I'm having sugar withdrawal! No grapes worth eating to be found!

[atlantanurse]

Hi I'm Teena and a newbie. I'm 43, 5' tall and I weigh 176 lbs. I am a RN and work 2 night shifts a week and have a small business as well. I saw Roger on the 700 club and felt like this plan was my solution. I have lost 15 lbs on weight watchers that I haven't put back on but it took a whole year and I just can't stick to it. I got the book and started the process only to fall off for the biggest excuse for overweight people there is, "the holidays"! I didn't clear my house of prohibited foods either.  A couple of positive things have happened though,  I discovered that I love frozen grapes!  When I saw the chapter in the book titled GRAPES I thought o boy! I have nothing against grapes but I don't eat them. I was so surprised, really shocked the first time I bit into one of those little round orbs of frozen deliciousness! I also have broken my habit of eating milk and cereal from bedtime and continued eating it the first thing when I woke up. I also loved toast and butter which I have stopped eating as well. I haven't had any milk and cereal or toast since reading the book.
Anyway I have cleared the cubbards of all processed food, boxed cake mixes, boxes of pasta, bread, potatoes, rice, frozen deserts etc. I was doing well until a couple of weeks ago when the grocery stores ran out of the delicious red grapes I had been freezing and eating. The red grapes are now the size of marbles and sour. I have tried every grocery store in our town. The green ones are sour too and I don't really care for them in the first place.
I am so ashamed to admit that I made brownies from scratch and just ate a bunch. Yesterday was terrible. Nothing would satisfy me. I couldn't sleep and was anxious and uncomfortable. I can only attribute it to sugar withdrawal. I love beans and corn and have ate plenty of that. I even have corn thins. The grapes are so integral to me. I am going to throw out the sugar, flour and cocoa. I thought I needed to have basic staples in the house, but really what will I need them for. Anyway it has helped admitting this.

[hopefull]

Atlantanurse,
Welcome to the msg boards and to LDL. Congratulations on your decision to follow this way of eating. follow what Roger says and it will happen. There are so many great tasting fruit out there you will come up with another favorite that can sub for the grapes.
I am a nurse too and look forward to hearing more from you. Hang in there and this woe will get easier and easier to the point where you won't ever want to eat any other way.
I have lost 28#'s in 5 monthes and am still loosing.
Bobbi

[LittlePrincess]

Hi Teena! 

I'm in Atlanta too!    I have had good luck with grapes at Publix.  I agree they are really small right now, but so far the ones I have found are sweet.  I second what Roger said about frozen cherries and pineapple.  I also enjoy taking a banana, spraying it with a bit of I can't believe it's not butter spray, sprinkle a bit of splenda and cinnamon on it then nuke it in the microwave for about two minutes.  It's really a nice warm treat on these cold nights and mornings!  I hope this helps and welcome to Let's Do Lunch! 

Fit, Happy and Healthy LP

[LINDA RN]

Welcome to LDL Teena, nice to see another nurse on board. I am a nurse as is Pam, and Niki and Bobbie, along with others who may be lurking also. I believe nurses can lead the way in this new way of eating and bring the necessary change. Once we can show how well it works for us and our patients, the doctors and dieticians will follow. I have fallen for grapes also, started with the wonderful table grapes at Sam's. When the chocolate cravings disappeared, I found myself craving grapes. They are harder to come by, so we are getting into the frozen fruits now. You can do this until the next crop from wherever starts hitting the market. I did find a few bags of small red grapes at Wal-Mart after finding none past couple visits, and they are still sweet. Hope Sam's still has some. Will try Sam's this weekend since the Artic Freeze just blew in last night. Frigid here in SW OK for next 2 days. Hang in there with us. We can do this.

[MsHeirloom]

Welcome to LDL, Teena.  I have found that I like so many new foods since embracing this smart way of eating.  Who would have ever believed that I would crave butternut squash fries !  Many nurses are members here (including me).  This smart way of eating is the best diet on the planet.  I had tried everything; only this works for me.  Enjoy the foods available now.  I am hooked on pineapple, even canned.  The grapes will come back!  Pam

[Sicilian Mama]

Atlantanurse...

Listen to Roger... he's the man...

I buy frozen fruit in huge bags from Costco all the time... they are delish!  I use them in smoothies and forgo ice, I eat them whole, right out of the bag, and I sometimes sprinkle them on salads...

Don't you fret..there are tons of frozen orbs of delicousness out there in the frozen food section... blueberries are fantastic!

[atlantanurse]

OH thank you everyone for replying to my post! I am so touched I want to cry!  I am going to get dressed and go to the grocery store! I have some blueberries I picked this summer in the freezer and did not think about trying them.

I am also concerned about when I am going to have my "lunch" because of my erratic schedule. Since I work 2 12's on Sat and Sunday night, (7P - 7A) ,I try to stay on the same schedule during the week but it doesn't work always. Does anyone else have this problem?

Anyways I am not going to concern myself with that now. I have to break my cravings for the white flour and sugar. First things first! 

