Its day 5! Praise the Lord i have made it this far..this is good..very good..I thought day 3 was the hump day..but turns out day 5 is.. Im having serious cravings for sweets right now.. I dont really find my chocolate RTD to do my cravings justice. I tried a cup of sliced cucumbers with some salt..that didnt help...Ive tried guzzling water down and that hasnt helped except made me pee even more often then i was already...Is there anything that you find that helps with sweet craving? I would eat a piece of chicken but its frozen in the freezer like a solid rock..Thoughts on how to get past the cravings?

Have a cup of tea, and set your mind to committing to the plan. I have been following your post for the past 5 days, and personally I feel you need to make up your mind that you are going to do this and stick to it regardless of cravings, etc. I am doing it for the first time, and although not every day has been a cakewalk, I do not have cravings, do not feel hungry, as these are conditions of ketosis. If you are 100% op then you shouldnt be having cravings. Cucumbers and tea does help though with the hand to mouth habit that many of us have. I was a huge snacker, love crackers, bread, cereal, and would eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. So many are making this plan work, you can too, but you have to be committed. In order to be committed you have to have your mind in the right place, and tell yourself, this is the plan, this is what you get to eat, and no more...

I have 3 daughters...if I complain, they tell me to suck it up!! It will be better for your health and well-being. If you cant get your mind to this point, then this is not the right plan for you...

Go for a walk.
Sign up for an evening yoga class.
Meditate.
Write.
Knit.
Sit with the craving and feel it move through your body (and mind) and realize that it can't hurt you.

I had/have horrible cravings and the only thing that helps me is to get moving. Go out and garden

Porthardygurl, have you had a chance to post some of your concerns in the daily thread? It is the thread that gets the most eyes and therefore the better chance of a response.

Cravings are part and parcel of this program as are mood swings, irritability, strange food dreams and sometimes hair loss. But, everyone is different and some sail though the program and feel great, the best they have ever felt and some struggle. All of that is normal.

I did the program with my DH. To date he has lost over 100 lbs. He never had cravings. He was up and going like on day three while I was dragging and felt crabby, bloated and awful. Plus, he could eat things I never could and he just dropped, dropped, dropped the pounds.

The main trick and the main key is to do the program, as is, to the best of your ability. Over time you may find a little leeway with your foods or you may come up with some tricks that help you through but everyone is different and one size does not fit all. Cravings are something you just sort of have to power through.

Good luck and hang in there. You made this commitment for a reason. Remember that when the challenging times hit and they will. But, they will always pass.

This may sound weird but dill pickles work for me. When I get a really bad craving for sweets, I have a small slice and no more cravings. Check with your coach, I am new to this too.

If a cup of my Sweet & Spicy tea doesn't take care of the craving I keep a pack of the chocolate soy puffs around just for cravings. I don't eat the whole bag, just 4 or 5 puffs....and savor them slowly one at a time. If my craving is for something salty I go for the dill pickle zippers and do the same thing.

I always have a cup of green tea every morning after my shake and pills. This usually curves the appetite for the morning. Plus its a green tea so it kick starts the metabolism I also am a firm believer in dill pickles! I have about 5 mini dills when the cravings hit in the afternoon. My coach said this was okay

Hope these helps... remember a lot of this is a mind over matter requirement. You either do or your don't....

Good Luck!

I have heard that when you are craving sweets like chocolate, to eat almonds... you are lacking a nutrient which is causing the cravings... supposedly this nutrient is in almonds.

hmmm..dill pickles hey...

I luckily did get through the cravings Praise God! but part of it was that i apparently needed protein and salt. I noticed once i ate a piece of chicken and had some sea salt, that i actually felt more energetic and alive and not down in the dumps and craving things.

Follow the plan....Follow the plan...

Repeat after me, Follow the plan LOL

Glad to hear its getting better for you! Be careful on the dill pickles, some are packed with sweet juice (sugar) most are ok though. Mostly your non-dill ones like bread and butter pickles.

F O L L O W T H E P L A N

yah im doing that lol...im completely OP and have lost 7 pounds..woot woot...in 6 days...tommorow is luck number 7 day...

We only have dill pickles in the house that have garlic but no sugar...

I would put splenda in my tea/coffee or even sweeten up my soy sauce and add it to my sauted meat/veggies...for a terriaki (sweet) flavor...I even would have one of my restricted items (even if I was already at my daily limit)...One day I ate a whole box of double chocolate b/c the cravings were so bad...it didn't do any harm and was way better than having anything real...

I have been doing IP since Nov 2011, and what I have found to help with cravings is to have a wide variety of the IP packets on hand.

I have really stocked up, so if I have a taste for a certain type of food, I can find a packet that is close to that flavor, and use it for my next meal. I may eat a certain thing a lot for a few weeks, then not have a taste for it for another month or two. So I have a LOT of boxes in the cupboard.

The other thing I have done for cravings is that about every 6 weeks or so I just get sick sick sick of the IP food and am craving something like cottage cheese for days on end. What I have found is that to just have two bites of something gets it out of my system, and I can move on.

I am with LilacPants (love the name BTW!) A single bite or maybe two allows me to move on, but it has to be an extreme craving. Good luck!!