So it's day 5 on Atkins, and I am so irritable. I don't think it helps that just before I started my parents bought a tub of ice cream, ice cream pops and I got Popsicle for the kids. The cravings are just kicking my butt. I poured my son a bowl of frosted flakes and I wanted to eat them. I don't even like them.

I can't help but wonder if part of the problem is feeling like I don't have a lot of options. I know that I have tons of options but it's really pessimistic.

Any ideas?

I did Atkins, a few years ago. It made me highly irritable, with serious mood swings. For me, personally, I need healthy carbs spread out throughout my day and just do not tolerate meat well at all. Everyone responds differently, but if you have the book, I would refer to it to see if it's a common issue.

I'd google atkins phase 1 recipes. A LOT comes up

Here's one place I found FULL of recipes:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=125868

I do south beach so the first phase is somewhat similar except we eat more beans in phase 1.

Yesterday for dinner I sauteed half a pound of shrimp with EVOO and cajun spices, steamed a bag of peas, and then warmed up half a jar of alfredo sauce, tossed in the peas and shrimp, then added more cajun spice- soooo good! I have a photo of it on my blog:

www.thistimeits4real.com

I'm not sure if peas are okay on phase 1 for atkins but you can always substitue another vegetable

I agree - look for recipes in the section above. I have been doing this for 1 month and am still not tired of induction foods. Here is a link to some more recipes - they detail what is acceptable for induction. How many carbs are you eating a day? I would have thought the cravings would have been going by day 5.

http://genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html

Hi there! I saw your dish on your blog, and it looks very tasty... but I feel I should let you know that a cup of cooked peas has 25 grams of carbs and 8.8 grams fiber, so say 16 grams net carbs.

Depending on where you want to be low-carbing, that might blow any Phase 1/Induction days out of the water ;-)

Sarah