Lately I have had the most awful cravings for certain NON ALLOWED items. While I try to eat what I can on this WOL, and not cheat, I find myself continuously thinking of what I'm craving!!! Not only that, but I don't feel satisified with anything I'm eating. Yes it tastes good, but it's not fulfilling that craving I'm feeling.

Seriously....I haven't had any cravings this intense for this long since starting almost 4 months ago. But this is insane!! I'm back to obsessing on these items. Sure I'm not acting on them....but it's becoming more difficult each day.

Hubby says eat 'em...maybe you'll find they won't taste as good as you think.

I say "don't you dare!!"....because I haven't worked this hard to start all over.

Arrrggghhhh....how do you all deal with this???

I've tried walking, keeping busy, eating good options....and they're still there.

Anybody have a magic "no craving" pill??

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Currently Pregnant and expecting bundle of joy the week before Christmas

L - Glutamine - which you can find at any health food store. I take 500 mgs of it a day. It wards off any type of sugar and starch craving, and it curves your appetite as well - as I have found. It's also good for increasing endurance and muscle recovery and injury/illness recovery. There are a lot of benefits to taking this. If you're not one to take pills too easily, then just pick up some Keto Hot Chocolate - it has 500 mgs in it per serving. That's how I discovered L- Glutamine. Could never figure out why I wasn't hungry or craving anything when I drank that stuff - then found out it had L - Glutamine in it and found out all the side benefits of it as well...so you might try that...it's $14.99 for 100 capsules...the hot chocolate is $6.97 for a serving of 30...

Also, I find myself sometimes - if I eat something sugar free - it can send me into ravenous cravings for something with pure sugar...so if that is happening, might be best to stay away from the sugar free products for awhile...you may find you don't like them as much...I have found that out about me and now just enjoy low sugar fruit like berries when I am craving something sweet...

I hope one of these things will work for you...I wish you luck!

Sheyla

Are there any low carb version or recipes for the things you are craving? I know it is really hard when only the "original" will do.

What I find works best for me is to tell or ask myself "why not wait till tomorrow?" Then I get myself really busy doing other things and usually I forget aboout it, but not always. The times I have given in have made me so sick to my stomach that after a while I no longer crave the stuff anymore. (A form of negative conditioning, hit myself with that hammer often enough and maybe I won't do it anymore).

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Libby

2004 174/142/138

Begin Again 2009

184/165.6 /145

I seem to be having the same problem. I'm trying very hard to stick to LC items, but want to eat all day. Not sure where this is coming from, I haven't had this problem before.
I know I've been bad on the veggies and water later - I really need to get back to induction levels for a few days - but can't seem to make it past 2 hours!!! sheesh!

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Mary Kay
2009 WW - 228 / 204

I want a Christmas Onederland!!

ty for the feedback....I'm definitely going to look for some L-Glutamine

My issue is I terribly want french fries!!! Been going on since Friday NON STOP and it's about to drive me mad. I usually can handle it but it's been really bad this time.

Hubby just bought some of that Dreamfield's pasta on his way home so I'm going to make homemade mac'ncheese tomorrow nite and hopefully that'll sway my starch craving.

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Currently Pregnant and expecting bundle of joy the week before Christmas

let me know how the dreamfields pasta is....and if it causes any other cravings...

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kims SECOND journal is HERE
kims new blog
KIMS BLOG !!
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If you want some french fries, try french frying something else similar. I've done zucchini and jicama, which impart some of that taste. I too, had that craving early on but not since.

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Joyce(lc since July,2002)
230/175/135

It is very hard for me as well to handle cravings. Before this diet I would sit in front of the tv and just snack on anything I could get my hands on, but especially chocolate. I miss my chocolate so much! I do buy the low carb bars and they do tend to help somewhat. They're not the same, but after eating one, I am satisfied and move on from there. Another great treat that I give myself is one of the individual size sugar free jello's with a large squirt of RediWhip on top (low carb!). That tends to ease my sugar craving. I also just found that Ben & Jerry's now makes Carb Karma low carb ice cream. The Half Baked is a good one for chocolate cravings! And the CarbSmart Rocky Road is good as well. You just have to watch your portions and have the one serving that's indicated. Hope this helps a little with the sweets cravings!

