As I mentioned in this MPSIMS thread, Mr. Skeptic and I started the Atkins diet three days ago. I am not having near the carb cravings I thought I would, but he is still having trouble with them. (In general, he’s more likely to have cravings than I am anyway.) So, for those of you who are doing Atkins now or have done it in the past, how long did it take for the carb cravings to go away? I’m not talking about missing the way something tastes; I’m talking about real cravings, feeling that you need bread, sugar, whatever.
It differs from person to person. For me, 24-48 hours. Whereas mrs jjimm never got over it at all - she lasted a week and then gave the diet up.
I don’t remember, but it was less than a week for both of us. Is he still drinking beverages with non-Splenda fake sugars in it? I believe I’ve heard that will trigger cravings.
Nope, we’re doin’ it up right. (Although per the book, saccharin and stevia are okay too.) One thing he is doing, though, is drinking caffeinated ice tea, and caffeine can trigger cravings, IIRC. I guess I will have to buy decaff, though I’m sure he won’t like the idea.
Caffeine never gave me cravings - in fact I found coffee to be a good appetite suppresant.
hubby and i have been on Atkins since at least July. i was actually pretty surprised that i DIDN’T have any cravings, since i dearly loooove rice, bread, pasta side dishes, etc. he didn’t particularly mention craving anything either, that i recall.
now that i’ve been on it a while, i occasionally think fondly of breads and pastries. (sweet tooth? me??? ooooo yeah) sometimes i’ll even cheat a little. but i can’t say even now that i sit and think longingly about how much i miss them all the time.
people’s systems are unique, though. he may just be unfortunate enough to be one of those exceptions.
I tried the Atkins like Diet, South Beach. On my 3rd day, I felt awful. Physically exhausted. Even at the end of 2 weeks, I was still absolutely jonesing for any kind of carb but particularly fruit and refined grains.
Needless to say, I fell right off that wagon.
Hi,
First time around (ten years ago), I didn’t eat nearly enough vegetables and never lost my cravings for crackers, rice and the like. Second time around, I read the book this time and ate the maxiumum allowed salads and veggies and there was a huge difference. I have stayed on the diet now for 10 months with only one cheat (espresso martini at PF Changs) in all that time. I honestly do not care if I eat bread again although I occasionally wish for a little rice with my Thai food. Whenever I feel like cheating, I make extra veggies and dress them up in the good stuff- cheese, butter, dressing, whatever. Works for me.
I’m sorry, forgot to add…
It took about two days the second time around to get rid of cravings. The first day was the hardest, the second day I was mostly fatigued but by the third day I felt great.
I never had really bad cravings, so for me it wasn’t too bad. I gave up caffeine cold turkey when I started.
For the first week of induction I felt really tired though, I had one really bad day about five days in. Something that helped me is remember to eat something every 4-5 waking hours. If I don’t, I will get really tired. So if you’re going to be gone for more than a few hours, plan for it and bring along something to eat.
Drinking a lot of water helps, too.