[JosephNF]

I'm on day 5, and only lost 3lbs. I'm craving sugar soooo badly. Anybody have any advice? I;ve tried everything under the sun, stevia, the recommended fruit, but I'm craving chocolate and cake, etc. I'm frustrated I'm soo hungry for a donut! And I want so badly to lose this time. Michelle

[BoarmomorurrY]

"Will-Power though it" is the standard, if very irritating answer. Most cravings are gone by day10, and people frequently seem to have trouble eating even the recommended food amounts by day 20 - so that's something to look forward to.

By the way - 3lbs in 5 days is pretty much normal for women - you're doing well.

Breaking the diet will just push the cravings longer. If you get an uncontrollable craving, gram 500g of some leafy veggie or no-sugar pickles from your fridge (I like half a jar of jalapeno pickles - nice kick and make a monster salad with some >strong< salad dressing (my favorite: 6tbs Heinz vinegar, 1tbs minced garlic, 1/2tbs mustard powder*, tsp pepper, tsp salt, [1/8th tsp konjac mixed in 1tbs h20] shake hard) and chew each mouthful between 20-30 times. I bet you'll feel full before you finish it. : )

*: not friendly to the tongue at all, but that's why I like it. : )

(PS: If you absolutely can't help yourself, http://www.lowcarbchocolates.com/bars.html, but don't blame me for the consequences. Also be aware that anything with a soluable fiber, and the vast majortiy of insoluable fibre will be fermented in your gut, and converted into fatty acids which will break the diet. 95% of the 'no sugar, low/no carb' foods go this route - they >will< break the diet as well.)

[Creelaleps]

Michelle---I like spiced chai tea when I get hungry with some truvia and/or splenda, it is very sweet and cinnamony and helps with hunger and sweet cravings. The other night I made some chocolate lava cake flavored coffee and put my sweetener in it to help and it did. I still lost also so these are some suggestions. Maybe save one of your fruits for later in the day or for whenever the craving hits.

[ExpodoDop]

Thanks guys. I kind of knew that would be my answer, because really, if I do anything off the protocol, I won't lose properly, so I knew in the back of my head. But it's tough, so I'm hoping that by day 10 the cravings will go away. I felt like there was an inner beast inside me earlier and I was going to let it loose and go to the store and eat every cookie they had! I got the Eleotin tea which is supposed to help, so I'll just keep coming on here and getting mental support until it kicks in. Thanks for letting me vent and having someone to turn to.

[gopsbousperie]

try sprinkling cinnamin on sliced apples. cinnamin is supposed to take sweet cravings away . was putting on y apples . not craving sweets either the cinnamin or hcg . Just a thought , hope it helps. pam

[Uhmavano]

miche31 Did you gorge well on your first 2 load days?

[Lilji]

thanks for this thread.... on my third day of R3 D3 VLCD and went to a staff meeting tonight with tons of donuts everywhere!! It was sooo hard for me to keep control but know from past experience that its just not worth wasting 4 - 5 days of loss for a moment of weakness. I literally patted myself on the back in the car on the way home cause I was sooooo happy with myself.... don't mean to brag but wanted to share my happiness with myself!

[pupyississido]

wtg blondie, that is will power and congrats to you , you deserve a pat on the back. Everytime we walk away we are taking control. Its hard but we can do it.

[Soassesaisp]

Did you try threelac or fivelac? I have just bought fivelac...if you have an overgrowth of candida yeast that will really make you crave sugar during the protocol.

The threelac helped my first round.

[tretcheenia]

Way to go Blondie!!! You deserve the pat on the back!! not easy to pass up donuts but like you said not worth giving up 3-5 days when you could be losing. Usually after the first week , Michelle, the cravings subside quite a bit. Hang in there.

[Piemonedmow]

oolong tea:

you can usually find it in any asian grocery store. google it. apparently the effects last two hours. don't drink it at night though ... it makes you pee more often!!

i started drinking it because it is supposed to aid in weight loss. i wasn't expecting the other side effects ... i'm not craving mochas and soda anymore. i'm cool with that. i haven't had huge sugar cravings since drinking it either. though i do love my chocolate!

i only have one cup a day but you can have more.

don't buy the oolong tea diet gimmicks -- WAY OVER PRICED. asian stores in canada have a box of oolong tea bags -- 16 bags per box for $3.50.

[Romobencience]

I was just in the store yesterday and I saw that oolong tea and was going to get it but didnt

I will have to head back to the store now

[12ZHeWZa]

so it sounds like you're not really hungry, but just craving sugar? try eating an apple every day as one of your fruits. it helps stabilize your blood sugar, and reduce the cravings.

for those who are reading this and haven't started yet- it helps if you can break the sugar-addiction to some extent before you start P2. eating an apple a day is what made the biggest difference for me. once the cravings were not quite so strong, it was easier for me to give up the sugars.

[29clepayJainync]

great article on explaining amino acids for craving reduction, it works too!

http://www.ultimatefatburner.com/l-g...ne-review.html

[AblemTee]

I'm a sugar addict lol. Total sweet tooth. What I do in p2: freeze sliced strawberries about an hour. Put them in a food processor with vanilla creme stevia and lime juice, both to taste. Blend it up, refreeze 30-45 mins. It's like eating strawberry ice cream. My favorite p3 snack/desert…strawberries with fresh whipped cream from scratch!

[addisonnicogel]

I take gymnema sylvestre in the AM. It is an herbal supplement that is supposed to help sugar cravings.

I am on VCLD 21 and it has helped me alot

Good luck!