3 rd week and craving sugar?

[walro]

Hi Chris, I am the "70+ lbs 49 year old woman w/ crunching knees" whose previous posts you have kindly answered. Well, here is another question! I am at the end of week three, faithful to the exercise plan (4 days on, l day of rest), taking 4800 mg of dha/epa fish oil which also includes 80 mg of sesame lignans and 2400 mg of polyphen oil (olive fruit extract) in the total dosage of 8 capsules a day. I have been faithful to the food plan as well. I have experienced increased energy but also feeling very tired mid-afternoon (3 or 4 pm) to the point where I need to lie down and close my eyes. I do the exercises in the am. The last couple of days I have been craving cake frosting in the evening to the point where I can literally "taste" it! I have not given in to it and am not hungry but not sure why this is happening. I hope you can help as you recommended that I stay on week 3 w/ the addition of fat-free yogurt, cottage cheese and whey protein as long as I can stand it. I was also wondering about adding stevia as a sweetener but am afraid it may trigger even more sweet cravings and the resulting insulin reactions the way diet sodas do (according to recent news items). Thank you, thank you, thank you for your attention to my questions!

[Site Administrator]

Hi W,

Normally, provided there is no cheating, intense sweet cravings are under control by the end of the first week. I suspect, given the amount of weight you have to lose coupled with your very long history of dieting, that the degree of insulin resistance you have to overcome is well within the range of metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes) and it may take longer for you to lose those cravings.

In the interim, stevia is fine! Just be sure to have it with very healthy foods. Something that I love-- and that can really "hit the spot" because of its very high protein content-- is fat-free or very low fat cottage cheese mixed with frozen blueberries plus a dash of cinnamon and stevia to taste. Try substituting this for your normal afternoon snack and see if it doesn't stabilize your blood sugar (so you aren't exhausted) and get rid of those cravings.

Otherwise, continue to be patient! The weight is probably going to come off VERY SLOWLY until you have insulin resistance under control. I wish I could predict how long that will take-- but I'd be lying if I said I could. Based on my personal experience working with individuals, my educated guess would be six to eight weeks, but certain studies indicate two to three months. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP!!! This program works!

Please stay in touch,
Chris