how do i deal with my "time of the month cravings"?

[shay85]

this question is for the ladies.
i started the atkins diet exactly 6 days ago, and i have already lost 8 pounds, which im super excited about. i did everything right as i was suppose to, i didnt cheat, and i certainly didnt over eat. now im starting to get more cravings. cravings for everything basically, but i'm able to control my self and only allow my self to indulge on low/zero carb foods. like cheese or meat. the problem is i eat this stuff in bigger portions through out the whole day, even though im not hugnry. i weighed my self just now, and i realized i gained a pound since i weighed my self last time.
what do i do?? my body keeps telling me to eat, even when im not hungry, and im worried this will get me off track.
any ideas, for super light low carb snacks that i can have as much of without feeling guilting, or a away to control these cravings?

Thanx!!

[Lisa]

Welcome to the board!

You've done a great job so far! Good for you!

There's so much you can do but you have to decide which things you're going to do to continue success and learn how not to substitute food for feelings, same goes with celebrating holidays, birthdays, life celebrations, etc. It's all about how your facing food and how you use it.

Here's a few things that helped me transition to using food to comfort, "get through",etc. I hope you'll find alternatives to food just the same

1. go for a walk....often
2. drink water....often
3. don't go into the kitchen or wherever you have the food that you think you need
4. journal
5. talk yourself through the reasons and get over it...out loud is good, but make sure people around you understand what you're doing and don't call for the people in white jackets to come rescue you from yourself
6. Eat fatty foods when you're hungry (dairy, pork rinds, but sparily on those pork rinds because you don't want to be bloated by the salt)...truly hungry. Especially during PMS/TOM times, women need that fat and protein to get through those times.

Basically what I'm saying is, you might find a lot of recipes to "cure" the cravings, but those are just moments and you're teaching your mind and body that it's okay to replace the feeling with food....and that's what you want to change

Hope that helps

[KellySmith]

Great thread...I have similar issues with food. I am REALLY trying to change my relationship with food this time around. I don't even want to feed the addiction with low carb friendly snack as I see this is defeating the purpose of this WOE/WOL.

Thanks for your insight, *Lisa*.

~Happy Wednesday to All~

[shay85]

Thanx Lisa, i really need to try walking more, and drink more water for sure, the thing is, i only get this hungry when im on my TOM, other wise, i can stay on the diet as long as i want, without cheating. but im determined, so i will have to control my self alot more for this up coming week lol
and Kelly, i know its very hard to resist temptations, but i've noticed that my appetite was supressed after i started to follow the diet, and i dont get cravings for sugary, sweet stuff anymore,even though i was the queen of sugar and sweets. u just have to try alittle harder, and you'll see how the pounds will slip right off so fast

[jarvist]

I'm with you Kelly! I don't want to substitute any "bars" or "shakes" to satisfy a sweet tooth. I am trying to go all natural and mostly organic this time around. Shay.... if you are noticing a weight gain around your TOM, don't be alarmed. I THINK I remember reading in the book that you can gain as many as 6 pounds during that time. So.... put the scale away until about week after. Do you have the ketosticks? They are SOOOOO motivating!!!! When you feel like you want to fall off the wagon.... use the sticks to see the color change. KNOW that you are burning fat and KNOW that one slip and all of that stops for a few days.

[shay85]

oh i certainly hope thats the case, coz i cant stand the fact that im gaining weight while doing everything right lol
i do have Ketostix actually...and ur absolutly right, they extremly motivating.
thanx alot keeping me motivated Jarvist

[SunnySmile501]

Thank goodness that just this year, TOM is a thing of the past for me. But, when I was starting out on Atkins, losing a lot of fat (horomones are stored in fat) got my schedule way off track for the first couple of months. At first I just toughed it out, but later I went with the flow as long as it was legal food. I kept a lot of fatty meat and cheese snacks at the ready and only ate a few bites at the time. It usually only lasted a couple of days and any weight I put on would be water weight. I don't recommend weighing around TOM--almost everyone picks up 3 to 8 pounds of water weight, which comes off during the cycle.

[zoewmu]

I ignore any cravings that I identify as belonging to TOM. For some reason, acknowleding that they aren't a "real" hunger but are just because of where I am in my cycle makes them easier to resist. Identifying that they are from TOM and are temporary makes it easier to just get through until they go away.

I do try to keep myself from being hungry at TOM because I know my resistance is down.