[SiM7W2zi]

Okay. I think I have been doing badly, I just need to get some advice. I have been on plan since Monday June 9th. I have not cheated at all during this time. However, I do find myself eating cheese quite frequently at night, and I am basting my eggs in large amounts of butter, because I seem to be craving these things. I also ate almost an entire package of turkey pepperoni last night, and I am worried thst I am not going to lose weight now. Can someone offer me any advice? I am eating veggies during the day and mostly lean meats like turkey or chicken. It's just that I am craving the cheese! I have been eating like 8 oz of cheese a day.... and now I am scared that I am just gaining weight. Does anyone have any advice for me?

[suidinguilelf]

While it doubt it would cause you to gain weight, that sounds like alot of cheese. To much could slow your progress since it can cause you to become constipated which will in turn cause you to retain water. You might want to cut back on that some. Also, you have to be careful about when you eat. As a rule I never eat past 8 pm, however I sometimes deviate but its rare.
Your still just getting started so some of those late night hunger pains are real. If you stick to the plan you will find that those urges after a good week or two will virtually disappear. The key is making sure that you are diligent during the induction phase.
If you think you have deviated, don't beat yourself up about it just get out the book and re-read the induction phase. It's easy to make a mistake in the beginning but the quickest way to insure success is to forgive yourself if you mess up.

[GrolmangHat27]

There IS a limit to how much cheese we are supposed to eat in a day... and it's no more than 4 ounces. PLUS, you have to count each ounce as one carb. So really, you should try to eat less cheese. One suggestion might be to take an 8 oz block of cheese and cut it in half. THAT'S your cheese for the day. Cut it up, take bites, whatever. But when that's gone, you're done. Don't forget to count the four grams in your daily total, too.

If you're doing Induction, you need those carbs for other foods like olives, cream, Splenda and avocado, for example. Having 8 grams of carb from cheese doesn't leave you any at all. 12 - 13 net carbs from veggies plus 8 from cheese... equals 20 - 22 right there.

Also... according to my Atkins' carb counter, 5 slices of pepperoni have 0.8 carbs. Maybe the turkey kind has less. Did you read the package? If it says "0" carbs, read the ingredients list. If there are ingredients in it with carbs, then the zero count is only applicable to one serving, not the whole package. It just means that they made the serving size small enough to list it as zero (anything under 0.5 can, by law, be listed as ZERO). I think you intuitively know that eating the whole package of pepperoni in one day isn't really a good idea.

In the beginning, many people do exactly what you did. It's not bad or wrong. It's our way of dealing with different food choices and the feelings we have about dieting/hunger/eating. Work on cutting back on cheese and pepperoni. Try having boiled eggs handy... it's REALLY hard to overeat those. Cook extra chicken and have it on hand for "snacking" when the urge hits you. The nice thing about all this is that if you stick with it, your appetite will decrease tremendously. You won't feel like eating a whole package... you'll be less hungry and more satisfied. Hang in there until that happens.

Hope this helps.

Tril

[SiM7W2zi]

Thank you for your responses. I am happy to report that I have instituted a no eating after eight rule, and that I have committed to allocating myself four ounces of chesses a day, and when it's gone, it's gone. I have only had a chance to do it one day, but already I feel better. I cannot believe how much energy I have! And how much better I feel from this way of eating. It makes me hopeful and excited for the future.

[ådrrraj]

If you are staying up late - you may need to eat after 8 - you don't want to go more then 4 hours without food while you are awake.

I have found that when I need a late night snack (I often stay up until 1 or even 2 - and that is just too long after dinner to go without a snack) that having some cheese, some meat (salami is my choice) and some green olives works far better then cheese alone.

[GrolmangHat27]

Bliss, I do the same thing. If I have an early dinner around 5:00, it's usually too long from then til bedtime to go without something. I'll have 2 or 3 "pepperoni sandwiches". For these I put a small chunk of cheddar between two slices of turkey pepperoni. Sometimes I'll have a boiled egg... or even a bite or two of chicken. Depends on what's in the fridge. Not a lot, hardly even a snack... just a bite or two. I sleep better, I think.

[AlexanderPalamayr]

A large lettuce leaf, a small dollop of no-sugar mayo, and some deli turkey or low-carb ham. Roll it up, and you have got what hits the spot for me!

[xpllmr]

Mmm those are some good snack ideas... i too have been getting incredibly hungry as the night goes on and with hubby being deployed I've been staying up really late because i find it hard to go to sleep any sooner than 1 am! i've tried everything to wind down and though i eat 1-2 string cheeses and some meat during this time i get even hungrier - im supposed to try that l-glutamine 500mg soon(for my super cravings since TOM) - i just have to clear it w/ the dr. to make sure it won't interfere with my medication

[xpllmr]

oh yeah what im going to try tonight is keep my water bottle by my side and take a sip of water every so often to keep me a little full - i hope that will help curve cravings and hunger (cuz i only ate dinner 2 hrs ago)

[GrolmangHat27]

When my dh is gone (he's on the road most weekdays) I stay up late, too. It used to be 2AM before I would turn out the light and try to sleep but now it's sometimes closer to 11PM - midnight. Last night it was midnight. I got hungry around 10:00 and had two fried eggs and a cup of tea. Warm and comforting... you might try that some evening.