-3 absorption, improve mineral uptake, decrease free radical burden due to their lack of vulnerable double-bonds and lower lipoprotein(a)!

They might always be there, but they may get easier. Still, I wish I could find a good potato chip substitute. I miss them.

spiderdust,
Have you tried fried pork skins/ pork rinds? They help me with my potato chip cravings. They are very salty though, so be sure to drink plenty of water. It is also very easy to eat too many of them.

Acohn-I am not an expert, so I don't know the science behind "too much protein", if there is such a thing. I think what the Eades are saying is that if you are hungry, eat! And lean protein is self-limiting. No one is going to binge on chicken breast....now, nuts and cheese are a completely different matter I can see how some people would interpret this wrong and eat overdo, but I think they would be the rare occurence. I dunno

Wendy,

Perhaps I was projecting, but I have known many overweight people, myself included, who have a hard time distinguishing hunger from other emotions they used to eat over: anxiety, depression, etc. The two always used to go hand in hand, so understanding that the emotion doesn't have to trigger eating is hard work for some. Working to understand what hunger really feels like is a major accomplishment for me. Often, I don't know I'm hungry until I've got a headache, I'm snapping at people, and I'm disoriented. I know I'm not unique, and I suspect I'm not rare.

That's why I'm wary of the Eades' blanket recommendation.

Oh, I've eaten them in all forms. I like them, but they're not quite the same.

Who (who needs to lose weight) can eat MORE than 1g-per-lb of body weight of protein?! I mean even for pretty thin people that's still at LEAST 130g or so of protein. From someone who is trying desperately to INCREASE protein intake -- I think eating even that much takes doing it very deliberately, let alone getting yet-more of it.

If I manage 80g of protein per day I can barely stuff another morsel in my mouth of ANYTHING. (OK. I could probably find room for chocolate. ) It takes my merely 'not hungry' symptoms and makes them 'revolted by the thought of more food'.

I think snacking on lean protein to your heart's content is a fairly safe thing to advise. There's only so much of the stuff you can ingest before you'd need your slavegirls to feed you 'cause you wouldn't be able to move.

OM