The Deal-Breaker in this plan - No Fake Sugar!
Written: Aug 02 '00 (Updated Mar 16 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Pretty nutritionally sound for a diet, you get a reward meal with anything you like
Cons: NO artificial sweeteners, except at your reward meal
The Bottom Line: If you can give up artificial sweeteners during the day and save your sweet tooth cravings for one hour a day, this may work for you. But not for me.
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| MsHooterville's Full Review: Carbohydrate Addict's Diet |
Since I've been on the Dr. Atkins Diet for a couple of months, and like it tremendously for my needs, I decided to see if The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet LifeSpan Program could supplement my knowledge about fats, carbohydrates and how my body reacts to them.
And I also was curious whether this diet would be similar enough to Atkins to continue to be successful for me, while occasionally allowing me to enjoy a bagel, a piece of cake, a few french fries and other things I wouldn't normally consume while restricting my carbohydrates.
According to the "test" at the beginning of this book, I am a carbohydrate addict (a fact I previously accepted after reading the Atkins plan). Eating sweets, breads or potatoes does cause me to want more, and it does put me on a cycle of unhealthy eating.
However, I have found on both Sugar Busters and Dr. Atkins' plan that if I cut out bread and sugar, I don't crave them much at all. The key for me is that I can't trigger a craving by taking just a little because it makes it too easy for me to cheat. I wish there was a group like Alcoholics Anonymous for Carb Addicts, I'd probably like it!
On The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet, you restrict two out of three of your primary meals for the day to foods like protein, and fiber-containing greens.
During your reward meal, which can be taken at any of the three meals you like, you may enjoy normal foods with carbohydrates and even dessert, as long as the entire meal is consumed within a one-hour timeframe.
All of that sounded reasonable to me, but I lost interest when I reached the chapter where it was more than strongly recommended that caffeine and even artificial sweeteners, like Aspartame or Sucralose, be sacrificed as well.
Giving up caffeine is no problem for me, I buy caffeine-free versions of diet colas. But I need that sweet taste to get me through the day and help me manage my cravings. Sugar-free products do help me and satisfy me tremendously.
The Atkins Diet strongly encourages reducing artificial sweeteners, too, although it does not prohibit them, and I have been doing well on the program. My love of artificial sweeteners may keep me from dropping the pounds on Atkins the way many people do, but I'm not in a rush.
Dr. Heller, in this book, explains that artificial sweeteners, and caffeine, can provoke the same kind of insulin release (which promotes the storage of fat instead of using it for energy) as regular sugars. He says to save your artificial sweeteners for your reward meal, if you use them at all.
Now what is the point of that, if you can enjoy them moderately throughout the day and still be successful on the Atkins plan?
For me, the issue is what I want to give up to reach my goal weight, and continue to be successful on maintenance. I don't mind giving up sugar, caffeine and many carbohydrates, but I need my diet soda, and I'm just getting good at making sugar-free treats.
It isn't as though you can never have fries, a bagel or a piece of cake on the Atkins Diet, either. I have had three occasions in two months where I suspended the plan for one or two meals (I had a piece of wedding cake at one, a piece of chocolate cake on another, and a whole Cinnabon the last time) then resumed the usual diet -- and I still lost weight.
I know weight loss is a very big sacrifice, and I'm willing to make sacrifices. But please, please don't make me give up everything! Especially if I have an equally attractive dieting choice.
Recommended:
Yes
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MsHooterville
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Member: Ms Hooterville
Location: Hooterville Green Acres USA
Reviews written: 596
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News and feature writer, graphic designer and artist, wife and mother, small business owner.
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