Hey guys,
I was just reading through older posts from a few weeks ago, and am confused. Are sweets strictly forbidden on induction? I thought that people have been suggesting splenda & cocoa if you had a strong craving - but reading several other posts, people say absolutely no sweets on induction because you are trying to break all the cravings? I am getting confused (which isn't very hard - lol). I am feeling much better these last couple days, and seem to be easing in fairly well. I have had lemon juice/splenda/whipped cream though - was that a no-no?

Hi Faerie Girl

As I'm not doing Atkins right now this might not be 100% but I don't think there is any sugar in cocoa (pure unsweetened cocoa - not a hot chocolate powder) - so it wouldn't count as a sweet. I have seen many people on induction say they have eaten this concoction and it seems to be quite legal.

Atkins recommends no more than three servings (packets) of artificial sweeteners during induction. Some people recommend staying away from even these cause it may cause cravings. If it's not a problem for you, a bit of Splenda on induction is perfectly legal, as long as you don't go overboard.

It's my understanding that induction uses the guidelines of 20 carbs. Sweets are not recommended as they create cravings and/or stalls in some, but not all.

If you aren't sure, I'd go the two weeks without any artificial sweeteners.

Caffine is another.


Once you are out of induction you can always slowly add things back into your diet to find out what you can tolerate.

Good luck!

I've had good results by following a careful Induction course. For the first two weeks I didn't have any sweeteners.

Since then, while I remain at Induction-level carbs, I have begun to add in a few treats a couple of times per week. I allow myself some strawberries with cream and 1 peanut butter cup two times a week ( PB cup recipe in the Kitchen area of this forum).

Maybe I would have had the same results if I'd had these food during my official Induction, but I suspect not. For me, a big boost was psychological, too. I used to have treats every day - chips, chocolate, whatever I wanted. So by going cold-turkey I weaned myself off of them (it wasn't hard at all). Now I'm adding them in but am learning that they're not an everyday thing. It's all part of portion control, etc.

I'm not knocking anyone who needs their sweets (I was always more of a salt-snacker -- chips, pretzels, etc) but it seems that if you're trying to break your current eating habits two weeks of "pure" eating can have great benefits and is really not a very long time.

Then once you start adding things in you'll have a better sense of what foods have what reactions in your body/weight.

You'll be amazed I think how little you miss those old favourite foods. I keep telling everyone I feel like my tastebuds have woken up from a long sleep. Everything tastes different to me now, and I'm really appreciating the natural flavours of foods.

Give yourself a chance to re-connect with "real" food again! For me, it's been one of the biggest benefits of this WOE. For once, I look forward to making dinner instead of dreading this daily chore.

Good luck to you!

It's amazing how quickly your tastes change. I just had my first taste of aspartame in 2 weeks & couldn't even stand the taste! I used to drink Diet Pepsi morning, noon & night, so purposely had no added sweeteners through Induction. Just had Splenda for the first time this week & was fine with it as far as cravings go. Everyone's different however, so be careful.

Hi!

WOW, you've done awesome in such a short time!!!!
I agree with Angela and Kaillean: try to stay clean on Induction, this is a key to success and it's ONLY 2 weeks, I know, I know....easy for me to say.
I live in Europe and don't have all those SF product, the first "sweet" stuff I had after induction were blueberries with plain cream.
After induction you can use those with moderation. After all: if you stay away from fake sweets your cravings will vanish, too!
Best of luck to you!
a