Sick of being strong.

[jaks40]

Hi,
I have been doing atkins for nearly three months and havent cheated once however it is easter and everywhere is chocolate being advertised and its really getting to me. I have really been strong minded up until now but for some reason i am thinking about chocolate and eating it.
It took me so long to lose 8 kilos in this time and i guess that has stopped me cheating so far.My mother who is also doing atkins just suggested i eat some so i can stop obsessing over it.I am worried that it will start me on a path where thinking its ok to cheat now and then.However craving chocolate isnt good either.
Any advise out there??

Jacqui

[brats4]

I would love to say Just dont' do it. However, I know that is just too simple. Here is what I would suggest. Make your own chocolate solutions. Don't give in to the store brought items that contain fillers and everything under the sun. Most of those contain alot of artificial ingredients you don't want to pay for anyway. Instead find chocolate outlets in a more natural form. Perhaps some by making your own dipping sauce with cocoa powder, butter and splenda. You could dip some nuts in it or even drizzle it over a bit of whipped cream. Another solution, whipping cream, splenda and cocoa powder....chocolate mouse of sorts...Not great food options, but better than the alternative.

[misplaced southerner]

well...if it were me...i would want someone to tell me "don't do it".......funny thing i noticed is that once upon a time....when i DID do that...it did not taste NEARLY as good as i thought it would...in fact, i would up with a horrendous tummy ache and worse! my body did not like the invasion! i think it is human nature to want what we can not have.....

after i came home from target and seeing all the easter treats (especially the white chocolate reese's eggs!) i grabbed a bottle of water and jumped on the elliptical...just an idea

[Lyssie]

There are white chocolate reese's eggs???

[misplaced southerner]

oh yes ...sad to say but true...AND THEY EVEN SELL THEM IN A 6 PACK!!!! they are my fiance's favorite easter treat so i will get him some,,,,and stay FAR, FAR away!!!

i am off to work....sitting on my bottom all day in an inservice...hang in there today and think about, oh let's say,,,,,,celery sticks! (yum, yum!!!)

[Lyssie]

hmm.. I've never even had them... I remember trying a white chocolate peanut butter cup one time... but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be (I mean, not that it wasn't *good*, just not *as* good)...

[julirama723]

Well I'll break the trend and say "DON'T DO IT."

It IS as simple as that.

I've been going strong for 8 months, no cheats, because I tell myself "DON'T DO IT." Sure, I might see a piece of chocolate or watch my boyfriend eating pizza, and I think momentarily about the tastes and the smells and the deceptive goodness that arises. And then I say, "Hey snap out of it! If I eat that I'm going to feel like crap physically, probably become bloated and nauseous, not to mention mess up the hard work I've done so far, and I'm going to beat myself up about it and feel like crap emotionally, wondering why I was so impulsive to potentially mess up 8 months of hard work for 10 seconds of nothing."

When the impulse hits you, thing about the consequences of eating said food item, and then grab your water and hit the gym. Eat something high-fat and satisfying. Hop on the scale. Come on ADBB. There are many more pleasurable things than a 10-second date with refined flours and sugars.

[Stargirl]

Originally Posted by jaks40

Hi,
I have been doing atkins for nearly three months and havent cheated once however it is easter and everywhere is chocolate being advertised and its really getting to me. I have really been strong minded up until now but for some reason i am thinking about chocolate and eating it.
It took me so long to lose 8 kilos in this time and i guess that has stopped me cheating so far.My mother who is also doing atkins just suggested i eat some so i can stop obsessing over it.I am worried that it will start me on a path where thinking its ok to cheat now and then.However craving chocolate isnt good either.
Any advise out there??

Jacqui

Hi Jacqui!

Obviously you are craving a certain kind of chocolate that I don’t know at all… So it would be wrong to say that it might not taste that good as you remember and so on.

Here is my idea: As far as I understood the whole Atkins system (I am a beginner though) you may eat a chocolate bar with low carb, don’t you? Honestly, if you are dying for a piece of chocolate take one of those instead, count the carbs and be happy that you got it both, chocolate and sticking to your diet!

There are several recipes on the net for baking brownies, cheesecake and so on, everything low carb. I never tried those and, as I am in my introduction phase, it will take a while before I may do it. Anyhow, I lost 22 pound on a diet before I started Atkins and I found it very helpful to bake a cake sometimes when I felt needs for sugar. Instead of shopping ice cream or other industrial stuff, full of chemicals, this definitely is a better choice, as you have control about the ingredients.

Could your mum or your husband (?!) do the shopping for you until eastern is over? If not: Never leave the house/your office hungry and go shopping. It will be much easier to cheat while being hungry…

Keep it going!

Regards
Stargirl

[dream]

Mix some cream cheese with cocoa power and Splenda, pop it in the freezer for a bit and it will be like a piece of fudge. It might help your chocolate craving and you'll thank yourself afterward for being strong.

You can do this!

[Lyssie]

umm.. feeding a craving with what the craving is for can sometimes cause more cravings for the same thing, resulting in falling off the wagon repeatedly. I honestly do think the "Don't Do It" attitude is the best. Then again, I have fallen off the wagon repeatedly from cravings before.