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JEANIE
183 on 2/2/04
165 today
150 by 5/31/04

Knowles,

Somewhere I know I saw a recipe for turnip fries that someone said were yummy. They said with a little low carb ketchup they were darn close t the real thing. Not sure if the recipe is on this board or maybe at www.Atkins.com, if not might be in his book. I will look around. Anyone else seen anything on turnip fries?

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Libby

2004 174/142/138

Begin Again 2009

184/165.6 /145

Found the recipe at http://atkins.com/food/recipes/all/L...nip_Fries.html

It is worth a try and if it can satisfy the craving all the better.

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Libby

2004 174/142/138

Begin Again 2009

184/165.6 /145

Not sure how many carbs you are eating per day, since you have been on this woe for a while, should be up pretty high....I may say something people don't want to hear, but sometimes, you just have to cave into that craving. You said you have been doing everything you can think of to subdue that craving, and you have done great, today is tuesday, and you said it hit on friday, thats almost 5 full days of beating the craving. I just pulled out my atkins carb gram counter, 10 frozen french fries is 13.9 carbs. that is quite a bit, but, if you can't trick your system into being satisfied with something else, sometimes, you have to go ahead and eat that food. When you have finished, you will either feel guilty, hate yourself for giving into temptation, or say, ok, I have eaten that, gotten over the craving, on to my new normal way of eating.
When I have a craving I can't get rid of I try to count that into my daily totals. I am eating between 50 and 60 carbs a day so I can occassionally have something that isn't on the "plan". I eat it and forget it. Pasta is my biggest miss.... have had it a couple of times, making sure I measure out 1/2 cup of it and that is all I eat. If you feel that caving into your craving will only unleash more cravings, then it is probably a good idea not to have it, keep looking for something that will satisfy that craving. You can do it. YOu have done so good so far on this WOE.

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http://www.youravon.com/cnorulak
carolyn in texas
started 8/11/03 327/268/177
5/20/08/ - 348
onward thru the fog

maybe try some of those atkins crunchers? they taste kinda like potato chips, and may help to satisfy the craving for french fries. the nacho cheese flavor is goooood. i would not recommend making a habit out of these.
also - jeanie, you should avoid redi whip ...
check out this thread:
http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/show...6&page=1&pp=10

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Carrie
156/154/135

Hi Knowles, the exact same thing happened to me. It was even the same time period. Between 4 and 5 months on the program. I had started having these horrible cravings. First for chocolate and then for french fries. Like you I fought it day and night for about 2 weeks. I posted and asked questions. I got a lot of good advise and followed it. ie, take a walk, take a bath, have something extra but low carb, the list goes on. Then I took your husbands route. My plan was to "plan" the time, the place, everything. Go ahead and have those things I was wanting so bad and with the next meal to go back to my low carb woe. DONT DO IT!!!! NO NO NO!!! I don't know what it is about this woe because it is relatively easy to do for me but once I went off plan (although it was planned) it was like that was all she wrote, I started spiraling through the high carb world like I was on a mission! YEAH MISSION IMPOSSIBLE! So in MHO do as Carolyn suggested and find some of the L-glutamine (SP) Good Luck to you.

Mary Kay you are also in this time frame too so be careful. Okay? Hugs to all... Anita

KD

I feel for you, I had been dealing with some pretty intense cravings due to PMS last week. L-Carnitine definitely helps (I haven't ever tried the L-Gutamine). Sticking to my supplement regimen, in general, helps (Multivitamin, Atkins essential oils)
Something else to consider: Are you still keeping close track of your daily carb counts? Any chance you're suffering from 'carb creep'? I found that I was consuming way more carbs (and NOT good veggie ones) than I should have been and had knocked myself out of ketosis. Plus I had been eating lc bread almost every day, sometimes more than once per day. One of the first signs of being out of ketosis, for me, is intense cravings. Just something else to consider...

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"Live strong." ~ Lance Armstrong
SLEEP BE DAMNED! GET THY BUTT TO THE GYM!
Start Atkins 9.1.03
225/198/130ish

Tara you may have just touched on something I have not thought about. I had just started using the low carb tortilla's when this happened to me. You think? Naw? You think? Could that have started these awful cravings? "Finger to temple image of light bulb"......