[niki]

I am also concerned about when I am going to have my "lunch" because of my erratic schedule. Since I work 2 12's on Sat and Sunday night, (7P - 7A) ,I try to stay on the same schedule during the week but it doesn't work always. Does anyone else have this problem?

hi teena......as far as the availability of fruit goes, you just have to do your best until the good stuff is available....WATERMELON is my ABSOLUTE favorite.......and, it's really only around here(ny)in the summer.........for the longest time, i was buying the big fat grapes from costco, but they've gotten expensive....PLUS, some of this fruit when it's expensive is out of season and NOT good....the last time i got grapes from costco, they were terrible....so, i'll wait to buy them when they go down in price..............this past fall, a local market had a LOT of apples for .49/lb.....i bought SO many.....i stewed them, added loads of cinnamon and they were a close second to watermelon....you can stew pears, also.............so, do the best you can...
working nights on let's do lunch?.....if you sleep as soon as you get home, eat when you wake up....bring some food to work...whatever you want....even the protein thing once a day is bendable as long as you do it right......i mean, you're NOT going to eat your main meal at work in the middle of the night...but, you might like to have some protein at that time....TOTALLY your call...........................i look forward to reading of your success....niki 

[Sicilian Mama]

Atlanta,

Niki hit the nail on the head...

Also... consider this... even if you eat your protein whenever you need or want to... IT'S PROBABLY a fair bet that the food choices you are making now are a far cry better than the food choices you were making prior to LDL... YOU CAN'T DO WRONG at this.. the food choice are so wonderful, unless someone really wanted to fail and tried hard at it... they would...

You eat one protein meal a day, until full, and eat fruits and veggies the other two meals... until full... you just watch the weight melt off... truly... your body will thank you...  your energy level, mood, regularity, everything will balance and you'll be running circles around the other nurses...

Enjoy!

[niki]

Niki hit the nail on the head...

i would JUST like to CLARIFY for debbie(debbiewebe)that THIS is the SAME as "niki, you're right"......

the history of this is that i once complained that i was NEVER right in my environment.....not EVEN to the dog......that i rarely heard,"niki,you're right"....so SHE POINTEDLY told me that.....
sos....sos...sos.........calling all cars....be on the lookout for a tennis maniac....

[Sicilian Mama]

NIKI...

YOU ARE

COMPLETELY, CORRECTLY, INDEFATIGABLY, ABSOLUTELY,

RIGHT!!!!

How's that? 

[Glen M]

Hey Atlantanurse,
I'm from Atlanta also and couldn't agree more with what Roger has already told you. When I started I craved sweet things but the frozen grapes really helped, then I learned about making fruit Smoothies! I cut up and froze the fruit and put it in my vitamix and Instantly stopped the sweet cravings. Now I have about 2 a day. I've lost 57 pounds in six months and just over Christmas broke the 200 pound mark for the first time in years! Everyone at Christmas wanted to know how can you resist eating the sweet stuff? Well, it's easy to do when you don't crave it! You'll be there in no time just give the fruit and smoothies a chance! I agree with you, the grapes around here are just the pitts :0) I hate it because they are my favorite fruit!

Take care,
Glen

[redkat]

Niki,

It's good to see you back here. I always enjoyed your posts.

[LINDA RN]

WoooHooo I just got home from Fresh fruit Friday at Sutherland's. They actually had sweet green grapes for 2.28/lb! I loaded up. Also got 3 huge heads of Cauliflower 2.19/head, apples .59/lb, asparagus 2.29/lb, green onions .35/bunch, yellow and zucchini squash .69/lb, jalapenos .69/lb, grapefruit .39/lb, oranges .65/lb, and bananas .45/lb, and some Apple Cider (no sugar or other additives from Louisburg, Kansas). Everything soooo fresh. Now to keep it fresh until Sat when I am off and can start cooking up some soups. I finished off the rest of the pinto bean soup, & I have a nice mug of warm cider with a cinnamon stick in it and I will mosey on down to Clown Lady's caboose and drink my cider by the potbellied stove.   It is unusually frigid here in SW Oklahoma. Going to possibly single digits tonight. BURRRRR

[dogmommy]

Ok,

I have a question about sugar too. I ordered my books yesterday, so I can't read it yet obviously. anyway. I have some Myoplex powders drinks that I usually had 1 percent milk and ice cubes and blend them in the blender and they taste like Frosties. they are splenda sweetened. Can I have these? They are 40% protein.

also can I use Stevia on this diet to sprinkle over fruit if I want to? thanks ahead of time.

[LINDA RN]

I am sure others will jump in but my advise is to use up the powdered stuff you have and don't buy any more. Fresh whole foods are so much healthier than the processed stuff. Stevia is fine anytime and anywhere you want to use it.

[Sicilian Mama]

Yep... Linda is right...

Always choose fresh food over processed, powdered, or boxed or "not in it's natural state" foods as much as possible...

Why use powdered protein when beans are real, and abundant... See?

Welcome to Ldl!!!

[Joyful Friend]

Atlantanurse, What great advice and encouragement.  I still can't believe that I have no desire for sweets except fruit.  This is the first way of eating that has ever done that for me.  I do eat a lot of fruit, canned, frozen, and fresh.  Beans, corn, and veggies have helped with bread cravings.  Today, I had pizza sauce over chicken breast, and a little low fat cheese.  I loved pizza so every now and then I have to have the taste.  It does the trick, because I have not had any pizza for 7 months. That breaks all records for me.  I bet my favorite pizza place misses me.   Follow what the LDL creator, Roger, wrote, and it will happen for you.  It's the best.  Praise ye the Lord!!!  Joyful Friend